Video of Solo / Modded GoPro 4 / 3 Stop ND

Brad12d3 · Oct 8, 2016

Been doing some testing with my Solo, a modded GoPro Hero 4 Black w/5.4mm lens, and a 3 stop ND filter. I actually just ordered a stronger ND filter pack since the 3 stop won't let me get down to 1/60 shutter.

This is a quick fly up, spin around, and come down test I did yesterday. Nothing fancy, really wanted to see how motion looked from faster and slower pans. Shutter was 1/120 on this clip.

Did some processing in AE and Resolve. I think you can really pull some great shots from this combo.

Maddog · Oct 8, 2016

Hi Brad- welcome to the forum!

I liked the coloring but I noticed a rapid "stuttering" while panning instead of a smooth flow. Is this due to the shutter speed, filter, etc.?

Nice looking homes in that area!

EDIT: Just noticed your other thread where you are asking the same thing.

Brad12d3 · Oct 8, 2016

Maddog said:
Hi Brad- welcome to the forum!

I liked the coloring but I noticed a rapid "stuttering" while panning instead of a smooth flow. Is this due to the shutter speed, filter, etc.?

Nice looking homes in that area!

Yeah, the shutter is definitely a part of that. I ordered some stronger ND filters to help my get down to 1/60. Also, it's generally not a good idea to pan too fast with any digital cameras. It going look weird and not be very pleasing to look at. I find either do a really fast whip pan or do it slow and steady. In between, and it can be unpleasant.

I was curious what different speed pans looked like with this set up, which was the main part of the test. Figuring out my limits on different things.

Maddog · Oct 8, 2016

Brad12d3 said:
Yeah, the shutter is definitely a part of that. I ordered some stronger ND filters to help my get down to 1/60. Also, it's generally not a good idea to pan too fast with any digital cameras. It going look weird and not be very pleasing to look at. I find either do a really fast whip pan or do it slow and steady. In between, and it can be unpleasant.

I was curious what different speed pans looked like with this set up, which was the main part of the test. Figuring out my limits on different things.

Will the 1/60 shutter speed look better? I'm not familiar with that stuff.

Brad12d3 · Oct 8, 2016

Maddog said:
Will the 1/60 shutter speed look better? I'm not familiar with that stuff.

Generally, yes. It's equivalent to 180 degree shutter angle on a film camera. The amount of motion blur that produces is what our eyes have become accustom to over the years watching films. Higher shutter speeds and fast motion can look a little odd to our eyes.

However, that is just one part of the equation. I am shooting at a longer focal length that the stock GoPro lens. That means that any vibrations will be magnified, because I am more zoomed in. So there is some judder in my video when it comes out of the camera. After effects's warp stabilizer does pretty good work smoothing that out, but there could be some of it left behind that affects how smooth the motion looks.

So I keep experimenting.