Review: ND Filter Set for Osmo Pocket

Neutral Density (short: “ND”) and polarized filters are an indispensable tool – not only for professionals, but also for amateur filmmakers. How do such filters work? How do you use them? And is the inexpensive Sunnylife filter set for the Osmo Pocket worth its money? Here’s the review.

Review: Sunnylife ND Filter Set for Osmo Pocket

Content:
Page 1: What are ND- and Pol Filters good for?
Page 2: Sunnylife Filter Set for Osmo Pocket

 

Neutral density (ND) and polarized filters offer great possibilities to shoot impressive photos, or “cine-like” videos. There already are various filter sets available for the Osmo Pocket from various manufacturers (priced EUR 100 or more) but if you don’t want to spend big money for the little Osmo, it makes sense to try the inexpensive filter set from Sunnylife, which are sold at Banggood for moderate 35 EUR.

The Sunnylife filter set contains six different filters: two ND4, two ND8 and two ND16 – each in a normal and a polarized version. So the set actually covers all the filters you need in most cases. Only a ND32 is missing here, but that’s definitely acceptable for the very reasonable price.

Before we take a closer look at the set on the next page, here’s a (short) summary of the effect and use of ND- and pole filters:

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How do ND- and Pol filters work?

ND Filter

ND (Neutral Density) filters act like sunglasses – blocking or reducing the light that enters the camera lens. To prevent the picture from becoming underexposed, i.e. too dark, the camera is forced to increase the exposure time. And with a longer exposure time you can generate great effects, especially with moving subjects such as waterfalls, streams, passing clouds, etc. So generally, with an ND filter you can extend the exposure time of the camera.

If one would try the exposure time without usin an ND filter, the image would be overexposed in the end, especially in sunshine. The longer the shutter of the camera remains open, the more light falls on the image sensor and the brighter the image becomes. With high ND filters you can achieve long exposure times – and great photo effects – even in sunshine.

A very good example is the motif of a waterfall: in sunny weather the camera selects a very, very short exposure time in automatic mode so that the image is not overexposed. Due to this short exposure time, one sees every single drop on the finished image of the waterfall – as if one had simply stopped the time. This, however, completely loses the naturalness of the motif, its dynamics. If you now use a ND filter (which forces a long exposure time) the difference is dramatic: the waterfall looks “soft”, single drops blur to a fog or long streaks of water.

ND filters are also advantageous for filming videos. For example, if you film at 60 FPS and then look at the individual frames of the video, you will see that moving objects look razor sharp. However, this does not correspond to the viewing habits of the human eye. The eye expects moving objects to “blur” a bit. And exactly this motion blur can be created when filming with ND filters. This gives the video a “cine-look” style – because in cinema movies you can also see that moving objects appear blurred when you look at individual frames – the stronger, the faster the movement of the object is.

Motion blur effect with ND filter

Left without, right with ND filter and long exposure time

Polarized Filters

Polarized (or “pol” for short) filters work very much like ND filters – but they also have an additional advantage: they block light rays that fall from a certain direction. In plain language: they can be used to reduce or even completely eliminate reflections on shiny surfaces.

Anyone who has ever photographed a shop window, the surface of a calm lake or the windshield of a car faced that problem: the surface reflects light so strongly that it is no longer possible to see what is behind (or below) it. These reflections can be removed using polarized filters. The results, in some cases, almost look like magic.

Reflections are produced by light that bounces off surfaces and hits the camera from different directions (angles). Since polarized filters can only eliminate light of a certain polarization (i.e. from a certain angle), those filters usually have a rotatable attachment. By rotating this attachment you can block light from a certain direction. In practice: you rotate the attachment until the unwanted reflection has been eliminated as much as possible. Since the Osmo Pocket allows you to control the image via the display or the app at any time, it is quite easy to find the right angle here.

Polarized filters can be used for photography as well as for filming and are always an advantage when you want to make reflections disappear. But pol filters also offer another advantage: they increase the intensity of colors. As soon as light from a certain direction is eliminated, the diffuse light thrown onto the camera by a motif is amplified. The result: the ambient colors now appear much more intense. The green of the vegetation appears stronger, the blue of the sky deeper and the colour of flowers more intense.

Left image without, right one shot with polarized filter

ND filters and polarized filters are therefore almost indispensable tools when photographing and filming and it is definitely worth to always have a set – or at least the most necessary filters – with you. The Sunnylife filters for the Osmo Pocket are in particular very easy to use as we will see on the next page.

On the next page: the Sunnylife Filter Set for the Osmo Pocket.

Review: Sunnylife ND Filter Set for Osmo Pocket

Content:
Page 1: What are ND- and Pol Filters good for?
Page 2: Sunnylife Filter Set for Osmo Pocket

Osmo Pocket ND Filter Set

Sunnylife filter Set

Sunnylife filter set

Sunnylife filter set

Osmo Pocket + Sunnylife filter

Osmo Pocket + Sunnylife filter

Sunnylife filter set

No filter used

With polarized filter

No filter used

With polarized filter

No filter used

With polarized filter

No filter used

With polarized filter

The Sunnylife filter set comes in a hinged, transparent plastic box. It contains a lens cleaning cloth and six different filters: two ND4, two ND8 and two ND16 – each in a normal and a polarized version. So the set actually covers most of the filters you need in everyday life. Inside their box, the attachments are stored in a scratch-avoiding and slip-proof foam rubber mould so the filter box can therefore be easily used on hikes, excursions, etc.

The non-polarized ND filters can be recognized by a thin silver ring while the polarized filters have gold, ribbed rotating attachments. The polarization can be adjusted by rotating these attachments. Simply rotate the attachment until the unwanted reflection has been neutralized as far as possible. A small mark on the rotating attachment indicates the normal (home) position of the rotating attachment and serves as orientation.

All filters are labelled with their ND value. The ND value of a filter indicates how much light it lets through:

Exclusive Banggood Coupon Codes

â–ª For our readers we have received exclusive discount coupon codes from Banggood, with which you can save up to 25% when buying Mavic, Spark, Mini FPV Racers and accessories such as Runcam Split, FrSky XLITE, antennas, etc. You can find these coupons on our coupons page. This section is constantly updated, so check back often.

How to use

The filters are magnetic and automatically adhere to the lens of the Osmo Pocket. The installation and replacement of the filters is therefore very easy and very fast. Since no mechanical devices are necessary to keep the filters on the lens, you don’t have to apply any force to the gimbal and don’t worry about damaging the lens. When changing the filters, you should only take care not to touch the lens or filter directly with your finger to avoid finger prints. It also makes sense to include a small cleaning cloth (there is one included with the filter set) to clean the filters and lens if necessary. However, care should be taken to keep the filters as dry as possible, otherwise rust could form on the metal parts. Cleaning with liquids of any kind should be avoided. Using a little spit – if neccessary – will help (contains tensides and does not act aggressively on the material).

Results

Especially when using polarized filters, the difference is sometimes dramatic – suddenly the bottom of a pond appears as if by magic, reflections are almost completely eliminated. Since the weather is too cloudy for the ND filters at the moment, we have concentrated on the use of the pole filters – more pictures will follow as soon as the weather allows it again because the use of ND filters is especially interesting for time-lapse recordings, but also for night shots!

The following pictures show the use of the polarized filters to eliminate unwanted or strong reflections:

Summary

The affordable filter set from Sunnylife saves a good amount of money but does a very good job. It comes with a robust storage box and the individual filters are quickly put on and hold well on the lens of the Osmo Pocket. Personally, we were most impressed by the use of the Pol filters. The difference between pictures with and without a polarized filter is sometimes dramatic (see picture gallery above)! Especially when shooting motifs in or below shallow water, on river banks or ponds, it is indispensable to eliminate the disturbing reflection of the sky. It’s amazing what details become visible then. For the price of only 35 EUR this set is a bargain. Only that the set doesn’t include a neutral pole filter (and maybe a ND32) is a bit of a pity, but it’s absolutely acceptable for the low price – comparable sets are sometimes up to 100 EUR more expensive!

 

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Author: Mike vom Mars
A couple of years ago, Mike emigrated from his home planet to Earth to study and examine the human species. His findings offer a deep insight into the nature of human beings and their strange society.