Hi, I was taking a few pics from my drone but my images tend to be a bit misty. Is there a good height or setting to get them to look less misty in the distance? It was quite a clear day. I took most of these at a height of around 100 meters.

Dude, this is white noise. First put it on manual and then adjust from there. It always worked for me. but 100 meters is too high to begin with to get good clarity. also make sure you adjust to sunny and then compensate for the exposure.

i agree with dronist.   looking at how much noise is in the image it appears this is a case where you will be better off with manual mode and dialing ISO as low as you can, setting a high shutter setting and maybe throwing on a good Neutral Density Filter, like ND32/PL (polorized) or maybe even a ND64 if its really bright out.  what an ND filter does is it cuts down on the amount of light pulls and all bright areas down so not beyond the dynamic range of the camera in brighter areas, and polarization (have to manually adjust on the filter before take off) cuts down on glare and harsh reflections like from the water, basically a pair of sunglasses for your drone's camera.  

brand of filters i use is PolarPro  and the type i use is the Cinematic series (Neutral Density + Polarization)..  but you can also get color Gradient ND filters from other companies and really change how the colors pop among other things.  lot of options..

but that all assuming that all that noise up there isn't just atmospheric haze/smoke/fog/smog and is just too bright for your camera to compensate for on the high end and its beyond reach of dynamic range to pull it back.

dronist Posted at 12-24 19:51
Dude, this is white noise. First put it on manual and then adjust from there. It always worked for me. but 100 meters is too high to begin with to get good clarity. also make sure you adjust to sunny and then compensate for the exposure.

Thanks For the tips.  Will try it out

HereForTheBeer Posted at 12-25 01:39
i agree with dronist.   looking at how much noise is in the image it appears this is a case where you will be better off with manual mode and dialing ISO as low as you can, setting a high shutter setting and maybe throwing on a good Neutral Density Filter, like ND32/PL (polorized) or maybe even a ND64 if its really bright out.  what an ND filter does is it cuts down on the amount of light pulls and all bright areas down so not beyond the dynamic range of the camera in brighter areas, and polarization (have to manually adjust on the filter before take off) cuts down on glare and harsh reflections like from the water, basically a pair of sunglasses for your drone's camera.  

brand of filters i use is PolarPro  and the type i use is the Cinematic series (Neutral Density + Polarization)..  but you can also get color Gradient ND filters from other companies and really change how the colors pop among other things.  lot of options..

Thank you for the advice. I will check on the ND filters but need to try out the manual modes

You could reduce the haze with the dehaze adjustment in any good photo app.
Try reducing hilights and exposure in the photo app.
In general you might find lowering exposure in manual mode to be the most convenient solution, in future. Filters are only effective when used properly and if haze is a problem you need advice on, filters are beyond your abilities at the moment.

"but that all assuming that all that noise up there isn't just atmospheric haze/smoke/fog/smog"

I'm going to go along with this. The higher you are, the further away the horizon is. From ground level you might see a crisp horizon, but get up higher and haze may obscure the horizon.

With my own eyes I see images like what you've taken from windows of airliners, or when hanggliding.

Ex3B is right on in my opinion.  There is no horizon because of the density of the gunk in the air.  It just isn't a clear day.  However, many of the other comments hold water too.  You're very high to be trying to see horizon in those conditions.  Filters will help, and so will more appropriate camera settings, but they aren't magic.  There's only so much you can pull from the atmosphere you're shooting through in that photo.

I suggest also you invest in a good set of ND filters if it was not already mentioned. Manual adjustments comonly need to be made to get the best images. A few quick youtube videos on iso and proper use of ND filters should get those images looking much better.

You could set the white balance more to adjust for the noise?

AlansDronePics Posted at 12-26 00:43
You could reduce the haze with the dehaze adjustment in any good photo app.
Try reducing hilights and exposure in the photo app.
In general you might find lowering exposure in manual mode to be the most convenient solution, in future. Filters are only effective when used properly and if haze is a problem you need advice on, filters are beyond your abilities at the moment.

Hi, thanks for the tips. I will try with the reduced exposure.

Ex3B Posted at 12-26 03:26
"but that all assuming that all that noise up there isn't just atmospheric haze/smoke/fog/smog"

I'm going to go along with this. The higher you are, the further away the horizon is. From ground level you might see a crisp horizon, but get up higher and haze may obscure the horizon.

Hi, yeah I might have too high. Will try at different altitudes again.

Bob Brown Posted at 12-26 06:08
I suggest also you invest in a good set of ND filters if it was not already mentioned. Manual adjustments comonly need to be made to get the best images. A few quick youtube videos on iso and proper use of ND filters should get those images looking much better.

Will check it out. Thanks for the tips.

Look4What Posted at 12-27 18:55
Will check it out. Thanks for the tips.

Is this photo straight from the device you use to fly, if so there is a much higher quality on your SD card, if not I would recommend shooting in raw and manual, there are many videos on YT to help with this, ND filters won’t help in this situation, but for video they are a real help.

Your subject and composition for this photo were really good, so when your ready go for it again.

Differently try some filters.

Lonesome Crow Posted at 2018-12-30 16:17
Differently try some filters.

In your case, the only filter that would be appropriate would be a UV filter. Fitted correctly and with the shot at the correct angle to the sun, it reduces glare and scattered light. Think of clear polaroid sun glasses. Same function, but tricky to get right for a drone. Read about them in Wiki. I doubt there is any point in using ND filters or grad type in this scene.