P4 lens compatibility
- Thread starter gglop
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- filter size nd filter
msinger
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Meta4
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You would probably be shooting straight down so the gimbal balance wouldn't be very important anyway.
There's a lot of info available about using drones for agricultural work and most is using NDVI rather than just putting a filter on the lens.
There are special cameras or you can have DJI cameras modified to see NDVI.
Here are a couple of things to get you started:
http://aerialmediapros.com/store/ag-scout-basic-phantom-3-ndvi-mapping-drone/dp/830
DJI NDVI Upgrade | Sentera | Sense the Earth
NDVI Cameras for Drones
Understanding NDVI
Identifying Crop Variability with Drones – DroneDeploy’s Blog
Maybe use the standard DJI ND4/ND8 filters as they're direct replacements for the glass item that's already on the drone. Zero issues.
I don't think you will need a filter for shooting straight down over a sugar cane field. For obliques, then maybe yes depending upon how much horizon you're catching. But why? Most Phantom owners use filters to introduce blur in their motion shots for a more "cinematic" result.
Go Glass. Go combined ND / Polarized, Go Polarpro brand (not affiliated)
A good point that put my mind at ease when I thought about the extra strain on the gimbal motors issue from using the higher quality glass lens filters in lieu the plastic film ones was this: Wind resistance. The gimbal motors are designed to hold the camera stable when flying at speeds (up to 45mph max speed sport mode as stated on the DJI site - yes, not something you would do, filming at this speed but it still needs to be able to handle this) plus coping with changing the camera angle whilst doing this too ... and if built like any good specced product is built to exceed the maximum load with a considerable amount of headroom.
Put your hand out of a car window travelling at this speed and feel the force of the wind. Now consider that the P4 camera is relatively light but with that force of wind on it, the load on the gimbal motors would be quite a lot more. so if they can handle that, they can handle a little bit of extra dead weight that won't extrapolate out to being much more when flying at any speed.
Another consideration is the load of the camera weight is shared over three motors (one for each gimbal) so that considered the extra weight is manageable.
Now that I have rambled and lookiung back at that... maybe I should have just said... I fly with Glass lenses. They are heavier but I find no difference to the camera operation. glass is better than plastic film as they have a multi layered coating which reduces lens flare. I've noticed thisa when flying looking at the sun. They are easier to clean, and last longer as they do not scratch easily. They just feel like better quality.
First set I bought are Tiffen brand glass ND filters - good but the outer screw-on part of the filter is larger compared to the stock DJI ones and also larger than the more recently bought PolarPro ones (given to me by a member on here for helping him out - thank you Dave / Sharpshooter).
The PolarPro lenses look & feel like quality. They are rotatable lenses to adjust the amount of polarized light filtering - anywhere from 0% - 100% depending on the angle to the sun and the position you have the lens set at. As any of the glass lenses will not fit in the gimbal/lens protector used as support when not flying (the clear click on bracket) you simply ask them when ordering your lenses to provide you with a gimbal guard they make for this reason and they will send this out to you for free!
I don't know why they just don't do that in the first place, but it may be they only do that for members of this forum. It was only from reading another post on here about the gimbal guard issue that I heard of this, and as I was gifted the filters, I emailed them asking for one and they have sent it out - no cost. Now that is great service.
A good point that put my mind at ease when I thought about the extra strain on the gimbal motors issue from using the higher quality glass lens filters in lieu the plastic film ones was this: Wind resistance. The gimbal motors are designed to hold the camera stable when flying at speeds (up to 45mph max speed sport mode as stated on the DJI site - yes, not something you would do, filming at this speed but it still needs to be able to handle this) plus coping with changing the camera angle whilst doing this too ... and if built like any good specced product is built to exceed the maximum load with a considerable amount of headroom.
Put your hand out of a car window travelling at this speed and feel the force of the wind. Now consider that the P4 camera is relatively light but with that force of wind on it, the load on the gimbal motors would be quite a lot more. so if they can handle that, they can handle a little bit of extra dead weight that won't extrapolate out to being much more when flying at any speed.
Another consideration is the load of the camera weight is shared over three motors (one for each gimbal) so that considered the extra weight is manageable.
Now that I have rambled and lookiung back at that... maybe I should have just said... I fly with Glass lenses. They are heavier but I find no difference to the camera operation. glass is better than plastic film as they have a multi layered coating which reduces lens flare. I've noticed thisa when flying looking at the sun. They are easier to clean, and last longer as they do not scratch easily. They just feel like better quality.
First set I bought are Tiffen brand glass ND filters - good but the outer screw-on part of the filter is larger compared to the stock DJI ones and also larger than the more recently bought PolarPro ones (given to me by a member on here for helping him out - thank you Dave / Sharpshooter).
The PolarPro lenses look & feel like quality. They are rotatable lenses to adjust the amount of polarized light filtering - anywhere from 0% - 100% depending on the angle to the sun and the position you have the lens set at. As any of the glass lenses will not fit in the gimbal/lens protector used as support when not flying (the clear click on bracket) you simply ask them when ordering your lenses to provide you with a gimbal guard they make for this reason and they will send this out to you for free!
I don't know why they just don't do that in the first place, but it may be they only do that for members of this forum. It was only from reading another post on here about the gimbal guard issue that I heard of this, and as I was gifted the filters, I emailed them asking for one and they have sent it out - no cost. Now that is great service.
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Meta4
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DJI don't visit us here but even if you go to their site, they don't comment anyway.
If you are shooting stills, there's no need for filters and any enhancing can be done afterwards in software.
About the only real use for filters on a Phantom is for getting a slow shutter speed in daylight that some people like for video.
msinger
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As a professional photographer and teacher of 35 years, I've always put a UV filter on my camera lenses. Often the difference in image quality is negligible, but they protect the front element. As a drone newbie, I wondered what the point of the ND filter was, especially as I live in Ireland (not known for its bright sunshine).
Then, I remembered my movie-shooting days as a younger man and the frame rate / Shutter speed ratio. Keeping the shutter speed to no more than double the frame rate gives that 'cinematic' look.
But, for stills, it's useful to have a higher shutter speed, to avoid motion blur and vibrations affecting the drone images. However, the polarizing filter will affect the tones of images and this may be undesirable if color accuracy is required - such as for crop observations. They also slow down shutter speeds, often by up to 4 or more stops and this may not be necessary or desirable for stills.
I'm using the Neewer filters for the Phantom 4's. They are glass, light and seem to be of good quality - image quality is superb, see attached image, with UV filter. The only issue is that the lens guard won't fit over it.
Then, I remembered my movie-shooting days as a younger man and the frame rate / Shutter speed ratio. Keeping the shutter speed to no more than double the frame rate gives that 'cinematic' look.
But, for stills, it's useful to have a higher shutter speed, to avoid motion blur and vibrations affecting the drone images. However, the polarizing filter will affect the tones of images and this may be undesirable if color accuracy is required - such as for crop observations. They also slow down shutter speeds, often by up to 4 or more stops and this may not be necessary or desirable for stills.
I'm using the Neewer filters for the Phantom 4's. They are glass, light and seem to be of good quality - image quality is superb, see attached image, with UV filter. The only issue is that the lens guard won't fit over it.
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msinger
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1. It looks like clear glass to me.
2. It came away from the ring and I didn't trust it to stay put.
3. It looks cheap and maybe not of the quality of the one I have now.
msinger
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This is the one I replaced it with. Even in the photos, the UV coating is more evident, and it's definitely more obvious when you compare the real things.
msinger
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I've never tried that one. It would be interesting to see a comparison between the two. I'm assuming the images would be nearly identical.
I'm assuming, after 35 years as a professional photographer, several awards (4 so far this year)", 5 books in my own name; including one called "Becoming a successful Photographer, 5 years of teaching for the biggest online photography diploma course in the world and writing 4 advanced modules for them and 6 years of being associate editor of one of the best selling camera magazines in the UK; that I can tell a quality accessory when I see it.
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