Essential ND Filters for Your DJI Mavic 4 Pro

What’s up, guys? Welcome back to another video. Today, we’ll be exploring one of the most important accessories you can buy for your DJI Mavic 4 Pro: ND filters.

Why Use ND Filters?

If you’re wondering why ND filters are essential, the answer is simple. They create a cinematic look by introducing natural-looking motion blur to your footage. This effect is more pronounced when flying closer to the ground. For example, if you pause the footage and look at the bottom of the screen, you’ll notice significant motion blur in the fields. Without this natural-looking motion blur, the footage feels off and lacks a cinematic quality.

The higher you fly, the less visible the motion blur becomes due to the increased distance between the drone and objects on the ground. However, using ND Filters is a standard practice for all cinematic drone footage. I highly recommend investing in ND filters to ensure you’re prepared for any situation.

My Filter Collection

Freewell kindly sent me a set of their filters, which I’ll Review today. Here’s what I have in my backpack:

Diffusion Glow Mist Filter

This 1/4-strength filter adds a subtle glow and diffusion to your footage, giving it a dreamy effect. I love this look and will test it later.

Split ND 1000 and 512

This filter offers 1,000 strength for the main camera and 512 for the other two cameras on the DJI Mavic 4 Pro. It’s ideal for long-exposure photography. Unfortunately, I can’t test it today due to calm seas, but I’ll try it out when conditions allow and share the results on my Instagram. Follow me there for updates!

Split ND PL Four-Pack

This pack includes ND8, ND16, ND32, and ND64 filters. Like the ND1,000, these are split to provide stronger ND for the main camera and less for the secondary cameras. If you prefer filters without polarization, Freewell also offers a regular split ND4 pack with the same strengths but no polarization. This is a simpler option for those who want to avoid adjusting polarization.

Circular Polarizer

This filter is excellent for reducing glare and reflections from surfaces like water, making it perfect for shooting reflective environments.

Performance of Freewell Filters

Taking a quick look at footage recorded with Freewell’s split ND filters (linked below), the results are crisp, vibrant, and visually stunning. I haven’t noticed any color shifts, distortions, or issues with the glass on the Mavic 4 Pro. The split ND PL filters, which include polarization, allow you to rotate the glass based on your shooting needs. Typically, polarizing the top portion darkens the sky, preserving more detail in landscape footage.

The 1/4 mist filter, while adding a misty effect, is not an ND filter, so it doesn’t support manual camera settings. You’ll need to increase the shutter speed significantly to expose footage properly. Keep in mind that this filter isn’t suitable for every shot.

Wrapping Up

That’s all for today’s video, guys. I’ll link all the Freewell filters in the description—check them out if you’re interested. Thank you for watching! This is Mike from Drone Supremacy, and I’ll catch you in the next one.