inspire 1 x 3 camera video ?

[Inspirejon]

I went through 6 youtube videos, and normally i hear people say, leave the iso at 100, and shutter speed double frame rate, i assume that is for stills only ? As these options don't seem to work on video mode ?

Then when recording video. After i tried to adjust the camera manually in flight, i could not get it to give me a constant exposure, i know ae lock is there but that doesn't seem to really work ? I found that leaving it in auto mode focussing on the flight and camera angles as well as tilt in relation to the sun when doing a flight where forward/side/backwards motion is involved gives me the best results so far. Even with no motion. It's seems like it's a never ending fiddle while in the air with all the settings while my battery runs dry trying to get manual or semi manual to work as it should, and as soon as the drone starts to move again, the settings needs to be fiddled with again.

Am i doing something wrong ie out on a big difference because i'm not using the manual settings right ?

Is the exposure circle in video mode really useful ? It seems like in auto mode it does correct that exposure more or less at acceptable levels

 

[Simon Mallin]

The critical setting with video is the shutter speed which in general should be set at twice the frame rate, so at 30fps the shutter speed needs to be 1/60sec, at 25fps 1/50sec, etc. as you mention. You do not want this changing during shooting so the camera setting you really need is manual, or maybe shutter priority.

The ISO speed does not want to be more than 400 to limit the risk of 'noise' on the video but this is rarely a problem because with a fixed aperture of f2.8 on the X3 we are normally trying to reduce the exposure, not increase it (unless it's a dark day). On automatic exposure, even at the lowest ISO 100, the shutter speed will most likely be quite fast because the camera aperture can't be changed.

The solution is to use ND filters. You don't mention these but they reduce the amount of light coming into the lens by 2,4,8 stops etc. according to which filter you use (your X3 should have come with an ND4 filter - 2 stop). I always shoot manual because in auto and SP you can see when the exposure changes and I don't want this in my videos. I choose the appropriate filter to give me correct exposure (on the main subject within the picture) at ISO 200 and at the desired shutter speed (normally 1/50 for me), so if necessary I can go to ISO 100 or ISO400 to adjust the exposure slightly between shots without having to land and change the filter.

Auto lock works for me but rather annoyingly it has to be reset for every shot which may be why you think it isn't working. I haven't used it for ages so that may have now changed.

Hope this helps.

 

[LevitatedMedia]

The solution is to use ND filters. You don't mention these but they reduce the amount of light coming into the lens by 2,4,8 stops etc. according to which filter you use (your X3 should have come with an ND4 filter - 2 stop). I always shoot manual because in auto and SP you can see when the exposure changes and I don't want this in my videos. I choose the appropriate filter to give me correct exposure (on the main subject within the picture) at ISO 200 and at the desired shutter speed (normally 1/50 for me), so if necessary I can go to ISO 100 or ISO400 to adjust the exposure slightly between shots without having to land and change the filter.

Auto lock works for me but rather annoyingly it has to be reset for every shot which may be why you think it isn't working. I haven't used it for ages so that may have now changed.

Hope this helps.

Hello Simon!

Sorry to the OP if I hijack your thread, figure it's along the same lines as your question. In regards to the ND Filters, I've been using them but most likely using them incorrectly. Do you have any recommendation for material to better understand which filter to use when and so on? I've tried using PolarPro's ND Filter app on my phone but it's just not...dumbed down enough for me?

 

[Simon Mallin]

This is what I do to find the right ND filter:

1. Switch on aircraft and GO app.
2. Set exposure to manual, ISO - 200, shutter - 1/50sec (I'm in UK so have a 25fps frame rate)
3. Point camera at something similar in exposure to what I want to film and tap screen on that subject
4. Look at EV reading at top of screen to determine amount of under or over exposure and select relevant ND filter to bring EV back to zero, (or slightly -ve).

An EV of '+1' means 1 stop over exposed - this can be corrected by changing the ISO to 100
An EV of '+2' means two stops over exposed for which you need a ND4 filter
An EV of '+3' means three stops over exposed for which you need a ND8 filter
etc.

After a while you'll generally get a feel for which filter to use.

 

[Inspirejon]

Thank you Simon for this reply it really is going to help, and your lasty reply also very helpful. I did add the nd 2 filter and things seemed better, i'm glad i'm not the only one finding auto lock annoying, so will not be using it then.
So as i understand it , i will go try what you said, keep the iso at 200 or lower if required, change the shutter to twice that of frame rate, and use the ND2 filter (all i have) so will have to work with that, i mainly take video early morning late afternoon, in sunny africa.

 

[Simon Mallin]

I suggest you get some more ND filters if you're in sunny Africa - I mainly use and ND8 and ND16 in gloomy England. Have a look at the Polar Pro range.

 

[Inspirejon]

Thanks i will first try change iso,i don't have extra funds for that, but should i ever have extra funds and not need to pay other expenses i wil get extra filters thanks.