"You are making a HUGE MISTAKE shooting video with your SLR!"…

Was exactly what I said to myself years ago, when I finally learned about the 180º shutter rule.

Using the Nisi V7 Filter system on a Canon EOS R5 © Errisson Lawrence Photography

“What’s up with the choppy look?”

“Why can’t I get smoother motion?”

I had made…A ROOKIE (DLSR photographer-to-videographer) MOVE.

Let’s imagine you are shooting still photos “wide-open” at ISO 100, F 2.8 1/4000th of a second, and decide to switch over to shoot some video.

You want that same nice shallow depth of field, so you leave the camera settings the same.

Instead of seeing a nice smooth video of your subject..it looks like a choppy fight scene out of Gladiator, or a Hip-Hop Dance Video.

So…what happened?

Simple.

A faster shutter speed, with video, is going to give you a more choppy and hyper-realistic look.

Without getting in to the technical details of why this happens (you can watch a great video here explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4vg1Qmb0Eg&t=315s )

Simply put…

Your camera shutter speed should be approximately 2x the frame rate you are shooting at, to get a more natural looking result.

Ok, cool story.

But…your DSLR camera only shoots at 30fps, 60fps and 120fps.

Even when changing your shutter speed to the fastest speed at 1/250th, you are still finding yourself at least 4-stops overexposed.

Yikes!

THE FIX

Wait patiently for the sun to go down…

or…get yourself an ND (Neutral Density) filter.

With the ever increasing amount of quick video requests during my own still-shoots in recent years, I’ve found a great new system by NISI.

Nisi recently came out with the new V7 filter system, which allows me to quickly slap some ND filters on any of my lenses, to switch over to video…and remove them quickly to switch back to stills.

Adjusting the polarizer / Quick attachment of Nisi V7 filter holder. photo © Errisson Lawrence Photography

Not only is the Nisi V7 system easy to use, it allows me to stack a variety of square filters including ND, Graduated Filters, SFX filters, etc. It also incorporates Nisi’s “True-Color” color-neutral polarizer that can quickly be added and easily adjusted, and a nice carrying case (which can be attached to a belt or tripod leg) for easy access. It also comes with a variety of Stepping-Rings (67mm, 72mm, 77mm & 82mm), which allow you to attach the filter holder to most commonly used lenses.

ND filters are a MUST for any DSLR photographers who are looking to gain control over the look of their videos, and get better overall video results.

Nisi V7 Filter system on Canon R5 for “Missing You Video” with Jessica Carter Altman © Matt Beard Photography

ND Filter Result / Screenshot from “Missing You Video” with Jessica Carter Altman © Matt Beard Photography

The Nisi filters are very well made, so they aren’t as cheap as some of the low-grade options or other imitations you might find online. The Nisi filters stay color-accurate (especially with the new True-Color Polarizer), there’s no vignetting as everything fits perfectly, and with ease of use and higher quality material (compared to other brands), the Nisi filter systems are well worth the price.

Check out the NISI V7 starter bundle here:

https://nisiopticsusa.com/product/nisi-100mm-v7-explorer-starter-bundle/

Easy solution.

Better video results.

Get an ND filter system.

Have a great shoot!

-Matt

Check out my Unboxing video of the Nisi V7 system below…