ISO rating of the PMW-300
 

Hi all.
I am trying t rate my PMW-300's base ISO.
I'm using an 18% gray card, and a Sekonic L-758 cine light meter.
The gray card is evenly lit, the camera's shutter is set to off at 0dB gain.. then I set the iris to Auto,
and match the iris in the camera with the light meter - and see what ISO did I use in the light meter to achieve that.
That's supposed to be the camera's ISO at 0dB gain.

I just got a result of 640 ISO in 0dB gain.

seems a bit high since I heard a few people talking about number like 320 etc.
did any of you rate the camera using this method?
I'd like to hear the results...

Thanks!
Arbel.

Re: ISO rating of the PMW-300
 

Well, after some more readings and testing I can say that its hard to fully match the readings
in camera with the light meter.
Using the Odyssey 7q waveform I now believe the ISO is 500 at 0dB and slightly under 400 at -3dB.
I'm starting a big project of many interviews, and I really want to know that I can trust my light meter together with my PMW-300... (or should I say it the other way around...)

BTW - I noticed a color difference between the PMW-300 viewfinder and the Odyssey 7q, the later being cooler...
anyone tried to calibrate it?

Re: ISO rating of the PMW-300
 

Anyone??
Any thoughts about this?

Re: ISO rating of the PMW-300
 

My suggestion - use the zebras and/or a waveform as your light meter. The 'iso rating' of the camera will change significantly depending on your gamma and other picture profile selections. Of course I used to use a light meter for film shoots, but one way or another the negative was always timed (color corrected) in post, so essentially the main thing the light meter did was keep me in the ball park.
I also tend not to trust the camera's viewfinder for critical color decisions - I've started bringing a 17" Sony OLED monitor with me.
Of course if you have a good colorist at the end of your post process it really takes most of the worry out of the equation.