DJI Mavic Air: The Best Filters (ND and Polarizer)

Just in case you are not up to speed on the uses and reasons for even owning these kinds of filters, I have written a detailed explanation below.

It is worth reading all of it if you are unfamiliar with the world of cameras, video, and filters.

Camera Filter Types

There are two main types of filter you will want to consider for your Mavic Pro:

• ND – Neutral Density Filter
• CP – Circular Polarizer Filter

The most useful one is the ND, so if you have to choose, go for that.

Here is what they both mean and do in detail.

Neutral Density Filters (ND Filters)

A neutral density filter is kinda like a pair of sunglasses. It makes everything darker.

It is designed to only do that. Nothing more.

Why would you want your image or video darker? Because of how cameras & video cameras work.

When you are shooting a video you want to have a shutter speed that is about double your frame rate.

So, if your frame rate is 24 fps on the Mavic, you will want a 1/48 shutter (which does not exist, so go for 1/50)

And likewise, if you have a framerate of 30fps, then you would select 1/60.

The Problem

But the problem is when it is in broad daylight (not early morning or late afternoon) you have WAY TOO MUCH sun to get a shutter speed of 1/50.

Even if you reduce the ISO to 100, you will usually not achieve that. Try it.

The Solution

A Neutral Density Filter (or ND filter for short).

By adding a neutral density filter you can remove so much light that you can get down to your “ideal” frame rate VS shutter speeds for video.

And trust me when I tell you that if you are serious about having smooth, not jumping or bad edges on your video – you want to do this right!

Depending on just how light it is (midday full sun, or just a bit cloudy) you will have to use different ND filters. That is why they come in sets of 3 or 4. Each one blocks a different amount of light.

Circular Polarizer Filters (PL/CPL Filters)

These babies are a little bit different because they are only useful in specific situations.

The main idea with the circular polarizer is to reduce reflections or make things like the sky bluer.

Circular polarizers take advantage of a principle in physics where they can block light not aligned in a specific way.

The result is that they are great for when you are shooting on very bright days:

• Around water (where there is lots of reflection)
• Around buildings (again lots of reflections)
• With a lot of sky (Landscape shots look way bluer with these filters)

There are loads of reasons to have and use a polarizer and it is something you want to consider when buying your Mavic Pro filters. Some sets come with them. Others have them with the ND filter itself. Others don’t have them at all.

POLARIZER TIP: Because the polarizer has to be correctly aligned in order to block out the light (block reflections or make the sky bluer) you usually need to add them after the drone is turned on so that you are sure that it is correctly aligned.

A Bonus Use For Filters

Another thing to think about with filters is that they ultimately protect your lens. It is far easier and cheaper to replace a filter than your whole Mavic Pro Camera.

If you crash or even have something hit the lens when you are flying it might scratch the camera. But, with the filter on, you can just replace that instead!

It is a common use of filters in photography and sometimes they just give you a UV filter which in reality is just a lens protector!

What To Look For In A Filter / Filter Set

Of course, you want a good quality filter that has lots of positive reviews online, but what else should you look for?

Here are a couple of things I suggest you look for in a Mavic Pro filter:

• It’s easy to attach and remove
• The filter set has the different filters you need
• It allows the gimbal to calibrate

Let’s look at these in more detail so you get what I mean.

Easy To Attach & Remove

These filters have to be attached and removed quite often, depending on the lighting conditions. So, you want that to be easy to do.

Not only that, but some filters I have read about have a tendency to damage either the filter or the drone if attached in the wrong way.

Remember, the camera on the Mavic is pretty small and hanging from the gimbal, so you want this to be as smooth as possible.

You Get The Filters You Need

There are different ranges of ND (Neutral Density) filters – how much light they block, and some also come with the polarizer combined.

In other sets, you have a combination of ND filters only or one polarizer in the set.

Know what you want to use it for before you buy it so you don’t have to go get another set of filters afterward.

Allows The Mavic Gimbal To Calibrate

This has been quite an issue for non-DJI filters from the reports I have read in the forums. Especially back in the early days (late 2016, early 2017).

Because these filters attach to the front of the camera, and the camera is so small and light in the first place, the filters can disrupt the gimbal and stop it from calibrating. That means you have to remove the filter, calibrate and put it on again. And even then, it might not work.

Some of the filters can be hit and miss, so in this review, I have done my best to only include the ones that people say are working. However, because of variations in manufacturing, it seems you can sometimes just get unlucky and have to return the filters.