Manual exposure on Opturas? at DVinfo.net

Marco Leavitt · July 25th, 2005, 04:17 PM

Reading at camcorderinfo.com it seems that none of the Opturas have the ability to indpendently set the aperture and shutter speed. Is this really true? If so it's a shame because I was seriously considering this line.

Xander Christ · July 25th, 2005, 05:34 PM

It is true. You cannot set aperture and shutter independent of on another on Canon's consumer-ish camcorders. However, you can do an exposure lock and use the slider bar to set exposure giving you the setting you want, but you don't know what f-stop or shutter that sliding bar really is. Only the GL1, GL2, XL1, XL1s and XL2 give you full manual controls.

This manual exposure problem shouldn't be an issue because Panasonic's, JVC's and Sony's consumer camcorders all have the same "problem". What consumer camcorders (<$1499) actually give you full manual controls?

Joshua Provost · July 25th, 2005, 05:45 PM

Panasonic DV-GS400 at around $1250 street price gives you full manual controls (independent exposure, shutter, zoom, focus, white balance on easily accessible external buttons and ring). Also, manual picture adjustment controls for contrast, saturation, sharpness, and exposure. Exceptional manual controls.

Marco Leavitt · July 25th, 2005, 07:32 PM

There's also the Panasonic PV-GS19 which offers independent manual settings for shutter speed and aperture for about $300. However, there's no audio meter, mic input or even headphone output (I guess, why would you need it?).

Eric Brown · September 4th, 2005, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marco Leavitt

Reading at camcorderinfo.com it seems that none of the Opturas have the ability to indpendently set the aperture and shutter speed. Is this really true? If so it's a shame because I was seriously considering this line.

They had this ability on the first Optura and discontinued it I believe, on the following model and haven't re-intoduced it since.
If you want these things, plus progressive scan (gives you a 30fps look) get the original Optura from Ebay for around $100.00 for a clean example.
I have 2 of them and they are awesome.

Patrick Jenkins · September 9th, 2005, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marco Leavitt

Reading at camcorderinfo.com it seems that none of the Opturas have the ability to indpendently set the aperture and shutter speed. Is this really true? If so it's a shame because I was seriously considering this line.

I set shutter speed and just lock (and adjust) exposure. Yeah, you don't get the #, but honestly, I've found the aperture setting doesn't really matter with a camera w/ a nano-sized CCD in the first place (messing with aperture isn't going to do anything to DOF - just not large enough to really matter). I wouldn't be suprised if somehow the software for aperture control is really nothing more than just controlling gain. *shrug*

Marco Leavitt · September 9th, 2005, 12:03 PM

I've since bought an Optura 60, and I agree with you, the exposure scheme isn't as bad as I had feared. The worst part is you have no way of preventing the camera from applying gain. Can't say I agree about the aperature making no difference though. You can certainly affect the depth of field. The biggest problem is if you use filters. You can't use a Black Frost filter with a small aperature.

Chris Hurd · September 9th, 2005, 08:30 PM

Shutter priority plus exposure lock does in fact give you full manual control on the Optura camcorders. No it won't display what the f/stop is when shooting in Tv (shutter priority), but the exposure control is indeed there. I agree that the biggest drawback is the lack of control over gain.

July 25th, 2005, 04:17 PM	#1
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Manual exposure on Opturas? Reading at camcorderinfo.com it seems that none of the Opturas have the ability to indpendently set the aperture and shutter speed. Is this really true? If so it's a shame because I was seriously considering this line.

July 25th, 2005, 05:45 PM	#3
Joshua Provost Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 493	Panasonic DV-GS400 at around $1250 street price gives you full manual controls (independent exposure, shutter, zoom, focus, white balance on easily accessible external buttons and ring). Also, manual picture adjustment controls for contrast, saturation, sharpness, and exposure. Exceptional manual controls. __________________ Owner/Operator, 727 Records Co-Founder, Matter of Chance Productions Blogger, Try Avoidance

September 9th, 2005, 08:30 PM	#8
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Shutter priority plus exposure lock does in fact give you full manual control on the Optura camcorders. No it won't display what the f/stop is when shooting in Tv (shutter priority), but the exposure control is indeed there. I agree that the biggest drawback is the lack of control over gain. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

July 25th, 2005, 05:34 PM	#2
Xander Christ Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 115	It is true. You cannot set aperture and shutter independent of on another on Canon's consumer-ish camcorders. However, you can do an exposure lock and use the slider bar to set exposure giving you the setting you want, but you don't know what f-stop or shutter that sliding bar really is. Only the GL1, GL2, XL1, XL1s and XL2 give you full manual controls. This manual exposure problem shouldn't be an issue because Panasonic's, JVC's and Sony's consumer camcorders all have the same "problem". What consumer camcorders (<$1499) actually give you full manual controls?

July 25th, 2005, 07:32 PM	#4
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	There's also the Panasonic PV-GS19 which offers independent manual settings for shutter speed and aperture for about $300. However, there's no audio meter, mic input or even headphone output (I guess, why would you need it?).

September 9th, 2005, 12:03 PM	#7
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	I've since bought an Optura 60, and I agree with you, the exposure scheme isn't as bad as I had feared. The worst part is you have no way of preventing the camera from applying gain. Can't say I agree about the aperature making no difference though. You can certainly affect the depth of field. The biggest problem is if you use filters. You can't use a Black Frost filter with a small aperature.