Ire level/Zebra question HD200
 

I have been searching but I cant find it.

1). Is there any way to change the colors if the zebra's in camera?
(Because they are so lightly colored, when I set my zebras at over 100%, I can just barely see them.)

2). Is there a center spot Ire meter on the hd200 like every other camera I have used?

Thanks for your help.

-Hunter

Why would you want to set your zebra to over 100%?? It's normal to set them between 70 and 90 per cent. Occasionally some people set them at 100%, but not over?

For example, when filming an MCU or CU interview your subject matter should just have key facial highlights showing on zebra, such as outline of nose, top of cheeks and maybe forehead etc. These keys or well lit white areas should be just under 1v on your scope. If you've got burnt out zebra all over the place you're overexposing and going over 1v.

If you are seeing zebras in your image and they are set to over 100 then you are overexposing your image. You'll be peaking at over 1v and possibly running into all sorts of problems?...

or are you using this as some sort of particular technique? I'm interested to know what and how if you are!

...oh, as for colour, I've never known any camera to show zebras in different colours so I doubt the 200 can!

Would they not become tigers rather than zebras anyway?

There is not "at 100" option, only an "over 100" option. I shoot a lot of ski footage and setting zebras at 100 makes sense. Most of my background is white snow and I want that snow at just under 100. I open up until I see zebras, then back off a bit.

Why I usually set zebras at 100% (or over):

Its how I get the film look, I control my exposure using waveform (or Ire levels if I dont have one handy).In the right conditions I can underexpose my image (highlights mainly) by about a 1/2 stop, then push the midtones and correct highlights during color-correction. It works very well actually if you can control your light situation. Its just the way Im used to doing it.

I have an lcd with waveform for my next shoot in particular, but I would really like to know that can use some sort of in camera IRE meter (like sony and panasonic) for future use so I can control my highlights and make sure I am still recording necessary detail in the shadows and midtones.

Any clues if this IRE levels feature exists with the hd200 and where is it in the menus?

Thanks.

-Hunter

Hunter,

It sounds like you use zebras exactly the way I do. I primarily use them as a "warning system" (set to ABOVE 100%) to tell me what areas are in the blown-out zone. It is best to err on the side of under-exposure in most cases and make an adjustment in post.

As for changing the color of the zebras... it isn't possible.

Also, it sounds like you are looking for a spot/zone meter with IRE level feedback, which the ProHD cameras don't have.

From what I can tell it seems that automatic iris is determined by polling the whole CCD, possibly with a weighted preference toward the center of the frame.

The camera does have a slightly functional light meter built in that will indicate over/under or "ideal" exposure, based on the AE LEVEL set in the CAMERA OPERATION menu. You can turn it on by selecting F.NO+IND in the LCD/VF menu. You will see a triangle pointing either up or down (over or under exposed) or a square when the exposure is "correct."

Thanks Tim, That helps a lot.

-Hunter

..well you sure can learn a lot here! I've never come across anyone at work setting zebra to over 100 before! Maybe it's a US / UK thing!? Interesting nonetheless! and Hunter, your film technique is interesting, I might just give that a go. You never stop learning aye!

It seems that we are all using zebras in different ways. I was trained to use them as an indication of correctly exposed 'hot' areas as I explained in my first post. It seems perfectly valid though to use them as a 'warning' like Tim says.

So Tim, if you use them as a warning do you stop down as soon as you see them in your viewfinder?..knowing that anything with zebra is overexposed?

Stuart

For use as a warning, colored zebras *would* be a nice feature. Not always easy to see those things.

Some cameras allow you to use two different zebra patterns, so you can set one to 70-75% for correct skin tone and one at over 100% to indicate the blown out areas.

On this camera I always set the zebra to 'over 100%'. As for what to do when I see the pattern, well that depends on where it is. If the Zebra is in a hot area like a light or around the rim of a cloud, then I might do nothing if the rest of the image is properly exposed. Anything more than that and it's time to stop down or adjust the lighting and composition.

If OVER100% Zebras show up in undesired areas (actor's face for example) then I would definitely stop down until the clipping is minimized. If just a cloud is clipping then likely I would maintain my current exposure and either let it blow out or use another method to control it (grad ND or Polarizer.)
I also almost always use 108% max IRE so there is some wiggle room.
Of course, sometimes the blown-out look is desired, but I prefer to have the fine control over it in post-production rather than commit in-camera. Directors tend to change their minds about these things weeks later, so the more pixels you have to work with the better!