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Reducing/removing the rolling shutter prop effect (neutral density filters etc)

Quite an interesting article on the rolling shutter effect.

Link

EGBB

Thanks Roger!

The graphics make it really easy to understand this effect!

Thank you!

EIWT Weston, Ireland

That’s a super article…

When I shoot through the prop I use 1/160 or slower (still camera) or 1/125 (video camera). That works for 2400rpm. None of the cheap webcams AFAIK have the required control.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

If you use an iPhone do the pictures using a gray filter. The shutter speed will be longer and the prop will be blurred. If you have transparent sun visors you can shoot through these, although they will lower the quality of the picture. You will also have to correct colors a bit later if the sun visors are green (like mine).

The gray filter is available for GoPro cameras as well.

On more recent iPhones, Manual gives excellent results

EGEO

Great! Exactly what i needed – and didn’t know that it exists.

YOU COULD HAVE posted this last week and I’d have some nice shots of the ILS approach to Split without the benst prop ;-)))

I’m sorrry better service next time!

EGEO

Sure, neutral density filters make the “shutter” open for longer, but IME they never quite remove the prop.

This is what you get with 1/160 or slower with a “proper” camera – almost totally clean:

Here you can just see the top of the prop arc:

Both were 1/160, Pentax K3.

This one seems totally clean – probably 1/120 or slower

I don’t know why phone cameras don’t have better manual modes. It is “only software” after all

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Cool

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

I’m no scientist or mathematician but there must be some relationship between the ‘right’ shutter speed (where ‘right’ is a personal preference for how much blur you want) and the PROP RPM.

For example in the PA28 at 2300 RPM, using a Canon 5D Mk III 1/250 works well both inside the cockpit and shooting them as they land. Here is an example of the kind of effect I get / like

Here is one of a Spitfire whose RPM I dont know, but with the same camera I need 1/100 to get the ‘right’ effect. This is where I stopped using my 100-400mm lens in favour of the 24-105, which is going to allow handholding at 1/100 much easier than a 400mm lens.

So maybe Peter uses 1/160 because his PROP is faster than in a PA28 (maybe also because of the wobbly prop, which I dont know much about if I am honest). Or maybe 1/160 just totally removes the PROP and thats the effect he likes. Personally I like to see a little bit of PROP, but not a bendy one :-)

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