I'd like know how god or bad your pictures quallity is. I was watching the XL2 test videos and if it is possible to see some of yours as well ...??

Can you please post a few small clips anywhere? Or just recommand a web page with some Sony Pd150-170 video clip on it?

I'm using the PD150 and I don't know, isn't it god anymore or it is just me.

And if you would be kind and tell me how your settings was.
Thank you.

why not simply go to your local camera store with a dv tape and test shoot a few shots?

if they don't let you, they're likely to lose a few k in sales!!!!

leslie

I have a Pd150 with a Century optics 16:9 . I just would like to take a look at your work. I don't like my anymore and just wonder if it is me or the camcorder.

It's funny , DVX and XL people has demo and test everywhere but PD150-170 don't.

I'll email you a single frame from a recent wedding Lasse.
Taken on my VX2000 (same chips/optics as the PD150/170). This was from a movie, hand held Steadyshot on, full telephoto,
f4.8.

The lens is absolutely superb, and I'm very happy with it.

tom.

Tom, thank you for the mail.

do you use the custom preset? I don't know if you have custom preset on VX2000.

The main problem i have is the highlights with my pd150. I've seen a test now. A test between DVX and PD and the PD shows the same highlight effect on faces.

Now I know it isn't me it is the camcorder. Do you have any idee what I should do with this highlights effect?

After owning the VX2000 for over two years I've just started usintg the custom preset. I've upped the sharpness one notch, and that's it. Not sure what you mean by'highlight effect'. Why nort email me a frame for my evaluation?

tom.

I'm turning the sharpness all the way down. It makes a fine smoot picture.

Here is the "highlight" . You can se it on her face.

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/review_dvx_pd150.html

Tom,

Any chance of sending me that captured frame to mate? I am looking to buy a PD-170 in the next couple of weeks and I have never actually seen an image form the lens.

If you're interested in still frames, I did some tests with my VX-2000 and put them online a couple months ago:

http://www.greenmist.com/dv/res - shots of the EIA 1956 resolution chart taken with a Nikon 5700, VX-2000 and PDX-10

http://www.greenmist.com/dv/garden - comparison of the same cameras outside in a wooded setting

http://www.greenmist.com/dv/vxsharp - same outdoor scene shot with the VX-2000 and showing the effect of all 8 sharpness custom presets

http://www.greenmist.com/dv/16x9 - EIA 1956 resolution chart comparing built-in 16:9 modes on the VX-2000 and PDX-10.

Tom: it took you two years to use the custom preset? I guess I must be more curious than you... I'm never happy until I try pushing all the buttons and turning all the wheels! ;-)

Thank you for all of you. Does anyone of you have a movie online?

I've got some stuff online that I shot with my PD-150. It's mostly just local TV commercials for demos and they aren't much but if you want to take a look head on over to
www.gforcevideo.com and click on the created by G-Force link. I'm not really a web designer so my site isn't much either. I'm hoping to have a couple more clips up in a week or so.

ARe you saying, Lasse, that the highlights blow out to soon, with the pd150? Limited dynamic range?

I bet Wayne Orr has links to various PD150 shot things, somewhere. I don't know where he is these days. I think I saw something of his recently of taiku drumming, and I think it was shot with this camera, but I could be wrong. Perhaps he'll pop up here...

Shawn, yes the highlights blow out to soon. All the dv-camcorders has its limitation but what can you do with this fenomen?

Wayne Orr - is this the site?
http://www.digitalprods.com/anaheimdoor.htm - He has the same problem.

I didn't realise this "effect" until now.

Ok, I gonna sleep well. The DVX100 can have the same blow out.

http://www.atfm-films.net/clipplay.php?clip_id=Quest_582349f18689868cf5f3777ae8dcef505583

The only solutions, then, that I can think of are to learn to work well within the confines of the 1/3" chip dynamic range, or get a larger chip cam. (You probably didn't need me to tell you that :-).

Shawn, I don't know if you are using a PD150 or not but , what would you do to work around this problem?

In the studio it is not so difficult but on the street when you capture live action, what would you do?

I adjust the IRIS, Gain =0 , WB manual, Shutter speed 50 (pal).

Nice to know I was missed. Or, is it just my footage? I was testing a new zoom controller the other day, and here is some footage I shot with my PD150. About a minute and a half long. Late afternoon outdoor stuff.
http://www.digitalprods.com/movies/Sequence2c.mov
If you really want to see the footage full size download the following link, but beware! It's almost 40 megs big. Download it, and double the size to see it in all its glory.
http://www.digitalprods.com/movies/Sequence 2.mov
There was no color correction or levels manipulation done to anything. Just raw footage. Remember, it's late afternoon, so it won't look like full sun. The saturation setting in custom presets is turned up two clicks.

Shawn, the Taiko Dojo footage on my site was shot with two Sony digibetacams in native 16x9. Still one of my favorite shoots. I purposely overexposed the lights on the block panels in the background because I liked the look.

Lasse, I don't quite know what you are getting at, other than there is obviously a limit to the contrast range of any camera. DV cameras are not that bad in this area, and it is the responsibility of the shooter to be aware of possible problem areas. Overexposure through a background window is not really a problem if your area of interest is your subject in the foreground. Of course, if the light is so hot that your subject's face is being "poisoned" by that light, then you should be taking some sort of remedial measures, such as gelling the windows, or increasing the light on your subject. How anal you want to get about these pushes on the contrast levels kind of depends on what you are shooting. If you are shooting a movie, you should probably fix the problems. If you are shooting a documentary interview, and you have a fidgety subject who may walk out on you if you start fooling with lighting, you may have to bite your tongue and just go for it. And sometimes you want to overexpose a "kicker" to give your pictures some "heat." (Like I did with the Taiko Dojo panels)

I have mentioned before about learning to "squint" to preview your pictures. If you want me to go over this again, let me know.

BTW, the picture of the girl in that DVX/PD150 "test" is overexposed. This is what is causing the blooming highlight on the girl. Notice in the video clip that you see the same effect on the man in footage shot with the DVX100. If this is the problem you are having with your footage, you should be using your zebras set to 70%, and adjusting your iris so you only see a bit of zebras in the highlight areas of the face.


Wayne Orr, SOC

Wayne Orr, thank you.
I guess I know what my problem is (was). I was reading a lot of filmlook etc. And I turned the sharpness all the way down. It makes a nice soft image but it makes the image more 2D as well. If you capture a closup than the backgrand is in shallow focus and the face is soft, like film. But if you capture a street than people, the main object is disapearing in the background because the softnes. I use the default sharpness again and it looks much better. And if you like to transfer the video to film than you gonna need this sharpnes. Interpolation makes the image more soft.

The other problem is the blowout. I use 100% zebra and adjust the Iris. I will try 70%. I use a Shneider circ. polarizer on a sunny day with an 0.9 ND filter and it makes the picture a bit better.

Use also more color saturation after watching a few dvx100e videos.

"And if you like to transfer the video to film than you gonna need this sharpnes."

Actually, Lasse, if you are shooting for a transfer to film, you most likely should turn down the sharpness level. You will find confirmation of this at sources like Swiss Effects. Of course, you should always contact the transfer house you will be working with to get their specific recommendations.

A couple other notes about using 70% zebras. You want to see the zebras in the highlight areas of the face, such as the bridge of the nose, forehead, cheekbones. Use the zebras according to the lighting source. For example, if you are under fluorescent overhead lights, you want a bit of zebras on the bridge of the nose. But if you are outside in the bright sun, you might take a bit more of zebras because of the lighting conditions. If you are shooting an interview, with a strong side light source, take a bit more zebras than if the source is head-on, to indicate the source. (The use of a practical light in the background on the key side will help sell the effect)

One of the great things about using the 70% zebras, is if you underestimate the exposure using the zebras, you will almost certainly still be in good shape, since this camera (as with most video cameras) looks good underexposed a bit. But it sucks if you overexpose.

Another good point about 70% zebras, is if you want to match your lighting (for reverses, for examply) you can give your actors equal zebras, and you will be in pretty good shape.

One final word of advice, and this is the dirty little secret. You will get different exposure settings if you look for zebras from iris opening versus iris closing. I strongly urge you to set your zebras by starting from a closed (or close to it) setting. For example, with your camera pointing at your subject, be certain to close your iris (or close to it) before looking for the zebra. Now, begin opening the iris slowly, until you see the zebras on the highlight area. Let me put this another way: set your iris at F11 (or close to it) and begin opening your iris toward f/1.8, stopping when you see the zebras.

Good shooting!

Wayne

Hah, Wayne. I don't really know you, but I have seen bits of your work and therefore send folks your way for good looking advice. And isn't that how the best of us wished to be judged?...
And "shazaam"! Advice we can all benefit from! Thank you!

I don't know if what I have to say will be useful and not redundant to you, Lasse, so I'll just offer up as elaboration on some of what Wayne said.

Regarding potential image and blow out problems,
take into consideration, in advance if at all possible,

location,
time of day,
weather,
shot angle and choreography,
and, of course,
composition.


Shawn

Thanks again.
Can someone of you do a test for me, please?
Point your PD150 (if it is a Pal than it's perfect) to a bright lighted subject. A tree maybe. Some of the leaves are almost white in sunshine. Turn your Iris down to get an acceptable picture. Can you notice that the bright part of the picture (some of the leaves)is almost the same and only the dark part of the scene is geting darker?

Do this test only if you have time. It isn't so important.

By the way, Lasse, I shoot with the PD170.

Wayne,
Since you mentioned earlier you were testing remote controllers, I hope you can answer this one. I have the Manfrotto 522C that I use with my Canon GL2s. We're going to be using a PD170 (on order) and was hoping the 522C would work with the Sony. I sure hope it does since it was expensive. Any thoughts?
Bob

Hi Bob,
As you probably have guessed, the "C" in 522C stands for Canon. The Sony version is simply labled 522. However, I would bet that you will be able to control your Sony camera with the 522C. You may not have some of the more arcane commands available (do you really need the "backlight" function?), but I am betting you will have zoom, record, power, and maybe limited focus.

I was not aware that Bogen was manufacturing different models for different cameras, so I am very interested in what you discover when you receive your Sony camera. Please let us know what you find out.

BTW, here is a list of the commands available on the two different Bogen models .

Sony
* On and Off
* Start and Stop recording
* Zoom in and out
* Manual and Auto Focus
* Focus +/-
* Photo Mode
* Back Light
* Fade in or out

Canon
* On and Off
* Start and Stop recording
* Zoom in and out
* Manual and Auto Focus
* Focus +/-
* On-Screen Info On/Off
* Rec Search +
* Rec Search -

HTH
Wayne