OK which one does what please or is it depends on sunlight and common sense,,,I can see 3 different shades and now time to find out ..can someone explain please
Thanks Ian
Thanks Ian
Meta4
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ND4 will cut the light getting through to your sensor by 75%
ND8 will only let 12.5% of the light get through.
These filters are useless for drone stills photography (unless you have a particular reason to want to force a slower shutter speed).
The CPF is a circular polarising filter.
It removes polarized light from the image, thus reducing reflections and glare, while at the same time increasing color saturation—especially that of a blue sky.
But a CPS is a pain to use properly on a drone because it has to be properly aligned with respect to teh sun angle.
You can set it up to work with the drone pointing in one direction but if you move the drone to face a different direction, you've now got a misaligned CPF which isn't going to do what you want it to.
Just to add ...
www.bhphotovideo.com
The bit I found fascinating - was adding filters to each other ...
A Guide to Neutral Density Filters
This article is a comprehensive guide to using Format Hitech Firecrest neutral density filters in photography.
The bit I found fascinating - was adding filters to each other ...
The ND filters are mainly used on video so you can make the shutter speed double the frame speed. It makes for better videos.
As a purely practical person and not a camera buff ... I read up and then try.
The result is that about 60% of the time I have the ND8 filter on ... rest of the time - nothing.
I literally don't know what shutter speed / ISO or whatever ... all I know is that the histogram and the filter together give me better clarity and definition in my recordings ... a pro camera person of course would tear my offerings apart .. but for me - they are fine.
I often read the comment that the filters have no use or ineffective for stills shots ............ mmmmm I'll just disagree there. Doesn't make sense when all the literature tends to 'focus' more on stills than video ! (Just read through the article I linked to previous post). Plus why should the camera act differently for stills than video ? Surely it has similar effect on the end results - because that's what I see with mine.
The result is that about 60% of the time I have the ND8 filter on ... rest of the time - nothing.
I literally don't know what shutter speed / ISO or whatever ... all I know is that the histogram and the filter together give me better clarity and definition in my recordings ... a pro camera person of course would tear my offerings apart .. but for me - they are fine.
I often read the comment that the filters have no use or ineffective for stills shots ............ mmmmm I'll just disagree there. Doesn't make sense when all the literature tends to 'focus' more on stills than video ! (Just read through the article I linked to previous post). Plus why should the camera act differently for stills than video ? Surely it has similar effect on the end results - because that's what I see with mine.
I take a lot of pictures with my Nikon of waterfalls. You have to use a tripod or the picture will be blurry. The ND filter helps slow the shutter speed down to give the waterfalls a soft lacy effect. Without it the water droplets would freeze in mid air.
All I can say to that is ............ AWESOME shots ... and I don't mean that like many say to vids etc. thrown up on the forums ... those are to me - truly awesome.
I understand that if you slow the shutter speed and you are a flying platform - you can end up with blurry shots ... but so far I think because I'm not using high number ND's ... I'm getting away with it.
Set a camera on a tripod, slow the shutter to about a 4 to 6 seconds shot and use a remote to take the picture. You can easily have the same picture. The top pic is in Rastoke, Croatia , the other is in West Virginia.
As long as the shutter speed is faster than the focal length of your lens, your photo's should be clear even with a ND filter, if the drone has stopped.
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Meta4
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I wonder what effect you are seeing.
There is no difference in the effect an ND filter has whether you shoot stills or video.
The only effect it has is to cut the light getting to the sensor which forces the use of a longer shutter speed to get a good exposure.
It does nothing to improve any aspect of the image - it just cuts the light.
Unless you have a particular reason to want to force a slower shutter speed, there is no reason at all to use ND filters for drone still photography.
You would just be making things more difficult for yourself.
An ND filter is absolutely an asset when shooting video. It gives you more control in setting your shutter speed to stay double your frame rate: Frame-rate of 30 should have a shutter speed of 60; Frame-rate of 60 should have a shutter speed of 120. Try shooting with those relatively slow shutter speeds on a sunny day and you’ll be all blown out. Yeah you can try dialing up your aperture, but the sweet spot of the aperture is in the 4-6 range.
So, how do you keep your aperture in the sweet spot while maintaining the slow shutter speed? Use a filter to reduce the amount of light coming through the lens.
When shooting stills, it’s not really an issue since you can crank the shutter speed higher to balance the light.
Hope this helps.
So, how do you keep your aperture in the sweet spot while maintaining the slow shutter speed? Use a filter to reduce the amount of light coming through the lens.
When shooting stills, it’s not really an issue since you can crank the shutter speed higher to balance the light.
Hope this helps.
