Shutter speed for video...how important is it?

[RickMC]

I always hear that for video your shutter speed should be twice the frame rate. I don't own any ND filters so having a shutter speed of 1/50 or 1/60 results in major overexposure. Is it really necessary to have the shutter be twice the frame rate? How much better will the video quality be? Videos I've taken with very high shutter speeds still look good to me.

 

[Mossiback]

A slower shutter speed will introduce a bit of motion blur that is needed for a smooth transition from one frame to the next. A faster shutter speed will start to look choppy.

 

[the_five_eagles]

first time using the video, used it on 4k and it all came out choppy, nothing was smooth... what am I doing wrong... being a newbie to this, I'm sure it's all in my setup... HELP

 

[Mossiback]

first time using the video, used it on 4k and it all came out choppy, nothing was smooth... what am I doing wrong... being a newbie to this, I'm sure it's all in my setup... HELP

Did you use a ND filter to slow down the shutter speed?

 

[gnirtS]

I always hear that for video your shutter speed should be twice the frame rate. I don't own any ND filters so having a shutter speed of 1/50 or 1/60 results in major overexposure. Is it really necessary to have the shutter be twice the frame rate? How much better will the video quality be? Videos I've taken with very high shutter speeds still look good to me.

It depends hugely on the video. As a general rule, the faster the movement in the scene, the more important it is to get that motion blur.

If you're flying slowly or for high altitude so objects in the scene aren't moving rapidly you wont notice anything and wont really need a filter.
Where they come into play are things that move a lot frame to frame (so fast moving). They'll look jerky at too high a shutter.
Slow, gentle landscape panning is unlikely to need one for example whereas flying in sport mode at 10ft over a field probably will.

 

[gnirtS]

first time using the video, used it on 4k and it all came out choppy, nothing was smooth... what am I doing wrong... being a newbie to this, I'm sure it's all in my setup... HELP

We need a lot more detail for that. Does the computer play back 4K smoothly? Is it playing back but objects are jerking in the frame? What frame rate was the video using? Are you sure you're using the SD card video not the DJI go cache downlinked video.
Ideally upload an example somewhere.

 

[the_five_eagles]

Did you use a ND filter to slow down the shutter speed?

No, I just bought filters but haven't tried them yet
this was shooting 4k, GPS mode

 

[the_five_eagles]

We need a lot more detail for that. Does the computer play back 4K smoothly? Is it playing back but objects are jerking in the frame? What frame rate was the video using? Are you sure you're using the SD card video not the DJI go cache downlinked video.
Ideally upload an example somewhere.

No the PC does not playback 4k video, I'm going to try running it on a new Samsung 4K TV later tonight. Yes, the everything seemed to be jerky movements. Not sure of frame rate used at the time. Yes, brand new 64Gb SD card

 

[gnirtS]

Possibly the TV doesnt support hardware acceleration of the codec used. Upload the footage so we can see.

 

[Mossiback]

I don't know what you are flying, but you must use a ND filter to get smooth video from the Mavic Pro if there is any motion. It is especially noticeable when you pan the camera. General rule of thumb: ND4 for sunup/down or cloudy, ND8 for partly cloudy, ND16 for sunny, ND32 and up for bright sun (beach, snow, etc). You basically want your shutter speed twice the frame rate (ie: 1/60 at 30fps). Use the Histogram to judge whether you have enough light for the shot.

4K might give your viewing equipment problems so try the same shot in different resolutions.

 

[gnirtS]

I don't know what you are flying, but you must use a ND filter to get smooth video from the Mavic Pro if there is any motion.

Not all the time. Small amounts of motion or slow movement is fine, especially if its in the background. The faster it is the more you'll notice jerkiness but for a lot of shots they wont make a huge difference.