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ND Filter

Neutral Density (ND) filters help reduce sunlight in bright environments, improving image quality and color balance. They’re essential for capturing professional-looking photos and smooth cinematic videos in daylight.

ND Filters for Drone Cameras

Explore our line of exceptional Neutral Density (ND) Filters developed exclusively for drone cameras. Sumitra Enterprises offers a fine line of ND filters for drone cameras, giving you the best results in aerial photography and videography. ND filters block light intensity and do not change color balance, allowing you to get beautiful, professional footage in bright conditions. 

Whether you are a hobbyist or if you are flying for business, ND filters can be beneficial for shutter speed control, minimizing motion blur, and creating cinematic looks and effects such as smooth motion while recording in 4K & 8K.

What Is an ND Filter? 

A Neutral Density (ND) filter is a dark, neutral-toned glass or resin lens accessory that lowers the amount of light that hits your drone’s camera sensor without changing colors—imagine them as being the sunglasses for your drone’s camera.

It uniformly cuts down the brightness in your entire frame, allowing you to use slower shutter speeds or wider apertures even on bright, sunny days. This is key for obtaining buttery smooth cinematic drone videos and crisp aerial photos under harsh sunlight.

Why You Really Need One

Drone cameras have fixed or limited aperture control & high base ISO settings, making it virtually impossible to achieve a proper motion blur in daylight without blowing out your footage.

That’s why ND filters are essential:

  • Smooth Cinematic Motion: Get that 180° shutter rule at 1/50s for 24fps for natural motion blur instead of choppy, robotic-like video.
  • Stop Overexposure: Avoid blown highlights in bright blue skies, snow, or reflective water.
  • Creative Control: Shoot with a wider aperture for color pop or shallow depth of field—even in bright sunlight.
  • Professional Quality: Get rid of jello effect & rolling shutter distortions you see with fast shutter speeds.
  • Versatility: Adapt to changing light conditions without needing to keep adjusting ISO or frame rate.

Your drone footage will look amateurish, sharp & jittery with no ND filter during daylight—it will look frozen. Your drone flights will be a cinematic masterpiece with an ND filter.

Why Purchase ND Filters from Sumitra Enterprises?

  • Light Management: In bright sunlight or high-exposure situations, reduce incoming light by 3 to 10 stops.
  • Cinematic Video: Keep your aperture wide open to create a shallow depth of field, while keeping shutter speeds at optimal ratios. 
  • Color Integrity: True neutral density ND filters do not have color casts or shifts.
  • Durable: Multi-coated, scratch-proof, and water-resistant glass.
  • Compatibility: Compatible with DJI Mavic series, Autel EVO, FPV drones, and more.

The Way to Use ND Filters on Drones

  • Choosing Strength: ND8 for partly cloudy days, ND32+ for full sunny days
  • Attach securely: Snap on or screw on firmly prior to taking off. 
  • Exposure Test: Make adjustments to the camera settings after attaching the filter. 
  • Clean Gently: A blower and microfiber only, please. 

Faq`s

With DJI drones, auto modes tend to lock shutter speeds. An ND filter allows you to override the lock and, by reducing the incoming light to the sensor, allows for slower shutter speeds (i.e., 1/50s) instead of 1/2000s, which is too fast for effective motion blur at bright light. This is better suited for the 180-degree shutter rule and reduces rolling shutter distortion within the footage while also appearing to be smoother in changing light conditions.

Most of the filters on this page are made using high-grade optical resin or AGC glass, with anti-reflective coatings (multi-layers 8-16) for neutrality above 99% light transmission. The resin versions are also lighter (<5g each filter), which helps to minimize the weight on the gimbal, while the glass versions offer better scratch resistance (7th on the Mohs scale) and color fidelity.

Compatibility is dependent. Mavic Air 2S has 43mm threads for ND filter sets. Mini 3 Pro has a special slim 25.5mm thread for any proprietary mounts or filters. The filters only add a little bit of weight, maybe 1-3 grams in total. The weight of filters on overall flight times is not significant (<1%) battery drain on a 30-minute flight time with a DJI battery. Just ensure to use magnetic or clip-on filters for fast change-outs while avoiding the gimbal recalibration. 

Yes, stacking is feasible on models like the DJI Avata with adapter rings (CPL and ND). However, limit to 2-3 filters total to avoid vignetting. ND16 (4 stops) + CPL (1-2 additional variable stops experiment) = 5-6 total stops. Consult a "calculator" app for precise exposure, as noted on page; uses super slim profiles (<3mm thick) to prevent light leaks and do test at but in backlighted scenes for flare (visual).

In short, a variable ND filter encases two polarizing optical films to allow someone to spin them to create an effect. They provide a 1-5 stop range of ND (ND2 to ND32) through rotation. This allows exposure for variable lighting as conditions change during flight without removing the filter. They are great for aerial tracking shots and noticeable ambient light movement.

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