So We all know PDX10 is not so good in low lighting ,at dark... at DVinfo.net

Viethai Nguyen · November 17th, 2003, 07:32 PM

What did you do to correct the problem? What is the best setting in custom to deal with low-light situation. Please help.

Frank Granovski · November 17th, 2003, 07:35 PM

Use lighting. There's no way around it.

Boyd Ostroff · November 17th, 2003, 08:53 PM

I think all you can do with the custom presets is turn the sharpness all the way down, which makes the noise less noticeable. You can gain a little by lightening your footage up in post and still have a usable image. Another idea would be shooting at 1/30 sec shutter speed, as long as you're happy with the way that looks. Besides that, there isn't much to be done.

But unless you want to shoot documentary type stuff in the dark outside at night I really don't think you'll find it too limiting. At least I do not. But if that sort of thing is important to you then perhaps you should be looking at another camera, or as Frank says, use a light. Shooting outside on the beach at night by a campfire I liked the effect a lot. For a highlight on the face I just used a cheap flashlight with a piece of diffusion gel....

Shawn Mielke · November 18th, 2003, 03:52 AM

I've been surprised recently at some of the low light levels in which I've been able to get shots, but it happens under a special set of circumstances, and is very much a controlled art type of application, and probably not likely to crop up in a R n G/doc situations, although who knows. If you have a small or medium size lamp with semi transparent shade, place it on a desk top with an assortment of objects beneath. This small area of light right around the lamp, with no other lights on in the room (darkness outside), can produce wonderful images, warm with sumptuous blacks, and very little grain. I could hardly believe it was the same camcorder producing the shot. Boyd's camp fire scene is the very same sort of circumstance: focused area of fine light surrounded by darkness. The cam does not do medium low light worth a fig, this really shows itself in wider shots, but you sure can find those special little sweet spots with experimentation. Do the camera's bidding and it will do yours, or something to that effect. Hope this helps!
Regards,
Shawn

Ignacio Rodriguez · November 20th, 2003, 05:56 AM

> Another idea would be shooting at 1/30 sec shutter speed,
> as long as you're happy with the way that looks.

To me it seems that when the camera is in 16:9 mode 1/30 looks very good, but when I set the cam to 4:3 line doubling is more noticeable. Test it first on a good monitor and see if it works for you. Also, I understand that if you will later be converting to PAL 1/30 can be a nightmare.

Chris Long · November 20th, 2003, 07:30 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Boyd Ostroff : Another idea would be shooting at 1/30 sec shutter speed, as long as you're happy with the way that looks. -->>>

Boyd, how would you describe the look that results from shooting at 1/30? I have to admit that I'm not sure I see much of a difference from other shutter speeds, visually, except maybe the fastest ones when shooting certain subjects. I think maybe my eyes aren't very discerning, unfortunately (guess that means I could have purchased a lesser camera and not known it!! lol)

Boyd Ostroff · November 20th, 2003, 08:33 AM

True, the differences are subtle, and probably less noticeable on a regular interlaced TV set. 1/30 looks very similar to 30p to me. There's sort of a jerkiness to moving objects and the longer exposure creates more motion blur. I like the way it looks fine. Quite a lot has been written here and elsewhere about the effects of shutter speed and deinterlacing. Do a search if you're interested. You might start by reading the article here at dvinfo.net http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/filmlook/pappas1.php

Kenn Jolemore · November 20th, 2003, 09:21 AM

1/30ss can work well as long as the subject matter is not fast moving. For instance I have footage of my grand-daughter and daughter in the living room as they look at books together or play with playdough at the table that are fine with little to no blur as the movement is minimal but once my grand-daughter starts to fly around the room (being the 2 year old she is) 1/30ss is lacking as an acceptable way of adding a bit of extra light to a dark shoot.
KennJ

November 17th, 2003, 07:32 PM	#1
Viethai Nguyen New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 19	So We all know PDX10 is not so good in low lighting ,at dark... What did you do to correct the problem? What is the best setting in custom to deal with low-light situation. Please help.

November 18th, 2003, 03:52 AM	#4
Shawn Mielke Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Santa Rosa, California Posts: 745	I've been surprised recently at some of the low light levels in which I've been able to get shots, but it happens under a special set of circumstances, and is very much a controlled art type of application, and probably not likely to crop up in a R n G/doc situations, although who knows. If you have a small or medium size lamp with semi transparent shade, place it on a desk top with an assortment of objects beneath. This small area of light right around the lamp, with no other lights on in the room (darkness outside), can produce wonderful images, warm with sumptuous blacks, and very little grain. I could hardly believe it was the same camcorder producing the shot. Boyd's camp fire scene is the very same sort of circumstance: focused area of fine light surrounded by darkness. The cam does not do medium low light worth a fig, this really shows itself in wider shots, but you sure can find those special little sweet spots with experimentation. Do the camera's bidding and it will do yours, or something to that effect. Hope this helps! Regards, Shawn __________________ Breakthrough In Grey Room

November 20th, 2003, 05:56 AM	#5
Ignacio Rodriguez Contributor Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Santiago, Chile Posts: 932	> Another idea would be shooting at 1/30 sec shutter speed, > as long as you're happy with the way that looks. To me it seems that when the camera is in 16:9 mode 1/30 looks very good, but when I set the cam to 4:3 line doubling is more noticeable. Test it first on a good monitor and see if it works for you. Also, I understand that if you will later be converting to PAL 1/30 can be a nightmare. __________________ Ignacio Rodríguez in the third world. @micronauta on Twitter. Main hardware: brain, eyes, hands.

November 20th, 2003, 09:21 AM	#8
Kenn Jolemore Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: norfolk Va. Posts: 124	1/30ss can work well as long as the subject matter is not fast moving. For instance I have footage of my grand-daughter and daughter in the living room as they look at books together or play with playdough at the table that are fine with little to no blur as the movement is minimal but once my grand-daughter starts to fly around the room (being the 2 year old she is) 1/30ss is lacking as an acceptable way of adding a bit of extra light to a dark shoot. KennJ __________________ KennJ

November 17th, 2003, 07:35 PM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Use lighting. There's no way around it.

November 17th, 2003, 08:53 PM	#3
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	I think all you can do with the custom presets is turn the sharpness all the way down, which makes the noise less noticeable. You can gain a little by lightening your footage up in post and still have a usable image. Another idea would be shooting at 1/30 sec shutter speed, as long as you're happy with the way that looks. Besides that, there isn't much to be done. But unless you want to shoot documentary type stuff in the dark outside at night I really don't think you'll find it too limiting. At least I do not. But if that sort of thing is important to you then perhaps you should be looking at another camera, or as Frank says, use a light. Shooting outside on the beach at night by a campfire I liked the effect a lot. For a highlight on the face I just used a cheap flashlight with a piece of diffusion gel....

November 20th, 2003, 07:30 AM	#6
Chris Long Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Middletown, Maryland USA Posts: 177	<<<-- Originally posted by Boyd Ostroff : Another idea would be shooting at 1/30 sec shutter speed, as long as you're happy with the way that looks. -->>> Boyd, how would you describe the look that results from shooting at 1/30? I have to admit that I'm not sure I see much of a difference from other shutter speeds, visually, except maybe the fastest ones when shooting certain subjects. I think maybe my eyes aren't very discerning, unfortunately (guess that means I could have purchased a lesser camera and not known it!! lol)

November 20th, 2003, 08:33 AM	#7
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	True, the differences are subtle, and probably less noticeable on a regular interlaced TV set. 1/30 looks very similar to 30p to me. There's sort of a jerkiness to moving objects and the longer exposure creates more motion blur. I like the way it looks fine. Quite a lot has been written here and elsewhere about the effects of shutter speed and deinterlacing. Do a search if you're interested. You might start by reading the article here at dvinfo.net http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/filmlook/pappas1.php