Hazy Shade of Winter - Polarizer Testing - Ladram Bay, Devon, UK

RedZeppelin · Nov 16, 2019

Hazy Shade of Winter

Finally got round to adding a polarizing filter to the Spark camera today. For such a tiny piece of glass, it's pretty impressive in it's impact and I was amazed it worked with panorama's too.

Time to experiment ?

McCloudSpark · Nov 17, 2019

Super shot - the polarizer really cut the glare (I assume).

Kendallfordguy · Nov 17, 2019

I really like the way a polarizer make the clouds pop.

RedZeppelin · Nov 17, 2019

Kendallfordguy said:
I really like the way a polarizer make the clouds pop.

Thanks @Kendallfordguy.

I wish I'd have added the PL filter a long time ago - I'm genuinely amazed at how much it improves the Spark images in situations like this. I'd read that the gimbal didn't like panorama's with filters attached, but this Polar Pro PL filter gave me no issue whatsoever, and for the price you can get them for now, I'd recommend it to everyone.

I'm sure the Mavic Mini is a great drone, but I'm still only scratching the surface of the Spark's capabilities and the addition of filters means I think I have a long way to go before I need to upgrade. Delighted with performance in every single way ?

Brian Snyder · Nov 17, 2019

Nice picture! Thanks for sharing your experience. I recently purchased those same filters and have not had much time to play with them.

Dragonfly Joe · Nov 17, 2019

Love the shot and those beautiful colors. Thanks R Z!

RotorWash · Nov 17, 2019

Great shot RZ! Love the colors and composition along with the rays beaming down. ?

MickDoesStuff · Nov 18, 2019

What a great shot mate. So that's just the filter without any additional editing? What particular filter was it, just the standard Polarizer Filter (Fixed) (0.67g)?

I'm looking at possibly getting the Polar Pro Dji Spark Filters 6-pack:
Polarizer Filter (Fixed) (0.67g): The fixed Spark Polarizer filter is pre-set to a horizontal polarization angle.
ND8 Filter (0.67g): The ND8 Spark Filter reduces the camera's shutter speed by 3-stops.
ND16 Filter (0.67g): The ND16 Spark filter reduces shutter speed by 4-stops.
ND32 Filter (0.67g): The PolarPro ND32 filter for the DJI Spark reduces shutter speed by 5-stops.
ND8/PL Filter (Fixed) (0.67g): The ND8/PL filter reduces shutter speed by 3-stops and polarizes the scene.
ND 16/PL Filter (Fixed) (0.67g): The ND16/PL filter reduces shutter speed by 4-stops and polarizes the scene.

Anyone else got this pack, or any of these and got examples of them in use?

RedZeppelin · Nov 18, 2019

MickDoesStuff said:
What a great shot mate. So that's just the filter without any additional editing? What particular filter was it, just the standard Polarizer Filter (Fixed) (0.67g)?

I'm looking at possibly getting the Polar Pro Dji Spark Filters 6-pack:
Polarizer Filter (Fixed) (0.67g): The fixed Spark Polarizer filter is pre-set to a horizontal polarization angle.
ND8 Filter (0.67g): The ND8 Spark Filter reduces the camera's shutter speed by 3-stops.
ND16 Filter (0.67g): The ND16 Spark filter reduces shutter speed by 4-stops.
ND32 Filter (0.67g): The PolarPro ND32 filter for the DJI Spark reduces shutter speed by 5-stops.
ND8/PL Filter (Fixed) (0.67g): The ND8/PL filter reduces shutter speed by 3-stops and polarizes the scene.
ND 16/PL Filter (Fixed) (0.67g): The ND16/PL filter reduces shutter speed by 4-stops and polarizes the scene.

Anyone else got this pack, or any of these and got examples of them in use?

Thanks @MickDoesStuff ?

Yes, it's the standard Polarizer (fixed) - I got the 3 pack with the ND8 & ND16 for £18 delivered from a Chinese seller on eBay. I was a bit wary, even though he had good feedback, but they're genuine Polar Pro and sealed in the original packaging. I've since bought the Cinema Series Shutter collection from the same seller for half the price I can get them in the UK, so I'm pretty much covered for all situations now.

I still run my images through Skylum's Air Magic (I find it quicker and the results better than my experiments with merging AEB shots in Lightroom), but I can now leave it at the default settings without having to boost the filter as the Polarizer naturally improves the contrast and saturation.

I can't recommend these filters highly enough - especially as I wasn't expecting them to work with panorama's ?

Spark 317 · Nov 18, 2019

MickDoesStuff said:
Anyone else got this pack,

I have the PolarPro cinematic series.

The polarized lens in the set have a rotating bezel for adjustments. I wish I would have gotten the fixed ones as the ones I have now are a pain to set correctly. I have to fight the gimbal, look at the screen, and adjust the bezel all at the same time.
Then I usually have to reset the Spark due to the gimbal overload message from me fartin' with it. Ugh.

Why have an adjustable bezel on something you can't adjust once it's in flight for optimal use?

Other than that, I like my set.

RedZeppelin · Nov 18, 2019

Spark 317 said:
I have the PolarPro cinematic series.

The polarized lens in the set have a rotating bezel for adjustments. I wish I would have gotten the fixed ones as the ones I have now are a pain to set correctly. I have to fight the gimbal, look at the screen, and adjust the bezel all at the same time.
Then I usually have to reset the Spark due to the gimbal overload message from me fartin' with it. Ugh.

Why have an adjustable bezel on something you can't adjust once it's in flight for optimal use?

Other than that, I like my set.

@Spark 317 - Yes I did think that was a bit weird regards the rotating bezel on the Cinema Series polarizer's. I did a fair bit of research and opted for the fixed for the very reasons you list above. This also means I can pretty much leave it on all the time now - especially as it works with pano's - and it also doubles as a lens protector for the Spark camera.

I did go for the Shutter set from the Cinema Series as I wanted the ND32, but in combination with the standard set I have, I'm hopefully covered for most situations now and I do think it will extend the lifetime of my Spark use as it's opened up new options too. Wish I'd got them a long time ago!