exsposure steps on the P4P

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Hi guys

I've just been trying a shoot with my P4P from a low light area between some trees climbing out to reveal a building. The camera is set on shutter priority and the aperature goes from about F5.6 to F11 as it climbs from the dark tree area to the full blown sun light on the building. My problem is as it gets higher and the aperature steps smaller it has an abrupt exsposure change each time on the video. My p4 seem to be a lot more gradual during the exsposure change. Am I doing something wrong here? Is this normal for this camera?

My camera settings are as follows: Video quality 4k 50FPS, iso is 100, shutter is 320 on shutter priority (I would like 100 but without any ND filters its the lowest I can go as the F stop gets to 11 once out of the trees and in the sun light)
 
Get filters and shoot manual.
 
That's pretty normal. You're changing exposure by a full stop at time.
 
You really need to do what Eddy said tbo. You can't fly a super difficult exposure range in Auto and not get wild eratic changes as your making your pass. Def need ND filters if you want to be shooting in the sweet F4- F5.6 or so. And keep your 60th or 100th shutter speed working for you too. So I choose my aperture first. Which is F4- F5.6. Then I set my ISO on 100 if at all possible. Then I work with the ND filter that gets me to 60th of second with my shutter speed which is double my frame rate usually set on 30fps as I am not doing much slowing down of footage for my stuff.
 
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You really need to do what Eddy said tbo. You can't fly a super difficult exposure range in Auto and not get wild eratic changes as your making your pass. Def need ND filters if you want to be shooting in the sweet F4- F5.6 or so. And keep your 60th or 100th shutter speed working for you too. So I choose my aperture first. Which is F4- F5.6. Then I set my ISO on 100 if at all possible. Then I work with the ND filter that gets me to 60th of second with my shutter speed which is double my frame rate usually set on 30fps as I am not doing much slowing down of footage for my stuff.

But then what do you do when the light changes? I can totally see his dilemma because I've run into it many times myself and full auto seems to be the only way around it - you start by flying in a dark area so you expose for the dark area, but then you fly into a very bright area and it's totally blown out... or vise versa. How do you smoothly transition that shot on manual?
 
But then what do you do when the light changes? I can totally see his dilemma because I've run into it many times myself and full auto seems to be the only way around it - you start by flying in a dark area so you expose for the dark area, but then you fly into a very bright area and it's totally blown out... or vise versa. How do you smoothly transition that shot on manual?
There is no way to do it in one piece as smooth as you are wanting if it is not satisfying you as you fly your path. Maybe fly the pass slower. But Auto is gonna change on you no matter what! Change your shot so it's not as dramatic with light change. Auto White Balance is the biggest bother to me if used. Hate to see that diff color temp just change on the fly!
 
Sorry I disagree with you. This is not an ND problem. I completely understand how they work and know the best ISO, F stop and shutter speed and that the ND filter can help you get that. Ths question is not about that. I'm also not worried about the camera adusting itself when going from dark to light areas but the way it does it.

Ok so after some more tests there is definately a problem with the way the aperture changes exposure. If the camera changes exposure using ISO or shutter the change is gradual and smooth and there is no problem. When the exposure is changed using aperture the change is abrupt, harsh and looks stepped in the video afterwards. This is a firmware problem. Even in auto when the camera uses shutter and aperture to control exposure, it only steps abruptly on the aperture change and not the shutter change.
 
Ok so after some more tests there is definately a problem with the way the aperture changes exposure. If the camera changes exposure using ISO or shutter the change is gradual and smooth and there is no problem. When the exposure is changed using aperture the change is abrupt, harsh and looks stepped in the video afterwards. This is a firmware problem. Even in auto when the camera uses shutter and aperture to control exposure, it only steps abruptly on the aperture change and not the shutter change.

Of course the change is abrupt and harsh. You're instantly making a full stop of exposure change. Change f-stop on ANY camera and tell me the transition isn't hash. You cannot smoothly click over to a different aperture. The transition is smoother when changing shutter speed because you aren't always changing a full stop at a time. 1/50 to 1/60 is a fraction of a stop. Try jumping 1/50 to 1/100 and see how smooth the transition is.
 
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Sorry I disagree with you. This is not an ND problem. I completely understand how they work and know the best ISO, F stop and shutter speed and that the ND filter can help you get that. Ths question is not about that. I'm also not worried about the camera adusting itself when going from dark to light areas but the way it does it.

Ok so after some more tests there is definately a problem with the way the aperture changes exposure. If the camera changes exposure using ISO or shutter the change is gradual and smooth and there is no problem. When the exposure is changed using aperture the change is abrupt, harsh and looks stepped in the video afterwards. This is a firmware problem. Even in auto when the camera uses shutter and aperture to control exposure, it only steps abruptly on the aperture change and not the shutter change.
Then fly with Aperture priority and it will only change by 1/3 stops as your shutter increases in speed as you rise into the light. Still think you will be bothered by the change if it is very much but if it does it smoothly and slowly you might be good. This camera has 12 plus stops of Dynamic Range. So you can leave it set solid in manual for a pretty challenging scene as far as bright and darks go and have detail in both.
 
The aperture doesn't change gradually. It snaps from one setting to another. It'll show in the video. Manual is the way to go. Or... expose for the highlight and bring out the shadow in post.
 
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I've noticed that exposure changes on the Phantom 4 often end up encoded in the keyframes only. And since there are only about 3 keyframes per second, the exposure changes will look like a choppy 3 fps. Even if the camera itself probably handles this better earlier in the processing chain you obviously only see what ends up encoded to the SD card.

I have a Sony X1000V (similar to GoPro 4) that has better compression and much smoother response to light changes.
 
Of course the change is abrupt and harsh. You're instantly making a full stop of exposure change. Change f-stop on ANY camera and tell me the transition isn't hash. You cannot smoothly click over to a different aperture. The transition is smoother when changing shutter speed because you aren't always changing a full stop at a time. 1/50 to 1/60 is a fraction of a stop. Try jumping 1/50 to 1/100 and see how smooth the transition is.

The camera doesnt do a full stop of aperture. In a test it went from 2.8 - 3.0 - 3.2 - 3.5 as I increased light. A full stop would be 2.8 - 4 - 5.6 - 8 and its not doing that. I know others have spoken about this problem on another thread I saw since I was trying to find a soulution. Regardless I'm not convinced aperture cant be smoother as some seem to say from their other hand held cameras. I'm not sure if this is done digitally or by slowing the mechanical speed during aperture change but some cameras seem to do it fine. Yes if I manually change the aperture on the radio I expect it to be a harsh change but not when the camera is recording and going through light changes. For now I'm shooting on aperture priority but would prefer to shoot on shutter priority for my preference.
 
If your only looking at two stops between the brightest and darkest parts of the take why not set the exposure to the right for the building and just run with it. It will look more natural and add drama. Your eyes don't perceive the shadow areas below trees and open areas at the same apparent brightness.
 
I'm not only wanting 2 stops. I'm just saying it doesnt change a full stop at a time but does smaller changes
 
There is a good reason why lenses designed for pro video equipment have infinitely variable apertures. You won't transition between hard fstop changes (even at 1/3 stop) without seeing an obvious effect in the footage.
 
It takes multiple takes and varying light conditions to get perfect shots. Do not expect to get perfect results without these rules. Know your lighting, camera, and use your histogram. Be patient. If you watch any movie 10 seconds is a LONG clip.
 

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