ND Filters - Everything you need to know about it

[UnlimiteDrone]

Hello Everybody

I want to share with you my guide about ND Filters because I think it will be helpful especially for the beginners in this forum.
ND Filter – Why they are necessary for your drone

Feedback is very much appreciated!

 

[Sky Pirate]

I like the info.

So what about PL ND filters, when you rotate them do they stay at the same ND value and just polarize the light or do they gradually cut the light down?

 

[With The Birds]

You may like to look at your use recommendations for CPL... The recommendation this filter should be employed in situations where you "don't need to reduce wxposure" is not correct, CPL will generally reduce light by up to 2 stops. You might say to use in place if ND4 where glare reduction is also desirable.

 

[PolarPro]

I like the info.
So what about PL ND filters, when you rotate them do they stay at the same ND value and just polarize the light or do they gradually cut the light down?

Generally the ND16/PL will always have the value of an ND16. The only time it can change slightly (less than 0.5 stops) is when you rotate the Polarizer into the sweet spot, and you have a lot of sky in your image. The polarizer will reduce the exposure of the sky by about 0.5 stops max, and the exposure of the ground would remain the same.

Not sure if I explained that clearly, but let me know if you need any clarification,

-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[QuadcopterCrazy]

The only thing about ND filters in my experience is you have to edit the videos a lot to regain some of the brightness and color. They do make for smoother video though.

 

[PolarPro]

The only thing about ND filters in my experience is you have to edit the videos a lot to regain some of the brightness and color. They do make for smoother video though.

If you lock the shutter speed, then yes exposure swing can occur, and you may need to edit. If you don't want to do much grading, then you can flip it to AUTO and the camera will get the shutter close to the sweet spot and everything will be exposed perfectly in-camera.
-Jeff from PolarPro

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

If you lock the shutter speed, then yes exposure swing can occur, and you may need to edit. If you don't want to do much grading, then you can flip it to AUTO and the camera will get the shutter close to the sweet spot and everything will be exposed perfectly in-camera.
-Jeff from PolarPro

Great Hint Jeff, i´ll give it a try

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

I did a test flight with Auto settings today and it went very well, I was surprised about the results but I still prefer to choose my settings and edit the footage afterwards because the results do look more professional.

 

[HowNotToDrone]

Not bad info... Could be better, though.
But anyways...keep up the nice work.

 

[With The Birds]

Not bad info... Could be better, though.
But anyways...keep up the nice work.

Could be better how?

 

[matti]

What bothers me with the ND demo videos is that there is no info about manual/automatic exposure and that the final output's exposure is set not identical in post. So in some demos ND16 might seem underexposed or with no ND it might seem overexposed.

I always use manual exposure and manual white balance (5000K) because I dislike fluctuations in original footage (LOG color profile). I set the exposure (with the histogram and zebra stripes) while pointing the camera at the preferred direction and fix other directions' exposure and color in post with Final Cut.

Yesterday I updated FW and did a test shoot with Litchi (after IMU calibration outside at 0°C and the usual voodoo). Initially I had a polarizer but because not much blue sky I switched it to ND8. I set the exposure while pointing the AC to north knowing that the less-important footage with the AC pointing to south (overcast sun) might be bad. But in the end also that was OK after adjusting it with Final Cut (and a 1 s cross dissolve in between).

A few times I have in fact preferred a very short shutter speed in videos because that has allowed me to grab decent still images even while the AC was turning rapidly at the start of a Litchi mission while the actual video was also great. And once I had a too strong ND with 1/25 s shutter speed and got too much motion blur in Litchi's interpolated turning points.

 

[PhantomMenace65]

Exaclty the info I was searching for yesterday. Thank you for posting [emoji106]

It's A Bird... It's A Plane... It's A DJI Phantom 3 Standard!

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

What bothers me with the ND demo videos is that there is no info about manual/automatic exposure and that the final output's exposure is set not identical in post. So in some demos ND16 might seem underexposed or with no ND it might seem overexposed.

I always use manual exposure and manual white balance (5000K) because I dislike fluctuations in original footage (LOG color profile). I set the exposure (with the histogram and zebra stripes) while pointing the camera at the preferred direction and fix other directions' exposure and color in post with Final Cut.

Yesterday I updated FW and did a test shoot with Litchi (after IMU calibration outside at 0°C and the usual voodoo). Initially I had a polarizer but because not much blue sky I switched it to ND8. I set the exposure while pointing the AC to north knowing that the less-important footage with the AC pointing to south (overcast sun) might be bad. But in the end also that was OK after adjusting it with Final Cut (and a 1 s cross dissolve in between).

A few times I have in fact preferred a very short shutter speed in videos because that has allowed me to grab decent still images even while the AC was turning rapidly at the start of a Litchi mission while the actual video was also great. And once I had a too strong ND with 1/25 s shutter speed and got too much motion blur in Litchi's interpolated turning points.

I see what you mean. What exposure do you choose most often?

 

[HowNotToDrone]

Could be better how?

I meant the article could be better, to look more stylish and elegant... It's not that easy on eyes.
Info is all fine...kudos for that.

 

[matti]

What exposure do you choose most often?

If possible, I use the lowest ISO 100. For still images the fastest possible shutter speed with that ISO (during nighttime must to set it to 1/10 s or even slower with a higher ISO). For videos I try to use a ND to get about 1/50 - 1/100 s shutter speed or use a polarizer if the scenery benefits from it (blue sky or reflections from water etc). But I don't bother very much with the NDs and the "cinematic effect".

I set the exposure with the histogram and zebra stripes so that the whitest clouds or buildings are white but not yet overexposed.

LOG color profile is dull but it allows more tweaking in post with Lightroom (.dng raw images) and Final Cut.

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

If possible, I use the lowest ISO 100. For still images the fastest possible shutter speed with that ISO (during nighttime must to set it to 1/10 s or even slower with a higher ISO). For videos I try to use a ND to get about 1/50 - 1/100 s shutter speed or use a polarizer if the scenery benefits from it (blue sky or reflections from water etc). But I don't bother very much with the NDs and the "cinematic effect".

I set the exposure with the histogram and zebra stripes so that the whitest clouds or buildings are white but not yet overexposed.

LOG color profile is dull but it allows more tweaking in post with Lightroom (.dng raw images) and Final Cut.

Thank you for that information. Using the lowest ISO is the best way imo and for the shutter I choosed the framerate x 2. At 25 fps I did shutter 50 and at 50 fps a shutter of 100. But I will also try your method, just need to wait for good weather :/

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

I will share a comparison as soon the weather is better here

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

Oh and
PolarPro also has a filter calculator app which will help determine which filter to use for each flight:
PolarPro Filter Calculator App

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

Link has changed: PolarPro Filter Calculator App

 

[UnlimiteDrone]

Here is a nice Guide about the Settings you can choose together with ND Filter to have nice results: The Best Camera Settings For Phantom 3