Do you guys have any recommendations to capture nocturnal urban downtown areas noiselessly?
Even during the blue hour right after dusk, my M2P videos have a ton of noise.In fact, about 1.5 hour before dusk, the vids are already very low contrast and hardly lively in colors.
What are your thoughts to overcome this?

You're going to struggle - ultimately you're dealing with a compact camera sensor so noise levels are high.
Other than the obvious of opening the aperture fully, taking the shutter as slow as you dare  all to keep the iso as low as possible theres not a lot you can do.

Are you talking stills or video?

Get a M4T system...

gnirtS Posted at 2018-10-23 21:46
You're going to struggle - ultimately you're dealing with a compact camera sensor so noise levels are high.
Other than the obvious of opening the aperture fully, taking the shutter as slow as you dare  all to keep the iso as low as possible theres not a lot you can do.

Video is what I was referring to

A CW Posted at 2018-10-24 00:27
Get a M4T system...

What is M4T?

DJ_Fan Posted at 2018-10-24 04:43
What is M4T?

Micro four thirds sensor - excellent for low light recording. You'd need an Inspire or above for that level on a drone.

A CW Posted at 2018-10-24 06:01
Micro four thirds sensor - excellent for low light recording. You'd need an Inspire or above for that level on a drone.

Well, the entry-level Inspire2 only has a 1" sensor, like the M2P.
So, it has to be the Inspire2 Pro and above. This means $10K and above.

I have spent that kind of money on Leica lenses but those maintain their values for many years. Drones, on the other hand, are commodities and they don't really maintain their values very well.
Some time ago, I have owned and used a 4/3 sensor camera and I was not very impressed with their noiselessness compared to full-frame Nikon sensors. I guess 4/3 sensors will surely be better than a 1" sensor.
I'm dreaming about a full-frame sensor on a drone that cost under $5K. Surely it will happen one day ... may be in 10 years?

DJ_Fan Posted at 2018-10-24 07:13
Well, the entry-level Inspire2 only has a 1" sensor, like the M2P.
So, it has to be the Inspire2 Pro and above. This means $10K and above.

They've discontinued the 1" X4S on the inspire 2 now - you'll need the X5S and can get a complete package for <$10K now if you look around.
The investment from drones certainly comes from the footage taken and not the hardware - that's for sure.