Phantom 4 Pro/Adv - Filters for Photography

[Antman]

Hi All

Sorry if this question has already been answered. I have recently purchased 2 drones primarily for photography purposes (not videography) .... Phantom 4 Advantage and Mavic Air. I'm new to photography and have read quite a few posts in regards to the use of filters for cinematic videography however was wanting to know if filters are equally as beneficial for photography purposes? I have read that using filters for videography causes the desired result of motion blur however as I'd be using them for photography I'd want the images as sharp as possible with no blur. Most of my drone photography will be of buildings/property and I live in a warm location (no snow but lots of sunny days and I will be taking photos of waterfront properties showing the ocean).

If beneficial any advice on ...
(1) the best brands (obviously polarpro is the most common but are there any others of similar quality at a better price?)
& (2) the best filter levels given my usages mentioned above? I'm thinking ND16/32 would be appropriate and maybe polarised?

Any advice which could be provided would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Cheers
Ant

 

[embayweather]

Perhaps not the advice you were looking for but I only shoot still images and never use filters. I use a 5 burst AEB and then join the images together. After that I apply any filter I want and/or process through Aurora . Same with what little work I can do with my DSLR too

 

[Antman]

Perhaps not the advice you were looking for but I only shoot still images and never use filters. I use a 5 burst AEB and then join the images together. After that I apply any filter I want and/or process through Aurora . Same with what little work I can do with my DSLR too

Hi embayweather. Absolutely the advice I am looking for, thank you Are you able to provide me with some more details as to how you do this (settings etc)? Also I've never used Aurora before .... is it similar to photoshop or lightroom? If so why do you choose to use this program over the above-mentioned?

 

[Meta4]

I'm new to photography and have read quite a few posts in regards to the use of filters for cinematic videography however was wanting to know if filters are equally as beneficial for photography purposes?

It seems from your question that you are asking about ND filters rather than filters in general.
The only use for ND (neutral density) filters is to reduce the light level to allow shooting with a slower shutter speed.
Unless you have a particular reason to want to shoot with a slower shutter speed than normal, ND filters have no use in drone still photography.

 

[embayweather]

I based my decision on over twenty years as a pro photographer. In weddings you can not afford time to mess about you need to get on with it, so filters wee never used. Auto was (shock horror) doing around 1000 images in a wedding lasting five hours you do not have the time to play with settings. Just the ISO . Also knowing when Auto would not work is just as important. So the same with my aircraft. I set the ISO that I need for the situation, as ever the lowes it will go for quality, and to allow the five exposures to take images at reasonable shutter speeds. Knowing your kit and lighting is important. I always shoot RAW, and i always shoot five burst AEB. Then a simple mater of frame your image and press the button.
I have used Photoshop almost since it came out, but I have never found it easy to play with. Great for detailed work though. Once I load the images into Lightroom I see which ones I need, then load them into Aurora. Why Aurora? It is so easy, and gives me great results each time. Set up as you would wish, then again press the button and wait for the image to pop out. There is then a few options. Use the huge range of presets, load in to Photoshop for more work, or in my case I go to Macphun Intensify. Use a couple of layers for sky and ground and enhance away. Gives a great image with very little hard work on my part. Load that image into Photoshop to process as tiff, jpeg or whatever you need, crop, resize. Twenty minutes and it’s all done. Of course a lot of that time is waiting. Buy hey there has always got to be a downside.
If you have a look here
Mike Brown - Drone Images you will get an idea of the results I am getting. I agree they are not perfect but they are very useable.
If you need more I am happy to help if you want to PM me.

 

[Antman]

It seems from your question that you are asking about ND filters rather than filters in general.
The only use for ND (neutral density) filters is to reduce the light level to allow shooting with a slower shutter speed.
Unless you have a particular reason to want to shoot with a slower shutter speed than normal, ND filters have no use in drone still photography.

Thank you for your reply Are there another type of filter (not ND) which are more suited to still image photography?

 

[Meta4]

Thank you for your reply Are there another type of filter (not ND) which are more suited to still image photography?

There is a huge number of filters that have been used in photography.
In the age of digital images and Photoshop, many aren't necessary now.
Here's an introduction to the types of photographic filters: Lens Filters | Camera Lens Filters Explained
If you are new to drone photography, the only filter you need to use is the clear UV filter that DJI put in front of the camera's lens.
That is important to protect the lens from bugs, dust, salt spray etc.

Even if you aren't new to drone photography, there's very little use for additional filters.
I (and almost all other drone photographers) don't use any.

 

[Antman]

I based my decision on over twenty years as a pro photographer. In weddings you can not afford time to mess about you need to get on with it, so filters wee never used. Auto was (shock horror) doing around 1000 images in a wedding lasting five hours you do not have the time to play with settings. Just the ISO . Also knowing when Auto would not work is just as important. So the same with my aircraft. I set the ISO that I need for the situation, as ever the lowes it will go for quality, and to allow the five exposures to take images at reasonable shutter speeds. Knowing your kit and lighting is important. I always shoot RAW, and i always shoot five burst AEB. Then a simple mater of frame your image and press the button.
I have used Photoshop almost since it came out, but I have never found it easy to play with. Great for detailed work though. Once I load the images into Lightroom I see which ones I need, then load them into Aurora. Why Aurora? It is so easy, and gives me great results each time. Set up as you would wish, then again press the button and wait for the image to pop out. There is then a few options. Use the huge range of presets, load in to Photoshop for more work, or in my case I go to Macphun Intensify. Use a couple of layers for sky and ground and enhance away. Gives a great image with very little hard work on my part. Load that image into Photoshop to process as tiff, jpeg or whatever you need, crop, resize. Twenty minutes and it’s all done. Of course a lot of that time is waiting. Buy hey there has always got to be a downside.
If you have a look here
Mike Brown - Drone Images you will get an idea of the results I am getting. I agree they are not perfect but they are very useable.
If you need more I am happy to help if you want to PM me.

Great portfolio Mike!! Will PM you. Cheers Ant

 

[Antman]

There is a huge number of filters that have been used in photography.
In the age of digital images and Photoshop, many aren't necessary now.
Here's an introduction to the types of photographic filters: Lens Filters | Camera Lens Filters Explained
If you are new to drone photography, the only filter you need to use is the clear UV filter that DJI put in front of the camera's lens.
That is important to protect the lens from bugs, dust, salt spray etc.

Even if you aren't new to drone photography, there's very little use for additional filters.
I (and almost all other drone photographers) don't use any.

Thanks Meta4 Appreciate your advice