Testing ND Filters and why you need them for the Mavic Pro!

[JoeCec]

In this video I am Testing ND Filters and why you need them on the Mavic Pro! ND filters are nothing new to photography, and in fact are a necessity if you are wanting to create a cinematic, buttery smooth film look. I go over my 3 heavily used ND stops and what you need to know about setting the shot according to your histogram. Whether you go with the polar pro, taco-RC filters or perhaps another brand of your fancy, you can rest assured you will get great quality footage at the proper settings and ND filter.
Mavic ND Filters: Amazon.com : Polar Pro Filters DJI Mavic Filters-Cinema Series-Shutter Collection : Camera & Photo
or Amazon.com : TACO-RC Snap on ND filters set 5-pack (UV/ND4/8/16/32) for DJI Mavic : Camera & Photo
ND 4 = two stop reduction
ND 8 = three stops reduction
ND 16 = four stops
ND 32 = five stops
The ND filters allow you to maintain more of a cinematic motion blur to the footage.
The ideal shutter rate is half the inverse of the shooting rate. So if you’re shooting at 24 fps, the inverse is 1/24. Half of that inverse is 1/48. Since the Mavic doesn't offer 1/48 you can select 1/50. Or for 30fps, the inverse is 1/30 and a half that is 1/60. Most cameras don’t have a 48 shutter setting, so most people go with 50 or 60 so that the footage has a distinctive cinematic motion blur.The general rule of thumb is to try to shoot at 24 frames per second or fps. This gives more of a film-like look, while 30 fps produces more of a “video” style of footage. But the shutter rate you select with that 24 fps plays a huge role in the overall look of the final product. If it’s too high, it can give the footage almost a brittle look. On sunny days, that’s a problem. In the absence of an ND filter, the shutter rate will jump into high gear in auto (or you’ll be forced to crank it manually), in order to obtain the correct exposure.

 

[Advexure]

Awesome review, @JoeCec. Loved your jetski tracking footage. Little harness you've got to start your RC to your handlebars? Hand takeoff and hand catch?

 

[snipe]

In this video I am Testing ND Filters and why you need them on the Mavic Pro! ND filters are nothing new to photography, and in fact are a necessity if you are wanting to create a cinematic, buttery smooth film look. I go over my 3 heavily used ND stops and what you need to know about setting the shot according to your histogram. Whether you go with the polar pro, taco-RC filters or perhaps another brand of your fancy, you can rest assured you will get great quality footage at the proper settings and ND filter.
Mavic ND Filters: Amazon.com : Polar Pro Filters DJI Mavic Filters-Cinema Series-Shutter Collection : Camera & Photo
or Amazon.com : TACO-RC Snap on ND filters set 5-pack (UV/ND4/8/16/32) for DJI Mavic : Camera & Photo
ND 4 = two stop reduction
ND 8 = three stops reduction
ND 16 = four stops
ND 32 = five stops
The ND filters allow you to maintain more of a cinematic motion blur to the footage.
The ideal shutter rate is half the inverse of the shooting rate. So if you’re shooting at 24 fps, the inverse is 1/24. Half of that inverse is 1/48. Since the Mavic doesn't offer 1/48 you can select 1/50. Or for 30fps, the inverse is 1/30 and a half that is 1/60. Most cameras don’t have a 48 shutter setting, so most people go with 50 or 60 so that the footage has a distinctive cinematic motion blur.The general rule of thumb is to try to shoot at 24 frames per second or fps. This gives more of a film-like look, while 30 fps produces more of a “video” style of footage. But the shutter rate you select with that 24 fps plays a huge role in the overall look of the final product. If it’s too high, it can give the footage almost a brittle look. On sunny days, that’s a problem. In the absence of an ND filter, the shutter rate will jump into high gear in auto (or you’ll be forced to crank it manually), in order to obtain the correct exposure.

Very nice effort !!!!

 

[Plawa]

Human eye can see 1000fps? In what version of human exactly? That's 20x faster than the flicker of your normal tubes, it would drive you crazy if you could actually register that...

Also I watched parts of the video and I might be epileptic now.

 

[JoeCec]

Awesome review, @JoeCec. Loved your jetski tracking footage. Little harness you've got to start your RC to your handlebars? Hand takeoff and hand catch?

Yes, I made a plastic plate with hook and loop straps to go around the steering column of the ski. And yes hand launch and usually hand catch, although that time I was close enough to where I put in that I landed the Mavic on the dock.

 

[JoeCec]

Very nice effort !!!!

Thank you!

 

[Chadnovz]

So what is the best ND filter? 4? 8? 16?

 

[ZUCSTA]

Nice Bit of info mate as I now experimenting with manual Camera settings..much appreciated

 

[SirTT]

So what is the best ND filter? 4? 8? 16?

All.
You need different numbers depending on the amount of light.

 

[SirTT]

 

[SirTT]

A good app to help you choose filter numbers

PolarPro App

 

[JoeCec]

All.
You need different numbers depending on the amount of light.

Agreed, every situation will call for different ND filter stop levels. All depends on the lighting. The purpose is to get the camera settings down to 30fps @ 1/60th shutter or 24fps @ 1/50th shutter with limited ISO values

 

[MavicCBR]

Looking at the different types, are the screw on ones better than the clip on ones considering how fragile the camera is?

 

[MrsTreat]

I’ve been able to process my photos so they look like I’ve used a polarizer filter.

 

[Plawa]

I’ve been able to process my photos so they look like I’ve used a polarizer filter.

You're a wizard Harry!

 

[JoeCec]

I’ve been able to process my photos so they look like I’ve used a polarizer filter.

Polar filters are better suited for the video side of the house, especially with the Mavic. Yes, for photos you are allowed more room for play but if you're wanting to get any type of action in the shot (motion blur) it will end up frozen in time (because of high shutter speeds). It all bakes down to how fast your shutter is working to keep the exposure on point which in turn starts to freeze your subject the higher the value. Hope that makes sense....

To start getting that exposure and shutter speed to a more artistic value that's when the benefit of ND and polarization filters come into the picture.

The closer the settings are to the look you're trying to achieve, the less time spent in post. Just my opinion though.

 

[JoeCec]

Awesome review, @JoeCec. Loved your jetski tracking footage. Little harness you've got to start your RC to your handlebars? Hand takeoff and hand catch?

Yes, I designed and fab'd a way to strap the RC to a small plastic cutting board, and yes it had to be hand launched and recovered.