Total Noob

[CaptainRisky]

Absolutely not a photographic bone in my body, but after half a dozen flights with my MPP I'm pretty keen to learn. I've even started a YT channel just so I can watch my vids and learn some video editing.

I've got exclusive access to thousands of acres of privately owned wetlands to practice on, with lots of colors and wildlife. Full permission and blessing, but I've promised to make the owner (my neighbor) a nice video of the property.

I got a new and unused MPP at a reasonable price. I've flown LOS hobby drones before and lots of fixed wing, but never with GPS and this kind of camera gear on board. It's been a shock how well it all works.

Basically I've used Filmora to make this first video, and hopefully uploaded it as it was shot without any post editing or whatever. It's not a good comparison, as one day was a little cloudy and the next bright sunlight, but already I can see the importance of white balance.

I'm in Australia, so I'm hoping to get a fairly basic set of parameters for bright sunlight, and if it's a bit cloudy I can drop from an ND16 to an ND8 for those same settings... is that how it works?

I think the "sunny sky" setting was 6600 kelvin, but I'm wondering if dropping that a bit lower would make the blue sky and greens a bit stronger in the setting shown in the video. Turning/panning is looking a bit "pixelly", and I've read about setting an ISO/shutter speed ration of about 2:1 or something like that to give it a softer blur or something. I'd like to stick with 4K, as I don't care about file size or upload times. I'd just like to get beautiful footage.

Please tell me where to go from here (and thank you for your help):

 

[kevinmat]

One of the things I always tell aspiring photographers/videographers is the best adjustment it the time of day. You are always going to end up with flat looking footage during brighter parts of the day. Try taking the same footage early in the morning just as the sun is coming up and later in the day towards sunset, you will be amazed at the difference. ND filters are great to use when you have no other options, but they make a poor substitute for great light.

Now you have started .... practice practice practice and .... experiment, in no time you will get a feel for what produces the best results.

 

[CaptainRisky]

One of the things I always tell aspiring photographers/videographers is the best adjustment it the time of day. You are always going to end up with flat looking footage during brighter parts of the day. Try taking the same footage early in the morning just as the sun is coming up and later in the day towards sunset, you will be amazed at the difference. ND filters are great to use when you have no other options, but they make a poor substitute for great light.

Now you have started .... practice practice practice and .... experiment, in no time you will get a feel for what produces the best results.

Cheers mate.

I'm already watching some YT vids about settings etc, and will try adding a manual shutter speed and ISO next time around.

I was under the impression that an ND filter was a necessity, is that the case or not? For me just having the camera lens covered is a plus.

And what's all this "post processing" about? I've got Filmora here, does it do that? Otherwise is there a free program all the cool kids are using? I'm assuming you'd need to still be pretty close to the right settings for it to work?

Thanks again

 

[DaveS]

Great advice from Kevinmat. My suggestion would be, if your experimenting and learning about ND filters and exposure settings, try flying one direction, come back to where you started from, change settings and fly the exact same way again. Do that as many times as you want, as you change settings, add ND, etc. Then, in editing you can compare them much better, even do side-by-side shots in the edit to see for yourself. Your flying skills seem great though. You got this. Keep at it!

 

[MS Coast]

Cheers mate.

I'm already watching some YT vids about settings etc, and will try adding a manual shutter speed and ISO next time around.

I was under the impression that an ND filter was a necessity, is that the case or not? For me just having the camera lens covered is a plus.

And what's all this "post processing" about? I've got Filmora here, does it do that? Otherwise is there a free program all the cool kids are using? I'm assuming you'd need to still be pretty close to the right settings for it to work?

Thanks again

I'd suggest that you put ND filters on your "to-do" list for the future and focus on the basics - exposure, composition, smooth flying, basic editing.

You can produce beautiful video without ND filters.

Post processing is nothing more than tinkering with the video after you've shot it. You're doing post processing when you're using Filmora.

I'll look forward to seeing your videos. That's a very interesting place you have for flying.

 

[kevinmat]

Take a look at this channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/VICVideopIC - Vic has some great advice for new pilots - you will get a lot of great insight into how to set up your drone. As Dave said, experimentation and review are some of your best tools.

 

[Dale D]

Take a look at this channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/VICVideopIC - Vic has some great advice for new pilots - you will get a lot of great insight into how to set up your drone. As Dave said, experimentation and review are some of your best tools.

I strongly second watching Vic VideopIC's channel. He is the very best teacher. ND filters are usually used if the light is too bright for your camera, or if you want motion blur, which, for now, is beyond basic learning. I would try to add some free music to your videos. Eventually, you will find yourself wishing to move up to better video editing software. Most of the Forum likes Da Vinci Resolve and start with the free version using a lot of You Tube lessons. (I am using Adobe Premier Pro but it is advanced and expensive).

 

[twickers14]

All the above are experienced drone videographers so what they say is really good. My only amateur addition is that I loved the sky reflections in the stream. Intriguing and a super effect. Keep on learning.

 

[CaptainRisky]

All the above are experienced drone videographers so what they say is really good. My only amateur addition is that I loved the sky reflections in the stream. Intriguing and a super effect. Keep on learning.

I know right! We couldn't believe the reflection on the surface of the water.

I do have a fantastic place to fly, thousands of very private acres with agreeable neighbors, but it is riddled with very large Australia wedge tailed eagles and numerous other birds. I am concerned about being smashed out of the sky.

I also have some stunning coastline back at my home, but that is riddled with Karens...

Thank you all very much for your tips. Work's getting in the way over the next week, but I'll be back at it soon.

 

[twickers14]

I know right! We couldn't believe the reflection on the surface of the water.

I do have a fantastic place to fly, thousands of very private acres with agreeable neighbors, but it is riddled with very large Australia wedge tailed eagles and numerous other birds. I am concerned about being smashed out of the sky.

I also have some stunning coastline back at my home, but that is riddled with Karens...

Thank you all very much for your tips. Work's getting in the way over the next week, but I'll be back at it soon.

Wow those eagles look fierce. Latin name is Aquila audax meaning bold and here is an accurate (from the sound of it) description from my Empire of the Eagle book. Note the ref to drones. Best keep your finger ready for sport mode! Bon chance.

 

[CaptainRisky]

Wow those eagles look fierce. Latin name is Aquila audax meaning bold and here is an accurate (from the sound of it) description from my Empire of the Eagle book. Note the ref to drones. Best keep your finger ready for sport mode! Bon chance.
View attachment 153958

You don't know half of it!

I'm a farmer, and while mowing a large paddock adjacent to those wetlands there were literally thousands of white heron looking things on the move, all about 5m off the ground. Don't know why, but it was amazing to see. You'll see some in my video, they seem to fly low.

Out of nowhere a huge "wedgey" smashed one flat onto the ground about 40m away from the tractor, literally death from above and began just ripping bits off it and eating them. Each time I came around for another lap there was another there and in the end about 6 of them just ate the entire thing. It was an amazing thing to see actually, they are big when on the ground. Blood and feathers everywhere.

Makes me just a little concerned about my drone, but I understand seagulls are pretty bad on them too. Occupational hazard I guess.

Back on topic, I'm watching the videos of the Italian gentleman linked by others in this thread, and they're great. He's got a nice simple approach that makes it quite simple to dial it in.

Understanding the histogram and aiming for an EV value closest to zero is a great start, especially when he just uses an ISO of 100 with a shutter speed of twice the frame rate as a pretty much hard and fast rule. It basically just tells you if you need a filter.

I took my filter off this evening and just tried to get a clear picture in the last light of the evening, and on the "cloudy" WB setting, 1/60 shutter speed and 200 ISO (which he says is acceptable for low light, but also his max) I got an EV of 0.7 and an acceptable histogram and the picture was pretty good.

I like a systematic approach, so those videos are a hot tip. Cheers for that.

 

[twickers14]

You don't know half of it!

I'm a farmer, and while mowing a large paddock adjacent to those wetlands there were literally thousands of white heron looking things on the move, all about 5m off the ground. Don't know why, but it was amazing to see. You'll see some in my video, they seem to fly low.

Out of nowhere a huge "wedgey" smashed one flat onto the ground about 40m away from the tractor, literally death from above and began just ripping bits off it and eating them. Each time I came around for another lap there was another there and in the end about 6 of them just ate the entire thing. It was an amazing thing to see actually, they are big when on the ground. Blood and feathers everywhere.

Makes me just a little concerned about my drone, but I understand seagulls are pretty bad on them too. Occupational hazard I guess.

Back on topic, I'm watching the videos of the Italian gentleman linked by others in this thread, and they're great. He's got a nice simple approach that makes it quite simple to dial it in.

Understanding the histogram and aiming for an EV value closest to zero is a great start, especially when he just uses an ISO of 100 with a shutter speed of twice the frame rate as a pretty much hard and fast rule. It basically just tells you if you need a filter.

I took my filter off this evening and just tried to get a clear picture in the last light of the evening, and on the "cloudy" WB setting, 1/60 shutter speed and 200 ISO (which he says is acceptable for low light, but also his max) I got an EV of 0.7 and an acceptable histogram and the picture was pretty good.

I like a systematic approach, so those videos are a hot tip. Cheers for that.

That is some scenario especially from your tractor cab. They are a magnificent looking bird and only wish I could see one-the last thing you want to see I know. Just going out to fly here. Hoping to get some shots of the sound stage for a huge Festival here on the Bristol Downs tonight.

 

[don1cobb]

Absolutely not a photographic bone in my body, but after half a dozen flights with my MPP I'm pretty keen to learn. I've even started a YT channel just so I can watch my vids and learn some video editing.

I've got exclusive access to thousands of acres of privately owned wetlands to practice on, with lots of colors and wildlife. Full permission and blessing, but I've promised to make the owner (my neighbor) a nice video of the property.

I got a new and unused MPP at a reasonable price. I've flown LOS hobby drones before and lots of fixed wing, but never with GPS and this kind of camera gear on board. It's been a shock how well it all works.

Basically I've used Filmora to make this first video, and hopefully uploaded it as it was shot without any post editing or whatever. It's not a good comparison, as one day was a little cloudy and the next bright sunlight, but already I can see the importance of white balance.

I'm in Australia, so I'm hoping to get a fairly basic set of parameters for bright sunlight, and if it's a bit cloudy I can drop from an ND16 to an ND8 for those same settings... is that how it works?

I think the "sunny sky" setting was 6600 kelvin, but I'm wondering if dropping that a bit lower would make the blue sky and greens a bit stronger in the setting shown in the video. Turning/panning is looking a bit "pixelly", and I've read about setting an ISO/shutter speed ration of about 2:1 or something like that to give it a softer blur or something. I'd like to stick with 4K, as I don't care about file size or upload times. I'd just like to get beautiful footage.

Please tell me where to go from here (and thank you for your help):

The golden hours are a photographers best friend. Everything looks better around sunrise and sunset. Just keep trying, you will get some amazing shots and then a string of duds. Part of the learning process.

 

[CaptainRisky]

So I went down the beach this morning in some really crappy weather for a fly.

I flew one battery on and off... a little flight, starts spitting rain, pack it up, stops raining, pull it all out... over and over until I went home

I've way underexposed this one, but I put the video up for other noobs. Basically I started it up, set it for cloudy WB, and when it was still too bright I put an ND8 filter on it and left it on cloudy. The EV was actually pretty much close to zero, but I feel I'd have been better off using no filter and dialling the WB down to somewhere between the cloudy and sunny. Or possibly an ND4 filter which I don't have.

I've also got a lot to learn about panning etc, but it does seem the blur looks a lot more natural at least.

 

[kevinmat]

Here is a tip, don't feel that you have to use manual exposure all the time when you're feeling your way with exposure. Try auto, then take your best guess for manual, it takes experience to get it right, so don't bee to critical.

Yes, it is underexposed and the ND filter wouldn't have helped. Understand what you are dealing with here - a wide dynamic range - i.e. a big spread from shadows to highlights. It can be the most challenging of scenes. Sea scenes are tempting - but they can be difficult.

If you take two pieces of footage - one in auto and one in manual - you can compare what the camera thinks its seeing and what your guess was - you will be surprised how many times an auto setting will get the scene's exposure right. Through analysis of both you can get a better idea of what settings to use.

Think about exposure not so much as getting video of a scene perfect - but rather about representing in the scene what you want people to see. I.e photographing a bride and groom is usually a real challenge - for the same reason - dynamic range. You want to get the detail in the dress, but if you're not careful you will make the groom's clothing black and poorly defined. Try and get the groom right and you lose the dress. In this scene you want to see detail in the coastline but when you do you burn some of the highlights. Its a compromise. Learning to shoot the same scene with varying settings is time consuming but it may end up giving you what you want - even if its by accident.

 

[CaptainRisky]

Here is a tip, don't feel that you have to use manual exposure all the time when you're feeling your way with exposure. Try auto, then take your best guess for manual, it takes experience to get it right, so don't bee to critical.

Yes, it is underexposed and the ND filter wouldn't have helped. Understand what you are dealing with here - a wide dynamic range - i.e. a big spread from shadows to highlights. It can be the most challenging of scenes. Sea scenes are tempting - but they can be difficult.

If you take two pieces of footage - one in auto and one in manual - you can compare what the camera thinks its seeing and what your guess was - you will be surprised how many times an auto setting will get the scene's exposure right. Through analysis of both you can get a better idea of what settings to use.

Think about exposure not so much as getting video of a scene perfect - but rather about representing in the scene what you want people to see. I.e photographing a bride and groom is usually a real challenge - for the same reason - dynamic range. You want to get the detail in the dress, but if you're not careful you will make the groom's clothing black and poorly defined. Try and get the groom right and you lose the dress. In this scene you want to see detail in the coastline but when you do you burn some of the highlights. Its a compromise. Learning to shoot the same scene with varying settings is time consuming but it may end up giving you what you want - even if its by accident.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply in detail.

As it goes, the rain stopped and I went back down. Even though the cloud was still heavy, it was very glary and the same settings were over exposed. But still an amazing improvement, it's uploading now.

I'm actually comfortable with the process of dialing in WB, and yes I did notice the difference in the shaded headland to the open glary beach. I'm an instrument tech by trade, so I'm treating it like a zero span calibration. I would've been at it all day today if it wasn't for the weather. But yes I will flick it to auto to get an idea where it should be, thanks for the tip.

I really like the tips from the youtuber (VIC VideopIC) that you guys recommended. I haven't tried the black and white striped exposure warning feature. I think I'll try that tomorrow out at the farm over the wetlands. That's a much more consistent landscape with little shading.

It's all good fun, and it's not like I'm wasting tape or discs or anything. Gotta love micro SD cards.

 

[kevinmat]

Look forward to seeing it!

 

[CaptainRisky]

Ok, so this was the same day as the previous video. I feel this went a bit better. Same ND8 filter and cloudy WB setting, and I really think the second flight when I took WB from 7500 (cloudy) to 7000 (manual) started to work better. I thought dropping it a further 500 to 6500 might have been better, but now I'm not so sure and think it was alright at 7000.

This beach looks beautiful, but it's super sharky. I NEVER swim here.

 

[CaptainRisky]

And here's another attempt out on the farm.

It was an absolutely bright glaring day, unusually so, so I went with the ND32 filter which was probably a mistake. I'm clearly underexposed in this one.

I think trying to set your exposure by looking at the tablet outdoors is not a good idea, and while I thought the EV should be zero (which it was) I'm seeing other videos where they recommend a positive reading around the 1.0 mark.

I was also under the impression that shutter speed had to be fixed at twice my frame rate (1/60 to my 30fps), along with an ISO of 100, but now I see videos saying that's a starting point and you can take it higher but not lower. This would explain why they have the shutter speed on the right hand wheel on the controller.

I did try using the overexposure zebra stripe warning, but it was lit up everywhere, even with the settings used in this video. It was why I went with the ND32 filter.

I feel if I'd gone with the ND16 filter, WB at 5500 and fine tuned the histogram with shutter speed I might have gotten a better result. I'm out there again tomorrow and will try again with more consideration to the histogram.

 

[MS Coast]

It was an absolutely bright glaring day, unusually so, so I went with the ND32 filter which was probably a mistake. I'm clearly underexposed in this one.\

[I'll toss out some comments and suggestions. Keep in mind that I'm a rank amateur, so ignore at will.]

You were dealing with a very high contrast subject - bright cloudless sky and deep shade. There's no way to properly expose the entire scene.

The initial clip is actually a bit overexposed. Some of the rest are pretty well exposed.

You might tip the gimbal down a bit to show less sky. Without clouds, the sky not very interesting anyway and it's going to be overexposed, too. In any case, with bright sky during the middle of the day, it's impossible to properly expose everything. That's why many people don't even bother shooting mid-day, but choose the early mornings and late afternoons instead.

All that being said, the exposure beginning at about 7:00 looks like a pretty darn good compromise between overexposing the sky and underexposing the ground elements. I'd say you did the best possible with a very difficult exposure situation. The ground is by far the more interesting part of the scene, so letting the sky be overexposed makes sense.

Next time you're out, set the camera on auto exposure and set the horizon in the frame about like it was in the posted video. Then tilt the gimbal up and down and watch what happens to the exposure. The camera will choose the best overall exposure for the changing combination of bright sky and darker ground. Or set manual exposure and adjust the shutter speed to give good exposure as the scene changes.

I think trying to set your exposure by looking at the tablet outdoors is not a good idea, and while I thought the EV should be zero (which it was) I'm seeing other videos where they recommend a positive reading around the 1.0 mark.

The EV reading is the best tool you have while shooting.

You'll find others suggesting underexposing bit, EV slightly negative. I often aim for EV at -0.3 to give slightly richer colors.

I was also under the impression that shutter speed had to be fixed at twice my frame rate (1/60 to my 30fps), along with an ISO of 100, but now I see videos saying that's a starting point and you can take it higher but not lower. This would explain why they have the shutter speed on the right hand wheel on the controller.

The frame rate/shutter speed ratio is really a separate consideration from exposure. You can safely ignore it for most casual drone videos.

I did try using the overexposure zebra stripe warning, but it was lit up everywhere, even with the settings used in this video. It was why I went with the ND32 filter.

I suspect that the entire sky showed as overexposed.

I feel if I'd gone with the ND16 filter, WB at 5500 and fine tuned the histogram with shutter speed I might have gotten a better result. I'm out there again tomorrow and will try again with more consideration to the histogram.

Fine tune the shutter speed using the histogram rather than the other way around.

Have fun. Don't hesitate to use the auto modes. In almost all typical cases, they do a very good job on photos and video.