Night Filming W/HV20 at DVinfo.net

Norm Goodger · May 26th, 2007, 10:20 PM

Well, got my HV20 yesterday, shot a few minutes of video to test it out, and learning a little here and there about its operation, its really nice..

However, I tried a night shot using the night mode, and while it captured much more than I expected with just a few house lights and some not so bright street lights, it of course was noisy, and if I panned the camera on the Tripod, there was a lot of blur, due to the shutter speed I suspect night mode uses, not sure what that is at the moment..

So the question is, if you wanted to capture some say average lit streets or the average downtown night scene with the HV20, what settings are recommended?

thanks

Tony Moskal · May 27th, 2007, 11:05 AM

I've found Cinema mode to be very good in low light conditions. There's much less noise, or grain than the other modes. The HV20 seems to either not use, or at least limit, the gain in this mode. I shot downtown at night, and was very pleased with the image.

Rikki Bruce · May 27th, 2007, 04:35 PM

Yup through it into 25p / 24p mode and enjoy :)

Norm Goodger · May 27th, 2007, 07:22 PM

Thanks for that info, 24p mode, and Cine Mode... Give it a shot.

Chad Aaron · May 28th, 2007, 07:01 AM

You could also try shooting in shutter priority more (TV) (non24p) If you have a tripod and a real steady hand you could shoot at 15 fps. Though 30 is much less likely to stutter.

I think night mode is basically shooting at 8fps anyway.

This was shot at 15fps and it was dark out. I think the sun had been down for about an hour, and the sky was not blue at all with the naked eye.
http://blip.tv/file/get/Road82-Weyerhaeuser2207.wmv There is a little stuttering in the smoke.

I was shooting in 24p but was getting stuck in the mud so to speak trying to do the pull down. I like to edit and it was taking me all day trying to create a file i could use! I say shoot in standard high def and add 24p type effects using software. That takes a long time too but i believe it is actually quicker.

Congrats on the new camera!

Norm Goodger · May 28th, 2007, 07:37 AM

Thanks for that feedback Chad...

I did some night street scenes 24P in Cine mode and it looked pretty good.. Your video was also good..

My confusion after reading here for a few weeks now and finally pulling the trigger on the camera is the whole discussion of editing with 24P, which I am sure because of the way Canon elected to do it, will be a source of ongoing discussion.

After my street captures, I did a couple things.. I pulled it into iMovie and the capture looked fine, though I didn't do any significant editing or add any effects yet.. And of course, your limited on how to output it from iMovie as well.

I also have FCP, which I got a deal on, (but use rarely because of complexity) and captured it there then using a method outlined in another thread to use Cinema Tools to reverse Telecine and then edit.. Which also looked OK..

I am assuming that the issues with pulldown come after editing or adding effects? Which may not have the same timing such as iMovie's effects.. I have to work on it some more to see what works how.. I've seen the interlacing issues in Quicktime with some clips too..

I may post a clip here when I get it honed down here if I can get a reasonable size and a place to post it for download..

Chad Aaron · May 28th, 2007, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm Goodger

I am assuming that the issues with pulldown come after editing or adding effects? Which may not have the same timing such as iMovie's effects.. I have to work on it some more to see what works how.. I've seen the interlacing issues in Quicktime with some clips too..

I may post a clip here when I get it honed down here if I can get a reasonable size and a place to post it for download..

True. If you didnt want to edit the clip it should play and have the 24p look after capture.

Not real familiar with the Mac side of things.

I can tell you i spent the first month learning different methods of capturing and rendering etc. There was a bit of a learning curve i had to hike over.

And i had to set 24p mode aside in order to use the camera and edit. V.S. crouching over the keyboard all weekend trying to hash out the video. Im quite happy shooting in Standard High Def however.

Norm Goodger · May 30th, 2007, 01:54 PM

well, I finally got it to work more or less the way I would like. This is 24P, Cine Mode, about 4 minutes, 25mb, give it a look and let me know what you think..

http://idisk.mac.com/normang-Public/...nd_main_st.mp4

Will require QuickTime..

May 26th, 2007, 10:20 PM	#1
Norm Goodger Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Maple Grove, MN. Posts: 30	Night Filming W/HV20 Well, got my HV20 yesterday, shot a few minutes of video to test it out, and learning a little here and there about its operation, its really nice.. However, I tried a night shot using the night mode, and while it captured much more than I expected with just a few house lights and some not so bright street lights, it of course was noisy, and if I panned the camera on the Tripod, there was a lot of blur, due to the shutter speed I suspect night mode uses, not sure what that is at the moment.. So the question is, if you wanted to capture some say average lit streets or the average downtown night scene with the HV20, what settings are recommended? thanks

May 28th, 2007, 07:01 AM	#5
Chad Aaron New Boot Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10	You could also try shooting in shutter priority more (TV) (non24p) If you have a tripod and a real steady hand you could shoot at 15 fps. Though 30 is much less likely to stutter. I think night mode is basically shooting at 8fps anyway. This was shot at 15fps and it was dark out. I think the sun had been down for about an hour, and the sky was not blue at all with the naked eye. http://blip.tv/file/get/Road82-Weyerhaeuser2207.wmv There is a little stuttering in the smoke. I was shooting in 24p but was getting stuck in the mud so to speak trying to do the pull down. I like to edit and it was taking me all day trying to create a file i could use! I say shoot in standard high def and add 24p type effects using software. That takes a long time too but i believe it is actually quicker. Congrats on the new camera! __________________ Road82

May 27th, 2007, 11:05 AM	#2
Tony Moskal New Boot Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 12	I've found Cinema mode to be very good in low light conditions. There's much less noise, or grain than the other modes. The HV20 seems to either not use, or at least limit, the gain in this mode. I shot downtown at night, and was very pleased with the image.

May 27th, 2007, 04:35 PM	#3
Rikki Bruce Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Glasgow. Scotland Posts: 79	Yup through it into 25p / 24p mode and enjoy :)

May 27th, 2007, 07:22 PM	#4
Norm Goodger Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Maple Grove, MN. Posts: 30	Thanks for that info, 24p mode, and Cine Mode... Give it a shot.

May 28th, 2007, 07:37 AM	#6
Norm Goodger Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Maple Grove, MN. Posts: 30	Thanks for that feedback Chad... I did some night street scenes 24P in Cine mode and it looked pretty good.. Your video was also good.. My confusion after reading here for a few weeks now and finally pulling the trigger on the camera is the whole discussion of editing with 24P, which I am sure because of the way Canon elected to do it, will be a source of ongoing discussion. After my street captures, I did a couple things.. I pulled it into iMovie and the capture looked fine, though I didn't do any significant editing or add any effects yet.. And of course, your limited on how to output it from iMovie as well. I also have FCP, which I got a deal on, (but use rarely because of complexity) and captured it there then using a method outlined in another thread to use Cinema Tools to reverse Telecine and then edit.. Which also looked OK.. I am assuming that the issues with pulldown come after editing or adding effects? Which may not have the same timing such as iMovie's effects.. I have to work on it some more to see what works how.. I've seen the interlacing issues in Quicktime with some clips too.. I may post a clip here when I get it honed down here if I can get a reasonable size and a place to post it for download..

May 30th, 2007, 01:54 PM	#8
Norm Goodger Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Maple Grove, MN. Posts: 30	well, I finally got it to work more or less the way I would like. This is 24P, Cine Mode, about 4 minutes, 25mb, give it a look and let me know what you think.. http://idisk.mac.com/normang-Public/...nd_main_st.mp4 Will require QuickTime..