Hello all,
I am not new to the RC world as I fly planes and Helis but I am a complete dummy to cameras and the settings.
First off is there any "one stop" type sites to help learn what different functions do on cameras? I am needing to learn more for better filming and photo taking obvisously and inparticular I am trying to figure out how to take nightime photos with a shutter that is open for a few seconds for (for lack of better words) smearing the lights and motion in the shot. Between me not know what settings to change and getting lost in the app, its ugly! Lol.
I appreciate any and all help on this subject!

Wes

http://lifehacker.com/5814173/ba ... ras-manual-settings

http://www.digital-photo-secrets ... to-camera-settings/

Here's One video, has helped me to get a much better understanding, of my Nikon D800 parameters and controls.



RedHotPoker

I look at the P3 as a photographic platform. If you want good results you need to take control of the camera as much as possible. It is the same for any camera that has adjustable settings whether on land or in the air. There are a few things you can do, but there is no real quick fix. Even so, the footage that comes straight out of the camera is not that great. You need to learn how to edit and make corrections in post processing in order to get the cinematic results that is shown in all of the slick marketing materials. It's a bit of a steep learning curve if you do not have some basic photography knowledge.

Here is a fairly concise set of instructions to get you going. It might be good idea to practice a little with a conventional camera before trying moving images in three dimensions.

http://digital-photography-schoo ... tips-for-beginners/

Someone here posted a video of the basic manual camera settings and the theory behind them. That will help you get pointed in the right direction as well. Hopefully that will be added to this thread soon.

Now...my learning challenge is getting adept enough at flying to get the shots I envision!

Good Luck!

OK you can read that for general info. But there is a big difference between a DSLR and the Phantom 3, namely the lack of aperture. You only have ISO value and shuttertime,

giant Posted at 2015-8-29 11:51
OK you can read that for general info. But there is a big difference between a DSLR and the Phantom  ...

That was my point. The OP needs a little more knowledge on the fundmentals of photogrpahy. There is a lot of good information on that web page and much that does not apply. Overall they will clear up some of their confusion if they stick the Basics of Exposure Section, White Balance and Histograms. All of those can be useful with the P3 camera and app. If you don't have a foundation in photography you will always be disappointed in the quality of your videos.

It's still photography despite the lack of aperture control on a Phantom camera. Yes, we have to compensate for lack of aperture control with ND filters, but you should have a little understanding of basics like how aperture (ND filter), shutter speed and iso work together.

As far as I know there is no guide of basic photographic principles and how it relates to to a Phantom camera. So, learning a little about photography from another source is the best you can do.

It all works the same in one respect or another whether it an expensive DSLR or a pinhole camera made from an oatmeal box. The difference is amount of control you have.

Gotta start somewhere.

Thanks for the links. Its alot to take in and is still clear as mud to me for the most part. From a photography newbie stand point it seems overwhelming. I will let it sink in and read it again.

There was a post I saw yesterday where a person had a 8 sec shutter from the P3 and showed the pictures. I dont see how he accomplished this within the app. I see timed shots where it takes a photo at a predetermined amount of time but not how to hold the shutter open for that long.

aopisa Posted at 2015-8-29 18:25
That was my point. The OP needs a little more knowledge on the fundmentals of photogrpahy. There is ...

I fully agree with you. Clear explanation!

giant Posted at 2015-8-29 15:23
I fully agree with you. Clear explanation!

I agree as well. There are a lot of people flying Phantoms who know nothing about flying quadcopters and don't know much about photography either. To many new owners, it looks like a "point and shoot" camera that can fly.

And yes, although a ton of answers have already been posted in the past, it doesn't take very long to provide a link for a newbie. With a little luck, the newbie you help will learn to do research.

This may be a dumb question but is there a digital zoom on these cameras? If so, can someone point me to where it is? I'm assuming that you can't zoom or it would be much easier to use from the controller. I do appreciate any answers even if you do make fun of me for asking. This is my first phantom with a built in camera rather than a GoPro. Thanks!

where is the option to adjust the shutter speed in DJI GO APP? Thanks

Flight Raptor Posted at 2015-8-29 11:51
http://lifehacker.com/5814173/ba ... ras-manual-settings

http://www.digital-photo-secrets ... to-ca ...

Thanks for the info.  It is well appreciated

aopisa Posted at 2015-8-29 17:25
That was my point. The OP needs a little more knowledge on the fundmentals of photogrpahy. There is ...

The aperture control on any camera/lens combination controls depth of focus or depth of field. I'll call it DofF from now on.  
i.e. how much of the picture will be in acceptable focus.  A small aperture say f22 will render virtually everything from 6 feet to infinity in focus, where as a large aperture of f2,8 may only render 6 feet to 10 feet in acceptable focus.  The DofF is also dependent on the size of the sensor and the distance from the sensor at which the lens is focussed.

Phantom cameras have fixed large aperture of f2,8 but in this camera the sensor is very small so the combination of small sensor and large aperture renders everything from about 6 feet to infinity in acceptable focus.

ND filters will not affect DofF, they can only decrease the amount of light reaching the sensor.  They will not affect DofF.

The camera on the P3 and Inspire is very simple in design because it has no aperture control or focus mechanism.  The focus mechanism would also change the CofG of the very sensitive camera/gimbal as the elements in the lens moves forward/back.  

Can you imagine trying to focus on something specific, and controlling the DofF at the same time you are flying, monitoring all the information from light bridge, avoiding birds, and other obstacles, whist looking at an iPhone or iPad screen?????

You really need the 2 operator systems as used by the professional camera platforms if you want this functionality.  I would be happy if DJI increased the sensor size and increased the resolution to 24Mp.  This would of course affect the DofF because of sensor size.  This subject can go on and on.

Hi Altered,
I'm no expert but I hope the following will help you:  I posted it some time ago and received a lot of thanks so here in its entirety.

The camera aperture cannot be changed, it is fixed at f2,8.  This lets a lot of light in.
The camera cannot be focussed, but because it is a wide angle lens, 92 degrees, and has a fairly small sensor, everything from about 6 feet to infinity will be in focus.
Exposure is controlled by the combination of shutter speed, from 8 seconds to 1/8000 seconds, and ISO which effectively changes the sensitivity of the sensor.

If you select automatic, the camera will select a suitable ISO and shutter speed for you.  In most cases this will be perfect.  
In some cases the sky or clouds may be over exposed and come out as totally white in your picture, this is called "blowing out".  If this happens you can use the right wheel to adjust the exposure either up or down to lighten the picture or in this case darken the picture.  Then take the picture again, or adjust before you take it.
To aid with correct exposure you can display a Histogram on the Pad or phone which graphically displays the distribution of light in the image.  If the clouds or sky are burnt out there will be a peak in the histogram graph at the right hand end.  If the opposite is true, say a forest of trees are showing very dark, then there will be a peak in the histogram at the LH end.  Ideal is to have an equal spread of information right across the histogram, with no peaks at either the LH dark end or the RH light end.  Use the Right Hand wheel to adjust the exposure so that there are no peaks at either end of the histogram.  You can try this indoors, you don't have to be flying.

Another tool you can use is Zebras.  This will show a striped black and white area in you picture where it will be over exposed or blown out.  Again use the RH wheel to adjust the exposure until the zebras disappear.

There is a manual mode where you can select the shutter speed and the ISO, but in most cases this is not needed unless you have some specific requirements.  For most people a correctly exposed shot is the only requirement.

White balance affects how the camera renders colours under different light, there are settings for daylight, sunlight, cloud, fluorescent etc which if selected will change how colours are displayed.  Try taking a picture outside with fluorescent selected and it will have a green tinge to it for example.  Again try this when on the ground, you don't need to be flying.  Best for general picture taking is Auto White balance.  This allows the camera to select the colour temperature that it thinks is best, and it generally is.

Next is the choice between .jpeg and RAW.
A .jpeg picture will have been adjusted by the camera software to produce a colourful, sharp, and what the software engineer thinks you will find pleasing, and generally this is true.  You can use this picture straight away on the WWW or anywhere you want to show it.  However it is highly compressed and every time you change it and save it, it will lose information.  Also if you change it and file it, you cannot go back to how it was unless you have made a copy before editing.  If you want to change anything about the picture such as colour or exposure, the changed picture will be of less quality than the original .jpeg and the change will be permanent

RAW does not change anything about the picture.  The information captured by each pixel on the camera is unchanged, and it is left up to you, to adjust the image in any way you want.  Usually the software program you use to edit the RAW image will not change the original RAW but store all the adjustments that you have made to the image in a file which is stored with the RAW so that you always have the unchanged original to go back to if you want to change something else about the image.  

Best illustration is to think of an image which you change to Black and White.  If is then saved as a .jpeg you cannot bring back the colour.  If you have a RAW then you can bring back the colour.

Hope this helps you get started, if you select auto, then learn to adjust exposure using the RH wheel you will be most of the way to getting great shots.  Practice on the ground till you get the feeling for what the adjustments do, then apply them in the air.

thank you guys for all your input. I, too, know nothing about photography so this stuff was very helpful.  I just have to  digest it all.  

Bobcat90 Posted at 2015-9-1 18:44
Thanks for the info.  It is well appreciated

You are most welcome.

memelivorno@gma Posted at 2015-9-1 16:35
where is the option to adjust the shutter speed in DJI GO APP? Thanks

You can find it here: