What's the final word on reducing propeller shadow flickering during flight? ND's? Lens shades? Post?

[rickray]

In the winter months, the sun is lower on the horizon and I'm finding more incidents of prop shadow in my videos at certain angles of the craft. After some cursory internet searching on how to address the issue, I am finding there aren't that many definitive answers to my questions.

Do ND filters affect prop shadow at all? What about lens shades?

Many articles talk about post production solutions like Flicker Free in Premiere Pro, but I'd like to prevent the problem before getting to that stage.

Any advice or help would be much appreciated! I am flying a Mavic 2 Pro.

Thanks, Rick

 

[hactick]

Nd filters will fix it. If you only get one, get a 16

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I'm not sure about Flicker Free in Premiere Pro, not that advanced with editing that far.
A lens shade may help, but sometimes various models of those can be seen in videos at extreme flight parameters (hood opening can be trimmed out a bit more if needed).

But most of all the best way to avoid prop shadows is to fly / plan flight in a way to avoid it.
Then if you get a little in some desired footage, edit it out with some clever dissolve transition.

You will still get prop shadows with ND filters, not sure if NDPL would help, but probably not.
(Just saw hactick new post above) pretty sure that will still be there, I always use an ND but sometimes when turning I can get a prop shadow appear.
An ND16 is a pretty versatile filter, if you don't use one now, it would help shutter speed vs frame rate in most daylight flight, along with the M2P settings available.

 

[simonr23]

Are prop shadows the ugly horizontal lines that take up one side of the image when the sun is low in the sky and off to one side?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Are prop shadows the ugly horizontal lines that take up one side of the image when the sun is low in the sky and off to one side?

Yes, usually go when you pan a little more either direction.
The sun is maybe 10 - 15 degrees above and in the camera FOV.

 

[rickray]

Yes, and when you are following a hoverboarder across Lake Tahoe, it's a little hard to avoid them as you try to go 360 around.

 

[brett8883]

I think a lens shade will help. I don’t see how ND filters would fix this unless they slow down your shutter speed to a point that it cancels out the flicker by syncing with the props but that would be extraordinary.

You're right to want to fix this with an analogue solution. Fixing it in post would be a nightmare.

 

[chuck1026]

I agree that a hood may help... I'd try that as fixing in post will be problematic.