I'm trying to film sharks that are in a shallow bay with Mavic Air 2. I can get decent footage with a polarized ND filter on a sunny day, but was wondering if anyone has had success or has advice on camera settings and/or filters for filming things that are underwater.

And any advice on LUTS or color grading in post also appreciated.

Thanks!

You could try using a regular ND filter to help with all the surface glare but that is going to be hard to overcome. A slightly overcast day might be the best solution then you could use no filter at all. As far as LUTs go I would do a YouTube for the type of LUT you are looking for (color or style) and there you should be able to find a creator who has created some that are either free or very cheap. Good luck and would see your footage.

https://youtu.be/ozf6EUBUhuM

Hi there.  You absolutely need a polarized ND, not a standard ND, as the polarizer will cut out most of the reflections.
If you have a variable polarizer, then hold the drone level over the water and turn the polarizer as you watch through Camera Mode on the phone.  When the reflections are least visible, you have your alignment
3:07 on this video shows the differences a polarizer will make.
Good luck!

Ian

SharkWatch Posted at 7-20 14:27
https://youtu.be/ozf6EUBUhuM

Looking at your YT clip, I don't think reflections are your issue as you don't seem to have any sky relfections at all. It's diffraction by the choppy water surface breaking up the image of the shark, making it appear blurred.
My suggestion would be to choose a very calm day with no wind so the surface is flat.... and wait for a shark that's near the surface so the effects of diffraction are decreased.... Or film in shallower waters

Thanks for the help. Low tide + no wind + find sharks = good footage.

As a former avid salt water fisherman, I can say that you absolutely need polarized glasses to fish in waters like you see in your video. Is isn't all about the obvious reflections but the subtle ones as well. I think it would be the same for drone photography.

Hello there John. Thank you for reaching out and for these information you have shared with us. In addition to this thread I will post an official DJI link on How to Fly Safely Over Water ( https://store.dji.com/guides/how ... s%20come%20equipped,two%20meters%20above%20the%20water. ). By the way thank you for the cool video link you have posted on post #3. Again great work and fly safe always.

May I suggest that you need to get a lot closer.
Ensure your camera is pointing straight down because this helps a lot to minimise scattered light reaching the camera, without any filter at all.
In video, at 0.33, I know these aren't sharks, but they are very small and yet you can clearly see their markings.



Good luck.

GaryDoug Posted at 7-21 19:42
As a former avid salt water fisherman, I can say that you absolutely need polarized glasses to fish in waters like you see in your video. Is isn't all about the obvious reflections but the subtle ones as well. I think it would be the same for drone photography.

If you want to unretire as a fisherman, I know where you can catch some leopard sharks!

Cheers

AlansDronePics Posted at 7-21 22:45
May I suggest that you need to get a lot closer.
Ensure your camera is pointing straight down because this helps a lot to minimise scattered light reaching the camera, without any filter at all.
In video, at 0.33, I know these aren't sharks, but they are very small and yet you can clearly see their markings.

Awesome - thanks.

Clear water seems to make a huge difference. Problem is, these sharks live in murky bay water.

I'll keep at it.

Cheers

I took this in Rangiroa. Nasty little black tip sharks. This is as close as I ever want to be to them. I had been flash photographing the coral etc when one bumped the camera. By the time I realised WTF was happening, this is my best shot. The white blobs is due to the bits in the water and the flash.
I did another drone video where I dangled my underwater camera from the P3P into the local shark free reservoir to film fish. However, it wasn't successful because I couldn't see which way the camera was pointing.
Crazy video though.

That is way closer than I would ever want to be to one of those.

Thanks for sharing.

Better luck with stingrays. They swim closer to the surface. And it helped that the water was perfectly calm.

Stingrays 1 - https://youtu.be/RNYANpnNyHM