so ive been flying my Air 3 for about 4 months now and honestly loving it but i keep seeing people talk about ND filters and im not sure if i actually need them or if its one of those things where gear people just love buying stuff. i shoot mostly on weekends, usually golden hour or just general outdoor stuff, nothing super professional. my footage looks ok to me but i did notice on bright days things look a bit... choppy? like the motion isnt smooth when i pan. someone at my local flying spot mentioned the 180 degree shutter rule and now i feel like i should look into this more. are the DJI branded ones worth the price or should i just grab something off amazon and call it a day

yeah the choppy thing you're describing is almost definitely from your shutter speed being too high in bright conditions. the 180 rule is real and once you start shooting with it in mind your footage will look noticeably smoother, especially on pans. i use the Freewell ND set for my Air 3 and honestly haven't had any issues, way cheaper than DJI's own filters and the quality seems identical to me. just make sure whatever you buy is specifically for the Air 3 because the lens on that thing has a slightly different mount than the older Air 2S. DJI's own kit is fine if you want the peace of mind but you're paying a premium mostly for the branding imo

i had the same question when i got mine lol. ended up just grabbing the DJI ones because i was nervous about cheap filters causing like vignetting or whatever and honestly they work great but i probably couldve saved money. the ND16 and ND64 are the ones i use most, the ND256 only really comes out on super bright days. dont stress too much about it though, even without filters decent footage is possible if you shoot early or late in the day when its not as bright