FX1 iris controls... not a happy customer - Page 2 at DVinfo.net
DV Info Net

Go Back   DV Info Net > Sony XAVC / XDCAM / NXCAM / AVCHD / HDV / DV Camera Systems > Sony HDV and DV Camera Systems > Sony HVR-Z1 / HDR-FX1

Sony HVR-Z1 / HDR-FX1
Pro and consumer versions of this Sony 3-CCD HDV camcorder.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old August 22nd, 2007, 01:08 AM   #16
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Billericay, England UK
Posts: 4,711
Very true Serena, but back in the 70s Super-8 camera manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon were making 10x zooms with an f/1.4 maximum aperture that held throughout the zoom range. That's half a stop wider than the popular f/1.6 of today.

And all this while feeding a 'chip' (the Super-8 frame) that was almost exactly the same size as a current 1"/2.7 chip - just a tiny fraction smaller than a 1"/2 chip. Lots of us look on the half inch chip as a biggie.

tom.
Tom Hardwick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 22nd, 2007, 03:20 AM   #17
Major Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Studio Alnitak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Posts: 640
Images: 3
Tom, I don't recall 10x f/1.4 zooms on S8, and would have thought that max apertures were more like f/2.0 and f/2.8. However I don't have any of the old literature to check! I remember being surprised to find that zooms for still cameras couldn't hold max aperture during the zoom, and somewhat disappointed when moving to video that the same thing was present there. http://www.visualproducts.com/store0...&Cat=8&Cat2=20
Serena Steuart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 22nd, 2007, 04:16 AM   #18
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Billericay, England UK
Posts: 4,711
My 1974 Canon 1014E had a 10x f/1,4 zoom (see? It's in the name) as did the Nikon R10. The sound on film 1014XL-S had the same. They're shown here:

http://super8guy.com/

tom.
Tom Hardwick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 22nd, 2007, 06:47 AM   #19
Major Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Studio Alnitak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Posts: 640
Images: 3
Ah, well. Yet another reason to keep using film!
Serena Steuart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 22nd, 2007, 07:53 AM   #20
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 2,488
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Payne View Post
Am i right in saying if i push either the iris, gain or shutter button i get the numerical value on the screen and this therefore means manual mode is activated...?
Not exactly: it only means you've manually locked the setting for whichever button you pushed. If you want a full manual exposure on an FX1 you have to push all three buttons for iris, shutter *and* gain, then set each of those to the values you want as indicated on the LCD or viewfinder. Otherwise the items you haven't locked will continue to auto-adjust, resulting in an incorrect exposure for strongly backlit subjects.

If you want to be able to quickly switch back and forth from auto to manual exposure on the FX1, lock any two of the three exposure items and switch the third on and off auto as needed. For example, lock the gain and shutter but leave the iris on auto until you need a manual exposure, then lock the iris and set it as needed. There is no single exposure-lock button on the FX1 like there is on some other video cameras (e.g. Canon GL1/GL2, Sony A1U, etc.).
Kevin Shaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 27th, 2007, 04:17 AM   #21
Major Player
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Southend-On-Sea, England
Posts: 368
hmm thanks all for your advice..

i had another chance to play around with the camera this weekend. I found that occasionally when shooting in manual mode in a dark environment i can set manual iris to as open as possible, set shutter to 50 and leave gain how it is as i am put off by the picture noise i have gotten in the past by using gain on different cameras. Anyway, in this manual mode as far as I know the camera is set up to let as much light in as possible but occasionally when i flick back to auto lock, it gets brighter. How can this be? Is it something to do with the picture profile setting as I havent really ever bothered changing these.. I have always left it on PP3...
David J. Payne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 27th, 2007, 05:03 AM   #22
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Billericay, England UK
Posts: 4,711
You sure you've got that right - you flick back to auto lock and the recorded image gets brighter? I simply cannot see how this would happen, as in auto it will bump to max gain (+18dB) and widest aperture for the focal length in use. You're still on the default shutter speed, right?

tom.
Tom Hardwick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 27th, 2007, 08:29 AM   #23
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Stockton, UT
Posts: 5,648
You've answered your own question. Picture profiles *usually* are set up to affect gamma, color. Clearly, your PP3 is reducing available light. Turn it off.
__________________
Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot
Author, producer, composer
Certified Sony Vegas Trainer
http://www.vasst.com
Douglas Spotted Eagle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 27th, 2007, 09:07 AM   #24
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 2,488
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Payne View Post
Anyway, in this manual mode as far as I know the camera is set up to let as much light in as possible but occasionally when i flick back to auto lock, it gets brighter. How can this be?
When you switch back to auto mode that allows the gain to go back to maximum, which will make your picture brighter unless you had gain at the full +18db in manual mode. And as DSE said, make sure your camera settings aren't limiting the maximum gain amount - there's a setting which does exactly that for those who want auto-exposure with gain limited to some specific value.
Kevin Shaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 28th, 2007, 07:12 AM   #25
Major Player
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Southend-On-Sea, England
Posts: 368
thanks again guys.. i should have worked out that the gain was boosting up in manual mode. Seems silly that it would do this outside in very very bright light tho? Do you know what I turn off in the specific picture profile to stop it limiting available light? I didnt know you could turn the PP off totally.. i thought you had to have one selected..

All things considered, I have just purchased a 2nd FX1 so once I work out how to use the light settings effectively I'm sure i'll be very happy.
David J. Payne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 28th, 2007, 07:19 AM   #26
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Billericay, England UK
Posts: 4,711
You certainly don't have to have any PP selected. They all move the image away from the default setting, which you may find perfectly acceptable.
Tom Hardwick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 28th, 2007, 07:53 AM   #27
Major Player
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Southend-On-Sea, England
Posts: 368
great.. so in theory with PP off, shutter set to 50 or 60, gain to +18 and iris as low as possible I should get the image as light as possible, is that correct? I will have another play around tonight but I think this issue should be solved now. Thanks a lot.
David J. Payne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 28th, 2007, 08:09 AM   #28
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Billericay, England UK
Posts: 4,711
That's sort of correct. Of course you can slow the shutter speed as well to get greater exposure of the chips, but you'll get subject and camera movement recorded as a blur. For static shots of a building at night, say, I often use 1/3 sec and f/5.6, and have the gain at zero.

tom.
Tom Hardwick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 30th, 2007, 03:59 PM   #29
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Mays Landing, NJ
Posts: 11,787
Creating a picture profile with everything at the default EXCEPT turning on black stretch will help a little in dark places. But be sure you haven't selected either of the cinematone settings, you will lose as much as a full stop from them.
Boyd Ostroff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 30th, 2007, 04:45 PM   #30
Major Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 895
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick View Post
That's sort of correct. Of course you can slow the shutter speed as well to get greater exposure of the chips, but you'll get subject and camera movement recorded as a blur. For static shots of a building at night, say, I often use 1/3 sec and f/5.6, and have the gain at zero.

tom.
How can your shutter speed be slower than your frame rate?
Jim Michael is offline   Reply
Reply

DV Info Net refers all where-to-buy and where-to-rent questions exclusively to these trusted full line dealers and rental houses...

B&H Photo Video
(866) 521-7381
New York, NY USA

Scan Computers Int. Ltd.
+44 0871-472-4747
Bolton, Lancashire UK


DV Info Net also encourages you to support local businesses and buy from an authorized dealer in your neighborhood.
  You are here: DV Info Net > Sony XAVC / XDCAM / NXCAM / AVCHD / HDV / DV Camera Systems > Sony HDV and DV Camera Systems > Sony HVR-Z1 / HDR-FX1

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

 



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:15 AM.


DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network