ND filter for that phantom 2 plus.. Found one finally

[Gonefishing51077]

I had been looking for a while for an ND filter for the phantom plus but had no luck. I was tired of the glair and flair effect that I was getting. I contacted ragecam on eBay who I had ordered items from before and I know they design custom items. They came up with the following item. I have one on order. Should be here in a few days. I will post my review and pics with and without the filter.

http://ragecams.com/shop/filter-phantom ... p-757.html

 

[flyNfrank]

I'll be watching...can't wait to see the final result. How did you get ragecam to return your email?

 

[witold]

I have one of their filters (for a Ghost HD) and it's low quality overpriced junk. It's a bit of plastic filter in kinda shrink-wrap-type material.

You can buy asheet of plastic ND filter and make 20 filters for half the price they're charging. The result won't be that great, either, but at least you didn't blow $40+s/h.

 

[DrJoe]

Just ordered one. Will report my experience

 

[Gonefishing51077]

Well I received my ND filter today. It fits good and does filter very well. That being said I will agree with the statement above. It is cheaply made and worth about $5 and even possibly $10. The lens feels solid but the part that slides over the camera is just really thick shrink wrap. It does fit snug and I have no worries about it falling off. The plus side is that with the cheapness comes a very light product which is what you need on your bird. So in the end it does what I need it to do and yes I paid 7 times to much for it but when that's all that's out there that's what you pay.

I figure it like this. I have $1500 plus tied up in my bird. I'm I really going to miss out on some awesome video or still shots because I wasn't will to pay $40 for an over priced filter. Heck NO. If I am able to get 1 shot per trip that I normally would be able to because of the glair of the sun then it's worth every penny. Just my thoughts.
Gotta run. It bass fishing tournament night.

 

[DrJoe]

I had been looking for a while for an ND filter for the phantom plus but had no luck. I was tired of the glair and flair effect that I was getting. I contacted ragecam on eBay who I had ordered items from before and I know they design custom items. They came up with the following item. I have one on order. Should be here in a few days. I will post my review and pics with and without the filter.

http://ragecams.com/shop/filter-phantom ... p-757.html

Just received my ND filter from RageCams:

1st impressions:

• Cons:
  Packaging very suspect. Bubble wrapped box stuffed into a USPS Priority mail envelope. Worried it was damaged before I opened it, and considered not accepting from postman, but it turned out to be fine.
  
  Lens may be scratched easily. Time will tell, but it appears to be a plastic lens. Needs proper handling, storing, and cleaning.
  
  Pros:
  Very light weight, with no noticeable effect on gimble (straining, etc.).
  
  I don't know about cheaply made. Its not milled aluminum with zeiss optical glass, but for a small market product with no other active competitors (viewkopter.com has not responded to me since September), its custom made with a good fit and good optical quality.

The sky is clear, the sun is up at 11:00 am EST., the wind is down. I seem to get the most jello and prop shadows with 1080p narrow view, so that is what I will now test.

I will fly 2 back-to-back flights in the same orientation and with the same maneuvers. One flight with the ND cam, One without. Both at ASA 100, Auto WB, 1080p 30fps narrow view.

I'll be back in an hour or two and post videos and side by side comparisons of the results.

 

[DrJoe]

Flight test results:

I'm not even going to bother to edit the video. Jello is unchanged. Banding from prop shadows unchanged.

Conclusion:
An ND filter does not eliminate prop shadows or banding with a locked ASA-100, auto WB, and 1080p narrow view..

Discussion:
I'm very disappointed. From everything I've read, the ND filter should have really eliminated jello and prop shadow effect. I wonder if I need to unlock ASA-100 and try auto ASA with the filter. Also, I will retry in 720p 60 fps, 1080i 60 fps and 1080p wide view.

I'm also wondering if the 9450 props have anything to do with the increased jello I've been getting lately. More experimenting and more posts to follow.

 

[DrJoe]

I have just conducted several flights with various settings.

Result:
Best video/least jello & banding result:
720p, 60 FPS, 100 ASA, locked WB, 9443 props. Note 1080i at same settings had similar result.

Worst: 1080p narrow view (the wide view was definitely better).

ND filter provides "softer" video, smoother motion and higher quality video.

Conclusions:
Auto WB/locked WB or Auto ASA/locked ASA do not effect jello or shadowing.
ND filter does not effect jello or shadowing.
60 Fps seemed to reduce jello/shadowing significantly.
9450 props enhance jello significantly (may be unbalanced from factory).

Recommendations:
There is some benefit to quality in bright sunglight with this ND filter, but not greatly reduced jello or prop shading.
Best video quality comes from 60fps.
Check you prop balance to reduce jello. Consider staying with 9443's unless you upgrade the motors and ESC's.

 

[Idbird]

Thanks for the review DrJoe.
I've tried many DIY filters and had simmilar results.

IMO the shapeway lens hood works the best for ridding the prop flicker and limits the sun reflection in the lens.

 

[Gonefishing51077]

Where did you get your shapeway lens hood?

 

[fastsmiles]

Is anyone selling the shapeway lens hood or do you have to make your own?

 

[Idbird]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141455169793

I think there might be someone in Classified that was making one as well.

I received two hoods in my shipment (they made a lighter version). I leave it on all the time. I hated the stock cap, and this hood allows the camera to rotate straight down with no interference.

 

[fastsmiles]

I've looked at the filter solutions also and I don't see anything that really makes sense. Give me a week and I'll design one that takes interchangeable filters.
What filters would most people use?

 

[bmasar]

Here's what I crafted:

I took the stock lens cap and cut a hole and glued in the glass from a 25 mm polarized lens filter. I ordered the filter from Amazon and took it apart, so that the glass was all I needed to glue in for weight purposes. The hood is a thin piece of semi-rigid PVC that I covered with matte black gaffer tape, and super glued to the outside of the lens cap. I had to trim in just the right amount to avoid showing up in the edges of my footage.

The filter takes care of glare. The hood eliminates jello effect.

I leave it on at all times, since it protects my lens in the case.

 

[detholm]

I bought this one http://viewkopter.myshopify.com/

I got it and it was filled with DUST

I emailed back and forth and they were nice in emails BUT NO FOLLOW THROUGH


I am still stick with my bad filter 6 months later


VERY disappointed

 

[fastsmiles]

Working on the Lens Filter Holder for interchangeable filters. Neutral Density, Sunset, Sky, etc...

 

[msinger]

fastsmiles, looking good! Please post some photos when you have the final version ready so we can see the before and after with the filters.

 

[fastsmiles]

Will do, just waiting on the weather