When should i use the ND Filter included with the inspire?

Pretty much all the time when shooting outside during daylight hours.
As a rule of thumb....... If a Vampire wouldn't go out in it...stick an ND on!

Thanks, will be testing the ND filter today!

Keep the overexposure meter on in the app.    If it's not on then you don't need the ND.   Or if it's only on in a couple of spots but the vast majority is clear.  

This is on the assumption that you're using manual mode.  In AUTO then you just have to guess.

In Manual mode, bring the ISO down to 100 and the shutter speed between 50-100.    If you are still overexposed (see zebra lines on the display when the overexposure warning is set to on) then use ND.

When the ND is on experiment with the ISO/shutter.   Bring the shutter down to about 60 if you shoot 30FPS and 50 if you shoot 25FPS.   Bring the ISO up until it just about triggers overexposure.  

Be careful not to underexpose as this makes terrible footage.   You always want to be as bright as you can be without overexposing.   Takes some practice but it's worth it when you see gorgeous footage.

jimhare Posted at 2015-3-28 20:23
Keep the overexposure meter on in the app.    If it's not on then you don't need the ND.   Or if it' ...

Jim,

I will be using predominently on buildings, structures and occassionlly over land contours.   Specifically where buildings and structures are concerned, I would look to capture as much detail as possible e.g. possible fractures in stonework or specific defects.

As a somewhat novice on the photography side, what would the best settings be for these sort of videos or would it be best to just stay in the auto modes and just experiment with various settings over time.  Would you reccomend using teh filter shooting buildings and structures ?

In addition, do you think it would be best to just shoot the whole event in 4K video and extract stills later or take individual stills during flight.

Still have ing problems extracting stills from the 4K video - I now have teh Apple geeks and FCP geeks looking into this further as it is presenting a problem for them also.

GB44 Posted at 2015-3-28 20:48
Jim,

I will be using predominently on buildings, structures and occassionlly over land contours.   ...

"Still have ing problems extracting stills from the 4K video - I now have teh Apple geeks and FCP geeks looking into this further as it is presenting a problem for them also."

download Vlan player for 4k video latest one plays.from here   http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html
..frame grabs are easy as pressing a button for" take snapshot"

Stick with Jim's advice and if all possible keep the sun to the back of the camera.

arunmehta Posted at 2015-3-28 21:18
"Still have ing problems extracting stills from the 4K video - I now have teh Apple geeks and FCP g ...

Tried that and it works.  Ok as an alternative until the Final Cut Pro issue can be resolved.

Cheers

GB44 Posted at 2015-3-28 20:48
Jim,

I will be using predominently on buildings, structures and occassionlly over land contours.   ...

One thing to keep in mind is that the aperture is fixed on the camera. It is 2.8 which limits you depth of field. On a camera where the aperture is adjustable you would drop that down as much as possible considering the amount of light and the shutter speed that you want to use. The higher the f stop the smaller the aperture. The smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field. The depth of field is the distance that the camera lens stays in focus. However on the Inspire the camera's focus is set to infinity meaning that the depth of field is some where around a few inches to as fas as you can see. To determine exactly how close you can get, turn your Inspire camera on and watch your tablet and move your hand or another object in towards the camera and make a mental note as to where the object starts to blur and th back out a bit. This will tell you how close you can get with the 2.8 lens and still stay in focus. Remember the closer you get the smaller the angle of view (smaller width of the photo) Dji uses a 2.8 aperture which will let you shoot in an environment with very little light. That along with a higher ISO will give you an acceptable photo most of the time. As Jim said watch for the zebras (over exposed areas) in photography we call them the blinkies, video they are called zebras. Best thing to do is not be in a rush and experiment with your settings under the prevailing light conditions if you want to be exact, if not put it in auto, shoot it and if it is a bright subject throw the ND Filter on. Others may have other suggestions.

jimhare Posted at 2015-3-28 20:23
Keep the overexposure meter on in the app.    If it's not on then you don't need the ND.   Or if it' ...

Just a couple of points here...

You are assuming the OP is using iOS. On the Android app unfortunately there is no zebra function
I wish it did as I rely on zebras a lot on my cameras and I am used to them (even though I can manually set the thresholds for them at two levels.... oh how I wish the Inspire had that !!)

Also, specular highlights are OK to blow out and in fact you would expect them to be.

Rodger, Mark, Jim,

Just to confirm, I do use iOS App.

I will experiment with the manual settings, but will also see what other results I get with the Auto Settings.  Its looked ok on what I have taken to date.

Just cant wait to get my replacement aircraft now, otherwise I ill be using my Phantom and GoPro 4.

markjacobs.talk Posted at 2015-3-28 21:48
Just a couple of points here...

You are assuming the OP is using iOS. On the Android app unfortun ...

That is interesting. Seems like DJI is keen on Apple, I am as well. Two great leaders together. There have been posts that suggest that DJI will be adding features to the Android App in the future.

Hi All,

A few posts so I'm going to combine into one comment.

Yes, I'm assuming IOS as it is the only platform they are supporting with the features required to control your shots.  Otherwise you may as well use AUTO in my opinion.   I'm sure they will bring the features to Android.

The 2.8 aperture only controls light in this case as the sensor is way too small and lens too wide to have any kind of depth of field.   I haven't tested focus but my experience is it's closer than you would ever dare fly to your subject!    ;-)   I've been within about three feet before and the image was sharp.

GB44 - if you are mostly interested in "reportable detail" than asthetically pleasing motion, I would suggest leaving the ND off and controlling light with the shutter.  This will cause some rolling shutter but should create very sharp and detailed images.   Might even be better off in AUTO, especially if you come in and out of shade in the same shot.

Try an experiment shooting the same environment in both and check the results.

Cheers Jim,

I am hoping I get my aircraft back next week as its been two weeks now, so just keeping all the suggestions and will try them out once I get my replacement Inspire.

One thing I will do when I get my new one is to take some Jpegs in raw and check for Dead Pixels, as that was one of the issues I had with the previous and also the struts/rod as one came out of the socket on the aircraft mid-flight.  I was told by another Inspire owner that he had a replacement Inspire due to Dead pixels when viewing Raw JPEGS and it was the same batch date as mine.

So guys please as part of all pre-flight checks remember to include checking the struts/rods under the main arms are secure in their sockets, especialy at the aircraft end.

Is ND filter predominantly for video or should it be used for photo too?

SuperFly Aerial Posted at 2015-7-15 13:30
Is ND filter predominantly for video or should it be used for photo too?

I would say it's predominantly for video since for still photos a faster shutter reduces any chance of motion blur.    So while 1/500 would be a problem for video, possibly creating the jello effect in addition to stuttery motion, for still photos it's ideal.

jimhare Posted at 2015-3-28 20:23
Keep the overexposure meter on in the app.    If it's not on then you don't need the ND.   Or if it' ...

Regarding the ISO settings ...

If I recall this correctly I noticed that when in auto mode (possibly semi auto) the ISO value can be "what ever" but when you shoot in manual mode your stuck with the standard ISO values 50, 100, 200, 400 ...

If I want to use exactly "50" as shutter speed it would be of great value if I where able to adjust the ISO in smaller  "increments" to adjust the exposure more accurate without changing the shutter speed ...

Or am I missing something ?

Is the leap from 50 to 100 about the same as from 200 to 400 ?

w1der Posted at 2015-7-15 17:20
Regarding the ISO settings ...

If I recall this correctly I noticed that when in auto mode (poss ...

Since in Auto mode you aren't setting anything then yes.  

Aperture, which we don't have control over, doubles every time you move one stop even though it's not double the number.    But ISO does follow basic math so you are right, 50-100 is proportionately the same as 200-400.

If you want to use exactly 1/50 as a shutter speed then you need to compensate with both ISO and the use of NDs.   In the photographic world you would first compensate with aperture (iris), which also controls depth of field.  But since depth of field is infinity after the first couple of feet, they decided to pin it wide open to let as  much light in as possible.  While this is great for low-light shooting, it means NDs are needed in pretty much every daylight video.   

The included ND isn't strong enough to reduce enough light to maintain low shutter speeds which is why the stronger, third party NDs are so popular.

jimhare Posted at 2015-7-16 10:24
Since in Auto mode you aren't setting anything then yes.  

Aperture, which we don't have control  ...

OK ... just to clarify what I ment with "what ever" ...

I have seen ISO values in the pilot app that "says" 178, 256, 132 ... not the typical 100,200 and so.
Might be mistaking but I do remember reacting to it when I saw this so I am probably right ...
If this was available in manual mode we would be able to adjust the exposure a lot more accurate with the ISO settings and keeping shutter speed locked at 1/50.  

Or is this "over kill" ?

w1der Posted at 2015-7-17 15:16
OK ... just to clarify what I ment with "what ever" ...

I have seen ISO values in the pilot app  ...

Yeah, figured that's what you meant about whatever, not being restricted to hundreds.

I think you'll find that moving by the hundred is about right as the difference is not night and day.   I think it would be overkill to scroll through one by one when you will probably need to move by 100 to see any real difference.   

jimhare Posted at 2015-7-17 16:25
Yeah, figured that's what you meant about whatever, not being restricted to hundreds.

I think you ...

"One by one" would def be "overkill" ...
I was thinking more like 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800 ...

Looking at the "zebras" I can go from barely none to about 75% coverage within just one step on the ISO.  

This was just me thinking out loud ...
I got your feedback on it and I´m thankful !