Shot a bunch of footage last Fall on the East coast. On cloudy days my footage turned out very grainy. I tried to do brightness/contrast and highligh/shadowing on this video for probably 2 hours before I just gave up and removed all effects from it. The grainy footage just starts looking worse when you start messing with the picture. So... I need to learn to shoot better video right away. Using manual settings and getting the ISO right. Possibly buying/using filters properly. Anytips for getting your M2P settings correct BEFORE you start shooting.
Here's my video with no effects.


Here's a video I edited last night and messed with the brightness/contrast and highligh/shadowing and it turned out WORSE. I should have just left it alone.
UPDATE: Removed the second video. Re-edited with NO contrast, brightness, highlight, shadowing effects. Re-uploaded. Here:

Any tips to capture less grain, setting the ISO correctly, when to use filters, and why I failed when trying to adjust brightness/contrast and highlight/shadowing on the second video.

I haven't flown the M2P a lot this winter, so I need to get my settings dialed in for Spring, Summer, and next Fall videos.

Don't buy filters (for this).
They only remove light. (so more probability you need higher ISO)

Just set ISO to the lowest value and try to solve your lighting situation with the other tools you have (shutterspeed / aperture (depending on the drone))

Your second video is not viewable.  Marked private with your host.

I would bump your exposure compensation up 1 f-stop.  I think that would do a lot towards getting the video to look as you would like.

I would bump your exposure compensation up 1 f-stop.  I think that would do a lot towards getting the video to look as you would like.

I think filters will help here, first you need when filming to shoot using the 180 rule twice the frame rate shutter speed, you do need this for video with movement in it, they will also show brighter greens and blues. Lately I have been using 2.7k 60fps and 1080p 60kps and slowing down footage in post ie 2.7k 60 to 24fps and same with 1080p, footage is a lot smoother, not sure what your using for editing but with something like FCPX premier pro use stabilization and noise reduction if you need but if your using iso 100/200 you should have very little noise. Depending on what conditions your filming in , white balance auto is ok on sunny day with little or no clouds and complete cloud cover, but experiment with setting your own WB , other important stuff, if you really want the footage shoot it twice or three times.

I really like all your videos and they all tell great stories so easy to watch, it’s the most important thing, yes editing is the cream on the cake for you and I’m certain you’ll have no problem working it out .

In the weather situation you were flying in, there was absolutely no need for filters of any type. The basic problem with the footage is that it is all under-exposed. As has already been pointed out by another poster, you need to increase exposure compensation.

Still enjoyable to watch!

Montfrooij Posted at 3-6 06:15
Don't buy filters (for this).
They only remove light. (so more probability you need higher ISO)

Thanks Montfrooij. Didn't want to buy them anyway.

Geebax Posted at 3-6 13:38
In the weather situation you were flying in, there was absolutely no need for filters of any type. The basic problem with the footage is that it is all under-exposed. As has already been pointed out by another poster, you need to increase exposure compensation.

Thanks Geebax. I'll apply the advice on my settings next cloudy day and see if I can fix this grainy footage problem.

hallmark007 Posted at 3-6 13:35
I think filters will help here, first you need when filming to shoot using the 180 rule twice the frame rate shutter speed, you do need this for video with movement in it, they will also show brighter greens and blues. Lately I have been using 2.7k 60fps and 1080p 60kps and slowing down footage in post ie 2.7k 60 to 24fps and same with 1080p, footage is a lot smoother, not sure what your using for editing but with something like FCPX premier pro use stabilization and noise reduction if you need but if your using iso 100/200 you should have very little noise. Depending on what conditions your filming in , white balance auto is ok on sunny day with little or no clouds and complete cloud cover, but experiment with setting your own WB , other important stuff, if you really want the footage shoot it twice or three times.

I really like all your videos and they all tell great stories so easy to watch, it’s the most important thing, yes editing is the cream on the cake for you and I’m certain you’ll have no problem working it out .

Thanks Hallmark. Using 60fps at 2.7k is def an option. That's what I did with all of my Hawaii footage and it turned out really beautiful. Good tip.

almacrae Posted at 3-6 12:43
Your second video is not viewable.  Marked private with your host.

Oops. Sorry fixed it. Thanks for the F-stop advice. I will apply that next cloudy day.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I guess this experience will force me to pay more attention to my camera settings instead of just shooting auto from now on. It's a shame so much of my East Coast footage is kind of crappy, but I learned a lesson I guess. It wasn't a total wash though. Some days when the sun shined I was able to capture really fantastic footage.

This video was shot a couple days later on fully automatic settings.

Bing Err Posted at 3-6 15:25
Thanks Montfrooij. Didn't want to buy them anyway.

I have them, but seldomly use them.

Montfrooij Posted at 3-8 05:47
I have them, but seldomly use them.

Good to know

Bing Err Posted at 3-8 15:25
Good to know

The effect is not very prominent (for me at least not enough) and the real issue is that the lighting situation changes so much while you are in flight that you seldomly have the right filter.
(unless you fly back...)
So, I only use them in critical projects.