Hope you found this video helpful. Are you planning to use ND Filters on your mini 4 pro? Also a note, the ND Labels on the polarised examples is mixed up, ND128 is the first example and ND128PL is the second example. Happy Flying! 😀
Your videos are spot on and I am starting to learn from youre ND filter video. Not sure if using auto would also give the same affect as manual with motion blur and milky affects with water and do these affects only work with the higher ND's, hope you can advise me on this thanks
@Jakeydroney Hey! I'm glad you're finding my videos helpful! For ND filters I would always reccoment staying in manual camera settings. You will get a more consistent image and it makes sure that you are in full control of the camera. Yes for the milky water effect you need a very high strength ND filter and a long exposure image to get that look. It's more of a photo effect rather than a video effect in that case. 😃
Thank-you for replying to my questions and those tips will help me out big time! I haven't ever used manual in the 3 years Ive had drones 🤣 because I never knew how to, what a waste eh... of possibly better footage I could of taken but hey ho! I now have the Freewell megapack! So I best learn to put them to proper use! Oh no which one do I use first 🤣
@Jakeydroney No problem! I'm here to help. It's okay, everything in life has a learning curve. You can still get good footage in auto settings, but learning how to use all the manual settings will give you a better understanding of the drone and also better footage. Haha yeah there are a lot in the pack. If you need more help I just released this video on how to make your Mini 4 Pro more cinematic which I think will help you. There's also a free 7 day course to go with it and one of the days is dedicated to manual camera settings. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EbvwG9tiR4c.html feel free to check it out 😀
Been watching hundreds of videos on the mini4 pro and all of yours just give a better comprehensive understanding from the RC controller to ND lenses. Thanks
I totally agree. I’ve watched all the mini 4 pro videos and as a beginner that started with the mini 2 SE and just recently got the M4P I need Simple directions and instructions. I’m not hip to all the tech talk yet😂. He breaks it down so easy to learn everything. My favorite drone channel for sure🤘
As a fresh drone owner i really appriciate your videos, Justin! You talk a language i can understand when it comes to settings on the camera etc. and you are explonations and demonstartion are great! Keep up the good work!
Thank you! I do try my best to explain things thoroughly, but also in a way that's easy to follow. Tha is for the support and welcome to the community! 😃
Thank you, Justin! As a beginner, I just understood why I have to set up shutter speed manually and turn that exposure down with ND filter. Many other videos seems to focus how low shutter speed+ND filter can create nice motion blur when you film moving objects like waves splashing against the boat, and windmill blades moving. But this video explained how it also helps to reduce the so called juttering in the corners of the video, making it more pleasant/natural feeling for our eyes :)
Terrific video. Thank you for the demonstration. I just picked up the Mini 4 Pro, and trying to narrow it down to which brand of filters to go with. This was very helpful.
Got the DJI Mini 4 Pro, 4 days ago. 2 days ago, had to send back. The battery in the drone, was VERY hot!. Connected to the drone, no GPS, no satellites! If you have problems with a new drone, within 15 days, you go on line and request a replacement. Hope it comes in 2 weeks or less. I would be a happy camper. I ordered the filters, hope they come soon, Thanks for making this video for us!
That's unlucky! Glad you've got a new one on the way. It's a fantastic machine when it's doing its thing. I'm excited for you to get it up and try it out! Good advice there for people for sure! You're more than welcome. I love sharing the knowledge so we can all get better drone shots 😁
Great video! One point I would like to add is to power up the drone at location with no ND filter and see what the shutter speed is in AUTO mode. Then you can figure out how many stops it takes to get to the desired shutter speed (1/60). Hence the correct ND filter to use. One last point, the advertised ND strength (or optical density) on the filter may be off by 1/3 stops to a full stops (manufacturing issues). So you may have to go back and forth between filters depending on which brand you have. Freewells also have known color cast issue with certain ND filters. BTW, you got yourself a new sub.
Yes, very good point to add! Yeah the ND's do vary between manufacturers and even with the same manufacturers. I found most of the filters I've used in the past to be pretty colour neutral. But I always opt for high quality filters. That's the first thing the light hits before the sensor, right. So if we want good footage we need good glass. Welcome to the community 😁
Echoing all other comments by saying that this is the best and most direct comparison of ND filters. The others either go into too much detail, not enough or do not express the comparision and reason why. Good effort on the video.
Thanks for the video, it was very useful information for me. I have the Freewell mega pack for the mini 4 pro and really didn't know how use half of them.
A brilliant exposé of the use of ND filters . Justin has excellent teaching ability for somebody "on the learning curve" like myself ! Thank you, Sir !
I like this video a lot, but I have one question unanswered. In your test, you manually set the desired shutter speed, then try on different ND:s to see which one gives a correct exposure and looks best. My question is: If I wanted to use Auto mode, and since the camera will strive for correct exposure when in Auto, couldn't I just do it the other way around, trying different ND:s until I find one which gives me the shutter speed I'm looking for? I hope this question makes sense. Thanks again for a very infornative video ❤
Hey! You could do it this way, however leaving it auto still means that the camera settings will change as you fly. It might show the correct shutter speed for a moment or 2 but the camera is always tweaking the settings in auto. It makes more sense to lock things in manual and then select the ND which gives the correct exposure. Its easy to see just by holding the filter infront of the lens if its the right one or not. After a few days filming you'll get a good sense for which ND will be needed for that flight too. Hope this helps 😀
One of the best explanations videos I ever watch on youtube. If you dont mind, can you make a more video about ISO, exposure and shutter speed. Btw, you are SUBSCRIBED!!!
Thank you! I'm glad you got everything from the video that I had hoped! I will be making a video on drone camera fundamentals so stay tuned for that one! 😃
@JustinBainbridgeYT when will that post? Been looking for a video like this to show and tell how each filter works and looks with real world examples. Brevity is king. ; )
Thank you for your kind words! I try my best to put across these things in a way that everyone can understand. Welcome to the community! Happy Thanksgiving 😁
Ahoy, I've seen various videos on this topic. This one is easy to understand and shows the differences perfectly. Thank you, a thumbs up and in the hope of seeing more videos on the subject of drones, there is also a subscription. Thanks!
Ahoy! You're more than welcome. I'm happy you were able to get the intended value from this video. There's a lot more to come, so stay tuned and welcome to the community! 😁
Thanks for the kind words, that means a lot! I do try to make it easy to understand and helpful for people! We were beginners at one point. Having good help is priceless. You're welcome mate! 😁
Great video, Justin, really well explained, thanks! Just curious, the footage you show looks like the Flinders Ranges here in South Australia. Is it? If so, yes you definitely need NDs out there, it’s way bright! Subscribed. 👍
You're more than welcome! Yes you're 100% right. I was working at Rawnsley Park Station for the last 8 months so had plenty of time to capture the ranges. It's incredibly bright out there haha. Welcome to the community! 😁
Hello Justin just came over to your Chanel, excellent content. Have to say, looks like the Flinders ranges and I also recognise those flipping flies, hahahaha
Thank you very much for the well made and informative video. One of the best I have seen when it comes to explain the main purpose of ND filters, motion blur. Do the Freewell filters introduce a noticeable colour cast ? Do you see the need of correcting for that in post ?
Hey! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and found it useful! I haven't found the ND filters to have any colour cast effect, I do however normally shoot in DLog M and colour grade in post so it's not something that would affect me much. But in my testing I didn't find and noticable colourcast 😃
Very helpful, thanks! I appreciated the direct comparison at the end. But now I am asking myself: In this pack i would have to decide between the UV or ND Filters right? So I couldnt get the lower shutter speed and UV filter at the same time. I guess that would mean the UV filter is best applied to shots where I have no motion, like a far distance shot? Probably those are the shots where the UV filter is most useful too?
Hey! You got it pretty much right. The UV helps with large landscapes where you won't be close enough to anything for motion blur to be much of a concern. You could also use a polarised ND filter and get similar results. The polarisation also helps to give the colours a boost and increase contrast. So you could use one of those and still get the correct shutter speed. Let me know if this makes sense? 😃
Either no filter or an S Mist if you like the effect it gives, you could use the LPR filter too if you wanted, but personally, for night flying I go with no filter 😃
Watcha wanna bet that a future DJI drone (Mini 5 Pro?) will have the ability to rotate a built-in polarizer filter remotely, as the drone is being flown?
Thank you! Yes, that's the one. Yeah the Samsung does tend to oversatyrate a bit, I do tend to go for a more contrasty look but this one was a little too much. Thanks for watching, and for the feedback 😁
Cheers for the episode, I have just got the Freewell filters for my mini 4 pro and now I’ll know what to do with them 🤞. I worked on and off at Rawnsley for over 6 years and it’s great to see the footage!! 🥰
@Msjacqui you're more than welcome! Wow really, haha I didn't think I would come across someone on YT that had worked here before. It's a beautiful area, that's for sure! 😁
Hey! Yes, this is a good way of tuning your exposure with ND filters. In some situations, you would want an EV to be more or less than 0, but it'll get you pretty close. 😁
Thanks, clear explanations. 1 question, are the changes you make on the controller saved forthe next fly or are they going back to "default" every time you switch it on?
Hey! The all-day filters are standard ND filters, and the bright days are polarised ND filters. The all day will do for most people. The polarised filters will help reduce reflections but will need to be turned manually if you swap between horizontal and vertical otherwise you won't have proper polarisation. Polarised filters will also give you more contrast. For the majority of people, the all-day filters are easier to live with.
Hey mate have you seen the Freewell VND Filters? They cover 9 F stops using just 2 variable lenses. Seems to be a great way to save carrying a box of ND filters but is there a catch? Cheers from Tasmania, Australia.
Hey! I have just taken a look. They must be fairly new. Looks like a nice option like you said for just having a couple of filters to cover the whole range. I haven't used them myself but freewell know what they're doing with ND filters so I'm sure they'll be really nice.
@@JustinBainbridgeYT I just got them. They come in a small box that can hold 3 filters. In practice they seem to work really well. No need to guess which f stop is best...just rotate the filter ring until the exposure is correct. I assume there would be a slight degrade in picture quality using a variable lens but I haven't experimented with them yet. I doubt you'd notice without close examination TBH.
Still get great benefits with still photography. Allows you to bring down the shutter which will give a much nicer image. Really high shutter speeds gives poor over sharpened images on the Mini 4 pro from my experience. Plus ND's allow you to do longer exposure imagines with motion blur. Hope this helps 😃
Once you've attached the correct ND filter to match shutter speed do you ever set shutter speed back to auto? So that it will mainly shoot at required shutter speed but will adjust slightly if needed? Sorry I don't own a drone yet so not fully familiar with the setup controls.
Nope, the main reason we're using an ND filter is so we can lock the shutter speed to maintain the 180° shutter rule. I would recommend leaving everything set at a locked value for the shots. If you need to have the drone do some brightness changes, you could put it into auto iso, but I would recommend leaving everything locked for the most cinematic footage. 😃
People shouldn’t get too obsessed with motion blur and the rules that were designed for analog cameras. Sometimes crispy shots just look better. Such as filming straight down whilst panning a scene. Also you don’t need your stick with the 180 rule.. again, that’s an analog rule that doesn’t apply exactly to digital. You can fly in 30fps and still get some nice motion blur with 1/120 shutter without over blurring
Yep, this is also true and down to preference. I think using 1/120 shutter at 30fps looks good too. Especially when shooting FPV footage as the image can become too blurry otherwise. Sometimes a sharp image looks much nicer, but sometimes you need the motion blur to achieve the desired look. Thanks for the input. Nice points for thought there 😁
I hear ya. I used to not use filters. Now I won't not use them.. Also just knowing that I followed the rule psychologically makes what I capture seem to look that much better. I highly recommend using nds. U can tweak the shutter a little. But not much if u care about your quality.
Yep, no one cares beside us to motionblur 😂 and drone should be the faster and easy to operate , low baterry, movements etc , don’t care about exposure and shutter and simply auto mode :)
For those on a bit of a budget (blew most of our on the mini 4 pro) what ND filters or the other fancy ones like the polariztion lens would you say are the most needed? I do a lot of flights over the ocean living on Vancouver Island so the polarized one sounds pretty cool
I get fantastic footage with my Mini 4 Pro and I never put a filter on it and I will never do... People make a confusion of doing a movie for the cinema or doing a movie with your drone for pleasure, the same goes for the 24 fps for drones...
Hi mate just came across your channel. I plan to use my mini 4 for aerials videos of city streets etc probably in cine mods with the camera pointing either directly down birds eye view or at an angle. Will I need an ND filter for this and also what will the best FPS setting be for this and overall manual settings? Thanks.
Hi mate, I would reccomend an ND filter for this especially if you're moving close by buildings other there are moving cars in the shot etc. I'd go for 4k 30fps, shutter speed 1/60, ISO 100. And which ever strength of ND is needed on the day 😁
You can add it in post-production if you use Davinci Resolve or Aftereffects. It will take an awful long time to render though and it's much easier to just shoot it in camera. You'll also get oversharpening with really high SS on this camera which doesn't look very nice.
Hey! Cpl is useful for low light polarisation but they can be a bit finicky to get right. An NDPL would be a better bet as you're more likely to be battling reflections in brighter conditions 😁
I don’t understand…I’m using the 180 rule, I set my shutter to 1/60 when using 30fps, using freewell nd filters, and still getting overexposed video, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong ( this is in pro mode )
I appreciate the examples and I can tell what you’re talking about but at the same time I’m like meh… I don’t know if it makes that huge a difference to me. Maybe I’m odd? Do people really notice this that much?
Hey! I'm glad the examples showed the use of ND's well, and no, I don't think you're odd. The thing with motion blur is that it's almost a subconscious thing that we see. It's the difference between a good and great drone shot. I do agree to an extent that for some people, it's just not worth the effort. I will always use them as I just prefer the look to everything being sharp. But in some cases, having everything sharp is preferable. I don't think people notice much consciously, but they'll just feel that the footage looks more realistic 😁
Because we want out footage to look natural and cinematic. Turning off motion blur in games is the same reason why we don't want to run an ND filter on an FPV video transmission camera. When doing high intensity high presion work through a screen, you want the clearest, highest refresh, most crisp image possible. So your eyes can pick up on the smallest details when doing things first hand. But in the world of film and looking natural. Motion blur is essential. I like the question! Interesting stuff
Friend. We don't film. We video, shoot, produce, videoing. In most cases, it's unnecessary to state as it sounds repetitive. Obviously, we know what you are doing. Digital Video and film require different skill sets and gear. Digital Video and film Have different historical timelines covering 150 years. Great video! Know the difference, stand out, and be better at your craft.
Funny you call motion blur "natural" all the time. In fact it is NOT how we see "naturally". It is just how we learned to watch movies. With motion blur. In reality there is no such thing as motion blur for us.
Of course there is motion blur naturally. Wave your hand fast in front of your face and you can clearly see the blur of your fingers. You're not stating facts, youre expressing an opinion, which is, in this case wrong.
Hello Justin Bainbridge @JustinBainbridgeYT just subscribed today after I unboxed my new DJI Mini 4 Pro - while charging everything I watched 8 of your videos and took some good notes - thanks for all the info. I have a few more videos to get through.
Hey! That's great to hear. Hopefully, you've got all the info you need to fly comfortably and get some great shots! Always happy to help, so I'm glad you're making the most out of the videos!
I's still reccomend them for Photos. It'll give you more control over shutter speed and allos you to get some blur in long exposure photos. So you can get nice waterfall pics with the water being all blurred. Or you can chase a cara and the car will be sharp and the background/foreground will have nice motion blur in it. Hope this helps 😃
