with the Xh-A1, I'd rather gain up to +6db than go down to 1/30 shutter (if I'm shooting in 60i). My personal preference.

Hi Hubert,

I found that PFVision doesn't really differ much from the brightness of the stock A1 image yet retains the color when in low light, which is what I struggled with most before in post...trying to push colors out of a very low light image.

I also tried wolfgangs stuff before developing Pfvision and it caused too much ghosting and the image looked a bit "hazy".

Hi Randy,

That's exact my experience. With "most presets darken the image a little." i didn't mean the PFVision preset, but most of the others. I've used wolfgang's presets quite a bit and the ghosting is really nasty. It must be the noise reduction. Your preset is quite a lot brighter, i think it is comparable on +6db with wolfgang's on +12db.
Another thing, PFVision in daylight is good for some nice saturated colors, didn't look bad too my eyes.

Thanks for the replies.

Randy (and others)- what do you suggest i have the camera on? Auto with 3-6 db or Manual? If manual, what settings for the shutter and iris?

Thanks for your help.
- Don

Cheers Hubert. I shot a wedding with PFvision and it had some great colors, REALLY popped. Must be careful not to overexpose though as it looks bad when you do and its hard to salvage in post. Most would prefer to dial down the colors for a bit more room for mistake on exposure.

Don - I always shoot in M with my A1 (when I had it). If you're shooting in 60i in lowlight, I'd throw it in Manual, turn OFF AGC, keep the shutter at 1/60 and first try seeing if you have enough light without gaining up. If not, gain up to +3 then to +6. I would try to not go above that. At that point, I'd brighten it up in post. +12db is highly unusable for my personal taste.

You would keep the shutter constant at 1/60 and use the Iris to adjust exposure in most cases. Spend some time getting familiar with manual mode, as you play with the settings and watch your exposure, you'll never go back to auto again (unless of course it's an emergency).

I would also like to add that I use 1/30 shutter in almost every reception and some dimly lit ceremonies. But, I'm no "expert" or whatever, so I value content over anything else. I try to maintain the perspective of the client, and to my eyes 1/30 shutter on 60i footage looks fine. There is a slight stutter on the LCD but not in the finished footage. It makes a huge difference in the long run...
Bill