I had a cpl filter on my original mini and although they came as a set the only other I used was nd4 but for every day use the cpl was good
To follow on from my previous reply about getting a cheap set from ebay - I decided to do a test taking the same photo with and without the filter. Since the exposure compensates by changing shutter speed the ideal result is that the photos should look identical.
Well to my eyes they do.
You can judge for yourself:
Hereās an enlarged section from the photo with and without an ND8.
I canāt see any loss of sharpness or other problems.
Here are the full photos -
With the ND8 filter:
Without:
So given these results my question is why pay more?
Iām sure the more expensive ones are very well made and excellent products. But I canāt see how their actual performance can be any better than these these cheap ones.
Or am I missing something?
1 Like
Video is the real test, they have really no difference on stills unless it is Mediterranean sunshine.
1 Like
Yes I know - I got them for use in video.
And in video they work as expected (ie changing the shutter speed).
So given all ND filters will āworkā - what is the difference between cheap ND filters and expensive ones?
Well the only difference I can think of would be if the ND filter affected the sharpness or added some kind of a colour cast to the image (though the latter should be trivial to grade out unless itās severe).
Hence my photo test which shows no difference between the cheap ND filter and no filter.
I could have uploaded a frame from a video but if there were movement there would be a motion blur difference (which of course is what we want) which would make it difficult to see if the filter had softened the image.
So from this test Iām confident that even the cheapest ND filters will work well for video - allowing the correct shutter speed without degrading the image.
2 Likes
Browsing Aliexpress I found a whole stack of filters for the DJI UAVsā¦looked cheaper than some prices paid.
Might be of interest to some - saving money! eg UV Ā£7.50
Iām not saying I know much about this as really I donāt but do you not need good quality glass for these filters , cheap normally means poor quality and this would effect the image and for that reason I avoid cheap filters but as I said thatās just my thoughts and Iām sure others on here with better knowledge may know better.
German Schott optical glass used in those for the Mavicsā¦
PGYTECH Lens Filters For DJI Mavic Mini 2 UV ND.
Its top quality
I just got a set of these Freewell standard day ND filters, plus a CPL for my Mini 2. So smol!
1 Like
Been looking at getting those myself or the skyreat set , I do have a set of cheap Chinese ones but was thinking about a upgrade ,
1 Like
As per my post above - I bought some very cheap ones and have pixel peeped photos with and without. I canāt see any difference which to my mind means even the cheap ones have no effect on the image (except for the exposure change as expected).
The pics are posted above so if anyone can spot something Iāve missed please let me know.
Otherwise Iām of the opinion that youāll get every bit as good an image with a cheap filter as you will with an expensive one.
3 Likes
If you have cheap chinese set why not do the same test as me?
Take the same photo with and without a filter. Make sure the resulting exposure is roughly the same (or use auto mode).
If you canāt see a difference then thereās no reason to upgrade.
Would love to know your results.
1 Like
ND filters are there to give your videos that cinematic look you may want to achieve. They wonāt do much for photos unless they are motion photos and you want motion blur in there. Hereās Potato Jet explaining it:
1 Like
Actually that video shows more the depth of field changes, but I was personally interested more in the motion blur. This video shows a good example of that:
1 Like
Yes I know - Iāve been making films professionally for 20 years so I know exactly what ND filters do!
I bought my ND filters precisely for that purpose (which they fulfill perfectly).
The question is, whether as well as doing what we want they also degrade image quality. The perfect ND filter will reduce the amount of light but have no other effect on the image.
Hence you can test an ND filter by taking 2 photos with and without the filter, keeping the exposure the same.
As long as both shutter speeds are reasonably short and thereās no significant movement the images should look exactly the same. However a poor quality ND filter will degrade the quality of the image leading to a visible difference.
I found no different that I could see - hence I conclude the cheap ND filters perform very well and canāt see any reason to spend more.
Hope that makes sense.
4 Likes
Yeah Iāve been looking at these too
Anyone tried these
Linghuang Filter Set for DJI Mini 2 Mavic Mini Camera Lens Polarizing Filter MCUV ND4 ND8 ND16 ND32 CPL Neutral Density Lens Filter (MCUV+CPL+ND4+ND8+ND16+ND32) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0825MZHPD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_4448SMBQDX60T7FWWDST
Just ordered these from Banggood for Ā£22.90, has anyone else used them? they seemed to have good reviews
NDsā¦at the very least they will protect the lens as not doubt dust can sometimes be flicked up by props. It was really protecting the lens the only real reason I used one on my still cameras waaaaayyyy back 
1 Like
Ordered these 8 days ago and they arrived today 
Not really sure yet how to use them, so looking for any good advice/links to read up on, they seem decent, I have posted some screenshots with the filters on to see if the camera settings changed and they did! donāt know if this is of any use 
havenāt tested them in the field yet. Any advice welcome 
1 Like
Think of the ND filters as sunglasses for your camera. For video and to achieve āmotion blurā your shutter speed should be twice your frame rate, so if you are shooting at 4k, 30fps, your shutter should ideally be set to 1/60th second. As your aperture is fixed, the only way to do it is to restrict the amount of light entering the lens, so this is done by using ND filters. There will be a degree of trial and error to achieve the correct reduction, but with time, you will be able to assess the lighting and use the most appropriate filter for the conditions. You can also use the ISO setting to adjust the sensitivity of the sensor to light to achieve the desired result.
The UV filter is really best used as a lens protector, the effect it produces is minimal and the polariser (CPL) will enhance colours, by reducing reflections, so deepening the blue of the sky etc. The effect is most noticeable when working at 90 degrees to the direction of the sunlight, so probably more suited to still photography. Best effect can be set by turning the front element whilst looking through the filter. Look at the windows of a car through the filter to give an idea of the effect.
There are loads of videos on YouTube giving instructions, some more useful than others.
3 Likes