F350 starlight settings?
 

Now and then we get a starry night in Washington state....


Have shot some footage (HSs18x5.5BRM Fujinon / HD SP 1080i 60) but am none too impressed with the results.

Can anyone recommend settings for this (specially considering I've seen footage shot with a consumer camcorder that leaves mine for dead!!!).



Michael Knight.

I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to achieve, but when somebody says F350 and starlight in the same sentence, I think slow shutter.

Coincidentally, we had a nice clear evening in Pasadena here, with a bright moon shining through the palm trees across the street. I decided to try a time lapse of the moon, and learned a slow shutter of 32 frames was enough to get plenty of exposure out of the (light polluted) sky and surrounding trees.

The time lapse? The moon was moving slow, and I was getting cold, so I canned it after 40-some frames.

Thanks Nate.

I'll try that.

And if it's too cold, I'll probably also try slow stutter:-)

Michael Knight

PS - I did get a good time-lapse sequence of a full moon a couple months ago.
4sec interval seemed reasonable - but I'll vary it, because it crosses the screen like a slow baseball.....actually, it dropped out the bottom of the shot because of an inadvertent dutch tilt in the dark....

slow shutter
 

Nate's right, use the slow shutter function. I was using it in conjunction with the time lapse feature and when I reviewed the video I was shocked to see how clearly the stars showed up.

Yes, definitely try the slow shutter, it can produce incredible results. But really should be used with timelapse for best effect.

However, also take a good monitor with you. You have to be careful of dead pixels showing up in that mode. All XDCAM HD cameras I have tried have suffered from this in slow shutter mode.

Agreed. Some folks thought you couldn't use both in conjunction with one another but you sure can.

-gb-

Dead pixels
 

Probably should be a new thread, but the first time I used the slow shutter on my 350 there were several dead pixels. I was a bit surprised ... black balanced a few times and they were gone.

I wonder though, are the pixels actually dying and if so, how long can you keep masking them?

Hey...I just LOVE you folks :-) :-) :-)

As you'll see if you've read my signature, I am learning how to use these digital cameras and all their incredible features....and your posts are helping me along at something like lightning speed:-)

Mind you, nothing really gets learned until one actually DOES it...and believe me, I will be.

Things like Gamma and dropped pixels and knee and so on are still a mystery, but I'm rapidly getting up to speed, and the idea of using a monitor seems really great...we have a pretty good one, and I can certainly see the benefit of doing that.

I also agree that the slow shutter subject would be worth a separate thread...go ahead. I'll be there.

Actually, a separate thread for each of the mysteries would be a great idea..at least from my point of view as a learner.




Michael Knight.

Greg can you explain how to make work together slow shutter and time lapse function?

Simple. Turn the slow shutter on, go into the Special Effects menu and turn on the timelapse function. Easy.

But what you need to be aware of is the timelapse interval. On the slowest shutter you want the interval to be a minimum of 3 seconds (because thats how long the slow shutter accumulates images for), otherwise you will get jerky timelapse.

I think that the dead pixels might already be there, but the 3 second or so accumulation on the slowest shutter setting just makes them stand out. I don't think the slow shutter itself is actually causing dead pixels.

There's some examples of timelapse in combination with slow shutter in my reel.
http://www.simonwyndham.co.uk/reel.htm

Hmmm 2005, I must get around to updating that!

If I am shooting landscape timelapse during the day I will use a standard shutter. However, if I am shooting at night I will use the slow shutter. But as well as that, whenever I am shooting timelapse of motion such as people, or cars, I will usually use a slow shutter because I like to smooth out the motion with motion blur. Even if I want a fairly sharp timelapse I will often induce a small amount of slow shutter just to take the harsh movement edge off things.

What mode are you shooting in 24p 30p or 60i? I understand in 24p both are not available, is this so?

I shoot 25p. But on the XDCAM SD you can only use the slow shutter in interlaced mode.

On the F350 and F330 frame accumulation will work at 23.98P. In fact it will work on any standard frame rate, I or P. To get 23.98 you must have the camera set to "NTSC Area". If you use the slow / quick frame rates then the slow shutter will not work.

Oh and I can confirm the F350/F330 built in LCD is much better when working with the camera set to "NTSC area". In PAL area it is washed out and the colours are very poor.