Guide · Camera & capture · v2026.10
Camera settings for paid aerial work.
Lock exposure, white balance and motion cadence before takeoff so every clip from every battery cuts together. Tables for cinematic video, stills and photogrammetry, with the reasoning behind each number.
Baseline
Set these once, before the first battery.
Mode
Manual (M)
Auto exposure pumps brightness when you pan from shadow to sky. Lock it.
ISO
Native base
Usually 100 for normal profiles; check your log profile’s native ISO (often 400 or 800).
White balance
5600 K
Fixed, never auto. Match across aircraft on multi-drone shoots.
Aids
Zebras + histogram
Zebras at 95–100% to protect highlights. Histogram over the full frame.
Shutter & ND
The 180° rule and how to hold it.
Shutter at roughly double the frame rate gives natural motion blur. In daylight that needs an ND filter; without one the camera raises shutter speed and footage looks jittery.
shutter ≈ 1 / (2 × fps)
| Frame rate | Target shutter | Acceptable range |
|---|---|---|
| 23.98 / 24p | 1/50 | 1/48–1/60 |
| 25p | 1/50 | 1/50–1/60 |
| 29.97 / 30p | 1/60 | 1/60–1/80 |
| 50p | 1/100 | 1/100–1/120 |
| 59.94 / 60p | 1/120 | 1/120–1/160 |
| 119.88 / 120p | 1/240 | 1/240–1/250 |
| Light (f/2.8, ISO 100, 24p) | Start with |
|---|---|
| Midday sun, snow, water, sand | ND64 |
| Direct sun, mid-morning / afternoon | ND32 |
| Hazy sun, light overcast | ND16 |
| Heavy overcast, open shade | ND8 |
| Golden hour | ND4 |
| Blue hour, night | None |
Each ND stop doubles: ND8 = 3 stops, ND16 = 4, ND32 = 5, ND64 = 6. Shooting 60p instead of 24p needs about one stop less ND. On variable-aperture drones, close to f/4–f/5.6 before reaching for a stronger filter; past f/8, diffraction softens the image.
Log & color
Expose log for the grade, not the monitor.
Log profiles look flat on the controller. Underexposed log is noisy in the shadows once graded, so most profiles want a slight overexposure, with highlights protected by zebras.
| Profile type | Exposure target | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard / Normal | 0 EV | Same-day social, real estate turnarounds | Clipped skies; limited grading room |
| HLG | 0 to +0.3 EV | HDR delivery, quick grade with more latitude | Looks wrong on SDR monitors without a LUT |
| 10-bit log (D-Log M, similar) | +0.7 to +1.0 EV | Commercial and broadcast work | Requires 10-bit and a conversion LUT in post |
| Full log (D-Log, cinema) | +1.0 EV, base ISO | Film and TV pipelines, matching cinema cameras | Shadows noisy if underexposed; heavy storage |
Monitor with a display LUT if your app supports it. Shoot a few seconds of a gray card or white surface at the start of each battery for the colorist.
Frame rates & codecs
Match the edit before you fly.
| Use | Record | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Film / narrative | 23.98p | Confirm project rate with the editor. 24.00 vs 23.98 matters. |
| Broadcast (US) | 29.97p / 59.94p | 25p / 50p in PAL regions. |
| Slow motion | 59.94p or 119.88p | Conform to 23.98 in post for 2.5× or 5× slow. |
| Hyperlapse | 2 s interval, RAW | 10 s of output at 24p ≈ 240 frames ≈ 8 min of flight. |
| Codec setting | Choose |
|---|---|
| Bit depth | 10-bit for log/HLG |
| Codec | H.265 or ProRes if available |
| Bitrate | Highest available |
| Resolution | Max sensor; deliver in 4K |
| Sharpness / NR | Lowest (−1 or 0) |
| Card | V30 minimum, V60 for ProRes |
Stills
Stills for real estate and marketing.
Format
RAW + JPEG
DNG for editing, JPEG for on-site client previews.
High contrast
AEB 5 × 0.7 EV
Bracket for interiors-through-windows and sunset exteriors. Hover 2 s before triggering to cut ghosting.
Shutter floor
1/100+
Hovering in wind still moves the camera. Raise ISO before dropping below 1/50 for stills.
Mapping & photogrammetry
Settings that produce clean models.
Motion blur and rolling shutter are what ruin a map. Prioritize fast shutter, consistent exposure and enough overlap for the terrain.
GSD (cm/px) = (sensor width mm × altitude m × 100) / (focal length mm × image width px)
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Shutter | 1/1000 or faster | Eliminates blur at mapping speeds. Use mechanical shutter if available. |
| Front / side overlap | 75% / 65% | Raise to 80% / 70% over trees, water, crops or uniform roofs. |
| Focus | Locked at infinity | Autofocus hunting changes lens geometry between images. |
| Exposure | Manual, or auto with lock | Big exposure swings break tie points. |
| Gimbal | −90° nadir · −60° for 3D | Add oblique crosshatch passes for facades and structures. |
| Time of day | 10:00–14:00 or overcast | Short shadows or none. Avoid flying during cloud shadows. |
| Ground control | 5+ GCPs or RTK/PPK | For survey-grade accuracy; place GCPs at corners and center. |
Air Pixels Flight OS
Store settings per shot, recall them in flight.
Flight OS shot lists hold ND, gimbal angle, speed and sun angle for each setup and show them on the in-flight HUD.