Which ND Filter to buy?
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Skyreat
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stuckinbis
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After a lot of research I bought the Sandmarc Pro Filters this morning. They seem to be very well made and easy to use. Plus they are all ND and PL. And made in the US of A! We don’t see that very often anymore.
I’ll share my thoughts when they arrive. There isn’t much info about them on these boards.
I THINK that’s my last accessory for the Mavic. It’s been a spendy week. Haha
I’ll share my thoughts when they arrive. There isn’t much info about them on these boards.
I THINK that’s my last accessory for the Mavic. It’s been a spendy week. Haha
I would rethink here. You will find yourself having to play with the filters all the time to adjust the PL. I would just use ND filters all the time and ND/PL only when required.
stuckinbis
Member
It isn’t much to turn off and on the polarizing affect. Simply turn the filter a quarter turn in right direction and you will just have a ND filter.
I’d personally rather purchase one set of 4 than purchase two sets in order to use ND and/or PL.
You will get the nice saturation and clarity from the PL and you will be able to control the shutter speed and exposure with the ND. I think a polarizer makes just about everything look better.
Each to their own of course
After using them for a few years I take the easy option, well what I feel is easy. Adjusting the filter on the ground does not always give you the correct frame in the air which means grounding again to make another adjustment or slightly ruined footage. Do not get me wrong, I use ND/PL filters all the time but only when required, otherwise I just keep an ND filter on permanently and go fly without the need to make any adjustments. Oh and there is very little water around me, not to mention the weather so there is not often call for them in the first place, everyone's situation is different.
stuckinbis
Member
Each to their own of course
After using them for a few years I take the easy option, well what I feel is easy. Adjusting the filter on the ground does not always give you the correct frame in the air which means grounding again to make another adjustment or slightly ruined footage. Do not get me wrong, I use ND/PL filters all the time but only when required, otherwise I just keep an ND filter on permanently and go fly without the need to make any adjustments. Oh and there is very little water around me, not to mention the weather so there is not often call for them in the first place, everyone's situation is different.
You definitly are more experienced than I am. I appreciate your input. I’ll find out eventually what I prefer most. I’m a newbie so take what I saw with a grain of salt. Haha
Note that the polarization effect changes entirely based on your orientation to the sun. At 90 degrees to the sun, the effect is the strongest. At 180 degrees to the sun, the effect is completely eliminated, even if you have the polarization effect 'strength' set to maximum on your filter. Also, I am not sure that the effect is completely 100% eliminated when you rotate the filter. The tiniest movement in your drone's flight patch can change the level of polarization on your image and give you uneven footage - polarizers can be great in certain scenarios, but you have to put way more effort into planning your flight if you want good footage. I use normal ND's most of the time, but PL's are often good over water with a coral reef under it, for example, and when I want to put in the time/effort into determining polarization levels and applying it to a flight plan. I wouldn't recommend leaving PL's on your drone all the time, but YMMV.
GavieboyDji
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I've being using the Dji brand filters for the price they are grate. Then bought the pl 16 and 32 saved me a load of money
ScubaBob
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I have the PolarPro 6-filter package and I like it a lot. In order to learn the differences I did the following. I waited for a day when there was not a lot of wind so I could fly for 30-45 minutes. I waited until it was about noon so the sun was high in the sky. I picked a location (the beach with high-rise condos) and set myself up a small work area. I put the first filter on my camera, launched my MP and flew until I was directly above the lifeguard station and I went up 50 meters. I turned the camera toward the condos and shot a few photos. I then landed the MP and replaced the first filter with the second filter. I launched again, returned to the 50 meter height above the lifeguard station and took the same photos of the same condos. I always kept the camera on AUTO so that there was no human interaction with the aperture or ISO. I repeated this until I had taken similar photos with all 6 filters. (It required 2 batteries.). I then came back home and looked at the photos. Using PhotoShop or Adobe Elements I could take the left half of filter 1 photos and overlay it on the right half of filter 2, etc. and I could easily see and learn the differences of the filters. Hope this helps.
JohnChap
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I then came back home and looked at the photos. Using PhotoShop or Adobe Elements I could take the left half of filter 1 photos and overlay it on the right half of filter 2, etc. and I could easily see and learn the differences of the filters. Hope this helps.[/QUOTE]
And what were the differences??
And what were the differences??
You use ND filters in video to keep your shutter speed where you want it, which for most people is double the frame rate (so, 1/50, 1/60 or 1/120). The Mavic Air has a fixed aperture (F2.8), and anything over ISO 100 looks bad because of how small the sensor is, so it's very important to use NDs if you want to get the most out of your drone. If you use too high of a shutter speed, any movement in your footage (like waves, for example) will look horrible and choppy. The lower shutter speeds give you natural motion blur most similar to what the human eye sees.
You can also take semi-long exposures for single photographs with drones and ND filters, for example waterfall shots. There are lots of reasons to use ND's for both still and video. Polarizers are much more difficult to use both due to how polarization angles work and the inability to adjust the filter when the drone is in the air.
stuckinbis
Member
Used my Sandmarc filters for the first time this past weekend and was really impressed. Quality product, does what it’s supposed to and fantastic customer service.
CemAygun
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I ordered the cheapest filters money can buy at the time (caenboo ND only set) and I have not changed them since then. My only concern was that they turned out to be slip-ons. But they have not triggered any gimbal errors so far, and they fit in the gimbal cover without any issues. Yet if I have to choose again, I would choose a set that screws in.
Although slip-on lenses are easier to deal with in the field, they add extra weight because you keep the original ring in place...
Although slip-on lenses are easier to deal with in the field, they add extra weight because you keep the original ring in place...
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