Assorted posts from 2002Q2

[Don Donatello]

in general i apply the below to the canon / sony line of camera's

IMO canons have their own "look". i notice that canon's tend to compress blacks more then sony's. also canon's do NOT hold highlights well ... when compared to a sony vx2000/pd50. the sony's have more open shadows, hold highlights much better , have less noise in darks, less stair stepping ...

BUT in the end i like the canon "look" and own 2 canons.

the JVC streamer has a gamma setting "cinema" that to me has a very good "look" it also has a black compress/stretch and a knee setting. the JVC has many "looks"

i haven't seen the mx3000/300 as far as i know it is NOT available in US .. but have tried the panasonic eu50 which is very SMALL. the images were OK - they didn't stand out on the tape that i had shot with XL,GL, vx2000, optura, elura, jvc500 at dv expo ..i'd rate the image above the elura and optura and below the other camera's.

Yeah, actually it's a pretty nice "class"
Covering a wide range of beginning ideas and concepts for those (like myself) who want a nice quick start to get the old brain pan moving in the right direction.

Most probably, if you've take a film class here n there though, it'd be redundant. But for a starter, I think it was great.

Has some decent interviews, short segments of demonstrations, etc.

I just finished editing a student film I shot with a canon xl1s. Knowing how incredibly misleading the canon viewfinder is, i brought a long a nifty little toshiba tv, and used it as a not so portable monitor. My movies are generally dark, so I was being real careful not to under expose too much. What I shot looked great from the monitor and what I edited was great too, when I run it from my computer through my cam to the TV it looks perfect, however when I actually record it, either on the DVtape in my camera or the vhs tape in the Svhs vcr It comes way to frickin dark and I can hardly see anything. Furthermore When shooting the night scene I tinkered with the white balance to make the light look blue (moonlight) and on the recorded vhs the blue is all gone! Can anybody help me understand this little problem?

[Dave Richler]

I am a film student looking to break into the world of DV. I plan to primarily shoot shorts, but in the future hopefully a feature. For the first few shorts I plan on shooting dogme style, using available light. I know that especially for video the quality of the image is dependent on the lighting. However, I want only to concentrate in the beginning on shot composition, camera movement, working with the actors, and of course storytelling. I will be using professionaly mics so the sound will be up to par, but as far as lighting goes, I am using whatever is available, at least to start with. This brings me to my question: I've been reading that the PD150/VX2000 has excellent low-light capabilities, better than the XL1s. Can anyone comment on the Canon's ability to shoot in poor lighting conditions compared to the Sonys'? Perhaps in 6 months I will perchase, or rent, several lights, and by then perhaps the difference between the cameras won't matter, but right now it may matter, I really don't know. Any comments regarding poor lighting conditions/natural light are welcome. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for teqniques concerning how to get the best image from the camera when using only available light? i.e. reflectors, filters, camera placement, etc...

Thanks for any input, it is much appreciated...

Dave

[Don Donatello]

let me state that i own a GL & elura, and friend has XL.. i prefer the canon "look" ...

IMO using 0 gain there is NO comparison the sony will outperform the GL/XL .... i just used vx2k camera again yesterday ! and it always amazes me in low light ( using 0 gain).

i shoot with my GL 60% dogme ( -10% is i bring 4x4 foam core to bounce light , -30% i move furniture ).. i work with the available light in the room ( natural daylight, tungsten ) ...

i move the subjects to where i think the best light is in the room/location. i may have to move chairs/ couch , floor lamps , desk lights - i do the best i can with what is available. most of the time it works and there are those times that it doesn't.

avoid large bright windows behind subject ( this will cut down on some camera movement) if daytime interior use the window light as side or 2/3 front lighting on subjects... if sunlight is hitting floors - frame out floor an put either white sheet or 4x4 foam core on floor to bouce light ... have another 4x4 ready to bounce light on shadow side of subject or to use as kicker ..

if you don't have foam core you can use ART board -30"x36" or 36"x40" white on one side / black on other ... foam core also comes white/white or white/black .... you can use the black side if there is TOO much fill light in room to take away fill light hitting subject ... or if sun hitting floor is bouncing too much light then use black side up on floor to stop some of the bounce ...

when you look at a location - take your camera and shoot some tape of the room - with all lights ON .. then just overheads ON ... then just floor lights on .... then with window shades open , window shades closed ... then view tape at home and see what looks good /bad .........

[Bill Ravens]

Has anyone used this Panny broadcast monitor? What do you think? It looks pretty good at $1k.

http://www.panasonic.com/pbds/subcat/Products/displays_monitors/f_bt-h1390y.html

[Trent Thomas]

I have recently noticed pixilization from footage taken with my Canon XL1 which I captured to my computer video firewire with my Canon Elura 2MC. Is it possible that the pixelization came from the Elura, or are all internal recorders/players the same in all camcorders, regardless of price?

[Chris Hurd]

Mmm, they're not all the same. Try a head cleaning cassette in your Elura for a few seconds. It wasn't recorded in LP mode, was it? That's always a problem as LP mode usually plays back properly only from the camera that recorded it in the first place.

[Frank Granovski]

Cokin makes some great filters (and some bad ones). The good thing about them is that they are inexpensive---and this doesn't mean they are inferior. Most people think that you have to get "box" to attach to the cam for their A and P sizes. Well, this is correct. However, what most people don't know is that many of these filters also come as the regular, screw on the filter threads type, from sizes 27mm to 86mm.

The Sunsoft, Sunwarm, 81B, and circular polarizer are among my favorites.

I also like Tiffen's Black Pro Mist 3.

If you have the bucks, though, Heliopan and B+W (Schneider) are worth considering.

My 2 cents....

[Adrian Douglas]

I never shoot outdoors without a circular polarizer. This combined with -3db gain setting helps to cut down some of the nastiness viedo is known for.

One point of interest to people using the Fujinon and Canon 14x manual lenses. The front element of these lenses rotate, so when using a circular polarizer you'll have to reset your polarizer when you zoom or refocus.

[Patrick Coker]

Anybody know anything about the Marshall V-LCD 5.6 Prok lcd monitor kit?

which is the best minidv camera?(around 1,000 and 2000 $)
what mean hi-8 , mega-handicam?

thanks for the help

[Frank Granovski]

Hi-8 is an analog format (not digital), but its resolution is good. HandyCam is Sony's brand name for their consumer line of camcorders. Mega refers to the amount of CCD pixels (1 million or over 1 million). A good cam in that price range..., well first you may want to decide if you want a 1 CCD or 3 CCD cam, then pick one with the important features you need or want. Personally, I think the best 1 CCD cam is Sony's TRV30. For a 3 CCD cam in your price range, a Sony TRV900, Sony PD100a or a Canon GL-1. You may also want to check Panasonic's older AG-EZ30U. Those are the ones I recommend. But there are a few other options; and if you want to spend a tad more, you could get the fantastic Sony VX2000 (roughly $2400 US).

[elusive_kudo]

I just purchased a 16:9 widesrceen adapter from Century Optics to go on my Sony PD 100a?

Any pointers or tips on how should I properly go about shooting, framing, editing & viewing with this "thing" on.

Mainly, is there anything in particular I should look or be aware of?

Please, share some of your knowledge. It's very important to me.

Thank You.

[Frank Granovski]

Thanks. The top seller among pros for softening filters up here in Vancouver is the Black Pro Mist 3.