Welcome, Autel Pilots!
Join our free Autel drone community today!
Join Us

Filter question......

PRMath

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 13, 2017
Messages
412
Reaction score
107
Location
NW FL panhandle
if you shoot a video with no filter and all settings on auto..........
Then, if you put on an ND filter, would it be ok to continue shooting on Auto or go to manual mode
 
I am no expert on this but I just use auto when I have my filters on. If I was a little more knowledgeable on camera settings I might use manual but I am not sad to say.
Using auto settings I still get the video or picture that looks great. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: KentA
Using auto with filters on kinda defeats the purpose of the filters. However, it's difficult to determine which filter to use mathematically, because of the way the x stars camera is set up. I doesn't really tell you how much it's compensating.

The whole purpose of filters, is to shoot manual, using moderate settings on the camera for best results, to stay away from the auto compensation of the camera. These cameras do a great job, for the most part, in evenly lit mid day settings. Although, it is not a high quality professional camera...far from it. And in digital, there is no free lunch. In the old days, we controlled everything manually, and chose the film to match the setting. What film had the iso to match the light we were working with. Yes, you can set the iso of the x stars camera...but, with the quality of the sensor, you are limited. Also, when using auto camera settings, coupled with the limited quality of the sensor, you risk blown out highlights, and loss of detail in the shadows. This is why we use filters, and manual mode. We are still limited to evenly lit mid day to stay within the limits of the sensor, for really good looking media. Yes, we can pull off much more, but with it comes loss in quality...no free lunch.

So...keeping it simple. We want to shoot at iso 200, or 100. This is where our sensors shine. 200 for really bright, 100 for not so bright. We also want to stay near a shutter speed close to 1/2 of our iso setting. So, for iso 200, a shutter speed of 80-120. For iso 100, 40-80. Then, you pick the filter that makes that look good to the eye, and the histogram to peak near the center third of its range. With practice, you'll be able to "ballpark" your settings, and filter, on the fly. This is one place DJI has autel beat on the camera. Theirs will give you the plus or minus ev settings on the display, and you can pick the correct filter using that. Not that easy with the autel. Need to "eyeball it" and watch the histogram.

Thats the best way I see it, unless someone else had a better plan.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jagerbomb52
Agree with QuadSquad 100%...keep iso at 100 to 200 and stay in manual! What I usually do before shooting is switch to automatic mode for a couple of seconds to flood the sensor with light spectrum then switch back to manual and adjust shutter....this gives the camera a baseline and you're ready to go with or without filter. The really annoying aspect of auto mode is the constant light adjustment you get in your videos as the ambient light changes....kinda ruins a good thing.
 
Wondering ........ if I photograph a 400ft radio tower......
am I allowed to go 400ft or 400ft Above the tower? TIA
 

Latest threads

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
11,594
Messages
104,832
Members
10,482
Latest member
B-Bob