filters/video

[Driverman930]

I been trying to video sunset/rise and I find that I can get clear Images of everything BUT the sunset. When I try to include the sun in the video it becomes very dark. What am I doing wrong? Oh I have a spark set to auto and I am very new to this. Just trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks for any help

 

[Davenwolf]

Experiment with manual. Auto will for the most part meter the ISO from the sun (the brightest part of the scene) which makes the rest dark.
By using manual (well the Sparks version of manual) you can meter the ISO and shutter speed to balance the scene better.
There's a large part of the manual exposure triangle missing with the Spark because you can't adjust the aperture as it's fixed.
The Mavic Pro 2 has user adjustable aperture (f/2.8 - f/11). The Spark would be truly amazing if it had this feature but would cost a hell of a lot more.
So you just gotta do the best you can with what the Spark has. Setting the white balance and the exposure compensation by changing the shutter speed and ISO. Also make the histogram visible so you can how the lights and darks are balanced when you're up in the air.

 

[matty4]

Experiment with manual. Auto will for the most part meter the ISO from the sun (the brightest part of the scene) which makes the rest dark.
By using manual (well the Sparks version of manual) you can meter the ISO/and shutter speed to balance the scene better.
There's a large part of the manual/exposure triangle missing with the Spark because you can't adjust the aperture as it's fixed.
The Mavic Pro 2 has user adjustable aperture (f/2.8 - f/11). The Spark would be truly amazing if it had this feature but would coast a hell of a lot more.
So you just gotta do the best you can with what the Spark has. Setting the white balance and the exposure compensation by changing the shutter speed and ISO. Also make the histogram visible so you can how the lights and darks are balanced when you're up in the air.

Totally agree, also, if i can't really get the shot i need from manual, i use settings in post production which help a lot with the final production, fairly satisfied with the results.

 

[Mike01Hu]

As others have said, don't use auto mode but play with the manual camera controls. You can play with them without flying to get used to the functions. Also, I use PolarPro ND filters to compensate for no aperture control and give a more cinematic effect but sunset will be difficult. For this you can get graduated filters with a darker top half. I also tilt the camera down so that the sky element of the picture is less, which will help overcome the darkening effect when in auto mode, because the metering is averaging the whole image rather than spot metering. Do look at ikopta's YouTube videos for more guidance as he is the "Cinematic God" and his support for all things drone is highly respected; he is a professional drone videographer.

 

[pmshop]

You will find the same issues on sunrises.
You positively will want to use manual settings.
Otherwise you will see the auto compensation in your videos.

 

[Driverman930]

All good info and thanks will play in m mode then take it up and see what's going on I'll just keep practicing

 

[Burdman44]

All good info and thanks will play in m mode then take it up and see what's going on I'll just keep practicing

Several sunset stills in this video for you to compare to. Best one is last few seconds of vid if you'd rather not watch the whole thing (it's a "thank you" video for the all our wedding vendors that had to endure hurricane Florence a week later). ZERO post editing, so this is all Spark with no filters. In my experience, unless I'm shooting moving objects in low light, I try to keep the ISO as low as possible (starts to get grainy over 200), and adjust brightness with the shutter speed instead. Please forgive the AWFUL video quality - this SD card got corrupted and had to be recovered. Photos came back ok, but major data loss on the video :-(

Hope this helps:
Wrightsville Beach.mp4

 

[Driverman930]

Several sunset stills in this video for you to compare to. Best one is last few seconds of vid if you'd rather not watch the whole thing (it's a "thank you" video for the all our wedding vendors that had to endure hurricane Florence a week later). ZERO post editing, so this is all Spark with no filters. In my experience, unless I'm shooting moving objects in low light, I try to keep the ISO as low as possible (starts to get grainy over 200), and adjust brightness with the shutter speed instead. Please forgive the AWFUL video quality - this SD card got corrupted and had to be recovered. Photos came back ok, but major data loss on the video :-(

Hope this helps:
Wrightsville Beach.mp4

I think you did a great job I still am trying to figure out sunset/rises with out being to bright thanks for sharing