ND Filters

Peter Esteves · Mar 12, 2015

Hello Fellow Pilots,

I've searched (as have some of you) for ND Filters for the Inspire's 37mm MALE filter ring mount. I've had no real luck and am wondering if anyone else has found any that will work with the camera thread and won't negatively effect the gimbals performance. Right now, shooting a snow covered landscape at 4K in bright sun is a joke. To properly expose I need to be at 1/400-1/500... meaning massive rolling shutter and jello. With a fixed F2.8 lens DJI missed the boat on providing a series of ND filters beyond the ND4 that comes with the Inspire (i'd gladly pay). I've resorted to ordering gels until I can find actual ND Filters made for the inspire. Any one else have any luck?

johnmont250 · Mar 12, 2015

i think a few companies have them in the works, like snake river prototypes, they make good stuff. im using gels till then, works great...

britchris1 · Mar 12, 2015

With a little tweaking these work just fine http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0083WYF4Y

flyingclint · Mar 12, 2015

britchris1 said:
With a little tweaking these work just fine http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0083WYF4Y

Ok, so when you say "tweaking". What exactly do you mean and I might be inclined to get me some...!

Also, how good does the glass need to be in order to not have picture quality degradation? I had once ordered some cheaper ND filters for my 5D mkIII and it caused the image to soften SOOO bad and even be slightly miscolored that they were unusable and became little flying saucers instead!

johnmont250 · Mar 12, 2015

britchris1 said:
With a little tweaking these work just fine http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0083WYF4Y

i actually bought the same ones a month ago, not even close. the threads are not the same at all. i would not take a chance on hacking the threading on a $650 camera(cheap, I know), but thats me.

gogowanda · Mar 12, 2015

we're on it. just sent the stock filter to the contracting supplier. the stock is ND4 and we'll be making it in ND8 and ND16, to fit the 37mm female ring, thin lens and all.

britchris1 · Mar 12, 2015

By tweaking I mean disassemble lol

Unfortunately you can't screw these onto the I1 camera. I used a small plastic pry tool to take out the lens, placed it behind the clear filter that comes with the l1 and screwed it in place. I haven't noticed a degradation in image quality

johnmont250 · Mar 12, 2015

britchris1 said:
By tweaking I mean disassemble lol

Unfortunately you can't screw these onto the I1 camera. I used a small plastic pry tool to take out the lens, placed it behind the clear filter that comes with the l1 and screwed it in place. I haven't noticed a degradation in image quality

lol, some people are forcefully threading them on.

britchris1 · Mar 12, 2015

johnmont250 said:
lol, some people are forcefully threading them on.

Ouch thats a costly mistake (or will eventually turn into one!)

Rainbowers · Mar 12, 2015

For more information have a look here: http://www.inspirepilots.com/thread...e-an-nd-8-or-16-filter.1494/page-2#post-16428

Peter Esteves · Mar 12, 2015

gogowanda said:
we're on it. just sent the stock filter to the contracting supplier. the stock is ND4 and we'll be making it in ND8 and ND16, to fit the 37mm female ring, thin lens and all.

Thanks Gogo!!!

Paul K · Mar 12, 2015

flyingclint said:
Ok, so when you say "tweaking". What exactly do you mean and I might be inclined to get me some...!

Also, how good does the glass need to be in order to not have picture quality degradation? I had once ordered some cheaper ND filters for my 5D mkIII and it caused the image to soften SOOO bad and even be slightly miscolored that they were unusable and became little flying saucers instead!

Read my input herehttp://www.inspirepilots.com/thread...e-an-nd-8-or-16-filter.1494/page-2#post-16428

And this:
Filter could make huge difference in quality of the video/ picture . It could make it better or it could make it much worst.
If you are really serious about using the filter (to improve the quality of the picture) than look for very good quality filter.
Good quality filters for digital use are made by B+w; Hoya; and Tiffin just naming a few.
It is very important to look for filters with antireflective coating. In a film era ,it was enough to have coating on outside of the filter,but with digital cameras both sides ,outside and inside is a must .
You can find number of companies on internet selling all kind of filters ,but the antireflective coating is usually missing.
I will do some research over the weekend and try to locate some filters that could be suitable for inspire.

johnmont250 · Mar 12, 2015

gogowanda said:
we're on it. just sent the stock filter to the contracting supplier. the stock is ND4 and we'll be making it in ND8 and ND16, to fit the 37mm female ring, thin lens and all.

how about some kind of scratch resistant coating? the dji one seems so delicate, i dont think theres much added to it for scratch coating.

Rainbowers · Mar 13, 2015

Paul K said:
Read my input herehttp://www.inspirepilots.com/thread...e-an-nd-8-or-16-filter.1494/page-2#post-16428

And this:
Filter could make huge difference in quality of the video/ picture . It could make it better or it could make it much worst.
If you are really serious about using the filter (to improve the quality of the picture) than look for very good quality filter.
Good quality filters for digital use are made by B+w; Hoya; and Tiffin just naming a few.
It is very important to look for filters with antireflective coating. In a film era ,it was enough to have coating on outside of the filter,but with digital cameras both sides ,outside and inside is a must .
You can find number of companies on internet selling all kind of filters ,but the antireflective coating is usually missing.
I will do some research over the weekend and try to locate some filters that could be suitable for inspire.

Thanks for reply. I use myself all the big brands you mentioned, B+W, Singhray, Heliopan, … all very high quality "glass". With resin it is different, and for sure for ultra light ! I am less difficult for the DJI-filters, we are not flying with a S1000 with a GH4, Canon, etc. A minimum of quality for sure I like to see. I hope end next week to try and show the results. First fix the frame size and thread, already confirmed it will possible to have an exact copy, but this new mould will take one week.

yipDog · Mar 13, 2015

Good to hear a fix is in the works. A graduated ND would be nice as would a circular polarizer!
Was considering using a step down adapter 46mm (or 43mm) to 37mm in reverse but i think it might be a weight issue. I have a graduated 37 that fits but it is thick so it cuts into the picture