No exposure preset on PD-170?
 

The VX2100 custom presets have a preset for exposure. This is very useful for shooting outdoors where my 2100 tends to overexpose in bright sunlight. The PD-170 does not have a similar preset. Is there another way to accomplish the same thing on the PD-170 without using manual exposure? If not, then this is a drawback to the PD-170 vs the 2100.

Unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the 2100, but I'm presuming it doesn't have a labelled iris control (ie like the TRV950 it has a "Exposure" setting based on a percentage bar?) whereas the PD does. If you leave the iris in automatic (ie it doesn't have the fstop labelled in the display) then it should control the exposure that way. This isn't in the "Custom Preset" mode tho, this is just part of the manual settings on the camera. In Auto mode, the iris will always be automatic of course.

Altho I might be barking up entirely the wrong tree here!

Is that really true? I didn't realize that. I assume you're talking about AE SHIFT in the custom presets? My VX-2000 and PDX-10 both have this feature. The TRV-950 should have it as well. I always assumed the PD-170 would have it since it seems to be common to all the other Sony cameras.

BTW James, the VX-2000 and 2100 do show f-stops in the viewfinder. The lack of f-stops is unique to the TRV-950, PDX-10 and HC-1000 unfortunately...

Thats interesting to know. I should add a VX to my arsenal, as I have the 950 and the 150.. I can never remember what the differences between teh PD and the VX are tho :)

The PD has its AE shift on the back rather than on custom preset, is that where the VX has it ?

The VX has an AE shift in the custom preset menu that is accessed by pushing the button on the rear end of the top handle. In addition there are other presets for white balance, color shift, and a few other items. The PD-150 has an identical button on the back of the top handle and works the same way except that there is no AE shift preset. Is there another AE shift capability somewhere else on the back? I've never noticed one but I haven't used the camera enough to have explored every feature. If someone knows for sure how you accomplish this same function on a PD, then please let me know.

<<<-- Originally posted by James Connors : The PD has its AE shift on the back -->>>

I'm not sure this is the same thing. The VX also has a "Program AE" button on the back, but that's different. The AE shift lets you shift the automatic exposure towards dark or light in steps. Actually I've never used this feature since I always work in manual mode.

There are a number of differences between the VX and PD. The PD lets you control gain independently, and also has completely independent control of shutter speed. You can manually control shutter speed on the the VX, but when you select it the camera will automatically reset your iris. So this means you need to choose your shutter speed FIRST, then manually set the iris. The PDX-10 (and I assume TRV-950) also shows this same behavior.

The PD-170 doubles the number of "clicks" to 24 for the manual iris so that exposure changes aren't so noticeable. The VX-2000, VX-2100, PD-150, TRV-950 and PDX-10 all only have 12 iris clicks.

<<<-- Originally posted by Alan Christensen : I've never noticed one but I haven't used the camera enough to have explored every feature. If someone knows for sure how you accomplish this same function on a PD, then please let me know. -->>>

i've got my PD150 on my lap now, so I can read off the back for you.

Gain > Shutter Speed > White Balance > AE Shift

I use the AE shift now I kinda know how to use it, and agree.. its a handy lil function! I couldn't see much difference when iris was in auto before, so ignored it. Silly me! I often need to crank the brightness so often at 1.6 and AE+3 now so I can keep the gain down now.