Custom Made ND filter no added weight Updated with Comparison Photos

YeeaaBoii · Jun 6, 2015

dataway said:
I recently purchased some -3 stop ND Gel material and setup my CNC machine with a drag knife and cut a filter to fit exactly into the removable lens cover that is on the Phantom 3.

It is raining here at the moment so have not had a chance to take it out for a test but will post comparison pictures here when i am able....

For now here are some pics of the filter and of it installed on my camera....

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How did you unscrew the stock filter cap? Mine is so tight it feels like I'm going to break the gimbal. It literally doesn't budge at all.

4wd · Jun 6, 2015

I found it unscrewed easily with a rubber band around it to grip.
Almost impossible without that.

envisionabove · Jun 6, 2015

Counter ClockWise Remember

rhoffart · Jun 6, 2015

YeeaaBoii said:
How did you unscrew the stock filter cap? Mine is so tight it feels like I'm going to break the gimbal. It literally doesn't budge at all.

You really have to loosen your grip. Keep moving your fingers around the cap and keep giving it gentle turns.

Icarus · Jun 6, 2015

YeeaaBoii said:
How did you unscrew the stock filter cap? Mine is so tight it feels like I'm going to break the gimbal. It literally doesn't budge at all.

People will say use less pressure, but I felt like I wasn't making any progress with that. This worked for me:
First, have your gimbal lock installed to reduce movement and make this whole process easier
Now, grip the cap with 2-3 fingers (3 if you can) on the VERY FRONT EDGE of the cap. Right where the glass meets the metal. The trick here is to only apply the pressure on the front edge. Now, using enough pressure so that your fingers don't slip, turn the cap. It should start to come loose.
Hope that helps.

YeeaaBoii · Jun 6, 2015

Icarus said:
People will say use less pressure, but I felt like I wasn't making any progress with that. This worked for me:
First, have your gimbal lock installed to reduce movement and make this whole process easier
Now, grip the cap with 2-3 fingers (3 if you can) on the VERY FRONT EDGE of the cap. Right where the glass meets the metal. The trick here is to only apply the pressure on the front edge. Now, using enough pressure so that your fingers don't slip, turn the cap. It should start to come loose.
Hope that helps.

I'll give this a shot as well but I have literally tried everything. I even wrapped the tips of pliers in rubber bands and straight up grabbed it and twisted it. The rubber bands slipped before it budged. I also followed this tutorial to a T http://forum.dji.com/thread-14931-1-1.html and failed. The string always slips no matter how tight I twisted it. There is absolutely no way it should be like this.

Icarus · Jun 6, 2015

YeeaaBoii said:
I'll give this a shot as well but I have literally tried everything. I even wrapped the tips of pliers in rubber bands and straight up grabbed it and twisted it. The rubber bands slipped before it budged. I also followed this tutorial to a T http://forum.dji.com/thread-14931-1-1.html and failed. There is absolutely no way it should be like this.

Yeah, that is strange. Hope you can figure it out.

YeeaaBoii · Jun 6, 2015

Icarus said:
Yeah, that is strange. Hope you can figure it out.

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep trying but I may have to send it to DJI...

GhostMaster · Jun 8, 2015

Nice filters, waiting for mine to test. Great seller BTW.

davemex · Jun 8, 2015

Just got back from a week running around the Riviera Maya in Mexico. Booked a lot of flight time with the P3 and shot everything with both filters in. I'm still splicing together the video but wanted to throw out a picture to say thanks for providing these for us so cheaply. Everything I shot was **** near cinema quality! The super-sunny beach videos would have been a lot choppier and over-exposed without ND filters.

dataway · Jun 8, 2015

Absolutely Beautiful shot....well done Dave....Thanks for posting can't wait to see the video.

dataway · Jun 8, 2015

YeeaaBoii said:
Thanks for the tips! I'll keep trying but I may have to send it to DJI...

Yes it should not be that tough to unscrew just remember try not to squeeze too tightly just very light squeezing pressure..

GhostMaster · Jun 8, 2015

davemex said:
Just got back from a week running around the Riviera Maya in Mexico. Booked a lot of flight time with the P3 and shot everything with both filters in. I'm still splicing together the video but wanted to throw out a picture to say thanks for providing these for us so cheaply. Everything I shot was **** near cinema quality! The super-sunny beach videos would have been a lot choppier and over-exposed without ND filters.

View attachment 21445

Awesome. One filter or two?

jlo · Jun 8, 2015

GhostMaster said:
Awesome. One filter or two?

From his post: "shot everything with both filters in"

GhostMaster · Jun 8, 2015

jlo said:
From his post: "shot everything with both filters in"

Sorry, right, thanks.

jlo · Jun 8, 2015

ghinson · Jun 8, 2015

In that sample photo, the white balance looks off to me. Were you flying with it set to Auto or to a particular temp?

davemex · Jun 8, 2015

ghinson said:
In that sample photo, the white balance looks off to me. Were you flying with it set to Auto or to a particular temp?

6000K but I also did slightly touch it up in Lightroom, which I am new at and very well could have screwed up.

ghinson · Jun 8, 2015

I'll go back through the thread and look for comparison pics. Photos with and without the filters. For still photos, it shouldn't make of a difference. But curious to see how color neutral these are. (I've ordered a set anyway! Can't wait.)

gfredrone · Jun 8, 2015

davemex said:
6000K but I also did slightly touch it up in Lightroom, which I am new at and very well could have screwed up.

6000K seemed warm or yellow for me on the FPV so I just put the setting to sunny on one of my shots and the color was on par with what I was seeing with my eye.