Very cool! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. I’m definitely not an expert on this ND filter stuff and I get easily confused when talking about shutter speed and all those technical terms. lol. I’m just glad DJI seems to have made it simple for even me! Hahaha. Thanks again for watching and for your input. God bless!
Great video on the ND filters Kev and Ted also makes great videos. To be honest, I never use them (don't tell Freewell) only because I forget to take them. Enjoyable video - have a great weekend
Hahaha. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached. Sometimes I wonder if it is really attached, too. I think Ted may have missed this video. Haaaaa!!! I won’t tell freewell by the way. I’m no Narc! Lol. Thanks for watching, buddy. It’s really cool you take the time to watch and comment. God bless!
Flying the Air 2S I leave the ND 16 filter on to protect the camera lens from the elements. It has very little effect on the video quality but is good protection. In Bright Sunlight I will go up to the ND 32. I got them with the Flymore combo a couple years ago and they have proven to be all I have needed. Thanks for another great flight and thanks for sharing.
Oh heck yea that’s a great idea. I have left the CPL filter on ever since these flights so I’ll probably swap between that and the UV filter every so often. I’m just glad to get some lens protection. Why in the world would they not have some sort of cover on the lens cap? Weird. I like the idea of getting some filters with the fly more kit. They may wanna start doing that in the future with the mini drones, eh?
Excellent test video showing the difference between no filter, and using filters on your drone, and excellent verse. You can use filters for your digital camera too. Thank you Kevin.
Very cool, Doug. Thanks so much for watching and for your awesome support, man. Wait till Mondays verse. Lol. You might get a chuckle. We got some filters for the GoPro a while back but we’ve not even opened up the box yet. Lol. It may be time to try that out, eh?
Excellent video, thank you for the comparison! I have that pack for my Pocket 3 and want to add a CPL to my mini 4 Pro collection. Ted is the Guru, thank you for his shoutout!
lol oh yea, Ted is definitely one to watch to learn about this stuff. We are more here to entertain and show you what not to do most times. Hahaha. Seriously though, the CPL filter is awesome and that’s what I’ve been using pretty much every flight since this video. I thought I’d use the other filters a bit more but honestly I haven’t even cracked the filter case open since this flight. Thank you so much for watching and for the comment. God bless! Kevin
Great test. I liked the N64PL the best. I bought some Freewell filters for the Mini 2 and never used them. I also bought some for the Mini 4Pro. Thanks for showing how to put them on / off.
Lol yes! Finally someone who agrees with me! Lol. Kristi said the 64 was too dark and she liked the CPL the most. I was honestly really pleased with the results. Now that I know I don’t have to use pro mode I’ll probably use them way more often. I really like the idea of using the CPl or the uv filters to protect the lens. I’m surprised DJI left the lens uncovered like that. Weird
Awesome! I haven’t taken the CPL off since these flights. Lol. I’ll probably toggle between the cpl and uv filters to at least protect that lens. Thanks for watching!!!
I Saw Ted's video about this a few months ago and was relieved I didn't really need to go down the pro road. Maybe this is a Pro photography thing blah blah taking it to the drone, who knows. But when the drone is in the air, conditions are constantly changing, so pro mode has been working for me mate. You and Ted's vids across the Atlantic are the best by the way.
Hahaha. Yea,Ted has a way of letting us relax and not worry about having to be a pro. Lol I don’t know the first thing about pro mode other than when I accidentally hit the button, everything looks screwed up. Haha. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your comment, man. Putting us in the same category of Ted is a huge compliment. I’ll take 2nd place to him any day! Lol. God bless, brother and thanks again.
Nice video. Must be nice to get free stuff. Congrats! 😊🎉 I would agree with you on your filter choice. Maybe a ND32PL would have been a little better because of the cloud cover but, it looked good to me. Definitely a difference between the three. Take care. God bless
Hahaha. Free is subjective just like this video, eh? Ok maybe not but you know what I’m saying. Kristi said the 64 was too dark so she liked the CPL better. You’re both probably right. Lol. I was surprised to see such a difference in auto mode after being told by a lot of people it makes no difference. I guess the true test would’ve been to use a regular 64 filter and see if it made a difference. I have kept the CPL filter on ever since I did these flights. I’ll probably go back and forth between the CPL and the UV filters but I may just be doing a lot of talking. I may abandon them all. Hahaha.
Thanks as always, Paul! I was pretty blown away at the difference with these filters especially being in auto mode. From what o was told before we tried this, this shouldn’t have happened. Lol. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the polarization on the filters though. It may not have been so dramatic if I’d used the regular filters, eh?
Awesome side by side by side comparison. I've been experimenting with filters with my sunrise videos, but it's hard to do comparisons as the sunrise only happens once per day! 🤣And each new day is different. I did a comparison during daylight hours with a different filter vendor (Drone Filter Tests Dec 29, 2023). Currently I'm not using a filter for my sunrise videos, but maybe I should give the Freewell ND64PL filter a try!
Lol yea wouldn’t it be weird to have more than one sunrise a day? That may help us age slower. Maybe faster. I don’t know all I know is auto mode surprised us. Lol. I’ll be keeping the CPL filter on the lens to protect the lens at least and maybe toggle between that and the UV filter. These results honestly got me a little excited to use the filters now that I don’t have to use pro mode.
Very cool set of filters for sure. And the price is right! Lol. Thanks for watching, Randy. I was serious surprised how different things looked for it being in auto mode. Very pleased. Plus the waypoints missions were almost identical. I guess it wasn’t as windy as the waypoints we did at the HGTV house. Hahahaha
This is a great demonstration, but I still don’t get it. I’ve seen several videos trying to show the difference with the filter on vs. off, and just like this video, I like the filter off better. I like to see how the sunlight is reflecting off the water with the filter off, which you really don’t see with the filters on. I’m still not convinced on why I should spend any money on the filters yet.
Awesome comment! You raise a very valid point and you’re not alone in your opinion. Kristi said the same thing that it’s more natural and she prefers without the filter. I think I like the CPL filters more because I wear polarized sunglasses and the CPL filters show it how I see it. Another thing the cpl does on a clear day is makes the blue sky pop a little more. BUT the natural view is always more pleasing to the eye, eh? Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and watch the video. God bless!!! Kevin
The “No Filter” looks the most normal to me and is exactly what my feeble old eyes see when I am around a lake on a sunny day …. So it just looks “natural”. YMMV
Very cool. I’ve not even pulled that 1000 filter out of the box. I definitely need to give it a try though, eh? I think there’s a 2000 in that box too but I can’t remember at the moment.
Wow, you can't beat FREE! Great side-by-side test! I purchased a different brand of ND filters. There are many out there, and I have been very happy with them. I'm like you, not one of the smart guys, just a wise guy. 😁I haven't tried flying the same route with & without them, but I leave an ND16 PCL on my Mini 4 all the time, and I'm very happy with the way it takes the glare off water and darkens the blue sky, along with protecting the lense. Also, I fly in auto mode also. I've had bad results with manual settings. I had to send my RC 2 controller in for repair since it kept telling me to update the controller, even after repeated updates. It always said "Your firmware is up to date", but it wouldn't let Faith take off. I spent over an hour on the phone with DJI support, doing repeated updates through the DJI Assistant 2 app. They told me there was a hardware problem and to send it in for repair. At least I've still got my Mini 2 that I can fly. I'll just have to remember it doesn't have collision avoidance! Since I only had to send in the RC 2 controller, I still have my Mini 4. I'll have to try the different filters when I get the RC 2 back. I'm going to miss her. 😢 Thanks for another great test Kev!
Lol wise guy. Perfect explanation! Hahaha. I really don’t think any one filter company is better than the other but I do like how these filters fit. They seem a lot more secure than the ones for the Mini 2 freewell made. Anyway, that’s a bummer about the controller. There was another commenter from another video that described the same issues and he was trying to get it resolved. I’ll let him know you had to send it off to DJI so maybe he can do the same. I know you’ll miss it but it’ll be worth it when you get it back, eh? Plus from what I’ve heard, DJI had a pretty fast turn around
Nice test to see the comparison 👍 I have never used an nd filter on any of my drones in 8 years (Phantom 3 adv, Phantom 4, Phantom 4 pro. v2, dji mavic, dji mavic 2 pro dji mini 2 pro, dji mini 3). I’ve have done a lot of drone jobs but i never needed it or maybe i just never found out that i needed it 😅. I have had some freewel filters some years back but some how i never got to use them and. Now i’m just flying for fun or a bit of dog or deer search for people who ask for my help. I have due to some illness in the family not uploaded videos to RUclips in a long time. But i have an exiting idea i’m will film and upload as soon as i get a little time in my life again. Thanks for sharing 👍
Awesome comment, buddy. I seriously have never been much on ND filters either but now that I saw such a difference even in auto I mode here, I’ll be keeping the CPL filter on the Mini 4 pro. I thought it was really a nice contrast. I’m sure I could’ve picked a better one than the 64PL but that sun hid on me! Lol. Any idea when you’ll be posting your new video? Looking forward to seeing what it’s all about for sure.
Lol thanks, brother. I was pretty amazed by the results in auto mode for sure. I’m definitely gonna use them more often now. I’ll probably keep flip flop between the CPL and the UV filters to protect the lens at least. Let us know if you get a set and how you like them. That link is unaffiliated so it’s just a regular link. God bless!
This is a nice short and sweet review Kevin, the only thing - I can't determine which of those ND filters were best because of the thick cloud cover. I didn't know the lens cover on the M4Pro wasn't a real lens cover, that's not to swift on DJI's part. I have the DJI ND filter 3-pack which has a 16, 64, and 256 (I'm anxious to use the 256 over a body of water to see if it gives me the "look.") I bought a SKYREAT 6-pack too: CPL, ND 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128. I have the DJI ND 16 on the M4Pro now, it's been on for a good while, I might swap it for the ND 8 and just leave the 8 on as a lens cover because it doesn't block out much light anyway. As for leaving the camera/video settings on Auto, I might have to give that a try, I have it in manual now, and I video in D-Log M which gives me more control with color grading my footage. (Can you please tell me in an email how you do the side by side, or in this video, the side by side by side edit? I use the free version of DaVinci Resolve.) Very good info in this video Kevin! 👍👍💜👍👍
Lol I know man. I figured DJI would have done better on that lens cap. Maybe they could include a free UV filter with each drone they sell just for lens protection. Sounds like you have the filter options covered, eh? I think what I’ll do now is toggle between the CPL and the UV filters. I’ve left the CPL on Dwight ever since these flights and it’s worked out great so far. Regarding the side by side comparison, I know you wanted an email but it’s a pretty short explanation. Lol. We use Wondershare Filmora and it’s an option in templates. All we do is click on the option and drag the clips into the template. If we didn’t have that option, I don’t think we could figure out how to do it. Lol.
Kristi said the same thing about the 64. She said the CPL was her favorite but the no filter seemed to be the most natural. I prefer the CPl filters because I wear polarized sunglasses so that’s how I see the water. Lol. Thanks for watching, buddy.
Great video as always brother, always makes me laugh! It’s a shame the weather changed to see the full results, nice to know we arnt the only ones over here that get horrible weather haha! The only time I use them is if I want the motion blur to look more normal by using the right filter to get the shutter speed back to double the frame rate following the 180 rule for low flying , moving vehicles etc . Nice set of filters those though, definitely not a cheap set Kev 🙂 keep up the good work brother! 👍
Lol oh we have our share of bad weather. I’m just glad it didn’t rain like normal. That wind really picked up so I was pretty impressed by the waypoints being so close. Way better than our actual waypoint test video. Lol. Anyway, those words you spilled out at the end of your comment are confusing to me so I’ll just stick with auto. Hahaha.
@@WeretheRobertshaha yea that rain is just horrendous, can’t escape it at the moment! Glad it wasn’t too bad for you brother! The waypoints looked great was impressed with them! Haha yea auto is good mate it’s definitely easier that way! 😂
Interesting test in auto mode brother, would of been nice to see how it affected the shutter speed. One thing i did notice was Kristi wasn't there haha.. Keep safe man!
Lol I was pretty amazed at the difference man. Totally wasn’t expecting to see much of a difference but it may have had more to do with the PL part, eh? How would I have checked on the shutter speed in auto? Just click over to pro and it’ll be already set?
Free stuff! That's a really nice complete set of filters. Personally, I like to see some glare on the water. It looks more natural to me. I'd probably choose a non polarized ND 32 or 64 in that situation. But then again, nobody watches my videos. So what do I know. Haha.
Hahaha. Free was pretty cool for this set of filters for sure. I was really surprised by the difference I saw in auto mode. I wasn’t expecting that at all based on what the experts say. I do agree though a regular nd filter may have different results than a CPL filter. Either way, I was pretty happy with the results. I think I’ll be using them more often now that I know there’s a real difference and I don’t have to mess with pro mode. Like I could ever figure that stuff out. Lol. In order to learn about that, I’d have to forget something else to free up space (I know you know what I mean lol). Maybe I could forget all the stuff I know about cheese. Hmm. That’s a thought. Anyway, Kristi agrees with you about the natural look. God bless!!!
@@WeretheRoberts No! Cheese is important. You'll need to forget something else. 😀 (And yes, I know too well what you mean.) Auto mode should work fine if you have the right filter. The experts say the shutter speed should be about twice the frame rate. That's what auto mode will pick if you have the right filter. If you're off by a filter (like choosing 32 instead of 64) the ratio of frame rate to shutter speed won't be optimal, but you'll still get nice shots. Thankfully we're not professionals. Haha
I felt so sorry for you I actually went and watched one of your videos. The one about the lighthouse and ship wreck. Nice vid. And also in 4K. Were you using An ND filter for that?
@@raymorris2910 Haha. Don't feel sorry for me. :-) I'm not going for views. Just enjoy doing it and put them out mostly for friends and family. Glad you enjoyed it. Yes I did use an ND filter, but don't recall which one.
Lol I was one of those “folks” before using this set. I was pretty blown away at the difference in the videos considering it was auto mode. I know it probably had to do with them being CPL filters and it may have not been so dramatic with a regular filter, but I was really impressed. I bet they’d make a huge difference in snow conditions. I don’t think I’ve seen a comparison in snow yet. We don’t get much of that stuff here in Florida but maybe next time we’re in WV or Iowa and it’s snowing, we’ll see if we can try that out. Thanks for watching, Daniel! God bless
I also use auto ISO with a fixed shutter/WB. You could get away with all manual if you are flying camera drones but with FPV, we need exposures to change when we go under shade or other high contrast areas.
If you want to know which ND level to use, use this method. Say you are using the 180 rule and shooting at 60 fps with a shutter speed of 1/120th. The ideal ISO to be shooting at is 100 but if you set your base off 100 then you will have no leeway for any changes that might happen when you are in the air. So use ISO200 at 1/120th as your baseline. This will give you an extra stop of light as contingency. So with that in mind, you want to meter your scene either with your drone using reflected light or using a dedicated ambient light meter. Using a grey card, let the sunlight light up the card and point your drone camera until it covers a majority of the card and swap in ND filters from 8/16/32/64 until the reading hits ISO200 (auto ISO) or close enough. An ND 8 cuts away 3 stops of light. 1 stop is a doubling/halving of light and is the equivalent of going from ISO100-200 or 200-400 or 1/60 to 120th or 120th to 250th etc. When you set your shutter to the 180th rule which is a slowish shutter speed (usually used for low light conditions) you need to cut away all the light until you can use that. If say your test says you need an ND8 (3 stops), without the ND and using auto shutter, the shutter speed would normally have gone up 3 times i.e. from 1/120 to 1/250 to 1/500 and 1/1000th. That is why the ND cuts away that light so you now can use 1/120th. If you want to make life easier, buy a cheap Sekonic light meter that can measure ambient light so it will give you the exposure necessary and apply the above method.
Holy cow that’s a lot of detail, brother. Thank you so much for taking the time to send me that. I’m gonna screen shot and keep it then go try it out. I did get really happy once I noticed how much of a difference these PL filters did in auto mode. The pro mode settings are just something I can never remember when I need them and auto is just way more convenient, eh? Lol
Ideally you would want to set only 1 variable using Auto and that is normally the ISO. People use ND because they want to use the 180 rule for motion blur and for a softer image but if you seldom fly low or past nearby objects, you will not see much difference except for the sharpness of the video.@@WeretheRoberts
@@WeretheRoberts yeah on my mini 3 pro i bought random sets but for the mini 4 i got this set it had everything i needed ive just ordered the nd 8 and nd 2000 to fill in the 2 empty spots in the kit
Thanks for the test Kevin. I've been trying to narrow down a best selection on Amazon. Seems as if there are several choices with varying Chinese names, 😀 NEEWAR promotes an aluminum housing and scratch resistant glass. I'm wondering if the aluminum housing has a big advantage over plastic? A bit less weight but negligible. Another influencer promotes Skyreat but I'm wondering if there is much of a difference between these brand names? I enjoy your video style and you've earned a sub. BTW, my DJI Mini 4 pro's name is Layla.
Awesome!!!! Thanks so much for watching and commenting, buddy. I’ve not done too much research on ND filters but you’re right. There’s a bunch of different “less expensive” brands available. I can’t imagine there being much of a difference in their function so you gotta use what you can get, right? I like the idea of the aluminum housing and scratch resistant glass. Sounds like they may be into something. I’ve heard good things about skyreat, too but have never used them so I can’t say from experience. I can’t really say much from experience. Lol. I’m still a rookie to this drone stuff!!! Hahaha. Oh, and Layla is an awesome name for a drone. These Mini 4 pro drones rock!
I think a 32 ND might be the winner. I thought the 64 ND was a bit dark, but definitely killed the harsh sunlight. Great clip, thanks!
Very cool! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment. I’m definitely not an expert on this ND filter stuff and I get easily confused when talking about shutter speed and all those technical terms. lol. I’m just glad DJI seems to have made it simple for even me! Hahaha. Thanks again for watching and for your input. God bless!
Great video on the ND filters Kev and Ted also makes great videos. To be honest, I never use them (don't tell Freewell) only because I forget to take them. Enjoyable video - have a great weekend
Hahaha. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t attached. Sometimes I wonder if it is really attached, too. I think Ted may have missed this video. Haaaaa!!! I won’t tell freewell by the way. I’m no Narc! Lol. Thanks for watching, buddy. It’s really cool you take the time to watch and comment. God bless!
Flying the Air 2S I leave the ND 16 filter on to protect the camera lens from the elements. It has very little effect on the video quality but is good protection. In Bright Sunlight I will go up to the ND 32. I got them with the Flymore combo a couple years ago and they have proven to be all I have needed.
Thanks for another great flight and thanks for sharing.
Oh heck yea that’s a great idea. I have left the CPL filter on ever since these flights so I’ll probably swap between that and the UV filter every so often. I’m just glad to get some lens protection. Why in the world would they not have some sort of cover on the lens cap? Weird. I like the idea of getting some filters with the fly more kit. They may wanna start doing that in the future with the mini drones, eh?
Excellent test video showing the difference between no filter, and using filters on your drone, and excellent verse. You can use filters for your digital camera too. Thank you Kevin.
Very cool, Doug. Thanks so much for watching and for your awesome support, man. Wait till Mondays verse. Lol. You might get a chuckle. We got some filters for the GoPro a while back but we’ve not even opened up the box yet. Lol. It may be time to try that out, eh?
I definitely like the results from the CPL filter. I thought the ND64 was too dark. Ted Nemeth is on my list of regulars. You are, too, of course.! 😊
lol being lumped in with Ted Nemith is a pretty cool thing. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. God bless!
Excellent video, thank you for the comparison! I have that pack for my Pocket 3 and want to add a CPL to my mini 4 Pro collection. Ted is the Guru, thank you for his shoutout!
lol oh yea, Ted is definitely one to watch to learn about this stuff. We are more here to entertain and show you what not to do most times. Hahaha. Seriously though, the CPL filter is awesome and that’s what I’ve been using pretty much every flight since this video. I thought I’d use the other filters a bit more but honestly I haven’t even cracked the filter case open since this flight. Thank you so much for watching and for the comment. God bless! Kevin
Great test. I liked the N64PL the best. I bought some Freewell filters for the Mini 2 and never used them. I also bought some for the Mini 4Pro. Thanks for showing how to put them on / off.
Lol yes! Finally someone who agrees with me! Lol. Kristi said the 64 was too dark and she liked the CPL the most. I was honestly really pleased with the results. Now that I know I don’t have to use pro mode I’ll probably use them way more often. I really like the idea of using the CPl or the uv filters to protect the lens. I’m surprised DJI left the lens uncovered like that. Weird
Nice comparison brother I'm using CPL until now happy flying👍
Awesome! I haven’t taken the CPL off since these flights. Lol. I’ll probably toggle between the cpl and uv filters to at least protect that lens. Thanks for watching!!!
I Saw Ted's video about this a few months ago and was relieved I didn't really need to go down the pro road. Maybe this is a Pro photography thing blah blah taking it to the drone, who knows. But when the drone is in the air, conditions are constantly changing, so pro mode has been working for me mate. You and Ted's vids across the Atlantic are the best by the way.
Hahaha. Yea,Ted has a way of letting us relax and not worry about having to be a pro. Lol I don’t know the first thing about pro mode other than when I accidentally hit the button, everything looks screwed up. Haha. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your comment, man. Putting us in the same category of Ted is a huge compliment. I’ll take 2nd place to him any day! Lol. God bless, brother and thanks again.
Nice video. Must be nice to get free stuff. Congrats! 😊🎉
I would agree with you on your filter choice. Maybe a ND32PL would have been a little better because of the cloud cover but, it looked good to me. Definitely a difference between the three. Take care. God bless
Hahaha. Free is subjective just like this video, eh? Ok maybe not but you know what I’m saying. Kristi said the 64 was too dark so she liked the CPL better. You’re both probably right. Lol. I was surprised to see such a difference in auto mode after being told by a lot of people it makes no difference. I guess the true test would’ve been to use a regular 64 filter and see if it made a difference. I have kept the CPL filter on ever since I did these flights. I’ll probably go back and forth between the CPL and the UV filters but I may just be doing a lot of talking. I may abandon them all. Hahaha.
Simply Awesome.
Thanks and Happy Flying!
Thanks as always, Paul! I was pretty blown away at the difference with these filters especially being in auto mode. From what o was told before we tried this, this shouldn’t have happened. Lol. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the polarization on the filters though. It may not have been so dramatic if I’d used the regular filters, eh?
Awesome side by side by side comparison. I've been experimenting with filters with my sunrise videos, but it's hard to do comparisons as the sunrise only happens once per day! 🤣And each new day is different. I did a comparison during daylight hours with a different filter vendor (Drone Filter Tests Dec 29, 2023). Currently I'm not using a filter for my sunrise videos, but maybe I should give the Freewell ND64PL filter a try!
Lol yea wouldn’t it be weird to have more than one sunrise a day? That may help us age slower. Maybe faster. I don’t know all I know is auto mode surprised us. Lol. I’ll be keeping the CPL filter on the lens to protect the lens at least and maybe toggle between that and the UV filter. These results honestly got me a little excited to use the filters now that I don’t have to use pro mode.
Awesome! Free filters! You can't go wrong with free🎉 Nice job on this presentation, Kevin. Keep'em coming.
Very cool set of filters for sure. And the price is right! Lol. Thanks for watching, Randy. I was serious surprised how different things looked for it being in auto mode. Very pleased. Plus the waypoints missions were almost identical. I guess it wasn’t as windy as the waypoints we did at the HGTV house. Hahahaha
This is a great demonstration, but I still don’t get it. I’ve seen several videos trying to show the difference with the filter on vs. off, and just like this video, I like the filter off better. I like to see how the sunlight is reflecting off the water with the filter off, which you really don’t see with the filters on. I’m still not convinced on why I should spend any money on the filters yet.
Awesome comment! You raise a very valid point and you’re not alone in your opinion. Kristi said the same thing that it’s more natural and she prefers without the filter. I think I like the CPL filters more because I wear polarized sunglasses and the CPL filters show it how I see it. Another thing the cpl does on a clear day is makes the blue sky pop a little more. BUT the natural view is always more pleasing to the eye, eh? Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and watch the video. God bless!!! Kevin
The “No Filter” looks the most normal to me and is exactly what my feeble old eyes see when I am around a lake on a sunny day …. So it just looks “natural”. YMMV
That’s a great point and I totally understand feeble eyes. I’m there! Hahaha. YMMV. Lol I think I know what that means.
I always use the nd 64 filter unless it's darker outside. Nd64 is an awesome filter. Also, try the nd1000, and you will be amazed.
Very cool. I’ve not even pulled that 1000 filter out of the box. I definitely need to give it a try though, eh? I think there’s a 2000 in that box too but I can’t remember at the moment.
Happy Flying! Good seeing an old friend!
Awesome! Thanks for watching as always. Is this the CB I see in WV from time to time?
That would be the one and only! Hope to see you soon!
@@CB-cz7gjnothing planned yet but I’m hoping to be there in the summer. :)
Wow, you can't beat FREE! Great side-by-side test! I purchased a different brand of ND filters. There are many out there, and I have been very happy with them. I'm like you, not one of the smart guys, just a wise guy. 😁I haven't tried flying the same route with & without them, but I leave an ND16 PCL on my Mini 4 all the time, and I'm very happy with the way it takes the glare off water and darkens the blue sky, along with protecting the lense. Also, I fly in auto mode also. I've had bad results with manual settings.
I had to send my RC 2 controller in for repair since it kept telling me to update the controller, even after repeated updates. It always said "Your firmware is up to date", but it wouldn't let Faith take off. I spent over an hour on the phone with DJI support, doing repeated updates through the DJI Assistant 2 app. They told me there was a hardware problem and to send it in for repair. At least I've still got my Mini 2 that I can fly. I'll just have to remember it doesn't have collision avoidance! Since I only had to send in the RC 2 controller, I still have my Mini 4. I'll have to try the different filters when I get the RC 2 back. I'm going to miss her. 😢
Thanks for another great test Kev!
Lol wise guy. Perfect explanation! Hahaha. I really don’t think any one filter company is better than the other but I do like how these filters fit. They seem a lot more secure than the ones for the Mini 2 freewell made. Anyway, that’s a bummer about the controller. There was another commenter from another video that described the same issues and he was trying to get it resolved. I’ll let him know you had to send it off to DJI so maybe he can do the same. I know you’ll miss it but it’ll be worth it when you get it back, eh? Plus from what I’ve heard, DJI had a pretty fast turn around
Nice test to see the comparison 👍 I have never used an nd filter on any of my drones in 8 years (Phantom 3 adv, Phantom 4, Phantom 4 pro. v2, dji mavic, dji mavic 2 pro dji mini 2 pro, dji mini 3). I’ve have done a lot of drone jobs but i never needed it or maybe i just never found out that i needed it 😅. I have had some freewel filters some years back but some how i never got to use them and. Now i’m just flying for fun or a bit of dog or deer search for people who ask for my help. I have due to some illness in the family not uploaded videos to RUclips in a long time. But i have an exiting idea i’m will film and upload as soon as i get a little time in my life again. Thanks for sharing 👍
Awesome comment, buddy. I seriously have never been much on ND filters either but now that I saw such a difference even in auto I mode here, I’ll be keeping the CPL filter on the Mini 4 pro. I thought it was really a nice contrast. I’m sure I could’ve picked a better one than the 64PL but that sun hid on me! Lol. Any idea when you’ll be posting your new video? Looking forward to seeing what it’s all about for sure.
Great side by side comparison! I'm gonna have to get myself the ND filters
Lol thanks, brother. I was pretty amazed by the results in auto mode for sure. I’m definitely gonna use them more often now. I’ll probably keep flip flop between the CPL and the UV filters to protect the lens at least. Let us know if you get a set and how you like them. That link is unaffiliated so it’s just a regular link. God bless!
This is a nice short and sweet review Kevin, the only thing - I can't determine which of those ND filters were best because of the thick cloud cover.
I didn't know the lens cover on the M4Pro wasn't a real lens cover, that's not to swift on DJI's part. I have the DJI ND filter 3-pack which has a 16, 64, and 256 (I'm anxious to use the 256 over a body of water to see if it gives me the "look.") I bought a SKYREAT 6-pack too: CPL, ND 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128. I have the DJI ND 16 on the M4Pro now, it's been on for a good while, I might swap it for the ND 8 and just leave the 8 on as a lens cover because it doesn't block out much light anyway. As for leaving the camera/video settings on Auto, I might have to give that a try, I have it in manual now, and I video in D-Log M which gives me more control with color grading my footage. (Can you please tell me in an email how you do the side by side, or in this video, the side by side by side edit? I use the free version of DaVinci Resolve.) Very good info in this video Kevin! 👍👍💜👍👍
Lol I know man. I figured DJI would have done better on that lens cap. Maybe they could include a free UV filter with each drone they sell just for lens protection. Sounds like you have the filter options covered, eh? I think what I’ll do now is toggle between the CPL and the UV filters. I’ve left the CPL on Dwight ever since these flights and it’s worked out great so far. Regarding the side by side comparison, I know you wanted an email but it’s a pretty short explanation. Lol. We use Wondershare Filmora and it’s an option in templates. All we do is click on the option and drag the clips into the template. If we didn’t have that option, I don’t think we could figure out how to do it. Lol.
@@WeretheRoberts Thanks just the same brother! 👍🏻👍🏻
Cpl and 64 both cut down the glair there are color differences I did notice some loss of clarity on the 64 but just might be the conditions
Kristi said the same thing about the 64. She said the CPL was her favorite but the no filter seemed to be the most natural. I prefer the CPl filters because I wear polarized sunglasses so that’s how I see the water. Lol. Thanks for watching, buddy.
Great video as always brother, always makes me laugh! It’s a shame the weather changed to see the full results, nice to know we arnt the only ones over here that get horrible weather haha! The only time I use them is if I want the motion blur to look more normal by using the right filter to get the shutter speed back to double the frame rate following the 180 rule for low flying , moving vehicles etc . Nice set of filters those though, definitely not a cheap set Kev 🙂 keep up the good work brother! 👍
Lol oh we have our share of bad weather. I’m just glad it didn’t rain like normal. That wind really picked up so I was pretty impressed by the waypoints being so close. Way better than our actual waypoint test video. Lol. Anyway, those words you spilled out at the end of your comment are confusing to me so I’ll just stick with auto. Hahaha.
@@WeretheRobertshaha yea that rain is just horrendous, can’t escape it at the moment! Glad it wasn’t too bad for you brother! The waypoints looked great was impressed with them! Haha yea auto is good mate it’s definitely easier that way! 😂
Interesting test in auto mode brother, would of been nice to see how it affected the shutter speed. One thing i did notice was Kristi wasn't there haha.. Keep safe man!
Lol I was pretty amazed at the difference man. Totally wasn’t expecting to see much of a difference but it may have had more to do with the PL part, eh? How would I have checked on the shutter speed in auto? Just click over to pro and it’ll be already set?
@@WeretheRoberts yeah definitely the cpl that made the difference. Took the glare away.
Yes it’s subjective but my subjective view agrees with you. I liked the ND64PL.
Awesome!!! You’re in the minority this time. Lol. Even Kristi said she preferred the CPL filter. Thanks for helping me out, brother. Lol
Free stuff! That's a really nice complete set of filters. Personally, I like to see some glare on the water. It looks more natural to me. I'd probably choose a non polarized ND 32 or 64 in that situation. But then again, nobody watches my videos. So what do I know. Haha.
Hahaha. Free was pretty cool for this set of filters for sure. I was really surprised by the difference I saw in auto mode. I wasn’t expecting that at all based on what the experts say. I do agree though a regular nd filter may have different results than a CPL filter. Either way, I was pretty happy with the results. I think I’ll be using them more often now that I know there’s a real difference and I don’t have to mess with pro mode. Like I could ever figure that stuff out. Lol. In order to learn about that, I’d have to forget something else to free up space (I know you know what I mean lol). Maybe I could forget all the stuff I know about cheese. Hmm. That’s a thought. Anyway, Kristi agrees with you about the natural look. God bless!!!
@@WeretheRoberts No! Cheese is important. You'll need to forget something else. 😀 (And yes, I know too well what you mean.) Auto mode should work fine if you have the right filter. The experts say the shutter speed should be about twice the frame rate. That's what auto mode will pick if you have the right filter. If you're off by a filter (like choosing 32 instead of 64) the ratio of frame rate to shutter speed won't be optimal, but you'll still get nice shots. Thankfully we're not professionals. Haha
@@PickleFaceProductionhahahaha. Yea I think you’re right about cheese. I’ll figure something out.
I felt so sorry for you I actually went and watched one of your videos. The one about the lighthouse and ship wreck. Nice vid. And also in 4K. Were you using An ND filter for that?
@@raymorris2910 Haha. Don't feel sorry for me. :-) I'm not going for views. Just enjoy doing it and put them out mostly for friends and family. Glad you enjoyed it. Yes I did use an ND filter, but don't recall which one.
Folks who think they don't need filters. Try that in bright sun on snow fields. No go. Need'em for sure.
Lol I was one of those “folks” before using this set. I was pretty blown away at the difference in the videos considering it was auto mode. I know it probably had to do with them being CPL filters and it may have not been so dramatic with a regular filter, but I was really impressed. I bet they’d make a huge difference in snow conditions. I don’t think I’ve seen a comparison in snow yet. We don’t get much of that stuff here in Florida but maybe next time we’re in WV or Iowa and it’s snowing, we’ll see if we can try that out. Thanks for watching, Daniel! God bless
ND-PL filters by JSR are the most useful. You wont go back to regular ND once you have ND-PL.
I also use auto ISO with a fixed shutter/WB. You could get away with all manual if you are flying camera drones but with FPV, we need exposures to change when we go under shade or other high contrast areas.
If you want to know which ND level to use, use this method. Say you are using the 180 rule and shooting at 60 fps with a shutter speed of 1/120th. The ideal ISO to be shooting at is 100 but if you set your base off 100 then you will have no leeway for any changes that might happen when you are in the air. So use ISO200 at 1/120th as your baseline. This will give you an extra stop of light as contingency. So with that in mind, you want to meter your scene either with your drone using reflected light or using a dedicated ambient light meter. Using a grey card, let the sunlight light up the card and point your drone camera until it covers a majority of the card and swap in ND filters from 8/16/32/64 until the reading hits ISO200 (auto ISO) or close enough. An ND 8 cuts away 3 stops of light. 1 stop is a doubling/halving of light and is the equivalent of going from ISO100-200 or 200-400 or 1/60 to 120th or 120th to 250th etc. When you set your shutter to the 180th rule which is a slowish shutter speed (usually used for low light conditions) you need to cut away all the light until you can use that. If say your test says you need an ND8 (3 stops), without the ND and using auto shutter, the shutter speed would normally have gone up 3 times i.e. from 1/120 to 1/250 to 1/500 and 1/1000th. That is why the ND cuts away that light so you now can use 1/120th. If you want to make life easier, buy a cheap Sekonic light meter that can measure ambient light so it will give you the exposure necessary and apply the above method.
Holy cow that’s a lot of detail, brother. Thank you so much for taking the time to send me that. I’m gonna screen shot and keep it then go try it out. I did get really happy once I noticed how much of a difference these PL filters did in auto mode. The pro mode settings are just something I can never remember when I need them and auto is just way more convenient, eh? Lol
Ideally you would want to set only 1 variable using Auto and that is normally the ISO. People use ND because they want to use the 180 rule for motion blur and for a softer image but if you seldom fly low or past nearby objects, you will not see much difference except for the sharpness of the video.@@WeretheRoberts
@@DavidCheokyea that makes sense. I notice sharpness quite a bit when I make a fast yaw move or hit RTH. The footage seems herky jerky. Lol
Nice set for sure.
Oh yea I agree. This is probably the nicest set I’ve seen. They came a long way from the mini 2 filters we have that’s for sure. Lol
@@WeretheRoberts yeah on my mini 3 pro i bought random sets but for the mini 4 i got this set it had everything i needed ive just ordered the nd 8 and nd 2000 to fill in the 2 empty spots in the kit
Nice🎉Thank You
Very cool! Thanks for watching and commenting, brother. God bless! Kevin
Thanks for the helpful info.
Heck yea, Donavan. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. We have more fun and entertain ourselves more than anyone I think. Hahaha.
That's good. I'm glad I found your channel.@@WeretheRoberts
Thanks for the test Kevin. I've been trying to narrow down a best selection on Amazon. Seems as if there are several choices with varying Chinese names, 😀 NEEWAR promotes an aluminum housing and scratch resistant glass. I'm wondering if the aluminum housing has a big advantage over plastic? A bit less weight but negligible. Another influencer promotes Skyreat but I'm wondering if there is much of a difference between these brand names? I enjoy your video style and you've earned a sub. BTW, my DJI Mini 4 pro's name is Layla.
Awesome!!!! Thanks so much for watching and commenting, buddy. I’ve not done too much research on ND filters but you’re right. There’s a bunch of different “less expensive” brands available. I can’t imagine there being much of a difference in their function so you gotta use what you can get, right? I like the idea of the aluminum housing and scratch resistant glass. Sounds like they may be into something. I’ve heard good things about skyreat, too but have never used them so I can’t say from experience. I can’t really say much from experience. Lol. I’m still a rookie to this drone stuff!!! Hahaha. Oh, and Layla is an awesome name for a drone. These Mini 4 pro drones rock!