Settings

[rider]

Can not get the settings right for photos i have PolarPro filters 4 - 8 - 16 - 32pl ,32 - 64pl , 64 the settings I’m looking for are sunny days here’s a picture from today

 

[CanadaDrone]

You have to adjust the settings for each individual flight and scenario, there is no general rule.

As you can tell, that image is very over exposed. First of all, make sure you are always using base ISO of 100. The Mavic Air does not have a variable aperture, so your options to manipulate the exposure are strictly limited to shutter speed and ND filters. Your shutter speed should be around double your frame rate, so you probably don't want to play with that too much. That leaves ND filters. Either put the filter on and point the at something similar to what you will be shooting to judge exposure, or you can use Polar Pro's ND calculator app. Basically you put in the naked lens exposure, your frame rate, and it tells you what filter to use. Within about + / - 1.0 EV you are OK because you can usually correct that in post processing, but you will want it as close to a perfect exposure as possible obviously. Also, blown highlights are harder to recover than shadows, so you are better off slightly underexposing if you are flying over a lot of bright/white landscape.

For what you have there, assuming 40K/30fps with 1/60 shutter, I'd say you need at least the ND16 and very likely the ND32 with all those white buildings and bright sunlight.

 

[Wacker2611]

You have to adjust the settings for each individual flight and scenario, there is no general rule.

As you can tell, that image is very over exposed. First of all, make sure you are always using base ISO of 100. The Mavic Air does not have a variable aperture, so your options to manipulate the exposure are strictly limited to shutter speed and ND filters. Your shutter speed should be around double your frame rate, so you probably don't want to play with that too much. That leaves ND filters. Either put the filter on and point the at something similar to what you will be shooting to judge exposure, or you can use Polar Pro's ND calculator app. Basically you put in the naked lens exposure, your frame rate, and it tells you what filter to use. Within about + / - 1.0 EV you are OK because you can usually correct that in post processing, but you will want it as close to a perfect exposure as possible obviously. Also, blown highlights are harder to recover than shadows, so you are better off slightly underexposing if you are flying over a lot of bright/white landscape.

For what you have there, assuming 40K/30fps with 1/60 shutter, I'd say you need at least the ND16 and very likely the ND32 with all those white buildings and bright sunlight.

I wouldn’t use filters at all for pics ideally. They add nothing

 

[CanadaDrone]

I wouldn’t use filters at all for pics ideally. They add nothing

Obviously my reply geared towards video, but filters definitely add to photos depending on your goal. Polarizers can be very useful depending on the circumstances, as are ND filters for long exposures.

I am guessing what happened to the OP was he had it in video mode (manual) and switched to photo mode, which also moves you to manual, even if it had previously been set to Auto. If you switch back to Auto mode once you enter the photo interface, this shouldn't happen.

 

[jason38]

I use filters when filming, its very useful to have a smooth video without over exposure...
The app works fine, but the best way to check which filter to install on your gimbal is to point your drone on a scene which looks like what you'll shoot, like said Canadadrone...
But when you shoot pics, you dont really need filters...
Only because you'll not shoot several images to make a video, the smoother as you can, but you'll shoot only one pic.
So, you can set manually the shutter speed, and have a lower speed, keeping ISO 100 (important for the image quality) as you need to have a good exposure.
BTW, if the drone is moving hard, you'll maybe have some blur problems when your shutter speed is to low...

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

PolarPro has a decent app to get you into the right ballpark of which ND filter to use until you get a feel for it, you can find the app HERE. As mentioned above ND filters are for video. The only thing I use ND filters for in photography is for daytime Long Exposures to get motion blur on water (like a waterfall) or to get motion blur on moving vehicles. Other than that you don't need them for photography. A polarizer is what would help make your photos pop for daytime photography.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Welcome to MavicPilots by the way, fly safe an have fun!

 

[CanadaDrone]

As mentioned above ND filters are for video. The only thing I use ND filters for in photography is for daytime Long Exposures to get motion blur on water (like a waterfall) or to get motion blur on moving vehicles. Other than that you don't need them for photography. A polarizer is what would help make your photos pop for daytime photography.

That is not true - in photography, ND filters are not limited to long exposures. One of the most common uses for them is to allow wide apertures in very bright environments.

In the drone world, the ND filters are more geared towards video, but they are absolutely still useful for photos with slower shutter speeds. You don't always need a 5 second shutter speed to get a nice waterfall shot, for example, often times 1/10 or 1/20 will do and most modern drones are stable enough for that without any major wind.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

That is not true - in photography, ND filters are not limited to long exposures. One of the most common uses for them is to allow wide apertures in very bright environments.

In the drone world, the ND filters are more geared towards video, but they are absolutely still useful for photos with slower shutter speeds. You don't always need a 5 second shutter speed to get a nice waterfall shot, for example, often times 1/10 or 1/20 will do and most modern drones are stable enough for that without any major wind.

We are talking about the Mavic that has a fixed aperture of f2.8 not the P4P or Inspire with a MFT camera. You can't change the aperture on the Mavic. I do use ND's for wide apertures on my DSLR equipment, but that isn't relavent here.

 

[CanadaDrone]

We are talking about the Mavic that has a fixed aperture of f2.2 not the P4P or Inspire with a MFT camera. You can't change the aperture on the Mavic. I do use ND's for wide apertures on my DSLR equipment, but that isn't relavent here.

I realize that, but you said "in photography", which is not at all drone specific. Further, you referenced using ND filters for your shots of waterfalls, daytime long exposures, and moving vehicles before saying those were the only uses for ND filters, which sounds like the shots you are getting with your DSLR rather than a drone.

Anyway, ND filters are not limited to video use, even on a drone such as the Air. I regularly use them for photos as well when I want slower shutter speeds. Also, the aperture on the Air is F2.8, not F2.2.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

I realize that, but you said "in photography", which is not at all drone specific. Further, you referenced using ND filters for your shots of waterfalls, daytime long exposures, and moving vehicles before saying those were the only uses for ND filters, which sounds like the shots you are getting with your DSLR rather than a drone.

Anyway, ND filters are not limited to video use, even on a drone such as the Air. I regularly use them for photos as well when I want slower shutter speeds. Also, the aperture on the Air is F2.8, not F2.2.

I said "for photography" directly after speaking of taking video with the Mavic, I didn't realize I needed to say drone photography on a drone forum. Splitting hairs here. I was just underlining how some pilots new to ND's will put them on to take photos and wonder why they get worse instead of better.

 

[CanadaDrone]

I said "for photography" directly after speaking of taking video with the Mavic, I didn't realize I needed to say drone photography on a drone forum. Splitting hairs here. I was just underlining how some pilots new to ND's will put them on to take photos and wonder why they get worse instead of better.

OK well what confused me was you said this:

"As mentioned above ND filters are for video."

Then you said:

"The only thing I use ND filters for in photography is for daytime Long Exposures to get motion blur on water (like a waterfall) or to get motion blur on moving vehicles. Other than that you don't need them for photography." - Because you just said that ND filters are for video, I thought you were talking about general/non-drone photography because otherwise your previous assertion that ND filters are only for video on drones wouldn't make sense.

So either ND filters have uses on drones beyond video, contradicting your first statement, or you had to be talking about non-drone usage. I'm sorry, I am not trying to be difficult I was just trying to understand your message. If you were specifically referring to newbies leaving ND filters on and shooting photos in Auto mode, that was not clear.

 

[ainaelon]

Can not get the settings right...

I usually have the over exposure warning enabled but I know it can still be difficult getting the settings right. As said above, do not be afraid of under exposing. Assuming images are saved in RAW it is fairly easy to lighten up the shadows later. I am a newbie, both when it comes to drones but also photography, but wouldn't a faster shutter speed help here?

 

[genesimmons]

for the image u posted as mentioned i would have lowered the ev by .7 or even 1 full ev. i would rather have a underexposed image than a over exposed, shadows are easier to deal with than blown highlights, also on bright or unusual images i always shoot in bracket mode, then i merge them in lightroom, this helps with highlights as well and for this prticular image i would have edited it in light room or luminar where i could add a gradient to the sky to tame it down while keeping the rest of the image in tact. i use gradients more andmore and so easy to do and makes all the difference in the world,,,,,, just sayin

 

[ainaelon]

...i always shoot in bracket mode...

I totally forgot about AEB (Bracket Mode), I love it! Here is a picture I took some while ago. Five images put together in Lightroom, no editing or color correcting.

 

[rider]

You have to adjust the settings for each individual flight and scenario, there is no general rule.

As you can tell, that image is very over exposed. First of all, make sure you are always using base ISO of 100. The Mavic Air does not have a variable aperture, so your options to manipulate the exposure are strictly limited to shutter speed and ND filters. Your shutter speed should be around double your frame rate, so you probably don't want to play with that too much. That leaves ND filters. Either put the filter on and point the at something similar to what you will be shooting to judge exposure, or you can use Polar Pro's ND calculator app. Basically you put in the naked lens exposure, your frame rate, and it tells you what filter to use. Within about + / - 1.0 EV you are OK because you can usually correct that in post processing, but you will want it as close to a perfect exposure as possible obviously. Also, blown highlights are harder to recover than shadows, so you are better off slightly underexposing if you are flying over a lot of bright/white landscape.

For what you have there, assuming 40K/30fps with 1/60 shutter, I'd say you need at least the ND16 and very likely the ND32 with all those white buildings and bright sunlight.[/


Thanks for you’re time tried last 100% better thanks again

 

[Thwyllo]

Obviously my reply geared towards video, but filters definitely add to photos depending on your goal. Polarizers can be very useful depending on the circumstances, as are ND filters for long exposures.

I am guessing what happened to the OP was he had it in video mode (manual) and switched to photo mode, which also moves you to manual, even if it had previously been set to Auto. If you switch back to Auto mode once you enter the photo interface, this shouldn't happen.

Given how reactive a polarising filter is to the slightest change of angle or direction on a DSLR I wouldn't bother using one on a drone. Unless you set up and test it on the ground first and then only fly in that one direction and orientation you've adjusted it for it's a waste of time surely? In any event they're only at their best when shooting with the sun behind you, so their use is limited as far as drones are concerned I'd have thought unless you're just setting up for a specific stills shot.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Given how reactive a polarising filter is to the slightest change of angle or direction on a DSLR I wouldn't bother using one on a drone. Unless you set up and test it on the ground first and then only fly in that one direction and orientation you've adjusted it for it's a waste of time surely? In any event they're only at their best when shooting with the sun behind you, so their use is limited as far as drones are concerned I'd have thought unless you're just setting up for a specific stills shot.

That's actually not true - if the sun is behind you, a polarizer will have zero effect. Polarizers are strongest 90 degrees from the sun, and the effect decreases to zero as you hit 180 degrees. They have their place, you just need to know what you're doing and plan your flight path. They are not something you want to just leave on all the time unless you like uneven footage.