Complete Guide to Night Hyperlapses | DJI Mini 4 Pro

[@lovan_travels]

Definitely one of the most helpful drone tutorials I've seen. Love all the shared examples and highlighting changes in shutter speed, and most importantly how to smoothen out the footage.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's awesome! I'm really glad you found the video helpful. Thanks for the comment👍

[@eppixx]

So nice to watch quality content by a new channel without ads. 😊 Thank you for the tutorials, you won a subscriber.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's great, thanks for the comment 👍

[@joshuahatley2590]

Best video I’ve seen for night time hyperlapse. Mainly because you are very detailed and I get to directly see how small changes to shutter speed change the outcome. I took what I’ve learned from this video, made some videos myself just for fb and ig. Now people are asking me for a tutorial. But I just send them to this video.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Wow, thanks! I really appreciate that. I figure by sharing my results I can save others a bit of time, since there are so many variations of setting and modes to choose from.

[@aaronmurgatroyd5810]

The reason it works better during the day is because it can rely on the downward facing sensors to keep its position and attitude, I would just use a stationary position at night then use Davincis stabilisation on fixed mode to remove any movement at the cost of a little more cropping. I believe the slight intermittent change in motion is probably caused by the GPS locking on at regular intervals. great video!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I think you're right, it has to be using some sensors other than just GPS because it's really only at night where it struggle in that way. And that's a good suggestion, just use a stationary shot at night. Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it!

[@tomask.3983]

So refreshing to see someone sharing all the mishaps and not-so-good shoots that I am sure everyone is experiencing. You learn from mistakes, right? Very well explained and I will save this video for future reference when I set up my own hyperlapses! Thank you! Liked and subscribed🙂

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That exactly it, I'm just sharing what I've learned from my trials, trying to find out what works and what doesn't. Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it😊

[@direkta]

Thank you for showing what i experience to. At daytime it can be rock steady but night time it struggle so much to keep a straight course plus the wierd distortion thing going on. What i find work better for keep a straight course at night in hyperlapse is to use the CRUISE control. How to do that in hyperlase is just to assign C2 button for cruise control and then choose free mode in hyperlapse, set all your settings and then press record and then move your joystick in the direction you want to go and press C2 button 👌 don’t forgett to set your maximum speed for cruise control in the menu also. Try it out and see if you also get better result 😊 Great video with alot of example. Well done 👏

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll certainly try it out! I've used cruise control before just not in that way👍

[@direkta]

@@CreateandKaptivate Great ! Hope it works good for you. I also think at night its better with a minimum 3 sec interval to minimize the wierd distortion and give the drone time to shoot and move in between the shots. 2 sec interval seems to less for the drone to keep a smooth hyperlapse when your shutterspeed become longer. For example when you do timelapse you aiming to have at least 1 sec shorter shutterspeed then the interval to give the camera time for process and save the photos on the memorycard before next photo is taken. So for hyperlapse you also need to give room for the drone to move so i think for our mini 4 pro it is good to go with at least 3sec interval when use 1 sec shutterspeed. I will try and see if any better result with higher interval also, only bad thing is that for faster traffic you want a faster interval but you need to compromise here im afraid. Anyway, fun to see someone else also doing test and finding the best settings 🙏

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Yeah, I haven't used a 2 sec interval very often, mainly just to try it out. And that's just it, it's fun just to try different things and see what kinda result you get. 😀

[@yorkshirelass2553]

I’ve just discovered you on KZbin and your videos are always super useful and informative. Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to explain your experiences with hyperlapses. It something I’ve yet to try, but you’ve now made me aware of all the factors I need to take into consideration and how the different settings produce such varied results. It’s really useful to learn about the course drift issue too, prevalent much more in night hyperlapses than in daylight - had I not seen your video I’d assume it was something I was doing wrong, and I haven’t heard anyone mention it before. Thanks again. 👍

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's awesome! I'm really glad you find the videos helpful, and I appreciate the comment, thanks👍

[@Beards-N-Bushcraft]

Great video! This took a lot of the guess work out of learning to use hyperlapse. Thanks!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

My goal was to do just that, try and take some of the guess work out, so that's great to hear! I appreciate the comment👍

[@jgreg95]

Nice, the one I was waiting for. Haven’t finished watching it yet but I’ll probably watch it several times anyway. Thanks!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's awesome, thanks!

[@shahabbo]

wow, best guide i found past 4 month, thanks

[@CreateandKaptivate]

You're very welcome! That's really good to hear. I appreciate the comment👍

[@meteoroz]

That was fantastic. Thanks for creating such a comprehensive video! I'm keen to try a hyperlapse now.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's great! I'm really glad you found the video helpful. Hope you have fun trying out some hyperlapses.

[@relaxingtravel-LosAngeles]

very nice.. going to try at our next trip to Europe. We took the Dji mini 2 on previous trip.. but now taking the 4P

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's Awesome! The M4P should be great for that. Enjoy😊

[@sideburn]

Just did my first Hyperlapse on my new mini 4. This and you last vid are exactly what I was looking for 👍

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's awesome! I'm glad you found them helpful👍

[@sideburn]

@@CreateandKaptivate my second one was a night shot and it came out perfect with 1s shutter speed on course lock. But today in the sun I just realized I need some nd filters. Didn’t know whether to get the normal or PL ones so I got normal ones that have a ND256 and ND1000.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I think you made the right choice, I have both and use the normal ones far more.

[@sideburn]

@@CreateandKaptivate good to know. You said you used 512 and 1000 but I could not find any with 512. Only 256 and 1000

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I really don't use the 512 that often, for daytime hyperlapses I mostly use the 1000, sometimes I think I could even use a 2000 but I don't have one of those. For regular video I mainly use a 32, and if it cloudy a 16 and on really sunny days I'll use a 64.

[@ericcote8146]

Excellent tutorial !! I will note all of these. Thank you !

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Glad it was Helpful!

[@scottjgillishere]

Great work.. the music rocks .. I hope I can get half as good doing hyperlapse videos..

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks! I appreciate the comment. It's really just a lot of trial and error, and that's why I tried to share some of the things I learnt.

[@viikiileplaisir9150]

This mini drone is a beast 😍

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Yes, indeed it is a very capable drone

[@ericcote8146]

Hi Mark, your method of teaching us, is awesome ! I understand you really master this Drone by DJI, and some others. Just a note : starting at 14m07 and for that segment. I think you overcooked some important manipulation of the RC2 controller. I also understand you need to cut-off the video lenght. Is it possible to re-make that portion of the video ? Reason is, you use important tricks like saving the last hyperlapse. But the problem is : how do we reload saved waypoints flights VIA hyperlapse ?? Thank you in advance. BTW, I finally started to practice at night hyperlapse in the village where I live (Western Quebec).

[@ericcote8146]

14min57 to 14min59 to be precise : I can't load it as you show. The menu doesn't show the newspaper white Icon. I believe there's a trick we can't see

[@ericcote8146]

Mark, here’s my first attempt. I tried something here, ND8 with PL. Much better than without a filter

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I thought when you went into hyperlapse and then selected waypoints, that paper icon was just there? If I get a chance to take my drone out today I can check that.

[@ericcote8146]

That part is now understood. Loading saved way points. The difficult part is later in the video : Editing way points (height, speed, heading, etc…) when we need to change some of the settings of some of them. DJI uses a method of navigation in the Apps that’s not easily straight forward to figure out. Thanks again for taking your time

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I'll get back to you on this one shortly, I know regular waypoint missions are easy to edit but the hyperlaspe waypoints work a bit differently, so I'm going to try it out to makes sure I'm giving you the right info.

[@Federico-c7r]

Great content, thank you! Just wondering, do you use ND filter at night?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I haven't used ND filters at night. I have used a Light Pollution Reduction filter, although I don't think it makes much difference. Now I have had shots over exposed, if there were lots of bright lights and I was using a long exposure. So it would be interesting to try using an ND filter in a situation like that.

[@takeoff1999]

very informative. i'll keep your hints in mind. One QUESTION: what onboard lights did you have, coz the Mini4pro shuts the prescribed green lights off at night. In Europe we are not allowed to fly at night without those lights. TKS for your reply. 🤩

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Anytime I've flown a night I still get the green lights on my mini 4 pro. It actually makes it very easy to spot. I had someone come up to me when I was out capturing some of these night hyperlapses, he was just curious, but I pointed out my drone to him and he was able to spot it no problem. The rule here states the drone must be equipped with lights that are sufficient to allow the aircraft to be visible to the pilot, and with the on board lights I find it to be quite visible.

[@yannbeaudoin2368]

Hi Tried it in Europe , timelapse (picture mode) green lights are flashig but not in filming mode therefore timelapse are fine but not video

[@adrianshaw5543]

Thanks for your insights

[@CreateandKaptivate]

You're welcome 👍

[@Moscizwysokosci]

Ohhh dude! Your video is awesome! Good job my friend 😊😄🔥

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it 👍

[@jonathancrowell8349]

Thanks for the good info and I have watched several of your videos. I just wanted to say something. I do know it is the hyperlapse feature in the drone . But when you are shooting a shot and the camera is not moving like in the beginning of this video. That's called a timelapse (no camera movement). A hyperlapse is when the camera moves. That's why hyperlapses are hard to create. But drones are capable of this real easy because of the gimbal, camera stabilization. You are attempting to make a timelapse with a drone. But like you said the wind makes a timelapse hard to do with a drone sometimes. You just have to wait until you have no wind. Thanks for the information again and I like your videos. No movement, timelapse and movement hyperlapse ( I'm talking about the camera).

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Yeah, those first examples aren't technically hyperlapses, I thought I mentioned in the first example that it was like capturing a timelapse in the sky or something like that. But thanks for the full explanation 👍

[@coleorum]

Some great examples thanks. However straight ahead with mine in course lock mode is terrible and unusable as it just meanders all over the place. I'm wondering if it needs a bright light or object to lock onto. If you are flying into a dark horizon with no lights then perhaps the course lock needs an obvious target to work properly?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I use to assume that the drone would just be using the GPS for these intelligent flight modes. But like you were saying, it seems to also use some sort of image or subject tracking during the shot. Because I could do stuff during the day that would turn out great, and then try it at night, when there wasn't really distinct subjects to focus on, and it would wander all over the place.

[@scottjgillishere]

Have you tried cruise control at all ?? Wondering if you can do the hyperlapse while in cruise control .

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Yes, if you do a hyperlapse in Free mode, you can use cruise control.

[@ericcote8146]

Another question, I can see these are from Highways in the greater Toronto area. Question is : with slower car movements, like boulevard, alleys and so on (thinking of trying this soon in the Gatineau/Ottawa are near the Parliament Hill, Ottawa River, and all the bridges. Would lowering the shutter speed would be better for long car/light trails ? Other settings to think of ? Thanks again !

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Actually these were in Calgary. But to answer your question, a longer or lower shutter speed will be better for longer light trails, and with slower traffic I would consider bumping up the interval to say 4sec since the vehicles are moving slower that'll give a bit more movement between shots.

[@ORGANIZEDCoNfUsioN]

That was awesome. I fly the Mini 3 Pro and haven't tried any of the extras. I'm inspired. Like # 48 and NEW SUB!!!!!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@goodfella2143]

Thanks for the video, was looking forward to this one. Just one question about hyperlapse with course lock, do you have to fly manually or does it automaticly follows the course?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Free mode is the only one that you can fly manually, all the other modes including course lock are automatic.

[@goodfella2143]

@@CreateandKaptivate Thanks for your reply. If your planning another video then I would be interested in a sunset hyperlapse starting at Golden Hour. Keep up the great work.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Good suggestion, that is something I've been experimenting with, both sunrises and sunsets. Thanks for the comment!

[@Rene-cm6go]

Nice.. I have one question. 12 or 48 megapiksel? And another question..16:9 or 3:2

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's actually a good question. I've mostly used 16:9 and 12MP just because that's how I usually have my camera setup and I believe you have to select 48MP and 3:2 before going into hyperlpase mode to get those settings. Anyway those are settings I'm going to have to try out a bit more. Thanks for the comment 👍

[@Rene-cm6go]

@@CreateandKaptivate you welcome..Since I bought the mini 4 pro, I immediately put it on 48 megapixels. Because logic tells me that would be the best for the quality of the image.Because I took it a little higher for the photo.But the picture quality is so bad that I was disappointed. I was looking for a solution. What am I doing wrong? And so I have find some comment.. That it is better to take pictures with 12 megapixels.And really..the quality is better. In addition, one image when I transfer it to the PC is 96 MB in size. Which is a lot. Since my Nikon z6 is about 36 MB. I don't understand that either.And they say that 16:9 is not good, because due to the size of the sensor, 3:2 is best.So I think 12 megapixels and 3:2 might be best for hyperlapse. But I have yet to try that. Since I am new to drone.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I mainly use 12MP for the same reasons you mentioned, I wasn't very impressed with the quality and the files were huge. And that is correct, 3:2 does allow you to use the full sensor but if you were to crop that down to 16:9, that is basically what you would get from the camera in using 16:9. So using 3:2 gives you more image to work with.

[@JasonCaville]

Do you have the plus batteries? Nice work on the video!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks, and yeah I do have them, I guess I didn't mention that.

[@ericcote8146]

At 18.50 or about, we see distortion. Is it related that the RC2 records it, instead of the Drone ?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

So that distortion, is something that just seems to be a issue when capturing hyperlapses at night or in lower light. In these conditions I find the drone often struggles to maintain it's heading and when it wanders you seem to get that distortion.

[@jasperveldhuis3880]

Super usefull, thanks again for the great content!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks!

[@joshuahatley2590]

Do you use a light pollution filter when doing these at night?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Actually yes, I would often use the LPR filter when capturing footage at night. I'm really not sure how much difference it makes, but rather than using no filter I would often throw it on.

[@recski]

Which NDs are you using for daytime hyperlapses to get your shutter to 1"? ND 1000 for sunny days? I find that around 100m in altitude things get smoother ... do you normally fly at what altitude? Great video and insights. Congrats ...

[@CreateandKaptivate]

For daytime I almost always use an ND1000, and on bright sunny days that's almost not enough. I agree things do get smoother at higher altitudes, but I'll use a range of altitudes depending on what I'm trying to capture. And often things don't turn out as I expected, but then I just try something different. Cheers!

[@carlospadilla1642]

Wow, great work

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks 👍

[@salmanfarooq1354]

Great tutorial

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks👍

[@fpv4us]

i have an issue with hyperlapse, when i set the first waypoint at 100 ft .its starting at 400 ft. the waypoint wil not starting because it reach the maximum altitude. how is that possible? have you any suggestions for that?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Really I can't say I've had the best of luck using waypoints for hyperlapses. More specifically at night or when I try to run a saved waypoint setup. I'm not really sure why that is especially since I don't run into those issues with the normal waypoints.

[@jovanabsorbagency]

Is this drone good? I want to buy it but don't know will I get high quality videos out of it...

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I think this is a great drone. There are a lot of factors that can affect the quality of a hyperlapse, but capturing regular video with this drone, the image quality and stability is excellent.

[@jovanabsorbagency]

Stability is very important to me! Thank you so much!@@CreateandKaptivate

[@ericcote8146]

A last question, I noted you shoot in 4K, what FPS ? Coz I tried before and at 60 FPS, the files are astronimical !

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I mainly use 30fps, partially because the file sizes are huge when using 60fps. The situations that I have used it, it didn't make a noticeable difference. But I also haven't experimented with it much.

[@ericcote8146]

@@CreateandKaptivate thank you Mark, I just tried 4K 30 FPS and finally figured out HOW TO transfer screen recording to publish it online, big thanks to you !

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's awesome! you're all set👍

[@picturesforJESUS]

Thank you!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

You're welcome!

[@KenToney]

Another question is have you tried this on Mavic 3 pro? I’m thinking less movement from wind on each shot.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

No I haven't, but I'm sure it would do better in the wind.

[@sideburn]

I’m trying to get some clues as to what’s causing the panning. I have two night shots now that both have the same .2mph forward moving course lock. One is a higher altitude at night and the other is a sun setting. The sun setting one is wobbling and the city one is locked solid. Sunset - panning issue: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apfEemB-fr52fNEsi=gDw36qvLWPLn3qsf City - no panning issue: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIfJh6xpZpmVZpIsi=3VPHANl9yEY9a0mi Need to do more tests. My thought to the cause are maybe altitude or lighting changes? 🤷‍♂️ both have the same speed and 3s interval but the night one has a 1s shutter speed and the sunset is 1/30.

[@sideburn]

Did some more tests and I think the cause might be altitude. I think it is using the light to lock down the positioning. Whats also kind of interesting is if you try it indoors. I just did a free mode non moving Hyperlapse hover in my living room with the first half of the recording with the lights off looking out the window and the second half with the lights on and all of it is jittering around wildly but when the lights are off it becomes much more extreme.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I've wondered about that same issue. And really it seems to me that it's using some sort of image recognition to keep the heading locked, but in low light or at night it doesn't have a clear image to track?

[@sideburn]

@@CreateandKaptivate yeah it must be analyzing the image to stabilize. When i take the drone up a few hundred feet it’s locked solid at night.

[@sideburn]

Try a Hyperlapse indoors just hovering toggle the lights off and on it’s chaos!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Haha...I might have to try that.

[@andrewb604]

Are you using any ND filter to compensate for the longer exposure?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I was not using an ND filter, an ND4 or 8 (which I don't have) would probably work well if you're using longer exposure and there's lots of lights. But I did have a filter on, in most cases I was using the LPR (light pollution reduction) filter.

[@eder0009]

Same here. At night I won't use a ND filter to capture as much light possible to get a better looking video. For night time exposures, try using waypoints that are generally inline with each other, so your drone isn't having to fly a complex path.

[@RQuintelaRealty]

Good work!

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks!

[@vigneshm6922]

Amazing video, saved me a lot of research , trail and error and time , thanks mate 🫡💯

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's awesome! Glad you found it helpful. Thanks for the comment👍

[@dandanu2526]

No matter how much I like course lock mode, I will stay on the circle. Course mode gives me the impression that the drone could go directly into the buliding I intend to shoot

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Haha that's understandable. I don't know if it helps, but when using course lock, on the map you can see the path the drone will fly and the end point.

[@dandanu2526]

@@CreateandKaptivate I'll stay with the circle mode:))) Thank you!

[@TheRealN0M4D]

Still see video skipping in your final example . That footage wouldn't be viable for professional use I don't think. What can we do to prevent that?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I think the skipping is actually because I didn't correctly match the framerates in editting. The hyperlapse was actually 25fps and I set my timeline to 24 so the hyperlapse would actually lose a frame every second.

[@TheRealN0M4D]

@@CreateandKaptivate Thanks for your answer my friend!

[@thomza]

Is the final hyper lapse in 1080 or 4k?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

They were all done in 4k, but at night factors like poor lighting or even the wind when using longer shutter speeds can affect the image quality.

[@anthony212459]

Are the bigger drones more stable?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I can't say from experience, but I'm sure bigger drones would be more stable. I'm just not sure how much better it would do at something like a hyperlapse.

[@LEKLIMCHANNEL]

Thanks brade

[@CreateandKaptivate]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching

[@rideronboard]

Thx CK

[@jonathanjohannis6035]

very helpful

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Great to hear! Thanks for the comment👍

[@steelcityexotics]

how do u export footage to post on IG.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

If you have the DJI Fly app on your phone you could start it and power up the drone. That will allow you to use the Quick Transfer feature on the fly app. Under the Quick Transfer it should show Mini 4 Pro detected then you can select that to connect and transfer files. Otherwise you could just plug your drone into your computer with USB-C and transfer the files.

[@ScoutFPV]

Spectacular.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks buddy!

[@KenToney]

Does it save the raw files on card so I can use LrTimelapse or creates video?

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Yes, it creates a folder with all the photos on the memory card, if you have it set to raw it saves them as DNG files, which can be used in Lr.

[@KenToney]

@@CreateandKaptivate thanks!

[@goodfella2143]

@@CreateandKaptivate So many methods to make the Final video, so also interested in your post processing proces.;)

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's something I've thought about doing, and probably will, now that you and others have asked about it. Thanks for the comment!

[@dfwald4657]

The horizontal panning is most likely because you're using a very lightweight drone. An Air or Mavic would not do that. The Mini3 is just not a great stable hyperlapse platform.

[@dennismatovich8411]

Well done! subd to see more.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Awesome thanks👍

[@fabianoperes2155]

Really nice video and nice rock n roll, but they don't fit the hyperlapses. I love Rock, but not for this specific case.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

That's understandable, thanks for the comment!

[@LegatDeClujLDC]

In all your examples You used N mode. Why not C mode, maybe IT will be smooter.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I don't think it would make much difference, because although C mode does limit the max speed for the movements of the drone and gimbal, the speeds used in hyperlapses are far below those settings, To me, at night, it just seems to struggle to keep the heading locked on to where it is set, it tends to wander back and forth, and that's why I showed some of those daytime examples because stuff I can get to work no problem during the day, it just can't do at night.

[@JohnDeUlloa]

Great information but lose the freaking head banging music.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Noted!

[@TfRsmokinmasta]

Can you go slower showing the settings please 🙏

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Yes, I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the feedback.

[@hiks_iks]

awesome explanation, 10ks m8

[@sammcloughlin9291]

Great video, really comprehensive, shit music though,

[@CreateandKaptivate]

I know the music may not have been the best choice, but I'm glad you enjoyed the video otherwise. Thanks for the comment👍

[@sammcloughlin9291]

Genuine great video and the music I guess is personal preference, but I just thought the videos were really awesome and the music sort of distracted from them ... +1 sub from me cheers for reply 🫡

[@CreateandKaptivate]

There have been a few comments about the music. I do appreciate it though, feedback is good. cheers👍

[@frednorman1]

Nice video, Mark, beautiful shots, but your choice of music is painful to listen to- most of your viewers are not petulant 13 year-old males. I turned off the sound and just watched subtitles.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Fair enough, I was looking for music to edit the opening scene to, and I thought it work well.

[@frednorman1]

Good tutorial, but your choice of music is awful. Most of your viewers are not petulant 13-year-old males.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Noted, I will consider this in the future.

[@odinata]

Watchable! You first have to mute the s**t stock music metal crap, then its semi-ok.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@Rob-BC]

Good God, I don't recognize Calgary anymore.

[@CreateandKaptivate]

Haha yeah it's changed a lot over the years.