Videos too bright

[gnirtS]

CPL only works for exact specific angles of sun to object AND needs to be set up pre flight for that angle.
Rotate the drone and lose the effect.
Also has zero effect if shooting into or away from the sun.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I've been enjoying my MA for 7 months shooting lots in Kaui all winter and now back home. Read and re-read much on ND filters and watched too many videos. I know using the ND filters specifically to slow the shutter speed down can be used to create the blur some would desire in their action shots or when movement is being videod such as waterfalls. I bought a set of 8,16 and 32 and did use them consistently. I lost my drone and one of the filters. In replacing the ND filter set, the CPL filter was included. I use it all the time and fine my shots are vivid and not overexposed. CPL: give you total "on location" control of color saturation, make skies bluer, grass greener-even eliminate surface reflections from glass and water - all with picture perfect results. Still learning....

Waterfall videos are a good subject for ND Filters to create motion blur in the water, if desired. Creating blur is their primary use. The CPL loses lots of light and only works for saturation and glare elimination when at the correct angle to the sun, so it isn't a panacea on a drone camera, where your angle to the sun is constantly changing, as you are flying around. As previously mentioned, the most useful drone filter is a gradient ND filter to darken the sky and lower the dynamic range of the scene, much like an overcast day, which acts as a giant softbox. Really makes a difference! They also make them in ND 8/32 and 4/16 so you can control the shutter speed, too.

 

[johnmeyer]

Just have zebras and histogram turned on at all times and exposure can be nailed every time.

Yup. To the OP: this is the one piece of advice this is 100% correct, and the one you should follow.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Just have zebras and histogram turned on at all times and exposure can be nailed every time.

Completely agree, if you can tolerate the disruptive zebra stripes on your composition! Otherwise, just turn the zebra stripes on selectively, to check exposure in difficult situations. Here is a nice tutorial on zebra stripe use in a studio setup to avoid blowing out your whites, if they are part of your subject. Wish we had a dedicated zebra stripe button, too!

 

[Wingnut73uk]

Good point. I should have stated that they were not intended to be used for exposure compensation on a drone. My bad! Clearly, they are being used for control over the components of exposure. Original post has just been edited with this correction for clarity. The main point, however remains the same: correcting overexposure with use of ND filters is a misuse of the ND filter on a drone. We agree on everything else, except your assumption that I don't know what I am talking about!

What Pro Cameras have built in ND filters?. I have done photography all my live, my maxi, is expose for the highlights and the shadows take care of thenselves

 

[GadgetGuy]

What Pro Cameras have built in ND filters?. I have done photography all my live, my maxi, is expose for the highlights and the shadows take care of thenselves

I presume his reference was to professional terrestrial video cameras. Certainly no drone cameras I am familiar with, even at the professional level, offer that capability. Your mantra is my mantra!

 

[plangereis]

I was out flying yesterday and all the video was washed out with too much light. I didn't think there was much more light than at other times. It was between 4 and 5 pm and even the video taken while flying away from the sun was over exposed. My Chrystal Sky monitor was not showing the over exposure either. What am I doing wrong? Thanks

I tend to watch the histogram on the controller when checking overall exposure. I use ND filters as well to maintain the 180 rule. I got the range in filters so I will never be without.

 

[2020HeinSite]

That was my old way of doing things. I'd look at my iPad mini screen and determine if the exposure "looked" Ok. How bright is it? Then when I viewed the video later, some turned out awful! Not only that, I started to exclusively use Dlog as my color profile. On the screen, Dlog looks even worse, all washed out and all. You can't tell anything. So I rely on what the camera does and tells me via the histogram and my procedure.

Just remember, there will be many times when you cannot have all parts of the scene equally exposed. This is especially true with a bright sky and the ground in a "black box" situation. In such a case, you have to decide which part of the scene you want properly exposed... sky or ground. This situation cannot be fixed with filters. You just have to live with it. In other situations where the sun is behind you, it is possible to have a good balanced exposure for most all of the scene, sky and ground. In that case, we luck out!

There are now graduated filters that claim to be able to solve the bright sky/dark ground problem. Such filters work well on dslr cameras but will be somewhat tricky on drones. In special situations, and with planning i can see them working however.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

There are now graduated filters that claim to be able to solve the bright sky/dark ground problem. Such filters work well on dslr cameras but will be somewhat tricky on drones. In special situations, and with planning i can see them working however.

Small world... I almost pushed the "Pay" button at Polar Pro to get a set of graduated filters. $100. Then I was thinking about most of my shots being 3/4 ground and 1/4 sky. May not be balanced in such a situation. Straight on level camera where the horizon is in the center of the shot may work just fine. I need to sleep on this purchase!

 

[GadgetGuy]

There are now graduated filters that claim to be able to solve the bright sky/dark ground problem. Such filters work well on dslr cameras but will be somewhat tricky on drones. In special situations, and with planning i can see them working however.

That's what I have been using on all my drones and recommending to others for the last 4 years, as they lower the dynamic range of the scene to within the capability of the camera. No trickiness involved. Freewell makes them. Only use the neutral gray one. The orange and blue ones add a hue that changes the sky color, and can bleed into the ground when pointing the camera down. Unlike a polarizing filter, they are not direction dependent. The sky is always brighter than the ground. Mount them, keep them horizontal across the middle of the frame, and leave them on! The only problem I have found is when shooting spherical panoramas. They tend to confuse the M2 stitching algorithm, so remove them when shooting spherical panoramas.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Small world... I almost pushed the "Pay" button at Polar Pro to get a set of graduated filters. $100. Then I was thinking about most of my shots being 3/4 ground and 1/4 sky. May not be balanced in such a situation. Straight on level camera where the horizon is in the center of the shot may work just fine. I need to sleep on this purchase!

Since they are graduated, the darkening goes from 2 stops at the top to 0 stops in the middle, so 1/4 sky is the perfect amount in the frame for best effect. You want it to blend smoothly to zero below the horizon, where it won't be noticed, by pointing the camera down.

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Since they are graduated, the darkening goes from 2 stops at the top to 0 stops in the middle, so 1/4 sky is the perfect amount in the frame for best effect. You want it to blend smoothly to zero below the horizon, where it won't be noticed, by pointing the camera down.

Thanks for the info. Now, where’s my wallet? [emoji383]

 

[2020HeinSite]

That's what I have been using on all my drones and recommending to others for the last 4 years, as they lower the dynamic range of the scene to within the capability of the camera. No trickiness involved. Freewell makes them. Only use the neutral gray one. The orange and blue ones add a hue that changes the sky color, and can bleed into the ground when pointing the camera down. Unlike a polarizing filter, they are not direction dependent. The sky is always brighter than the ground. Mount them, keep them horizontal across the middle of the frame, and leave them on! The only problem I have found is when shooting spherical panoramas. They tend to confuse the M2 stitching algorithm, so remove them when shooting spherical panoramas.

The only reason I used the word "tricky" is because we may not always be shooting or filming at that 50/50 perspective. As soon as you rotate the camera down & remove the bright sky the filtered area on the top part of the sensor will still be active & affecting your image. So I added "planning" as well. A graduated filter can either be part of your main workflow or a specialty tool. It all depends on what you're doing.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The only reason I used the word "tricky" is because we may not always be shooting or filming at that 50/50 perspective. As soon as you rotate the camera down & remove the bright sky the filtered area on the top part of the sensor will still be active & affecting your image. So I added "planning" as well. A graduated filter can either be part of your main workflow or a specialty tool. It all depends on what you're doing.

Indeed. However, in my experience, the minor darkening at the bottom of the upper half of the GND when pointing the camera down below the 50/50 perspective (I typically use a 10/90 perspective) helps conceal the use of the GND, and isn't a problem because the darkening is at a minimum at the bottom. Never had an issue with it, except when shooting stills for a Spherical Panorama. My only issue is that they only offer a 2 stop gradient when I really need a 3 stop gradient to handle the sky properly. They also are available in ND over the bottom for shutter speed control with the same 2 stop gradient from top to the middle. Very overlooked and underutilized filters.