Lens flare in stills

[Tuatara2]

Has anyone been able to buy or make some kind of lens hood to mitigate lens flare? Coming from a P4P the lens flare on the EVO Pro 2 is really noticeably worse at oblique angles in comparison, and it's not just little spots here and there, it's massive, image-ruining flare.
I'm mainly shooting real estate so the camera is pointing slightly down rather than right into the sun. But just seeing if anyone has found a solution.

 

[jonny1914]

I have something in the works for this. I should have some designs ready this weekend

 

[herein2021]

Has anyone been able to buy or make some kind of lens hood to mitigate lens flare? Coming from a P4P the lens flare on the EVO Pro 2 is really noticeably worse at oblique angles in comparison, and it's not just little spots here and there, it's massive, image-ruining flare.
I'm mainly shooting real estate so the camera is pointing slightly down rather than right into the sun. But just seeing if anyone has found a solution.

It is funny so few people discuss this problem. I noticed it immediately and put it on my cons list in my review of the EVO II Pro 6K. My only solution is to just keep rotating the drone and trying different angles until the flare goes away. It is really bad in video though, I've had some great shots that were ruined by the lens flare.

 

[jonny1914]

It is funny so few people discuss this problem. I noticed it immediately and put it on my cons list in my review of the EVO II Pro 6K. My only solution is to just keep rotating the drone and trying different angles until the flare goes away. It is really bad in video though, I've had some great shots that were ruined by the lens flare.

Yep, same issue I was having, surprisingly the camera has really bad flare problems when when pointing a light source 180 degrees to it, by comparison I did this with my anamorphic lens and it was not as bad.
Either way I made a lens hood that attaches by pressure to the screw on cap/nd filters. With this lens hood I was able to preserve another 40 degrees of angle before the light source hit the lens.

PS. you will see the camera dropped a few inches, this eliminates the props being shown on camera. It also makes my anamorphic lens mount installation a breeze...

 

[jonny1914]

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[Brock Inspector]

I made a few simple push-on foam and Gaffer's tape hoods that work really well to eliminate flare-- but only until I go ripping about in forward flight or encounter a stiff headwind while hovering. (The gimbal motor gets bumped around by gusts or stalls until camera eventually flops down as a safety feature; a reboot of the aircraft is needed to restore gimbal function. Most any hood attached to the camera would trigger this, and this seems a likely reason why there isn't a commonly available hood for the AE2 Pro. Flying backwards with a hood installed is somewhat of a workaround.)

 

[Brock Inspector]

My Gaffer's tape hood yields to pressure and keeps the camera from smacking the lower shell if you're looking above the horizon, or when the gimbal gyro self-corrects abruptly with an attitude change, or if it should hit the ground in it's calibration self-check upon startup. Those are all good reasons against making one that's more substantial, like out of carbon fiber or plastic. Landing on a rigid hood with the camera flopped down as mentioned could present a real problem. The few times my camera has flopped I've landed my Evo 2 Pro with a hand catch--but in a gusty wind situation that proves a little dicey

 

[jonny1914]

Very interesting observations, I have yet to test this set up but I am also worried the hood will act as a wind shoot and overdrive the gimbal. I do plan to make some additional revisions to lighten the adapter as well as integrate some air channels to relieve the pressure.

In my findings the hood needs to be mounted after the initial calibration. Just like how the Moment anamorphic lens is installed on the DJI drones. The gimbal will lose power momentarily while mounting but will come back to life fully calibrated.

I am also working on a hood that mounts on the drones main frame... still in progress

 

[Brock Inspector]

Air channels alone didn't solve the gimbal stalling problem for me. Too, any hood needs provision for using and changing accessory filters-- access for rotating a polarizer, or to see what strength ND is installed.

 

[GeoDrone SRL]

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I would not put the hood on camera....on strong winds will destroy the gimbal servo.
Any hood should be mounted on front arms base and use for hardening the same holes like the gimbal protector, above camera.
But...you don't have so many flare in order to become a real issue this thing...You can always change the high and lower the gimbal, so the flare will be gone, that if you cannot rotate the drone in different angle.

 

[Brock Inspector]

I have yet to test this set up ...

In my findings the hood needs to be mounted after the initial calibration...

I am also working on a hood that mounts on the drones main frame... still in progress

OK so you've done some renders. Testing I've done suggests your proposed hood if printed from TPU will almost certainly also cause a static weight imbalance on the gyro if not also counterbalanced by weight added to the backside of the camera. Also, lowering the camera and landing gear will change the CG/roll center, perhaps enough to alter the flight characteristics of the aircraft or reduce the effectiveness of the camera gyro (but I'll leave that R&D to somebody else using their own AE2 Pro)

 

[jonny1914]

The gimbal does work with the lens hood on.. no counter weights needed the gimbal can handle a few grams of PLA, question here is how does it handle strong winds. Most likely this set up will only work in near perfect conditions (low to no winds) and is not meant to be an end all. I will be testing this weekend..

 

[LtPacman21]

The gimbal does work with the lens hood on.. no counter weights needed the gimbal can handle a few grams of PLA, question here is how does it handle strong winds. Most likely this set up will only work in near perfect conditions (low to no winds) and is not meant to be an end all. I will be testing this weekend..

I'm so glad I found this forum, I've been trying to find a solution to the lens flare issue. Have you had any luck or success with your tests?