No AEL (Auto Exposure Lock) when in shutter priority mode?

[verynicehat]

Hi folks, I'm relatively new and working to master the camera. I set one of the back buttons to toggle AE/AF lock. I'm thinking it is optimal to manually set shutter speed so that is consistent (double the framerate), and adjust aperture and ISO for exposure. I'd like to allow the computer to select an auto exposure, then I hit my AEL button, and I fly for a pass with no exposure adjustments during the clip.

It seems like only AF lock is available if you are not in FULL auto exposure mode. You have to be in full auto to have exposure lock. With my shutter in manual mode, it does not allow the button to exposure lock. I film with my mirrorless camera and my Parrot Anafi with this strategy a lot.

Any ideas? Or, what is your strategy? Full manual all the time? Thank you.

 

[herein2021]

Hi folks, I'm relatively new and working to master the camera. I set one of the back buttons to toggle AE/AF lock. I'm thinking it is optimal to manually set shutter speed so that is consistent (double the framerate), and adjust aperture and ISO for exposure. I'd like to allow the computer to select an auto exposure, then I hit my AEL button, and I fly for a pass with no exposure adjustments during the clip.

It seems like only AF lock is available if you are not in FULL auto exposure mode. You have to be in full auto to have exposure lock. With my shutter in manual mode, it does not allow the button to exposure lock. I film with my mirrorless camera and my Parrot Anafi with this strategy a lot.

Any ideas? Or, what is your strategy? Full manual all the time? Thank you.

I wish I could help, but yes...my strategy is to always shoot full manual so I literally have never tried any of the other modes. I typically leave ISO at 100 (during daylight), set the aperture to F5.6 (for photography), or F11 (for video), and then use the shutter speed to properly expose the scene. You can read here on my thoughts on trying to stick to the 180 degree shutter angle for drone video and why I don't worry about the shutter speed going past it.

Also, just FYI, I personally strongly dislike the back buttons; they are way too easy to press accidentally so I never assigned anything to them.

 

[verynicehat]

I wish I could help, but yes...my strategy is to always shoot full manual so I literally have never tried any of the other modes. I typically leave ISO at 100 (during daylight), set the aperture to F5.6 (for photography), or F11 (for video), and then use the shutter speed to properly expose the scene. You can read here on my thoughts on trying to stick to the 180 degree shutter angle for drone video and why I don't worry about the shutter speed going past it.

Also, just FYI, I personally strongly dislike the back buttons; they are way too easy to press accidentally so I never assigned anything to them.

Thanks for the info. Can I ask what the thoughts are behind your aperture settings for those situations?

I semi-agree with your thoughts on 180 shutter angle rules. It is easy to add motion blur in post (though it takes a lot of processing time on hi-res footage). A fast shutter speed is not noticeable if nothing is moving fast in your shot, but it definitely is if your shot is moving fast at all. Particularly a panning shot will be very choppy without some motion blur.

Most clients won't notice you not having standard levels of motion blur, yes, though I like to make stuff look as good as possible for me a lot of the time.

I was happy to get the Evo II pro with the adjustable aperture so I could stop down the exposure that way instead of using NDs in a lot of situations. I'm not sure I plan to buy any NDs for this drone.

 

[herein2021]

Thanks for the info. Can I ask what the thoughts are behind your aperture settings for those situations?

I semi-agree with your thoughts on 180 shutter angle rules. It is easy to add motion blur in post (though it takes a lot of processing time on hi-res footage). A fast shutter speed is not noticeable if nothing is moving fast in your shot, but it definitely is if your shot is moving fast at all. Particularly a panning shot will be very choppy without some motion blur.

Most clients won't notice you not having standard levels of motion blur, yes, though I like to make stuff look as good as possible for me a lot of the time.

I was happy to get the Evo II pro with the adjustable aperture so I could stop down the exposure that way instead of using NDs in a lot of situations. I'm not sure I plan to buy any NDs for this drone.

I use F5.6 to get close to the sharpest aperture for the lens for photography. I use F11 for video to keep the shutter speed as low as possible and because sharpness is not a desirable element for video. With Davinci Resolve motion blur takes only seconds on any footage I throw at it. I very rarely add it back in post either way.....most of my drone footage is only seconds of footage out of a much longer video with regular video footage so I'm really not going to worry about motion blur in a few seconds of footage.

To me, drone video should only be just enough to give the viewer a feel for the venue and surrounding area...beyond that regular cameras should be used to tell the rest of the story.