P4P Filters for lake surfing videography

Synapse · Jan 30, 2020

Evening my friends!

I have a Phantom 4 Pro + and I want to use it to film wake surfing on the lake.There will be a lot of sun on some days and I know with the water there will be big issues not using filters for the P4P. I did a search on the forum and found many threads but no real definitive answers. I also google searched best brands and I’m getting a lot of mixed reviews. PolarPro is everywhere but I’m reading people don’t like them due to the adjustments needed to blow light. I’m also reading polarized filters are important over water? Is this just for seeing into the water? I won’t be need to seeing under water so I don’t think I’ll need polarized? Money is no problem I just want the very best filters I can get for this project. Any feedback greatly appreciated thank you

blmeanie · Jan 30, 2020

not sure why you need a filter, unless you are aiming for professional quality, even then, not sure it is needed.

This was a sunny day, P4, think I filmed at 2.7k, don't remember.

David_Cambridge · Jan 31, 2020

Depend on the kind of image you are after. A circular polarizing filter could be used to darken the surface of the water when the orientation is set correctly.

phaser2 · Jan 31, 2020

I use a Polar Pro app that tells you what filter you need for the conditions.

SZAABS · Jan 31, 2020

I've filmed above water using the polar pro ND/PL filters (vivid series I believe) before and had a lot of success.

Andy9 · Jan 31, 2020

I would take a CP filter.It reduces reflexes from the surface and darkens the water. The picture therefore becomes more clear and contrast. The only problem with polaraizers is that they should be adjustet accordink to the sun position. In the line straght to or from the sun it has no effect. The best effect is somwhere around 90 degree left or right from the sun. You can test that on the ground and then put the drone in the desired position.
At filming water sports in bright sunlight the polaraizing filter is almost the must.

Synapse · Feb 7, 2020

SZAABS said:
I've filmed above water using the polar pro ND/PL filters (vivid series I believe) before and had a lot of success.

These filters require adjustments 90 degrees towards the sun?

JeffreyS · Feb 7, 2020

Polarizers do nothing when the angle of view is in line with the sun, relative from your position, of course. They do the most at 90 degrees to the sunlight. But, the filters also rob you of about 1.5 stops of light, acting as a low level ND. You can stack them together to achieve the commonly desired 1/60 shutter speed. However, as you turn your aircraft while recording, the PL effect will change, making a weird effect. You need to experiment to understand all this. And if you do, be sure to rotate the PL before you launch as you look at the monitor because rotation adjusts the effect as well.

Synapse · Feb 8, 2020

JeffreyS said:
Polarizers do nothing when the angle of view is in line with the sun, relative from your position, of course. They do the most at 90 degrees to the sunlight. But, the filters also rob you of about 1.5 stops of light, acting as a low level ND. You can stack them together to achieve the commonly desired 1/60 shutter speed. However, as you turn your aircraft while recording, the PL effect will change, making a weird effect. You need to experiment to understand all this. And if you do, be sure to rotate the PL before you launch as you look at the monitor because rotation adjusts the effect as well.

Thank you for your advice Jeff!

Does anyone have any suggestions (or personal experience) for best brand/sku of polarizer/ND filters?

I am reading mixed reviews on everything and cannot find much info on the DJI ND filters?

JeffreyS · Feb 8, 2020

Synapse said:
Thank you for your advice Jeff!

Does anyone have any suggestions (or personal experience) for best brand/sku of polarizer/ND filters?

I am reading mixed reviews on everything and cannot find much info on the DJI ND filters?

I think you'll find all the filters for drones about the same quality. They are not the standard of Canon, Nikon or Leica, but then neither are the drone cameras.

Synapse · Feb 8, 2020

JeffreyS said:
I think you'll find all the filters for drones about the same quality. They are not the standard of Canon, Nikon or Leica, but then neither are the drone cameras.

I’m looking at this set from Amazon. This should be all I need?

Amazon.ca

JeffreyS · Feb 8, 2020

Synapse said:
I’m looking at this set from Amazon. This should be all I need?

Amazon.ca

Yes, you'll be quite set.

Synapse · Feb 8, 2020

JeffreyS said:
Yes, you'll be quite set.

Thank you for advice Jeff!

It says on the info each filter has built in UV. Does this mean polarizer won’t be needed when I’m using any of these filters?

JeffreyS · Feb 8, 2020

Synapse said:
Thank you for advice Jeff!

It says on the info each filter has built in UV. Does this mean polarizer won’t be needed when I’m using any of these filters?

Doesn't mean that at all. UV filtering is a generally unnoticeable effect. Don't worry about it. I think it's marketing talk.

Andy9 · Feb 9, 2020

UV filter and CP filter is a completelly different thing. The effect of the UV filter you won't see at all on the picture. It is more likely to protect the lens as the common glass do.
Maybe the UV light can do some harm to the sensor being exposed for a long time. That is hardly to be the case at drone cameras as they are almost all the time facing down, not to the sky.

Synapse · Mar 7, 2020

Just ordered this pack of filters.

6-Pack - Cinema Series | Phantom 4 Pro / Adv

The PolarPro Cinema Series Filter 6-Pack helps pilots capture the best video quality possible. Each filter helps reduce the Phantom 4 Pro's shutter speed for

www.polarprofilters.com

Has anybody used these before? I am reading people speaking that they need to be adjusted 90 degrees towards the sun for them to be effective? Can anybody shed light on this (no pun intended) please?

Andy9 · Mar 7, 2020

At that angle the amount of polarized light is gratest but that doesn't mean at other angles there are non. By rotating the front glass of CP filter (polarisers has always two glasses) you regulate how much of the polarized light will be cut by the filter. The simpliest way to see that is to put the filter on the camera and turn the front glass heading into the direction you want to film. If the result isn't satisfying then you must look (fly) to that scene from the different direction. Because you can't turn the glass of the filter during the flight, the only way to check the effect is on the ground. But the result from the higher position when flying can be different as well. So no general recepie exsists. That one of 90 deg. is the closest proximity.

Meta4 · Mar 7, 2020

Synapse said:
Has anybody used these before? I am reading people speaking that they need to be adjusted 90 degrees towards the sun for them to be effective? Can anybody shed light on this (no pun intended) please?

Half of them would because they are polarising filters (the ones with PL in their name).
You probably don't want to complicate things with trying to use polarising filters on a drone.
They are more hassle than they are worth.
To use them properly, you would need to plan a shot and align the filter correctly for flying at that angle to the sun,
But if you turn the drone to fly a different angle, the filter is going to give you undesirable issues with the sky.

Synapse · Mar 9, 2020

Thank you @Meta4 and @Andy9 for your advice. For now I will just stick to using the 4 non polarized filters as I will be shooting a lot of orbit footage so always staying 90 degrees to the sun won’t be feasible.

Andy9 · Mar 10, 2020

This one was taken with ND graduated filter. You can see some structures in the sky which would otherwise be white, and much better light and colours on the ground which would be much more dark without the filter.