ND Filters for GoPro and DJI: Why They’re a Summer Essential in 2025
- gear4greatness
- Jun 3, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 13, 2025
ND Filters for GoPro and DJI: Why They’re a Summer Essential in 2025
Every summer, I end up in the same situation: standing out in crazy bright sun with my GoPro or DJI Action 5 Pro, looking at the screen thinking, “Why does this footage look so harsh?” ☀️🎥 It doesn’t matter whether I’m biking through Winnipeg, filming a walk-and-talk downtown, or shooting a simple reel — that midday sun has a way of turning beautiful scenes into blown-out highlights and jittery motion. And every time, I’ve learned the same lesson: ND filters aren’t optional anymore — they’re essential.
The first time I snapped an ND16 onto my GoPro HERO13 in peak sunlight, I could actually see the difference before I even hit record. Suddenly the world looked softer, more balanced. Instead of the shutter racing like crazy, the camera finally breathed. The motion blur felt natural. The sky kept its colour instead of bleaching white. It was like putting sunglasses on your lens — everything calmed down. 🌤️ And as soon as I got home and dropped the footage into Filmora, it hit me again: deeper contrasts, richer tones, smoother motion… all because of a tiny piece of glass.
The thing is, action cameras love bright environments, but they hate uncontrolled light. When the sun is intense — especially on Winnipeg sidewalks or wide prairie roads — the camera compensates with a super fast shutter speed. That’s why movement starts to look robotic. Trees flicker. People walking past you look too sharp. Cars glide through the frame with no life. And it gets even worse when you try to film biking POV or slow-mo. Without ND, it looks clinical. With ND, it suddenly feels cinematic. 🚲✨
I’ve tried so many setups over the years that I almost feel like a walking ND library. The HERO13 works beautifully with ND8 or ND16 in the evening, ND32 or ND64 at high noon. The DJI Action 5 Pro feels perfect with a magnetic ND8 for golden hour rides, but on blazing days, ND32 is the sweet spot. And when I’m using the DJI Pocket 3 — that tiny beast — those magnetic ND filters completely transform the image. The colour stays grounded. Movement breathes. Skin tones stop looking chalky. It’s wild how much better everything gets with just the right ND. 🌄
And the best part? You start to feel your footage differently. When you nail that shutter — around 1/60 for 30fps — there’s a softness and realism to everything that makes clips feel like memories instead of recordings. Walking shots get that warm motion. Bike rides feel faster but less chaotic. Even a simple drive through the city looks smoother, like a mini documentary moment. ND filters give the scene a heartbeat. They make your camera feel alive instead of technical. 🎞️💭
ND Filters for GoPro and DJI: Why They’re a Summer Essential in 2025
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Final Thoughts
Every summer, I get reminded that filmmaking isn’t really about gear — it’s about light. 🌞💛 And ND filters are the way you learn to control that light instead of letting it boss you around. It doesn’t matter if you’re shooting on a $450 GoPro or a $700 DJI combo… the second you clip on an ND, your footage jumps to a whole different level. It becomes richer, more emotional, more like what your eyes actually saw. And for me, that’s the whole point of filming in the first place — capturing a moment the way it felt, not just the way it technically looked.
There’s also something satisfying about choosing the right ND for the day. ND16 when the clouds thin out. ND32 for those brutal bright days. ND8 when the sun is lower and everything feels warm and gentle. You start to read the sky like a filmmaker instead of just a guy with a camera. It becomes part of the ritual — checking your gear, checking the light, slowing down enough to think about the shot. And honestly, it makes you enjoy shooting more. 🌤️✨
If I’m being real, ND filters have probably improved my summer footage more than any camera upgrade in the last five years. They make every shot smoother, more cinematic, more intentional. They help you create video that feels alive — with motion blur, depth, texture, and soul. And for a creator like me, who’s constantly trying to make Winnipeg look beautiful in every season, ND filters are the difference between “nice clip” and “wow, that feels like a movie.” 🎥🌅
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