Is there a way to avoid prop shadows AND motion blur on a P4P?

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I've seen video evidence showing that when the P4P is moving objects on the ground are slightly blurred with the shutter speed at 1/30, but noticeably sharper at 1/100 -- which makes sense from a basic photography standpoint.

But, a lot of videos, posts, and articles recommend using an ND filter in bright daylight so you can use slower shutter speeds like 1/30 -- because it's desirable for some reason.

The only reason for using a slow shutter speed that I know of is to eliminate prop shadows and jellow. I started flying a 3DR Solo a few years ago, immediately discovered prop shadows and jello, popped an ND filter on the GoPro, and I haven't seen them since, ... well, until I bought a P4P this week and was reminded that prop shadows will appear at times (so far only in the upper right corner of the frame, and maybe I'm actually seeing the props because of the pitch angle).

Now I wish I could change the subject of this post, because I can probably just adjust my flying technique to avoid the props I'm seeing -- like by flying backwards when shooting a subject with the sun behind it.

But are there any other reasons you would purposely choose to shoot at a slow shutter speed like 1/30? Or, to put it another way, is there a downside to shooting at 1/100th or thereabouts to reduce motion blur?

Thank you.
 
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The only reason for using a slow shutter speed that I know of is to eliminate prop shadows and jellow.

But are there any other reasons you would purposely choose to shoot at a slow shutter speed like 1/30? Or, to put it another way, is there a downside to shooting at 1/100th or thereabouts to reduce motion blur?

Thank you.

Yes. Many people, including the film industry, opt for a relatively slow shutter speed (approx 1 / (2 x fps) -- so 1/60s if shooting 30fps) precisely because it provides some natural looking motion blur that makes movement appear more natural to our eyes.

I understand that this may seem odd if coming from a photo background where motion blur is rarely desired, but you can watch some videos on the subject and I think you'll agree. A shot of a car passing through the frame with no motion blur at all looks odd and jittery and even unsettling to most people.

I have heard that there are some options in post processing that attempt to analyse differences between frames and add blur to compensate for clips shot with faster shutter speeds, but you'd probably still have the prop shadows.
 
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I've seen video evidence showing that when the P4P is moving objects on the ground are slightly blurred with the shutter speed at 1/30, but noticeably sharper at 1/100 -- which makes sense from a basic photography standpoint.

But, a lot of videos, posts, and articles recommend using an ND filter in bright daylight so you can use slower shutter speeds like 1/30 -- because it's desirable for some reason.
This explains it quite well:

Camera settings clarified: shutter speed vs. frame rate
 
1/30s TV is too slow- at 24fps you would want 1/50s of higher. Try 60FPS and 1/125s if you don't like the natural motion blur effect in your footage.

As for props in view fly slower and/or pan the camera down. You can also fly backwards and reverse in post.
 
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Yes. Many people, including the film industry, opt for a relatively slow shutter speed (approx 1 / (2 x fps) -- so 1/60s if shooting 30fps) precisely because it provides some natural looking motion blur that makes movement appear more natural to our eyes.

I understand that this may seem odd if coming from a photo background where motion blur is rarely desired, but you can watch some videos on the subject and I think you'll agree. A shot of a car passing through the frame with no motion blur at all looks odd and jittery and even unsettling to most people.

Thank you for replying, qtonic. Let's say I'm shooting a home. I want the details, landscape and textures to be as sharp as possible. The only movement is the camera, orbiting around it, for example. Would an absence of motion blur be less of a problem in this case? (I realize I can just shoot some tests, but I was wondering what folks here have already learned about the subject.)
 
1/30s TV is too slow- at 24fps you would want 1/50s of higher. Try 60FPS and 1/125s if you don't like the natural motion blur effect in your footage.

As for props in view fly slower and/or pan the camera down. You can also fly backwards and reverse in post.

Thank you, "With the Birds", for the suggestions.
 
Thank you for replying, qtonic. Let's say I'm shooting a home. I want the details, landscape and textures to be as sharp as possible. The only movement is the camera, orbiting around it, for example. Would an absence of motion blur be less of a problem in this case? (I realize I can just shoot some tests, but I was wondering what folks here have already learned about the subject.)

Well, a few things come to mind. If there is not much movement, then the slower shutter speed probably isn't necessary to capture sharper frames anyway. The motion blur tends to be noticed on quickly moving subjects just like in still photography. (also keep in mind that your ss could be as high as 1/120s if shooting 60fps, if you prefer that.)

The other point, I think, is that this blur we are talking about is not usually perceived as anything out of the ordinary or "less sharp", even with fast movement. It only looks natural and still quite sharp. After all, how many times do you think to yourself that the latest Hollywood feature with lots of action looks unsharp or full of motion blur? I'm guessing not often, even though they use the same formula.

Now the exception may be if you want to pull individual still frames from video for some reason. In that case, yes, you may notice a little less sharpness especially with faster/closer movement, but for video alone the benefits of pleasing looking footage outweigh any potential downsides, if there are any besides the still frame thing.
 
Maybe do try out 60fps and 1/120s. I often think it has a slightly more sterile look that 24fps, but maybe for your real estate work that would be better. That then brings up questions of codec/compression performance given the same maximum bitrate needing to account for more frames, but you could see what you think. Of course that also limits you to the H.264 codec if you're planning on capturing in 4K, which may also have implications for detail preservation in landscaping, etc. Plus you'd need to consider the final compression scheme used by whatever platform you'll be delivering on (youtube, etc).

Lots of variables. At some point you'll have to try it out and see what's most pleasing to your eye.
 
Good discussion all, thanks for the info! Good video link in the topic.

Does the kind of videography we capture with the Phantom have any special or alternate considerations on shutter speed & frame rate or do all these basic rules apply for wide sweeping aerial scenes at whatever speed we are flying (super slow all the way up to 45mph, etc) as well?
 
Understand that over-sharpened frames in video footage give the dreaded 'flying security camera' effect, as I like to call it. Getting your camera setting dialed-in for your shooting style are the first important step. The information already provided is exactly how you want to approach this. ND filters are great tools for video because they allow you to slow down that shutter speed, still achieve your optimal frame rate, AND provide additional dynamic range to work with your images in post. The added benefit that most desire is more natural motion blur in the end result. Over-sharpened, choppy video is never optimal for your viewers.
Does the kind of videography we capture with the Phantom have any special or alternate considerations on shutter speed & frame rate or do all these basic rules apply for wide sweeping aerial scenes at whatever speed we are flying (super slow all the way up to 45mph, etc) as well?
The very first thing I would recommend is avoiding fast pans/yawing (unless you're shooting action footage.) My experience has taught me that when the footage is the priority, keep it as slow and smooth as you can, then learn the techniques of speed ramping your footage in post. Fast movement footage presents a whole different set of issues to contend with.
 
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Understand that over-sharpened frames in video footage give the dreaded 'flying security camera' effect, as I like to call it. Getting your camera setting dialed-in for your shooting style are the first important step. The information already provided is exactly how you want to approach this. ND filters are great tools for video because they allow you to slow down that shutter speed, still achieve your optimal frame rate, AND provide additional dynamic range to work with your images in post. The added benefit that most desire is more natural motion blur in the end result. Over-sharpened, choppy video is never optimal for your viewers.

The very first thing I would recommend is avoiding fast pans/yawing (unless you're shooting action footage.) My experience has taught me that when the footage is the priority, keep it as slow and smooth as you can, then learn the techniques of speed ramping your footage in post. Fast movement footage presents a whole different set of issues to contend with.

Thanks for the info, great tid bits there! I have my yaw set to like 20% so it can be super slow, nothing spins your brain out of control faster than one of those a tornado twist shots.
 

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