Tired of prop shadows

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I'm tired of the prop shadows all in my footage. Is the ND filter the way to go and can someone reccomend the lightest option ?
 
i think he means flickering while flying into the sun?

if so you can make a small lens hood from gorilla tape or something like that
 
chrisono said:
i think he means flickering while flying into the sun?

if so you can make a small lens hood from gorilla tape or something like that

Won't the lens hood be visible if you did this? I mean the lens on the GoPro is such a wide angle I would think it would "see" the hood pretty easily, no?

U.M.
 
Uncle Meat said:
chrisono said:
i think he means flickering while flying into the sun?

if so you can make a small lens hood from gorilla tape or something like that

Won't the lens hood be visible if you did this? I mean the lens on the GoPro is such a wide angle I would think it would "see" the hood pretty easily, no?

U.M.

Yes if you cut it too big and it's limited. That why I want to try ND
 
I have used a small thin plastic piece stuck to the top of the GoPro. I deliberately cut it big so that it could be seen in the FOV. Then using scissors kept clipping it back so it could just no longer could be seen. At present I have no filter attached. It has been successful for me in cutting out the prop shadow.

An ND filter will not stop prop shadow, jello maybe

Sent from my Galaxy Note 8
 
IrishSights said:
I have used a small thin plastic piece stuck to the top of the GoPro. I deliberately cut it big so that it could be seen in the FOV. Then using scissors kept clipping it back so it could just no longer could be seen. At present I have no filter attached. It has been successful for me in cutting out the prop shadow.

An ND filter will not stop prop shadow, jello maybe

nice idea
might try this
 
A lens hood is the answer. Really big ND filters will also work but are not the best solution. Alternatively, you can tilt the camera dwon so the props' shadows don't fall on the lens.

Super duper custom tape lens hood and a small ND filter:
 

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shrill mute said:
A lens hood is the answer. Really big ND filters will also work but are not the best solution. Alternatively, you can tilt the camera dwon so the props' shadows don't fall on the lens.

Super duper custom tape lens hood and a small ND filter:


****. that gopro has some miles on it.
do you have a gimbal? did you have to counterbalance yours?
 
One recommendation I've heard is flying backwards into the sun, but you can't get the same kind of footage that way. Angling the camera down and going slow so as to keep the phantom as level also helps, but none are really perfect solutions.
 
poostik said:
shrill mute said:
A lens hood is the answer. Really big ND filters will also work but are not the best solution. Alternatively, you can tilt the camera dwon so the props' shadows don't fall on the lens.

Super duper custom tape lens hood and a small ND filter:


****. that gopro has some miles on it.
do you have a gimbal? did you have to counterbalance yours?

I have a Tarot T2d and a Zenmuse H3-3D.

No counterweight required.
 
shrill mute said:
poostik said:
shrill mute said:
A lens hood is the answer. Really big ND filters will also work but are not the best solution. Alternatively, you can tilt the camera dwon so the props' shadows don't fall on the lens.

Super duper custom tape lens hood and a small ND filter:


****. that gopro has some miles on it.
do you have a gimbal? did you have to counterbalance yours?

I have a Tarot T2d and a Zenmuse H3-3D.

No counterweight required.

Nice! What ND filter?

I've been using this just to protect my lens. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F19Q3T2/ref ... 25410_item

I used it on my 2D and now my 3D. Neither required counterbalancing. I know a bunch of people in here say it could damage the gimbal in the long run but I think their filters might be heavier than my little cover. I haven't had any issues with horizon or anything on my 2D after about 50 flights. My 3D seems to handle it the same.

I've been hesitant to order the ND because I was convinced I needed to counterbalance after seeing a lot of the techier guys in here do it. Felt like it might require a little more finesse than I'm capable of.
 
I've read more than a hand full of Zenmuse gimbals are ruined because of added lens filters without any thought to a counterweight? I guess the servos are factory calibrated for the exact weight of the GoPro 3 and when you add an accessory you've now upset the balance and this can cause premature degradation of the brush-less servos. YMMV.

U.M.
 
Uncle Meat said:
I've read more than a hand full of Zenmuse gimbals are ruined because of added lens filters without any thought to a counterweight?

I've read posts about folks who were worried about that happening but haven't read a single post documenting that conjecture. Do you have any links?

The early H3-2Ds would go limp when a filter was used - that's a different thing.
 
shrill mute said:
Uncle Meat said:
I've read more than a hand full of Zenmuse gimbals are ruined because of added lens filters without any thought to a counterweight?

I've read posts about folks who were worried about that happening but haven't read a single post documenting that conjecture. Do you have any links?

The early H3-2Ds would go limp when a filter was used - that's a different thing.

I'll see if I can dig up some links. Funny that DJI even states in the Zenmuse manuals that adding ANYTHING to the Gopro is a no-no and can cause issues. I'll even go so far as to bet DJI would void the warranty on the gimbal if they knew there was added weight.

U.M.

This is right out of the manual...

Warning & Disclaimer

No adjusting or amending is allowed to the H3-2D!!!
Before use, make sure to mount the camera to gimbal first, and then mount the
gimbal to aircraft. After this, you can power on the gimbal.


H3-2D is specialized for Camera and Lens before it leaves the factory. Please mount your camera to H3-2D when
get it. No adjusting or amending is allowed to H3-2D. Do not modify or add any other component/device (such as
filter, lens hood, etc.) to the camera; make sure to use the original battery; otherwise it may end up with worse
performance or even internal malfunction.
 
Yeah, so, I'm not arguing that it hasn't been or could be a problem with some people. I've definitely seen some on this board with hard evidence that their gimbals needed to be balanced after a mod. I was just stating my experience with the (lighter?) lens cover on both gimbals albeit under 50 flights. Hoping that if I were to run shrillmute's ND filter and hood mod, I'd have the same experience as him.

I totally understand DJI's disclaimer to not mod. Makes total sense. I wouldn't blame them if I messed up mine by doing the mods.
 
Uncle Meat said:
shrill mute said:
Uncle Meat said:
I've read more than a hand full of Zenmuse gimbals are ruined because of added lens filters without any thought to a counterweight?

I've read posts about folks who were worried about that happening but haven't read a single post documenting that conjecture. Do you have any links?

The early H3-2Ds would go limp when a filter was used - that's a different thing.

I'll see if I can dig up some links. Funny that DJI even states in the Zenmuse manuals that adding ANYTHING to the Gopro is a no-no and can cause issues. I'll even go so far as to bet DJI would void the warranty on the gimbal if they knew there was added weight.

U.M.

This is right out of the manual...

Warning & Disclaimer

No adjusting or amending is allowed to the H3-2D!!!
Before use, make sure to mount the camera to gimbal first, and then mount the
gimbal to aircraft. After this, you can power on the gimbal.


H3-2D is specialized for Camera and Lens before it leaves the factory. Please mount your camera to H3-2D when
get it. No adjusting or amending is allowed to H3-2D. Do not modify or add any other component/device (such as
filter, lens hood, etc.) to the camera; make sure to use the original battery; otherwise it may end up with worse
performance or even internal malfunction.

I'm familiar with the warning in the manual. It strikes me as CYA material. When the H3-2D came out the available press on ND filter was pretty big - that warning hasn't changed since that time. There are much smaller and lighter filters available now (PolarPro, TBS, etc.) that don't need a counterweight.
 

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