Bad video quality on 60d

[Matija Petrovic]

So I recently bought Canon 60D and today for the first time I was shooting outside. It was sunny day. When I come back home and watch videos on my computer I was shocked. Very bad video quality and I don't know what is problem.

So here are mine settings:
Kit lens 18 - 135
Video system NTSC
Movie rec. size 1280x720 (60 fps)
Movie exposure Manual
Picture Style - User Def. 1 (Sharpness 0, Contrast 0, Saturation 2, Color tone 4 - default)
White balance Auto and when I see something is wrong with quality I put on manual and shot white paper but the quality stays the same)
ISO 160
Shutter speed 60

here is video
auto glide - YouTube

can someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong

thanks in advance

[Jeffrey Fuchs]

Matija,

You are way overexposed! Close down your aperture to like 9 or higher. Used the exposure meter, set your aperture and shutter (set higher) so the meter is in the center. To show your exposure meter puch the button on the upper right. Also make sure your ISO is at 100.

Using the DSLR you are always changing 3 things, ISO, Aperture and the Shutter speed.

I hope this helps!

[Matija Petrovic]

thanks for quick answer, I figure out that exposure was on 5.6 and that was way to low, but now I have one question, somewhere I read that it's not the best to put exposure higher then 16, if the picture is not good with exposure on 16 you must increase shutter speed. So is that true?

[David Chilson]

A good way to get aquainted with a camera is to put it in "auto exposure" and see what the camera selects for ISO, shutter speed and aperture with a certain scene and lens combination. I would wager that auto exposure would have given you a much better image than your video.

Using those camera selected exposure settings as a baseline in manual mode makes it much easier to keep track of what happens when you change the parameters. This is also a great way to actually learn what effect these changes have on your camera and lens combination and the available light of your scene.

Good luck and have fun.

[Oren Arieli]

Besides the overexposure, it appears you weren't properly white balanced. I would also recommend a polarizing filter or neutral density filter, as you probably don't want to be stopped down to f22 to get a good exposure in bright light.
I've gotten great results with the same camera, so unless you've got a busted unit, you should be able to work out any image issues (short of rolling shutter, judder, moire, and compression artifacts).

[Justin Molush]

Iso160, with 1/60th of a shutter is WAY hot for middle of the day even with that lens probably being at f/3.5 on the wide end... without NDs or a polarizer I usually end up at f/8 or higher with a 1/125th shutter (@60p) to get exposure! Obviously this is middle of the day, no clouds.

Stop the aperture (iris) down... turn the shutter to 180*ish and use the screen on the back to give you an idea of what you shooting. Its not a great monitoring solution, but its not something to ignore. No worries though, DSLRs are a little finnicky and different compared to other video cams...

[Matija Petrovic]

thanks guys for answers, this is my first touch with dslr's video, all this years I just worked with video cameras so I'm little confused now

[Justin Molush]

When shooting in the daytime, it is a good idea to get some ND filters to keep the iris/aperture in check. Unlike normal video cameras, DSLRs dont have an ND wheel, so one needs to buy screw in filters for the lens.

Whenever I shoot outside, at a minimum I use a polarizer (which in effect acts as a ~1 stop ND) as a first step and add accordingly. Add a 2 or 3 stop on top of that and your back in the f/4 range in the daytime range depending on lighting conditions. I make it a habit to not stop a lens down past f/8 because depending on the lens, it might soften up significantly past that. Each lens is different, this is just my rule of thumb.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Yes, having a polarizer and ND0.9 (three stops) in the bag is a good way to go.

[Matija Petrovic]

I will definitely buy polarizer

[Noa Put]

or just buy one nd fader filter which will give you a very gradual nd2 to nd400, I use such a filter to lock my iris to (f.i.) f2.0 and then use the filter to adjust the incoming light, works perfect for real-time exposure adjustments during recording and to keep a constant dof.

[Matija Petrovic]

yep, I already bought this one 67mm Vari-ND Fader ND2 to ND400 filter 4 Camera lens US | eBay

[Justin Molush]

Just as a side note - it would be a good idea to buy a 77mm ND and use step up rings from smaller lenses, so when you start buying L glass (short of the 16-35 and brand new 24-70mm) you can just use it natively.

That ND looks sketchy - there is a reason why good fader NDs are $200+

[Jon Fairhurst]

I bought 77mm filters and a step up. I'm now reconsidering...

I upgraded my lenses from the standard EF line to L lenses with 67, 72, and 82mm threads. These lenses have hoods. I can't use my 77mm filters and a hood on any of them at the same time.

It looks like I'll be buying dedicated NDs and polarizers for each...

[James Donnelly]

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

I bought 77mm filters and a step up. I'm now reconsidering...

I upgraded my lenses from the standard EF line to L lenses with 67, 72, and 82mm threads. These lenses have hoods. I can't use my 77mm filters and a hood on any of them at the same time.

It looks like I'll be buying dedicated NDs and polarizers for each...

I have step ups and 77mm filters too. Have you though about Cokin P style filter holders? I'm sure you have. They work well for me. The hood part is extendable by clipping on further square 'rings' if that makes sense.