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PolarPro Cinema Series filters
- Thread starter Chopstix Kid
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What puzzles me with Polar Pro Cinema series is the lack of straight ND (without polarisation) in ND 4 and ND 8. Anyway I really like the Shutters with its AR coating and would love to buy straight Cinema series in ND 4 and ND 8 too.
When you walk into Best Buy with $15 in rewards bucks and see filter on sale... Damnit
So I was already on my way to use drone. Unbox and realize, unlike my cinema series screw on these are push... Box says standard 3 or 4... But they push on over stock dji uv filter just fine.. Is that ok? (Have the p3s4k)
Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
So I was already on my way to use drone. Unbox and realize, unlike my cinema series screw on these are push... Box says standard 3 or 4... But they push on over stock dji uv filter just fine.. Is that ok? (Have the p3s4k)
Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
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I would like to add to this thread, that I was using a DJI ND16 filter for P3 on my P4, because it was the only one I could find. So I noticed little to no difference at all regarding the photo and video quality, needless to say I had my doubts about third party filters and the need for them.
Living in a country with no reliable postal service and unable to find any Polar Pro products, I asked my friend who was coming back from Canada to get me the Polar Pro Shutter series (ND 16-32-64) and the gimbal lock from a shop in his area.
Both of them cost me around 145 US Dollars including taxes.... So I was really afraid that, having slightly overpaid for them, my doubts will materialize and I won't notice any improvements in photo and video quality....
Yesterday was a hot bright and sunny day, so without getting my hopes up, I decided to go do some tests..... Boy was I wrong!!! I cannot believe the difference those filters made! Seems that AR coating is really doing one heck of a job! Photos were crisp, sharp, no flaring and a lot better than the DJI filter, not to mention the video quality which was awesome!
So in all, I'm very satisfied and don't regret slightly overpaying for the filter and gimbal lock (comparing to US price)... I wish they made an ND4 and ND8 of the shutter series!
I still have to fabricate a filter case for them now
Any suggestions?
Living in a country with no reliable postal service and unable to find any Polar Pro products, I asked my friend who was coming back from Canada to get me the Polar Pro Shutter series (ND 16-32-64) and the gimbal lock from a shop in his area.
Both of them cost me around 145 US Dollars including taxes.... So I was really afraid that, having slightly overpaid for them, my doubts will materialize and I won't notice any improvements in photo and video quality....
Yesterday was a hot bright and sunny day, so without getting my hopes up, I decided to go do some tests..... Boy was I wrong!!! I cannot believe the difference those filters made! Seems that AR coating is really doing one heck of a job! Photos were crisp, sharp, no flaring and a lot better than the DJI filter, not to mention the video quality which was awesome!
So in all, I'm very satisfied and don't regret slightly overpaying for the filter and gimbal lock (comparing to US price)... I wish they made an ND4 and ND8 of the shutter series!
I still have to fabricate a filter case for them now
Any suggestions?
I would like to add to this thread, that I was using a DJI ND16 filter for P3 on my P4, because it was the only one I could find. So I noticed little to no difference at all regarding the photo and video quality, needless to say I had my doubts about third party filters and the need for them.
Living in a country with no reliable postal service and unable to find any Polar Pro products, I asked my friend who was coming back from Canada to get me the Polar Pro Shutter series (ND 16-32-64) and the gimbal lock from a shop in his area.
Both of them cost me around 145 US Dollars including taxes.... So I was really afraid that, having slightly overpaid for them, my doubts will materialize and I won't notice any improvements in photo and video quality....
Yesterday was a hot bright and sunny day, so without getting my hopes up, I decided to go do some tests..... Boy was I wrong!!! I cannot believe the difference those filters made! Seems that AR coating is really doing one heck of a job! Photos were crisp, sharp, no flaring and a lot better than the DJI filter, not to mention the video quality which was awesome!
So in all, I'm very satisfied and don't regret slightly overpaying for the filter and gimbal lock (comparing to US price)... I wish they made an ND4 and ND8 of the shutter series!
I still have to fabricate a filter case for them now
Yeah, they're great filters. Yeah, PolarPro needs to come out with more ND options in the Cinema series. I haven't had much use for the ND4, heck, come to think of it, I've never used it. I've used ND8 late afternoon and that's worked well.
I wish they'd make a Cinema Vivid ND32PL and ND64PL as well as a Cinema Shutter ND8. I picked up their regular, uncoated ND32PL and there is a very slight colour cast but nothing that can't be fixed in post. Also there's some flaring with it that I don't get with the coated Cinema series.
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I agree about the ND4, I think it is very rarely used if at all. But the ND8 would be great for the afternoons as you have mentioned
I don't think I will be using a Polarizer filter though but I would buy one just in case!
Yeah, only reason I got the polarized Vivid series was because I was shooting a lot of tropical beach videos for a buddy and needed the ocean colors to really POP.
I've been flying without filters since I got my P4 last April. But I have just ordered the Polar Pro Cinema series. They're "in the mail" as I write this.
I normally do video at 1080P@ 60 frames. With the camera set on auto, most of the time during the day I see an ISO of 100 and a shutter speed of 1/120 second. A shutter speed that's 2X the frame rate is 'in the ballpark' so filters aren't an urgency.
But, winter is coming. We're going to have sunny days with bright white freshly fallen snow. I'm figuring I'll be putting an ND64 filter to use then.
I normally do video at 1080P@ 60 frames. With the camera set on auto, most of the time during the day I see an ISO of 100 and a shutter speed of 1/120 second. A shutter speed that's 2X the frame rate is 'in the ballpark' so filters aren't an urgency.
But, winter is coming. We're going to have sunny days with bright white freshly fallen snow. I'm figuring I'll be putting an ND64 filter to use then.
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Im not sure what the Native ISO is on the P4. I usually shoot 100, I wonder if DJI Tech support would know.
I tried doing a bit of research on it, and did not find any info.
-Jeff
I've asked about it from DJI support. They couldn't give me the answer so they escalated it to engineering. Unfortunately, I haven't received any answer from engineering.
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"Native ISO" is a hotly debated term that, in a camera with such a tiny sensor, is probably meaningless. The tendency to increase noise is going to increase much more rapidly with signal amplification in such a sensor, so you're going to want to get it as low as possible since noise is going to be your nemesis in lower light situations, not oversaturation. It's true that if you're using a ND filter, you might find that you will shoot at ISO 100 more often, but if your concerned about it, slap on an ND 64 and go take some shots at iso 100 and compare them to shots at ISO 200. You can easily blow them up on your computer to see which one has more noise vs saturation vs contrast
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just ordered the full Monty Phantom 4 Cinematographer Collection. Wish I could have ordered it through Amazon to get free shipping. I did return the Polarpro phantom 3/4 filters I recently bought as I didn't like the compression fitting but prefer the screw on.
just curious though, whats the point of the circular PL? Its not like there is an indication on the lens to tell you direction and you can't adjust it in mid air. Seems useless to me.
I'm not crazy about the polarizer filter either. The lens is just too wide, and the sky gets a dark blotch area that is impossible to blend smoothly in video. It can be worked out in a still shot, but it's a pain. Keeping the sky out of the image when shooting with a polarizer is a good bet.
I'd prefer something like a graduated ND-16/32 or ND-8/16 selection over a polarizer to take care of the sky matters.
I'd prefer something like a graduated ND-16/32 or ND-8/16 selection over a polarizer to take care of the sky matters.
While the PL filters has their limitations they do serve a purpose. It's not for every or most shots, esp if you're framing 3/4 of your scene with sky. Yes, the sky will be uneven with one area being dark and the other being lighter and that's because of the wide angle lens exceeding the max-effect range of the filter and polarized light.
As pointed out, you can't adjust while in mid-flight but you don't have to if it has been setup prior to take off. Max effect of a PL filter is perpendicular to the sun so if you set the filter for max polarization. It wouldn't matter which direction you are flying, you will never get beyond max effect when not in the optimal direction.
One tip I can share is to just back it off a little from max. This will help reduce the uneven blue skies but will still allow you enough polarization to cut the glare off foliage and esp water. Oh, and try and keep only 1/3 or less of the frame with sky.
I've used the Cinema Series PL/ND filters exclusively when I was down in the Caribbean (still wish they'd make a Cinema 32ND/PL!!). Those filters really cut the reflection off the water and punched up the colours. Without the PL filters, you could barely see the reef below the water because of all the refraction.
Like any tool, there's a place and time for 'em.
As pointed out, you can't adjust while in mid-flight but you don't have to if it has been setup prior to take off. Max effect of a PL filter is perpendicular to the sun so if you set the filter for max polarization. It wouldn't matter which direction you are flying, you will never get beyond max effect when not in the optimal direction.
One tip I can share is to just back it off a little from max. This will help reduce the uneven blue skies but will still allow you enough polarization to cut the glare off foliage and esp water. Oh, and try and keep only 1/3 or less of the frame with sky.
I've used the Cinema Series PL/ND filters exclusively when I was down in the Caribbean (still wish they'd make a Cinema 32ND/PL!!). Those filters really cut the reflection off the water and punched up the colours. Without the PL filters, you could barely see the reef below the water because of all the refraction.
Like any tool, there's a place and time for 'em.
I understand but my question is how do you adjust max/min affect? There doesn't seem to be any type of indication on the lens. it just spins around.
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