I have a sony 390L dv cam with a fujinon lens. On this camera is a nob with several filters : 3200K, 5600K, 5600K +1/8nd, 5600k+1/64nd. I know that these are filters and control the amount of light allowed into the camera, atleast thats how it seems. But specifically what do these numbers mean and which should be used in certain situations. Is it more than just lighting?? I have used this camera for over a year, but do not have an owners manual so there are still some things I dont know. I do know one thing, this thing lays some beautiful SD footage!

It's pretty straight forward. You generally use the 3200 filter when you are indoors or are using incandescent /tungsten lighting. 5600 is for daylight, or if you are using HMI type lighting.

The nd (neutral density) filters simply take out different degrees of light intensity. They don't alter the color balance at all. The sweet spot on most lenses is generally in the middle of the iris range, F4-8 or so. If it is so bright out that you're up at F16, or even at F16 the picture is blowing out, you rotate in more power from the nd wheel until you get the exposure you want.

Now, just to make things more complicated (or easy), most cameras will color balance correctly from either the 3200 or 5600 filters, unless the light color temperature is too extreme. For instance, early morning, no direct sunlight in shadows may color balance at 10K or higher, and it may be outside the range of the camera to go that high, if you are starting with the 3200 wheel. But in normal, mixed light use, you can get the camera to color balance either way.

Just remember that the 5600 filter will steal a little light, so it may not be the best choice for low-light indoor shooting.

Hi Brandon,

Here is the operation manual from the DSR-390 in PDF format.

http://pdf.crse.com/manuals/3776646121.pdf

Hope this helps!

awesome, I have been looking for a manual on this camera and for some reason I could find hundreds of other cams but not the 390L. Thanks, this answers allot of questions.

Good to hear you liked it!

Ah, I used to have the 390L. Nice camera. Almost all the full sized cameras have the main functions like ND, Gain, shutter, WB, peaking, etc. all in the same place so it's easy to jump from camera to camera.
I put together a short tutorial on full sized broadcast cameras that might help you with a quick overview. Broadcast camera basics (http://vimeo.com/2639819)