I need ome shooting advise

[Alex Chan]

Hi I just have my GL2 less than a week and did some test shooting yesterday. But I was confuse about all the manual setting.

Here I have a few questions:

What is the recommended setting of shuttle speed, iris, focus and gain if I shoot in outdoor sunny day? Should I always adjust the colour gain setting? or leave it? Should I use auto white balance? I used the warmcards, even I use 1/2, it still seems too warm.

I did some shots with normal mode and frame mode, but after I edited it, I couldn't see any different? Is there anything I need to do in my MediaStudio Pro software when I editing frame mode video?

[Ken Tanaka]

Alex,
As is often the case with enthusiastic new camera owners you've posed many "little" questions. The answers to some of your questions are situation-dependent, meaning there is no definitive right answer. Here are a few baseline guides you can use as a starting point.

Shutter speed: for NTSC video cameras the baseline setting is 1/60th of a second. Reason: the camera captures one "field" (i.e. set of horizontal scan lines) each 1/60th of a second. Higher and lower settings precipitate image consequences which may or may not be acceptable to you.

Iris (aperture) settings: This is the primary method for controlling your exposure. The higher the number the smaller the iris becomes and the less light is admitted to the camera's sensor. Smaller apertures also deepen your depth of field, that is the depth of the scene that's in focus.

Color gain: Leave it at neutral unless you have a specific reason to change it.

White balance: Always use either a preset or manually-set white balance. Auto white balance can easily be fooled into shifting throughout a shot. Such shifts are nearly impossible to repair later.

Frame mode: In effect, this mode simultaneously captures both of those "fields" I mentioned earlier. It is basically identical to a feature known as "progressive scan" capture. The difference will be most apparent when shooting moving objects or when the camera is moving. It will also be most apparent when viewed on a television, rather than on a computer.

My suggestions for your further study:

1. Turn off your computer, grab your new GL2 with a fresh tape and a notepad and pen. Grab the manual, too. Spend a few days shooting short test clips and taking extensive notes on the camera's settings for each clip. Review the clips and your notes carefully to begin to get a feel for the camera's behavior. You can get some tips from boards like this but you cannot learn to shoot from them. There is simply no substitute for structured, hands-on learning. Burn some tape!

2. Get a good book on basic photography. The fundamental characteristics of video cameras (shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, et.al.) are rooted firmly in photography. The video camera's coalition with personal computers during recent years has attracted a flock of computer-based enthusiasts to videography. Many of these folks are hampered by having little or no grounding in basic photography and become needlessly frustrated as a consequence. So brush-up on photography if it's a weak spot for you. I guarantee that the effort will be a wonderful investment.

Have fun with your new GL2. It's a terrific little camera that can produce some great stuff in skilled hands!

[Graham Bernard]

Ken - That was superb . . Very clear and supportative. You made the complex very straight forward. I would've liked this advice within the pages of the manual - when I started out.

Well done!

Best regards,

Graham "Grazie" Bernard

.. . ps .. this HAD to be said, and here to!

[Alex Chan]

Thank you Ken, very clear explaination.

Here is my very first time to try GL2, I know it can be better, but have a look and tell me what you think:

http://www.dvshortfilm.com/temp/gl2_test.wmv

[Graham Bernard]

GREAT STUFF!

.. I aint no Ken .. but here is my 2 pennies worth . .

00:09 Good open angled building shot Excellent!

00:16 hold cammie still . . .

00:20 Good DOF sharp colours

00:37 Birds distance shot needs that tripod ! .. .

00:40 - Tripod OR steadying device .. shoulder strap or lamppost or friend!

00:49 You might want to WB this in future. The colours look strange . .even with the WMV file it should be better. It appears very reddish to me, yes?

01:07 mixed evening lights - good work!


I'd hire you . .. with your GL2 .. no problem. You have an "eye" fro framing, this can't be taught .. . the other stuff you will get - definaltey! Give you 2 or 3 months you willl be flying too!

Best regards,

Grazie

[Alex Chan]

Thanks for your comments Graham.
The clip was without tripod because I haven't get one yet. If I don't want to spend too much on tripod, which tripod would you guys recommend as a minimum model?

Basicly this clip is very causal, no content, just try the feature on GL2.

Some shoot might be too warm because i use the Warmcards, next time I should use totally white colour card. Also maybe I turn red colour up too much on the gain. So if I want every colour look sharp, should I just keep all the colour gain to neutral?

I hope to do better job next time.

[Alan McCormick]

Alex,

Grazie's comments are very valid, I am glad you have taken them in the right "frame" of mind (intended ;)

Thanks for sharing your clips and I am sure you will achieve "different" results with pure white WB (depends what look "you" want). You can also try out the preset WB and compare those results, happy shooting.