Understanding shutter speeds

DronePhD said:

Thanks Donnie! I have less than average knowledge of camera settings, even after 5 years of doing this type of aerial mapping. I have never experienced issues, so default settings have been great.

I typically fly at 350' AGL, covering thousands of acres for Ag. Farmers like to see the citrus trees. 250' has been a bit better, but 2x the flight time. May switch to a 45mm lens for those really wanting details, but the money is in the NDVI anyways.

The point I was making about DroneDeploy is that it recommends NOT slowing down below 31mph UNLESS flying in 'low light'. During rainy season, the clouds make it feel like near dusk sometimes, so I tried their LowLight option. I noticed it changed the ISO to 400. But, since I am using a Mechanical Shutter, do I really NEED to slow down? Do you think it would help At All?

-DrDrone

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Donnie Frank said:

Thanx for the clarification. ISO 400 seems excessive. But that MAY be native ISO on the X4S. Oh hell...let me look up the dang spec's....

Okay...the X4S is very different from the P4P camera, but they both stop down to f/2.8. So we'll go off that. That said...

You seem to have a good handle on everything except the advantage of the mechanical shutter. All the mechanical shutter does is prevent warping due to the progressive scan of an electronic shutter. The X5S has a 10° narrower FOV, so that's going to give you a slight blur disadvantage. But flying at 350' AGL is going to give you a blur advantage. I would say ISO 200 with a shutter of 1/1600 should give you plenty of wiggle room for darker days. If it's REALLY dark, you can go down to 1/1000 and still have < .4 inch blur.

I would have to see the ISO 400 photos. With a 1" sensor, I'm sure they're very good. But if it were me I would stick to ISO 200. I hate redoing jobs....<;^)

D

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