I'm new to forums and maybe should have posted this here in the Mavic section?
Anyhow, my question is: I'm using the following and seem to be getting pretty decent footage but not sure if this breaks The 180° Shutter Rule. Like can I not only use 2x the frame rate, but also 4x, 8x, etc?
Mavic 2 Pro
PolarPro ND8
4k 24fps HQ Mode
ISO/100
SHUTTER 1/200
WB Sunny
f2.8
None Color Profile
Thank you for any help here
Its not a rule, its a guideline.
In short, the human eye is conditioned to seeing smooth movement not jumps. If the shutterspeed is set too high then movement appears as a series of discrete jerks/stutters between frames. With a lower shutterspeed there is more blurring on moving objects so they dont stutter - they appear to smoothly move from one frame to the next.
Its not a case of 2x,4x,8x or anything, ultimately the faster the shutter speed the sharper the image and the more obvious difference there is between video frames. This is why you dont want NDs for photos where you WANT the sharpest image you can get in general. The 2 requirements are polar opposites.
Now in the real world whether the 180 guide matters or not depends a LOT on the scene being recorded. If its a slow moving scene, not much moves quickly (for example a high altitude, straight line flight of general scenery) the chances are you wont be able to notice any difference between a slow 1/60th and say 1/600th shutter speed as the motion is small.
However if its a fast, low altitude flight close to something the position of objects is going to change a lot more between frames so this time you WILL clearly see stutter on the video.
Its subjective as well. 1/80th is unlikely to be noticeable on most scenes compared to 1/60th and so on. 1/120th might be or might not. The higher you go and faster things move the more its going to show.
Probably the best way to create the effect for yourself is to put it in sport mode, point the camera at an object (buildings, road, cliff face, beach or whatever) and fly fast sideways (so 90 degrees to where the camera is looking). Make sure you're fairly close (50m or so maybe). At this angle its the maximum relative motion for objects frame to frame.
Film this scene with f/2.8 and whatever shutterspeed it thinks is needed (it'll be high). Next fit a decent 4 or 6 stop ND, set the 180 rule shutter and do the same flight. You'll see the motion is significantly slower and less blurred.
Then to prove the point do another flight at 400ft flying in a forward straight line, camera pointing forward in P-GPS with both settings. Chances are on this video you wont be able to tell the difference between the shots.
