Hello Fellow Yuneec Pilot!
Join our free Yuneec community and remove this annoying banner!
Sign up

Looking for help with filters for C23 camera.

Joined
Jul 1, 2020
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Age
34
Hello everyone,

I have looked up on the forum and saw that the FREEEWELL filters are suited for E90 and C23 cameras for the Typhoon H+. I ordered the 4 filter pack and realised afterwards that they are slightly smaller and dont fit. I have measured with a ruler and the diameter looks very close to @39 mm. I have a C23 camera and i've seen people talking about filters that need to be 40.5 mm in order to fit. Nisi produces good ND glass at the size of 40.5mm but how can i be sure it will fit?

Can anyone enlighten me please?
 
I balance the unit with a coin blu-tacked to the back of the camera. Though I have flown without and have not seen any issue. If you use a polarising filter which is heavier, a heavier counter-weight will be required and this may foul the gimbal. You may also get vignetting with the latter, so slim filters are better.
 
So there isn't any filter that would just go with the camera? I dont really want to improvise with counter weights as i'm guessing the operiation of the gimbal affects the battery life... I have to find a solution because i will be using the drone for real estate photos and videos and without an ND filter it would complicate things. It's weird how a drone that has a hefty price doesnt offer a filter solution.
 
Freewell was the only company that made filters for the C23/E90. In late 2018 people started finding that some of the filters did not fit - Freewell claimed it was Yuneec that had changed the lens mount and Yuneec claimed they didn't. One thing is for sure - the Freewell filters DID change their appearance slightly. In any case Freewell dropped that line of filters and NO one makes filters that fit the 39mm male threaded lens of the C23/E90.

The lens adapter (female to female) that Yuneec supplied gives an industry standard female threaded mount at 40.5mm - at this stage of the game, unless you can find one of the original Freewell sets that fit, the only route is to use the adapter and get the lightest standard filters you can find and expect that in some cases you will have to re-balance the gimbal.
 
And whatever you do....DO NOT mess up that adapter ring. I know of no way to replace it. Be very careful and only finger tighten it "just enough" to keep it secure. If it seizes up you're in trouble. The Precious could be destroyed.

The filter situation with the C23 is just sad. Why Yuneec would not use an industry-standard fitting is an engineering failure. A camera that is so great in many ways is hobbled because of this. (if you use filters)
 
In not supplying filters, Yuneec allows you to make a choice that suits your pocket.
If you stay with one brand and type you can put the counterbalance on the back of the camera and almost forget about it. Taking video usually requires the use of ND filters that vary according to the light levels, but living in sunny Florida, and assuming the light levels are consistent, you might be able to stick with one filter. I replace the ND filter with the one supplied by Yuneec for taking photos, but some users prefer to extract photo images from their videos. ;)
There are more manufacturers supplying 40.5mm filters now than the last time I looked and I see some major manufacturers are using 40.5mm on their lenses, eg Nikon.
 
Here is a link to the Copter.EU site that shows those Freewell filters are in stock now for €99.00.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Mike.
US. Update to my post.
There's filters are advertised to fit the C90 camera from the H520 this camera is the same camera as the C23 one on the H Plus. Check your filter thread size. Scroll down to the bottom of the add that I posted for further information.
Mike
 
Last edited:
So there isn't any filter that would just go with the camera? I dont really want to improvise with counter weights as i'm guessing the operiation of the gimbal affects the battery life... I have to find a solution because i will be using the drone for real estate photos and videos and without an ND filter it would complicate things. It's weird how a drone that has a hefty price doesnt offer a filter solution.

The most significant factor is that since none of the standard filters are designed to be used with an aircraft camera, weight is not a design factor for them. Your only option with this camera is to compensate with counter balancing.

The situation with the H3 is no better... there are no filters to be found at all.

Are there other solutions? Sure... just none with the Yuneec brand.
 
Thank you all for your help. After reading all the answers i have only this option:

1. Buy a standard 40.5mm filter that would fit with the adapter ring that came with the drone ( this is what i found in europe: https://www.nisifilters.fr/produit/filtre-nisi-nd8-3-stops-pro-nano-huc/)

2. Using the adapter + filter means i have to counter balance the camera so : i should calculate the weight of the adapter ring + the 40.5 mm filter then take out the weight of the UV filter that is already on the camera and the result should be the weight that i have to counter balance.

Is this ok?
 
Sorry, I thought you were in Florida.
The filter that you suggest looks good, but you will need a range of ND's; 16, 32 and 64, that will need to be changed depending on light conditions. I don't remember ever using an ND8, but perhaps that is down to when I choose to fly. I use ND32 most and 16 on duller days. Even on the brightest days I find the ND64 cuts down too much light and the shutter speed is too slow. I use the lowest ISO possible and aim for a shutter speed that is half of the frame rate as this is supposed to give optimum quality, so ISO 100, 1/60s at 30fps on my E90.
To balance the camera, you could use a small coin or perhaps a washer. The gimbal motors will cope with some imbalance, but ideally the camera should be neutral.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike Irish
I tried the Gobe version https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gobe-Variable-ND2-400-24-Layer-40-5mm/dp/B07NHHX3VD/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=gobe+variable+nd+filter+40.5mm&qid=1594415153&sr=8-1&th=1
and found that the gimbal motors seemed to be struggling despite the camera being balanced. However, the NiSi filter seems to be lighter and might be better.
The use of a variable filter means that you don't know the actual ND value you are using and can't change the camera settings by a known number of stops. But, it would be quicker to land the drone and adjust the variable filter rather than change the ND filter. As Fred warned, you need to be careful you don't overtighten the adaptor ring onto the camera and use of a filter that is adjusted by turning it could result in the filter or the ring becoming stuck. Vignetting is also more likely to occur with a variable ND filter.
Overall, I'd choose to have a selection of ND filters rather than a single variable ND filter, but if you decide to go with the latter, let us know how you get on.
 
Last edited:
I understand... the only problem is that i have to chose between ND8 which seems inefficient during sunny days and ND 64 which is on the extreme opposite.

@Graham *****The use of a variable filter means that you don't know the actual ND value you are using and can't change the camera settings by a known number of stops.

In my logic i would just set my camera to something like 4k 60fps iso 100 and then adjust the filter untill i am happy. Am i missing something? I have never used an ND filter so i could be wrong :rolleyes:
 
Sone VND's are graduated and notched so they "click" in at known values.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Graham
Variable ND filter have two layers of glass, this makes them a lot heavier and because of this makes them unsuitable for our small drones.
Take my word for it I tried them ?.
Mike
 
  • Like
Reactions: Graham
There are now two of us who have found that the variable ND filters are too heavy for our use and Fred has warned about the filter or adapter ring getting stuck, which I think is more likely with a variable filter. You are correct in your last post except at 60fps, ideally the shutter would be 1/120s. You might have to take off and land several times to get a suitable ND value. In your pIace I would choose to use a set of fixed value ND filters rather than the variable because I know they will work, but the variable may prove problematical.
 

New Posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
20,954
Messages
241,586
Members
27,284
Latest member
csandoval