Gain Settings??Lost in grain!!
 

Sorry to sound such a doofus but for out door shooting whats the best gain setting for my xl1s?
Because i shoot water light is always plentyfull all i want is the least noise/cleanest image possible,the cam came set at autogain but even in manual shooting mode the autogain still seems to do what it pleases,shouldn't mannual shooting mode make all settings lock until adjusted?
Does the 0 setting mean the gain is in essence Off?
I'm pretty confussed
Is there a kind soul out there who could give me an explination and maybe some suggestions?
Thanks

When shooting outdoors I always use -3db and a circular polorizer filter. Infact I use -3 when ever I can get away with it. This ensures a clean picture, with rich blacks and less chance of blownout whites.

0db gain doesn't mean "off" it just means that the electric signal is at a nominal level(whatever the factory set it at). Changing the gain either boosts of cuts this signal's power by whatever you set the dial to.

If you are operating your XL1/s in the Green Box (all auto) mode the gain is adjusted for you by the camera. Change the operating mode (Auto, AV, TV, Manual) and the gain adjustment will be in manual and then you can adjust it.

Jeff

All CCD devices only output very small voltages (millivolts) So they need, apart from a number of other manipulations, to be amplified to get the .7 V video output voltage. This ref amplification (0db) can be changed depending on your needs. FYI "db" only expresses a ratio on a logarithmic scale and odb is 1 (20log *set ampl/ref ampl*=20log1=0). Zero gain would be *-infinite* db

Thanks guys for the replies things are now a little clearer:)