DJI ND filters arrived, yay!

[Bigbells]

My DJI filters arrived today from B&H. I got all 3 of the currently available ones from DJI: ND4, ND8 and ND16. I took a short flight using the ND8. I think I'll put some kind of marking on the rim of each filter since they are not labeled in any way.

The gimbal has the jitters in several places in this short video. I've been flying Phantoms long enough to know that the problem might disappear on the next flight, or be even worse. I have no reason to think that the jitters are in any way related to the filter on the camera. The filters weigh 2 grams, same as the stock UV filter, according to my scale, which weighs in increments of 1 gram.

 

[KevMo Photog]

Wow I can't believe they don't have the number on their filters. Is this your birds flight? Or did it just start these jitters? I like others have been getting a twitch and sometimes a jerk usually always in a turn of some kind. Update will take care of it we hope.

 

[Bigbells]

Wow I can't believe they don't have the number on their filters. Is this your birds flight? Or did it just start these jitters? I like others have been getting a twitch and sometimes a jerk usually always in a turn of some kind. Update will take care of it we hope.

It's not the first time I've had the jitter problem with my P4P. It seems to come and go. As you can see, there were no sharp turns, but it's possible that I was descending fairly quickly. I don't remember where in this return leg of my flight I began the descent from 393'. I only see jitters in the first 0:38 of the video, and I was definitely descending more quickly after that point.

 

[KevMo Photog]

It's not the first time I've had the jitter problem with my P4P. It seems to come and go. As you can see, there were no sharp turns, but it's possible that I was descending fairly quickly. I don't remember where in this return leg of my flight I began the descent from 393'. I only see jitters in the first 0:38 of the video, and I was definitely descending more quickly after that point.

Gotcha. And descending kind of quick will cause some of that sometimes. I just had a buddy that just got his in Salt Lake and he had bad jello in his gimble right out of the box. Sent it in and is waiting for it's return. But hopefully they can fix this gimble twitching with an update.

 

[Bigbells]

I just finished using some paint to mark my filters. Note the fine artistry.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I have a new set of gray GND8 filters, and you would think they would at least mark the very top of the filter in some way for proper mounting, as looking at a mounted GND requires perfect lighting to make sure the orientation is correct. Oh, well...

 

[Bigbells]

I have a new set of gray GND8 filters, and you would think they would at least mark the very top of the filter in some way for proper mounting, as looking at a mounted GND requires perfect lighting to make sure the orientation is correct. Oh, well...

I don't know what a GND filter is, but for plain ND filters there is no orientation difference... they are the same no matter how tight or loose they are screwed on.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I don't know what a GND filter is, but for plain ND filters there is no orientation difference... they are the same no matter how tight or loose they are screwed on.

Graduated ND filter, where it takes off two stops at the top, where the sky usually is, and blends into no ND across the middle of the frame. The orientation matters on a GND, just like on a PL, which is why, once screwed on, the front filter element of each rotates freely, unlike a plain ND, so having the top marked on the GND would be very helpful. No matter. Easily fixed with a DIY mark!

 

[KevMo Photog]

Graduated ND filter, where it takes off two stops at the top, where the sky usually is, and blends into no ND across the middle of the frame. The orientation matters on a GND, just like on a PL, which is why, once screwed on, the front filter element of each rotates freely, unlike a plain ND, so having the top marked on the GND would be very helpful. No matter. Easily fixed with a DIY mark!

I'm sure there are some really cool instances when a graduated filter comes in handy for shot here and there. Kind of help bring hdr into the image without multiple images.

 

[Bigbells]

It really is quite strange, but as the resolution of the YouTube video increases over time (which it does), the gimbal twitch disappears.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I'm sure there are some really cool instances when a graduated filter comes in handy for shot here and there. Kind of help bring hdr into the image without multiple images.

It's really essential for continuous video at sunset, to lower the dynamic range of the scene. No exposure bracketing possible. The incidental benefit of acting like a lens shade is an additional benefit, to minimize off angle lens flare from the setting sun. Instead of needing to angle the lens 90° away from the sun, I can get away with 45-75° to maintain color saturation.

 

[GadgetGuy]

It really is quite strange, but as the resolution of the YouTube video increases over time (which it does), the gimbal twitch disappears.

I didn't see any twitches either. The resolution of "the" YouTube video doesn't actually increase per se. It renders multiple versions, and the highest resolution of 2160p often takes 24 hours or more to complete, and it will play the lowest resolutions first, if the higher versions are not yet available. With the default YouTube "Quality" setting set to "Auto", it only appears that the resolution is increasing over time. Even then, the Auto Quality setting must be overridden, to play the 2160p version, as YouTube tries to hoard its bandwidth by playing lower resolutions, unless you insist upon the best available, by manually selecting it.

 

[Bigbells]

I didn't see any twitches either.

The twitches are still there, most noticeably at 0:14, 0:30 and 0:36. I didn't notice them when I was viewing on a smaller screen.