Should we really use manual exposure settings?

[Robert]

It has always been suggested to use manual exposure settings in shooting footage in order to have full control of shuttle speed (2 x frame rate) and light. But it has never really worked well for me as the lighting changes dramatically in a typical flight. I am not sure how practical is it to constantly manually change the exposure in the middle of flight. I wish there is a way to lock the shuttle speed and set the ISO to auto. This feature is very common in DSLR cameras.

If you use manual control, how do you deal with the constant change of lighting during your flight?

Thanks

Robert

 

[Egika]

During post I never end up with single scenes longer than 5s. Everything else will be boring to watch anyway. So there is no problem to adjust exposure for each take anyway

 

[jointeffort]

During post I never end up with single scenes longer than 5s. Everything else will be boring to watch anyway. So there is no problem to adjust exposure for each take anyway

Fair enough. But for those of us wanting longer shots, advice? Thanks!


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[Motley]

Fair enough. But for those of us wanting longer shots, advice? Thanks!


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If you want longer shots and not have to manually adjust then you should use auto settings. You will just frustrate yourself trying to get any lengthy shots while in manual unless you are just sitting in the air pointing at the same object and not moving at all (how boring is that). Any movement and you are likely yo have to change the settings constantly as the OP noticed. Maybe the Mavic 2 will have a better camera with better options, keep in mind larger DSLR cameras will be able to do more in the way of adjusting ISO because they have room for the components necessary to do that

 

[Drone Master]

Fair enough. But for those of us wanting longer shots, advice? Thanks!


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You can adjust ISO on the fly with the right wheel if it is set for that.

 

[Robert]

You can adjust ISO on the fly with the right wheel if it is set for that.

How to do that?
- When the exposure is on auto, the right wheel control exposure compensation: +/- EV.
- When the exposure is on Manual, the right wheel control shutter speed.

Can I lock the shutter speed to 1/60 for example, and use the right wheel to control ISO to adjust exposure? I want something like Shutter Priority, but I can never find it. Advise please.

Thanks

Robert

 

[Robert Granata]

You can adjust ISO on the fly with the right wheel if it is set for that.

Wow, really? Where do you set the wheel to change the ISO and not the shutter?

 

[EspenT]

Wow, really? Where do you set the wheel to change the ISO and not the shutter?

The manual does state it can be used for ISO settings. However it does not say how to do it.
I have been able to have mine adjust the ISO. Not sure how, but might have been as simple as to push the wheel to cycle between ISO and Shutter ?

 

[4wd]

View attachment 5422
The manual does state it can be used for ISO settings. However it does not say how to do it.
I have been able to have mine adjust the ISO. Not sure how, but might have been as simple as to push the wheel to cycle between ISO and Shutter ?

Not really, you could do it on the wheel with Phantoms by pressing it in.
On Mavic you have to slide the menu out and bump it along - quite clumsy.

I've noticed that decent exposure seems more critical with Mavic and the auto setting adjusts quite accurately without any stepping effect.
If you do it manually you get obvious jerky changes, it's also a constant battle to keep in a suitable range.
In most cases Auto is going to be much better.

 

[G284L]

You can use ND (natural density) filters to cut your f stop down which will help in the shutter speed I suggest DJI set they clip on and gimbal issues.


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[generaltso]

You can use ND (natural density) filters to cut your f stop down which will help in the shutter speed I suggest DJI set they clip on and gimbal issues.

Are you sure it's not Neutral Density?

I think it's a given that you need to use an ND filter to get the appropriate shutter speed. But that's not really what the OP is asking.

 

[bfabiano]

I am experiencing the same issue. When I first got my Mavic, the right wheel adjusted ISO. Now suddenly it only adjusts shutter. I need to lock the shutter and only adjust ISO. Does anyone know how to change this? Its driving me nuts because I know its possible.

 

[maikm]

When I first got my Mavic, the right wheel adjusted ISO. Now suddenly it only adjusts shutter. I need to lock the shutter and only adjust ISO. Does anyone know how to change this?

You probably switched from Manual to Auto Exposure. In Auto, it tends to keep ISO as low as possible, and adjusts shutter speed with the dial. In Manual, you can set a fixed shutter speed, and the dial's exposure compensation function is then executed by varying ISO. (Aperture is fixed on the Mavic, so not an option.)

 

[deltalimatango]

During post I never end up with single scenes longer than 5s. Everything else will be boring to watch anyway. So there is no problem to adjust exposure for each take anyway

Agreed. I am a photographer and I shoot in manual 99.5& of the time. Those few times I shoot in auto is when I am shooting street photography and getting the shot is sometimes more important than trying to get everything correct manually. Normally what I do is I will start in automatic to get an idea of the settings the camera chooses but then switch to manual to adjust based on the levels the camera suggested. This gives me a bit more control but based on what the camera chose.

 

[bfabiano]

You probably switched from Manual to Auto Exposure. In Auto, it tends to keep ISO as low as possible, and adjusts shutter speed with the dial. In Manual, you can set a fixed shutter speed, and the dial's exposure compensation function is then executed by varying ISO. (Aperture is fixed on the Mavic, so not an option.)

No, I'm definitely in manual mode. It appears that the last DJI Go 4 update changed the right wheel to switch shutter speed, not ISO like it was. Can anyone else confirm this?

 

[LukemusMavicmus]

I looked in the control customization and found the answer that worked for me and maybe helps with the OP question and the few people who asked how to set a constant shutter while using the wheel to change ISO:
I changed my C1 button to toggle between changing the ISO and the shutter. Before I had C1 set to auto focus center, but since that's easy enough to do by touching the screen, I'll try this setting for now so that my shutter speed stays locked and I can just adjust the ISO. The screen shot is from an iPad so maybe the android app will look a little different

 

[cmoney1976]

You can also shoot in auto and lock your AE setting

 

[Robbyg]

I have noticed the same thing with the right wheel sometimes adjusting shutter and sometimes ISO. I have not nailed down what series of events cause it to go into ISO mode but I shoot in Manual mode and it seems like if I choose a shutter speed while in manual then switch to Auto it allows me to change ISO with the wheel.

My problem with auto is that it ruins the footage when the shutter speed keeps changing. I then have to spend a lot of time in post cutting the shot into segments and adjusting the exposure so it looks even again when I put it back together. Note that I am not a big fan of the 5 second scene stuff, so it's important that long stretches of flight look uniform.

Rob

 

[Coyyote]

I tend to display the histogram and use Auto and then adjust the EV to keep from clipping the histogram or pushing it too far to the right. This seems to work pretty well for me, but I am a rank amateur as far as photography goes. Just trying to get pretty good images easily.

Would appreciate a more expert opinion on this method. Thanks