Polar Pro ND and Polarizer build Impression

Thanks for the feedback - mine are on the way. Excuse the dumb question but I am struggling to get the stock UV filter off - seems to be stuck tight. Is it a counter-clockwise turn to losen it? Is there a trick to getting it off?
Check other posts on this forum for getting it off-- some are using rubber band to grip and the consensus is to grip the lens holder only at tight as you need to turn it. Apparently gripping it to tightly binds the aluminium threads.
 
Have you figured out how to remove the flashing/strobing effect yet? I'm having the same thing on my videos.

I've been having the same issue and it's driving me nuts. Here are some threads:
http://www.phantompilots.com/thread...ideo-even-with-auto-wb-off.44553/#post-409553
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=19810
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=16254

Apparently it's an issue with the codec. Shows up when shooting lots of green. However, I see YouTube videos without it so I'm not entirely convinced.
 
PJ... they are intended for videography solely but can't hurt stills... when you are filming at 24 fps and looking to get that cinematic look and feel, the ND's are an absolute requirement. Go with the darkest filter, the ND8 on bright sunny days, step down to the ND4 on cloudy days and at dusk or indoor, no filter is needed. Your video will improve greatly as the shutter speed is adjusted to get rid of the "blur" and will also help if your props get in the shot, as the filters when they step down the cam, will cause the props to wash away to a large degree... BTW... go with Auto, unless your are trying to capture a specific effect and don't want the camera adjusting as the light changes...


Thank you! that answers most of my questions. I just wanted something that made it so the sky was not all washed out when I took pictures, hopefully the CP will help with that.
 
Check other posts on this forum for getting it off-- some are using rubber band to grip and the consensus is to grip the lens holder only at tight as you need to turn it. Apparently gripping it to tightly binds the aluminium threads.

I use one of those thin rubber jar lid grippers and stretch it around the lens and pinch it from one side and twist. Off it comes :)
 
I was literally just about to make a post asking if snake river will be making a ND filter for the p3. I was just on their website and didnt see any products for the P3. Link please?

I spoke with Snake River Prototyping and their line of ND and CP filters custom designed for the P3 are in production as we speak and should be released within a couple weeks tops.
 
My P3 UV filter came right off with barely any effort.. just unscrewed it with no issues. I made sure to keep the pressure on the front edges of the filter.

I had some troubles getting the CP filter to screw on correctly. Had to retry it a few times but eventually got it all the way on.
 
Have you figured out how to remove the flashing/strobing effect yet? I'm having the same thing on my videos.

I've tried using my ND gels in the same way. It "works" and yes it is a cost effective solution vs the price of actual glass NDs but they're still "gels". So I found that no matter how cleanly kept the gel film is, the image quality is much more hazy and soft compared to a clean glass ND. I tested after I got the Polar Pro NDs. With the sharpness set to "0" home-made gel NDs look soft like the sharpness is set to -2. It it what it is and glass is always better than plastic for optics.
 
PJ... they are intended for videography solely but can't hurt stills... when you are filming at 24 fps and looking to get that cinematic look and feel, the ND's are an absolute requirement. Go with the darkest filter, the ND8 on bright sunny days, step down to the ND4 on cloudy days and at dusk or indoor, no filter is needed. Your video will improve greatly as the shutter speed is adjusted to get rid of the "blur" and will also help if your props get in the shot, as the filters when they step down the cam, will cause the props to wash away to a large degree... BTW... go with Auto, unless your are trying to capture a specific effect and don't want the camera adjusting as the light changes...
I cant agree with you here at all. Every ND filter will of course create the motion blur effect, everything get less sharp because of the slow shutter speed. Its like you want a handheld shot with your camera in a dark room, it will be shaky and blurred. For still photos in the air the ND filters are a no go because you will need that fast shutter speed because the Phantom3 is always moving a bit, not like a tripod. With an ND filter you will get blurred images. still images with a multicopter are always better without a ND filter.
 
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I've tried using my ND gels in the same way. It "works" and yes it is a cost effective solution vs the price of actual glass NDs but they're still "gels". So I found that no matter how cleanly kept the gel film is, the image quality is much more hazy and soft compared to a clean glass ND. I tested after I got the Polar Pro NDs. With the sharpness set to "0" home-made gel NDs look soft like the sharpness is set to -2. It it what it is and glass is always better than plastic for optics.
Which ND Gels you tested? Kodak wratten gels or no names?
 
I cant agree with you here at all. Every ND filter will of course create the motion blur effect, everything get less sharp because of the slow shutter speed. Its like you want a handheld shot with your camera in a dark room, it will be shaky and blurred. For still photos in the air the ND filters are a no go because you will need that fast shutter speed because the Phantom3 is always moving a bit, not like a tripod. With an ND filter you will get blurred images. still images with a multicopter are always better without a ND filter.


Will the CP be useful for photos?
 
The CP filters will also darken the image but you can probably keep the shutter speed fast manually but you have to increase ISO as well a bit otherwise you get underexposed images.

I currently leave everything on auto, take a 5 exposure bracket and then use software to merge them into one picture... i am guessing that wont be the optimal way to do it when using filters?
 
The CP filters will also darken the image but you can probably keep the shutter speed fast manually but you have to increase ISO as well a bit otherwise you get underexposed images.

The camera will adjust automatically.. if you're in auto mode.
 
Will the CP be useful for photos?

Yes, CP's are used all the time in still photography. They help saturate colors and cut down reflections (if you have it turned the right way). The same goes for video. The filters all work exactly the same no matter if its a video or still. A video is just a bunch of stills put together :)
 
of course CP filters are used in still photography to get rid of the sun reflecting on water for example but we are talking about aerial photography here. Everybody knows that fast shutter speeds are essential for still photos in the air because you dont have a tripod. slow shutter speeds in the air will give you blurred images. Thats why you need to watch your shutter speeds, keep em high. The CP filter will of course darken the image more so high shutter speeds are possible when you increase ISO to make the sensor more sensitive to light.
 
I've tried using my ND gels in the same way. It "works" and yes it is a cost effective solution vs the price of actual glass NDs but they're still "gels". So I found that no matter how cleanly kept the gel film is, the image quality is much more hazy and soft compared to a clean glass ND. I tested after I got the Polar Pro NDs. With the sharpness set to "0" home-made gel NDs look soft like the sharpness is set to -2. It it what it is and glass is always better than plastic for optics.
Agree on the gels looking smudged or hazy. It was a cheap way to experiment though.
 
I think it depends on the quality of the glass ND filter. Cheap ones will probably look worse than Kodak Wratten gels. The polar pros are pretty cheap for ND filters. Normally a solid ND filter is like 50 Euro
 
I think it depends on the quality of the glass ND filter. Cheap ones will probably look worse than Kodak Wratten gels. The polar pros are pretty cheap for ND filters. Normally a solid ND filter is like 50 Euro

Keep a look out for Snake River Prototyping's P3 ND and CP filters. Should be out within the next couple weeks. For my P2/Zenmuse/GoPro Hero 4 set up they make the best filters I've found anywhere on the web. Those are called BlurFix by Snake River Prototyping.

http://www.snakeriverprototyping.com
http://www.snakeriverprototyping.com/blurfix-air-slip-over-filters
 
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