I do WB manually only. No color surprises when the camera sensor knows what's white.
Polar Pro Filters
- Thread starter DronePilotOne
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I've had decent cameras for years but never was willing to spend a little time to learn how to operate them in anything but automatic modes. The P4P camera changed that. It inspired me to want to learn.
Interest and curiosity is the spark necessary to really wanna dive into a subject. I feel the same way exactly with these fantastic drones.
Good job man. Main reason you want to set it on a fixed setting is because when your flying it will be changing on you in the middle of your clip which makes it very hard to watch. Soon as you fly into a shadow it will go warm on you and vice versa if you are set on auto wb.
Thx, exactly. Rather WB manually each time you change location depending on light and environment. That's the first step to eliminate color surprises.
I also use manual camera settings. I set the ISO to something appropriate (100 for a sunny day) put the ND16 filter on and set the shutter speed to 2x frame rate. With the histogram up, I merely adjust the F-stop for the best histogram distribution for the scene I'm shooting. It's easy enough to click the right wheel and the f-stop will turn blue. Adjust for best histogram and off you go. Re-evaluate in flight as your light changes between shots. Just adjust f-stop. Cheers.
Hey WebheadFred, that advice sounds like the very essence of a good instructional video for rookies entering the the drone camera World! I really appreciate it. Maybe you should consider making an instructional?
Well... I appreciate the kind words but, this is my first DJI product and I've only maybe 20 hours on it. I've been building and flying my own drones since 2010 in the old HoverFly flight controller days. The histogram trick I learned as a sideline photographer with my Nikon equipment. It's really pretty easy. The histogram is simply a distribution of light and dark. The dark is on the left and the light is on the right. Since the ISO is preset based on your lighting situation (i suggest starting at ISO 100) and set your shutter speed at 2x the frame rate (best for natural cinematic blur) then the only other thing you can adjust is the f-stop. If you adjust for a nice even curve on most natural shots, your exposure will be spot on. Of course as you move towards more bright or more dark, the curve will move towards one end or another. If that's what the scene shows then you're fine. I'll see if I can make a video. All I need to do is figure out how to record the image on the iPad while I'm flying to incorporate it into a video. Nothing fancy though as I'm a rookie.
You're far from being a rookie my friend. I really enjoy your explanations, which makes your knowledge easy to comprehend. Can't wait to see that video! Thx for your input. I will use it from hereon in.Well... I appreciate the kind words but, this is my first DJI product and I've only maybe 20 hours on it. I've been building and flying my own drones since 2010 in the old HoverFly flight controller days. The histogram trick I learned as a sideline photographer with my Nikon equipment. It's really pretty easy. The histogram is simply a distribution of light and dark. The dark is on the left and the light is on the right. Since the ISO is preset based on your lighting situation (i suggest starting at ISO 100) and set your shutter speed at 2x the frame rate (best for natural cinematic blur) then the only other thing you can adjust is the f-stop. If you adjust for a nice even curve on most natural shots, your exposure will be spot on. Of course as you move towards more bright or more dark, the curve will move towards one end or another. If that's what the scene shows then you're fine. I'll see if I can make a video. All I need to do is figure out how to record the image on the iPad while I'm flying to incorporate it into a video. Nothing fancy though as I'm a rookie.
One last thing... On film... it was always better to over expose a bit for more saturation in the negative. With digital (as well as the old color slides) it's always best to under expose a bit. The dynamic range of this camera will allow you to bring out any reasonable under exposure. If you over expose, you lose any detail to the brightness. Under expose by about 1/3 to 1/2 stop. It'll show an EV of -.3 or so and you won't lose detail. Better yet... just play and see what you like. Have fun. Fly safe. Cheers.
Under expose it is! I'll fool around with it adhering to your fine suggestions. Cheers and thanks again!
I banged this together this afternoon. I'm not much for video production and I have a voice for silent films but I think y'all get the idea. I also said in the video that the shutter speed was 600 when I meant 60. Oh well. Here is my non-technical explanation of how to use the histogram and manual camera settings to get the correct exposure. This works no matter what ND filter you use. Cheers y'all.
This my friend, is ingenious! It is forever saved for future reference. This video should be the first one linked to, whenever somebody has a question about the relationship between FPS, shutter speed and ISO. Bravo! I of course subscribed to your YouTube Channel.
I'm not sure how awesome, but... I'm in Knoxville, TN... soon to be Central west Florida.
Fred, what are you're thoughts on filming indoors on a bright day. What kinda filters would you use, if any, to counter the daylight coming in through the windows, when you fly by them?
Well, I would start off using daylight for the WB as that's what comes through the window. Everything on the interior that is not white or gray can change the color temperature of the light as it reflects off the objects. I have issues inside my house as I have oak hardwood. Here's what you do. Go to a local photography store and buy a 50% gray card. In one of your shots, include the card in a position where the lights hits it. It's very easy in post to adjust any color cast using a known gray as it has equal amounts of all color reflecting off it. As you open what ever process to evaluate your photo or video, zoom in on the gray card and adjust color so you get equal amounts of Red, Green, Blue (usually 128). This will make all other colors in the shot spot on as far as color temperature from main light source. This also works for video. Once you get your correction (ex: -20R, +30G, -10B) you usually can save it and easily apply it to every shot in the same light, with a click. Kinda long winded for sure but ask away if you have any questions. Cheers.
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As far as filters indoor, I wouldn't use any as its not nearly as bright as outdoors. You normally use ND filters outside as you want to control the shutter speed on very bright days. If you're taking stills, it's not as necessary as shutter speed is irrelevant for cinematic blur; Unless you're intentionally using artistic blur in your stills. ND stands for neutral density. It transmits equal amounts of the RGB colors; thus simply reducing the amount of light hitting the sensor allowing for longer shutter speeds at a given light brightness. The ND4, ND8, ND16 etc mean that 1/4th, 1/8th 1/16th etc amount of light comes through. ND16 is a 4-stop reduction in light. That's a complete different discussion as to what that means in the photography world. It's a lot of drone this Phantom 4 Pro! Cheers!
Fred, you're a true Well of qualified, useable information. Thank you for taking your time explaining this. I truly appreciate it!
Shot this picture last week in Costa Rica, about a mile and a half from the coast. I was using a Polar Pro ND16. It was so bright out that I could hardly see the display of my device. No post processing
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