Custom Made ND filter no added weight Updated with Comparison Photos

[nikon.]

Do you mean that your results are smooth or not? Or which preset do you use?

 

[guest10299]

With no filter it is the same. Using the factory card of the P3. It is also the same when I shooting 1080p 30fps. Only 1080p 60fps is working for me for a smooth video.

Hi Nikon

I've been doing some research on video generally, not just aerial, and the issue is not the camera. It is a known characteristic of 1/30, 1/24 or 1/25 fps footage that anything other than a slow pan introduces the choppy effect. If anything the P3 camera does better than I expected in this regard. I can't recall the references or links to the articles I found but will happily look them up again if needs be. It may be that YouTube or the edit software is making it worse, but there is a base characteristic involved. Hope this helps.

 

[nikon.]

Thanks for your respons Stepheno.
But look at the Youtube video below, it's 4K, shot with the P3P and super smooth.
My video sucks in comparison with that video. So I'm assuming the camera or myself is someone doing wrong?

 

[dataway]

Wanted to give an update...I just received word from my contact at Universal and he confirmed that he has shipped the Tiffen Gel to me today, per the tracking I should have it in hand on Wednesday and I also received confirmation on some Wratten Gel that also shipped to me and should be in hand by Thursday. I have already received the new hold down system and have implemented that on my CNC and have made all the configuration settings needed and am ready to make the production run immediately upon the arrival of the Gel.. I will be reaching out to those that have contacted me via the conversations you have started with me in the order in which they came it to be fair as there are quite a few back orders I must fill. I will be contacting all that have started conversations with me through this forum in the order that they were received per my master list. I plan to have the filters cut and shipped by no later that this Saturday....Thank you for your patience...

 

[candubob]

Hi dataway,
Just got mine in Canada. Can't wait to try it out. Thanks again.

 

[dataway]

Hi dataway,
Just got mine in Canada. Can't wait to try it out. Thanks again.

Remember try to keep your shutter speed twice that of your frame rate or close to it..

 

[delirious]

What's the difference in the tiffen gel?

 

[dataway]

What's the difference in the tiffen gel?

from my post in this thread #193 I updated that there really was no difference...
"Hello All I have returned from my adventure to Universal Pictures in Los Angeles and had a great visit...From our discussion and testing there is no difference in the clarity or quality between the two Gels and I have to trust this gentleman I met as he has been in the film industry for 30 years and has won a couple of Oscars...'"

Tiffen Gel is actually a bit more expensive to purchase but since I am buying the trimmings he is selling it to me for the same price I am getting form my supplier as the Kodak Wratten 2 gel when broken down by cost per square inch..

Hope that helps answer your question delirious..

 

[Jeff48920]

Can you please demonstrate how to attach the filters.

 

[dataway]

It is very simple Jeff if you look at the first page in this post you will see pictures, all you do is remove the lens cover that unscrews from the P3 Camera and place the filters on the inside and screw it back on, very simple and no added weight to speak of that will stress the gimbal brushless motors..

Wanted to add also that it does not take much pressure to unscrew the lens cover and others have used a thicker rubber band to get a grip on the lens cover to turn it....dont squeeze too hard...

 

[emilewski]

Please add me to the list for wanting to order a set of filters. Thanks!

 

[mikesher]

Please add me to your list for a set of ND's. Thanks!

 

[dataway]

Thanks Mikesher for the order.....

@emilewski I responded to your conversation..

 

[ctp]

Ok, one other test. try some video at 4K. @1/50 ISO 100. No filter.. Even if it's too light. See if it happens. I am suspect that DJI sent these cards with data rates for 1080P. I could be wrong, but look at the specs of the card they send. Here's a review. http://www.legitreviews.com/lexar-microsdhc-uhs-i-633x-16gb-card-review_134645

Note that the write speed isn't the same as read speed and where the card did ok on gopros at 1080P.

When I switched to Sandisk Extreme pro (which is what I shot the video I posted) I didn't see any lagginess. Could be the factory card they send. I could be wrong.

Here's another that concluded write speed was half it's read speed
http://thepcenthusiast.com/lexar-633x-64gb-microsd-review/

I believe you need at least 30 Megabytes per second minimum sustained write speed for 4K. Might try benching your card to make sure it's doing what it should do.

You are confusing MB/S and Mbps (Bytes and bits). The P3P records all 4K video at 60Mbps, which equates to a bit under 8MB/S, and written sequentially. All of the cards you tested can sustain 8MB/S in sequential. For extra paranoia, reformat your cards on the computer, making sure to select ExFAT format. and then format them again in the quad using the pilot app, which should format them in the block size that DJI has decided is optimal (testing required to see if DJI changes the block size of the card when reformatting).

That said, this topic is about ND filters, not video recording issues. We should start another thread to diagnose and fix the recording stuttering that they are experiencing.

ND filters are not a magic band-aids, they won't correct video issues that are caused outside of the lens and sensor.

 

[ctp]

I tried on this bright day with 4k 24 fps, 1/100 sec. with the two ND filters attached (so 6 stops).
It's not so smooth as I expected. Do I something wrong or? My PC can handle 4K, so that's not the problem. I tried different players (VLC, GOM Player, Windows Media Player).

When I downscaled to 1080p 24fps, it is not smooth enough either.

I guess I will stick with 1080p 60fps to get the smoothest video. Let me know what's your opinion...
I'm a little disappointed in the P3P video smoothness.

Please start a new thread. It will be a lot easier to help you diagnose the issue where we are also not trying to discuss ND filters. Please shoot several test videos without an filters, as Dataway recommended, and upload the footage directly from the card to Youtube. It doesn't look like your issue is related to the ND, so it would be better to take that factor out of the diagnostics. I would also recommend using a clean card. You can use the factory card, just use the pilot app to make sure that your file numbering is set to continuous and use the pilot app to reformat the SD card before the test flights.

Apologies to Dataway for distracting your thread.

 

[jjmucker]

Hi mate. do you still have these and ship to the UK? Thanks.

 

[prostreetcamaro]

I must have some settings not quite right or something. Call me crazy but I think my videos before the filters were sharper with less grain and flicker. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

With 2 filters iso 100 1/50 4k 30fps

No filters and no post processing

 

[dataway]

I must have some settings not quite right or something. Call me crazy but I think my videos before the filters were sharper with less grain and flicker. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?

With 2 filters iso 100 1/50 4k 30fps

No filters and no post processing

Prostreetcamaro - I have looked at both of your videos on my 5K monitor and if I take them to the same spot in which I see the out building and tractor in the bottom right corner, Video 1 Time :40 seconds in and Video 2 Time:17 seconds in, the video with the ND filters looks much more clear and the colors look much more natural and less saturated.. also it looks a bit overcast so you may get away with 1 filter...

Aslo about 2 min in on the second video I am seeing Jello effect...In video 1 there is no Jello effect at all throughout the video.

I am also noticing the some changes in the brightness/color within the video with the ND filters what do you have you white balance set to you should not use Auto White Balance...?

 

[gfredrone]

What causes the strobing effect in the shadows and overall? Bitrate? I've noticed all of my 4K 30fps videos have some flickering/strobing as well.

 

[dataway]

gfredrone - that is caused by the shutter speed being set too high if you are flying in auto mode and since we can not control the aperture in our P3 cameras we have to rely on ND filters to limit the light allowing us to reduce our shutter speeds to a more stable and acceptable level. I also updated my comment and see the brightness changing in the video and that is usually caused by the white balance being set to Auto you do not want to have this set in auto ..