SRP has been listening to their aerial shooters. Graduated ND16-8

Of course you have to spin it to get to the correct angle.
Sorry, what I meant was, the darker part of the gradient is always on top, right? Easy peasy compared to the other filters where there is no gradient and you have to rely on spinning to see the effect...
 
Do you color correct in fcp?

CoUld you shed some light on what kinda settings work well?
 
Sorry, what I meant was, the darker part of the gradient is always on top, right? Easy peasy compared to the other filters where there is no gradient and you have to rely on spinning to see the effect...
Yes.... BUT it's subtle. So subtle it took me a minute to see it. I thought I mistakenly had a straight ND8! Put it close to my eye, moved it side to side, then up and down .... Then you see it. Part of the engineering in the subtlety is the reason it can be used in tilted shots without the image appearing darker on top. So much so this has become my favorite "go to" ND for moderate to bright aerial work.
 
Do you color correct in fcp?

CoUld you shed some light on what kinda settings work well?
Sure.... Others can chime in but I use Premiere Pro. See the previous page for camera settings and color and grading thoughts.
 
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Finally got a chance to use my filter for real (the local Police Department asked if I could take some pics of headquarters and the cars all lined up).

The pictures and video came out decent. I say "decent" since it was so flipping bright, no clouds, hazy, etc — even with a sun shade I couldn't see anything and was pretty much flying blind. Couldn't tell if my settings were any good so I relied on the histogram to make sure the high points weren't jammed up against the sides. But I could tell that the raw material was much better than if I didn't have the filter on. I only worked on the pics so far, will work on the video this weekend to see what's involved with making the clips pop.

One thing I noticed is that the gimbal functions much better if you put the filter on while the Phantom is off. I once put the filter on while it was powered up and the gimbal was "slow" (took a while to catch up with pitch changes, etc.). When I put it on while powered off it seemed to do much better. I wonder if when the Phantom powers up it sort of "weighs" the camera while it's doing that "looking around" when it initially powers up.

I'll keep practicing with this filter. But that gradient one is on my radar for sure.
 
Finally got a chance to use my filter for real (the local Police Department asked if I could take some pics of headquarters and the cars all lined up).

The pictures and video came out decent. I say "decent" since it was so flipping bright, no clouds, hazy, etc — even with a sun shade I couldn't see anything and was pretty much flying blind. Couldn't tell if my settings were any good so I relied on the histogram to make sure the high points weren't jammed up against the sides. But I could tell that the raw material was much better than if I didn't have the filter on. I only worked on the pics so far, will work on the video this weekend to see what's involved with making the clips pop.

One thing I noticed is that the gimbal functions much better if you put the filter on while the Phantom is off. I once put the filter on while it was powered up and the gimbal was "slow" (took a while to catch up with pitch changes, etc.). When I put it on while powered off it seemed to do much better. I wonder if when the Phantom powers up it sort of "weighs" the camera while it's doing that "looking around" when it initially powers up.

I'll keep practicing with this filter. But that gradient one is on my radar for sure.

Yeah I've noticed this too. After gimbal calibration the camera sometimes "looks up" slowly instead of popping back up. But oddly enough it doesn't happen every time. That said I've still not seen any sign of strain on the gimbal. I think it's wise to put it on with the bird powered off, then do a gimbal calibration. Gives the gimbal a chance to "feel" things out and properly balance.

And in regards to the graduated ND.... like I said, It's becoming my go-to ND. Just makes sense for any aerial shot. The sky is always brighter than land.
 
Do you have to counter Balabce this? Is it dangerous? Everywhere else is on pre-order and I need one asap.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Do you have to counter Balabce this? Is it dangerous? Everywhere else is on pre-order and I need one asap.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
No counter balancing needed. I've got about 60 flights with SRP filters and have had zero issues or signs of issues. Moving at 20mph, with natural wind speeds factored in, puts a heck of a lot more resistance on the gimbal than a little 7g filter. IMHO...The gimbal was engineered with this in mind otherwise we'd only be able to fly in completely calm conditions at a max of 5mph.

I absolutely love my Phantom 3 and would do nothing I felt might damage it. Plus the results of these filters is stunning so using ND/CP filters is a necessity for me....not an option.
 
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Nice comparisons fhagen02. In regards to color grading with Premiere Pro, any recommendations for tutorials? On the filter is there a way to orient it so that the darker half is always at the top? Or is just luck when screwing the filter on?

Thanks,
Alan
 
Thanks for the comment, Alan.

This filter is a slip on so you can rotate it to the proper place after it's installed. It'll stay tight and in place once you have it where you want it.

Here's a tutorial I did. It's with GoPro footage but the principals are the same. Hope it helps.
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No counter balancing needed. I've got about 60 flights with SRP filters and have had zero issues or signs of issues. Moving at 20mph, with natural wind speeds factored in, puts a heck of a lot more resistance on the gimbal than a little 7g filter. The gimbal was engineered with this in mind otherwise we'd only be able to fly in completely calm conditions at a max of 5mph.

I absolutely love my Phantom 3 and would do nothing I felt might damage it. Plus the results of these filters is stunning so using ND/CP filters is a necessity for me....not an option.
Thanks. I have some cut out filters but want this slip on option. If I was going to get one now, one later ($) between the ND 8 and ND 16, which one is most versatile and used for daylight and also bright sunsets?

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Thanks. I have some cut out filters but want this slip on option. If I was going to get one now, one later ($) between the ND 8 and ND 16, which one is most versatile and used for daylight and also bright sunsets?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Bright daylight would definitely be the ND16. Here's an example....
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But if you also want sunsets I'd go with the ND8. The ND16 would be a little dark for that. The ND8 and ND8/CP is a good all around work horse filter.

ND8 and ND8/CP example....
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Bright daylight would definitely be the ND16. Here's an example....
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But if you also want sunsets I'd go with the ND8. The ND16 would be a little dark for that. The ND8 and ND8/CP is a good all around work horse filter.

ND8 and ND8/CP example....
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Thanks. Just went with the ND 16, and for lower light I'll keep using my PhantomFilters.com ND 8 for now. Now, I just need to figure out how to color grade /post edit log shots. I have tried numerous tutorials, but when I get in front of my software and have a video, I have no idea where to start, what needs tweaking, what's causing certain things..

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Thanks. Just went with the ND 16, and for lower light I'll keep using my PhantomFilters.com ND 8 for now. Now, I just need to figure out how to color grade /post edit log shots. I have tried numerous tutorials, but when I get in front of my software and have a video, I have no idea where to start, what needs tweaking, what's causing certain things..

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Check out the tutorial vid a couple of posts up. If you have any questions at all regarding post color work feel free to massage me. Be glad to give advise as it's folks like yourself that I've learned much from.
 
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Thanks for the comment, Alan.

This filter is a slip on so you can rotate it to the proper place after it's installed. It'll stay tight and in place once you have it where you want it.

Here's a tutorial I did. It's with GoPro footage but the principals are the same. Hope it helps.
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Awesome, looks great I will have to watch it fully this evening when I get back home. Thanks for doing this.

Alan
 
Hi fhagan02,

Your videos looks great. In your posts of video from the ND8 and ND16 above, what should I be noticing other than just how good overall they look? I notice in one the sky is quite blue, but I'm not sure what else I should be looking for. I'm interested in the graduated ND16 and the ND8. Not sure which I should purchase. I know I'd need to wait for the graduated ND16, but there will times when sunset photography will be desired.
 
The purpose of an ND is to darken the light coming in the lens so the shutter can shoot at a slower speed. This gives a natural cinematic motion blur to things moving fast. A high shutter speed gives you strobe like, choppy motion that's unappealing to the eye. Look at this video at the :18 second and :40 sec. mark. Pause the video when flying through the trees. Notice the natural motion blur that occurs to the leaves on the sides of the shot. This is what an ND is used for. Without the ND the paused frame would look like a photo... with everything super clean and no motion blur. That's good for photos but not cinematic natural looking video.

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Is there anywhere I can find one of these filters? Their website doesn't sell them or I can't find info on them at least. I'm looking for the graduated, not the regular ND filter they sell on the site and elsewhere. I'd rather buy from Amazon or another place. Their website charges way too much in shipping.
 

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