Some sunsets, advice welcome...

[Air_Joe]

Looking for pointers for settings on my MA.
Photos always looks grainy.

Been trying out 0, -1, -1.

Using snapseeds, any advice which setting to look out for?

Advices will be greatly appreciated. Thks!

. Thks！

 

[ZX14-R]

ND Filters
AEB mode and creating HDR pics.

 

[Meta4]

Looking for pointers for settings on my MA.Photos always looks grainy.

The biggest influence on graininess is the ISO setting.
Use 100 for the finest grain.

ND Filters
AEB mode and creating HDR pics.

Unless there is a particular reason to slow the shutter speed, ND filters are completely useless for still photography with a drone and won't do a thing to improve the image.

 

[Thomas B]

Agree with the filters for sure. I shoot sunsets mostly in hyperlapse. I always use manual settings and always use ISO 100. Then I can easily capture good stills as well. A couple of examples are here:

A Couple More Arizona Sunsets in Hyperlapse

Captured a couple more stellar Arizona sunsets. First one is every 8 second shot and the second is every five second shot. The sky lights back up at the end of the second one.click the box lower left for full screen. Hope you Enjoy!

mavicpilots.com

 

[Air_Joe]

The biggest influence on graininess is the ISO setting.
Use 100 for the finest grain.

Unless there is a particular reason to slow the shutter speed, ND filters are completely useless for still photography with a drone and won't do a thing to improve the image.

Thks for your advice pal,
I was using iso 100. Tried on many different days but still a lot of noise. Unable to achieve any nice photo. Sighhhhh.....

 

[Air_Joe]

Agree with the filters for sure. I shoot sunsets mostly in hyperlapse. I always use manual settings and always use ISO 100. Then I can easily capture good stills as well. A couple of examples are here:

A Couple More Arizona Sunsets in Hyperlapse

Captured a couple more stellar Arizona sunsets. First one is every 8 second shot and the second is every five second shot. The sky lights back up at the end of the second one.click the box lower left for full screen. Hope you Enjoy!

mavicpilots.com

Yeah, followed quite a few of your post.

How abt your sharpness, contrast and sat setting pal?
How do u do your post grade?

 

[Jatekman]

Well the best you can do in post is to use Neat Video- for sure not cheap but powerful.

Ciao Rob

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Tried on many different days but still a lot of noise. Unable to achieve any nice photo. Sighhhhh....

You are not alone. My sunset photos also come out pretty much like yours. I have been digging around in this forum for settings advice and found one post that suggested the following settings for better stills in general and better sunset pics
Sharpness +1
Contrast +2
EV -0.3 to -1.0

Can't find the post at the moment but I took down the numbers. Haven't had the chance to try it out yet (rainy evenings here) so can't say if it works any better. Perhaps you could give it a shot?

Edit: Also, AEB is often recommended from what I have read.

 

[Air_Joe]

Well the best you can do in post is to use Neat Video- for sure not cheap but powerful.

Ciao Rob

Thks pal, however im just using some free apps and software. Im really lousy at editing , can even handle basic editing [emoji28]

 

[Air_Joe]

You are not alone. My sunset photos also come out pretty much like yours. I have been digging around in this forum for settings advice and found one post that suggested the following settings for better stills in general and better sunset pics
Sharpness +1
Contrast +2
EV -0.3 to -1.0

Can't find the post at the moment but I took down the numbers. Haven't had the chance to try it out yet (rainy evenings here) so can't say if it works any better. Perhaps you could give it a shot?

Edit: Also, AEB is often recommended from what I have read.

Thats right pal! Hve been searchinng a lot of forums and youtube etc. Seems like even sparks get ‘better’ photo than MA. But some mentioned ma should be ‘better’. Doesnt make sense to me.

Have been trying out diff settings from forum advices,

Normal, i flew up to a height,
1) tripod mode,
2) tried auto mode, locked exposure settings
3) manuel mode, iso 100, all kinds of shutterspeed etc
Still no luck.

As for night shooting, low light, i using auto, not a big problem there. Hmm

Thks for your reply pal!
Will try out the settings u mentioned, hope it get better. Still learning though!
Thks again!

 

[RonBower]

The biggest influence on graininess is the ISO setting.
Use 100 for the finest grain.

Unless there is a particular reason to slow the shutter speed, ND filters are completely useless for still photography with a drone and won't do a thing to improve the image.

Correct, of course. I do use 3 stop polarized filters to smooth/blur water when shooting beach scenes in Hawaii. In bright light conditions.

 

[IDigDrones]

Graininess could also be due to underexposure, which is likely happening when you look at the incredibly bright sun, and the drone is trying to properly expose the sun. Are you printing up to get the image you want? That would introduce grain. You could try the HDR feature but I would imagine it’s just 1-, 1, and 1+, not enough underexposure when you’re looking at the bare sun. The exposure difference is too much for the drone to handle. We’re I attempting the shot (from the ground on a tripod) I would do HDR, but underexposing by many stops to deal with the sun and giving ample exposure for the rest of the scene.
Or try looking for shots where the sun is partially obscured by clouds. The HDR on the drone would handle that.

 

[Photo Hunter]

When the sun is above the horizon, you're gonna have a tough time making a good pic as there is just way too much dynamic range in the scene and way too much harsh light.

ISO 100 will give you the cleanest pic but that's only if you get the exposure right in the first place. If you end up pushing the exposure in some post processing software, you won't get good result & that's especially true if you are shooting JPEG.

If you really want the most latitude in developing your images & therefore creating the best image, shoot in RAW and use a post processing software such as Adobe LightRoom. You will be able to push highlights & shadows and make other adjustments to your images with far better results because there is more data and more latitude for change in RAW images.

Personally, I would not be overly concerned about the in camera sharpness, contrast, etc., settings. You can adjust those in post.

It is far better to over expose an image than it is to under expose. Pushing an under exposed image in post is going to amplify digital noise and make other bad things happen in your image. Alternately, pulling down an exposure in post will help minimize noise, etc.

The on screen highlight warnings are not a good guide for over exposure. There will be a sweet spot, maybe +0.7 - +1 EV when shooting sunrise/sunset that you will still be able to recover highlights that the exposure warning says are too bright. Experience will be your guide figuring this out as it varies with the quality of the light and between camera models.

Filters can help. A graduated ND filter will be the best at balancing your exposure in the sky vs foreground.

This is a single image (no AEB, no HDR) shot in RAW and developed in LightRoom.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[dkuhne]

I’ve got a Mavic Air also, and the sensor isn’t quite big enough to get really crisp sunset shots without a little grain, even at 100 ISO.

As people have suggested, shooting in AEB mode will help a little and you can digitally remove grain/noise in Lightroom/Photoshop.

Are the above pictures the RAW files or JPEG?

 

[ScottM2Zoom1]

I have both LightRoom and Snapseed free for phone. I shoot rise and sets (sun) every day (M2Z) . I never use Snapseed any more. Lr is 100x easier to use and gives you all the options to eleminate the graininess. It's free. Might as well give it a try.

 

[Air_Joe]

Graininess could also be due to underexposure, which is likely happening when you look at the incredibly bright sun, and the drone is trying to properly expose the sun. Are you printing up to get the image you want? That would introduce grain. You could try the HDR feature but I would imagine it’s just 1-, 1, and 1+, not enough underexposure when you’re looking at the bare sun. The exposure difference is too much for the drone to handle. We’re I attempting the shot (from the ground on a tripod) I would do HDR, but underexposing by many stops to deal with the sun and giving ample exposure for the rest of the scene.
Or try looking for shots where the sun is partially obscured by clouds. The HDR on the drone would handle that.

Nope, no pal, not printing.. just trying and trying out to view them first.

Yes sir, will try the hdr.

Thk you!

 

[Air_Joe]

When the sun is above the horizon, you're gonna have a tough time making a good pic as there is just way too much dynamic range in the scene and way too much harsh light.

ISO 100 will give you the cleanest pic but that's only if you get the exposure right in the first place. If you end up pushing the exposure in some post processing software, you won't get good result & that's especially true if you are shooting JPEG.

If you really want the most latitude in developing your images & therefore creating the best image, shoot in RAW and use a post processing software such as Adobe LightRoom. You will be able to push highlights & shadows and make other adjustments to your images with far better results because there is more data and more latitude for change in RAW images.

Personally, I would not be overly concerned about the in camera sharpness, contrast, etc., settings. You can adjust those in post.

It is far better to over expose an image than it is to under expose. Pushing an under exposed image in post is going to amplify digital noise and make other bad things happen in your image. Alternately, pulling down an exposure in post will help minimize noise, etc.

The on screen highlight warnings are not a good guide for over exposure. There will be a sweet spot, maybe +0.7 - +1 EV when shooting sunrise/sunset that you will still be able to recover highlights that the exposure warning says are too bright. Experience will be your guide figuring this out as it varies with the quality of the light and between camera models.

Filters can help. A graduated ND filter will be the best at balancing your exposure in the sky vs foreground.

This is a single image (no AEB, no HDR) shot in RAW and developed in LightRoom.

Just my 2 cents...View attachment 79142

I do shoot in iso100, shooting in raw + jpeg. (Trying to see the difference)

Mainly i would lower the highlights, and higher the shadows. Like those photo i posted. Any advice on these?

Noted on sharpness and contrast!

Thks for all advices pal, will take note of it on my next outing!

Many thanks!

By the way, your sunsets looks really great!

 

[Air_Joe]

I’ve got a Mavic Air also, and the sensor isn’t quite big enough to get really crisp sunset shots without a little grain, even at 100 ISO.

As people have suggested, shooting in AEB mode will help a little and you can digitally remove grain/noise in Lightroom/Photoshop.

Are the above pictures the RAW files or JPEG?

The pictures are taken in raw and edited and saved in jpeg.

Exactly bro, i have been reading a lot of reviews mentioning MA sensor isnt that good. Most sun photos are grainy. But i do come across some that are really great, thats y i asking for advices for learning and improving!

I dnt have any paid software. Low budget guy [emoji28]

 

[Air_Joe]

I have both LightRoom and Snapseed free for phone. I shoot rise and sets (sun) every day (M2Z) . I never use Snapseed any more. Lr is 100x easier to use and gives you all the options to eleminate the graininess. It's free. Might as well give it a try.

I guess one of the issue with my problem is my bird. Dnt see many ‘grainy’ problems with other birds, even for spark.

Will dl lr on my phone and try figure out.
Thks for your advice bro!

 

[Thirdrail]

Setting ISO to 100. ND filters work for the opposite reason. You need light not less light. Using Luminance in Lightroom or Camera Raw Photoshop will clean up, but Topaz Labs Denoise filter works best for removing grain and noise.