Best settings on HD200 for sports? at DVinfo.net

Lee Mullen · January 14th, 2011, 11:48 PM

I need to know what are the best settings for outdoor sports if anyone would kindly share their settings please?

Thanks

Adam Letch · January 17th, 2011, 02:11 AM

would stay from 50p to tape as it has terrible macroblocking. Dial in TC3 from the sticky on the JVC Thread for your colour matrix, but I'd dial back the reds by at least 1. shoot 720 25p and use your normal shutter rules, if it's real high action you may want to use a higher shutter of around 1/120 or 1/200, but your motion will seem more sticatto, if you use the 1/50 shutter as long as you track well the background will have a nicer motion effect.
Just practise and get the desired look. Make sure you got a ND or polariser filter in conjuction to the internal ND filters as well.

Lee Mullen · January 17th, 2011, 04:01 AM

Thanks Adam, I will be shooting rugby league. I have used a nice polariser filter which worked on an FX1.

Rob Stowell · January 17th, 2011, 09:32 PM

Annnd... if you don't need it to be HD (and if it's essentially 'coverage' as opposed to promo type shots) I'd stick with standard def 50i. It will look more like sport-on-tv. :)
If you haven't done a lot of that: for single camera coverage, you need a decent camera position, ideally raised a fair way, and dead on half-way. At a pinch, the top of a van, a few metres back from the sideline, will do, but ideally a good deal higher. Set yourself up early, and make sure you can, with relative comfort, pan and zoom to anywhere on the field. League can be fairly static and predictable, but they still sometimes run the length of the park in one burst- or unexpectedly kick after the second tackle.
If you have done a lot of rugby/league etc you'll be well aware of all this :)

Lee Mullen · January 17th, 2011, 10:07 PM

Thanks. Yes I am knowledgeable with RL having been a supporter for over 20 years. It's a far more easier game to shoot than AFL one. I did a night game for one of our local aussie rules clubs and struggled to know the flow of that game and what a strange game it is lol. Cheers

Wayne Faulkner · February 14th, 2011, 06:17 PM

I've only recorded Rugby League Conference for one Summer about three years ago, and the problem was there was no central position at the venues I was attending, so I concentrated on catching a few good runs nearest the camera position rather than capturing the entire game. I was using an old DV camera at the time, and the season is relatively short in the UK, April to August, and as I was covering Rugby Union between late July and early May, there was only a few weeks I could commit to the game.

Since then I've concentrated on Rugby Union, and have been recording in HDV for about two years, generally, without an elevated position at a central point, the only place to film from is behind the dead ball line to get anything worthwhile. This latter position does give good material from Lineouts, and overall player positioning, it isn't the best, but at least you're less likely to lose the action behind other players in your field of view if an elevated central position is unavailable.

Worcester Warriors actually provided good advice on the use of video within the amateur game in a document about five years ago, including camera positioning to aid coaches.

You can forget digital zoom, at least on the cameras I use it's just not worth it, so the minimum useful will be a camera with 10x optical magnification, but certainly shooting footage near the try line the opposite end of the pitch at full magnification can be challenging without using a fixed mount.

You're using a different camera than I am, so you'd be the best to judge on the colour balance through experimentation, I've only ever used a UV Filter myself.

No matter what camera you're using, the better your tripod or monopole, and especially video head, plus a LANC control on a fixed position, the better the overall results when covering fast moving sport. Friction adjusted video heads are a nightmare for framing the moving action without camera shake and/or vibration.

I use Manfrotto gas fluid equipment to support my cameras, its expensive, and my cameras are cheap second-hand (HDR-HC3E & HDR-HC9E), but one day I might be able to upgrade to better.

The professionals in here will no doubt have better advice.

January 14th, 2011, 11:48 PM	#1
Lee Mullen Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Western Australia Posts: 576	Best settings on HD200 for sports? I need to know what are the best settings for outdoor sports if anyone would kindly share their settings please? Thanks

January 17th, 2011, 02:11 AM	#2
Adam Letch Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 414	I would stay from 50p to tape as it has terrible macroblocking. Dial in TC3 from the sticky on the JVC Thread for your colour matrix, but I'd dial back the reds by at least 1. shoot 720 25p and use your normal shutter rules, if it's real high action you may want to use a higher shutter of around 1/120 or 1/200, but your motion will seem more sticatto, if you use the 1/50 shutter as long as you track well the background will have a nicer motion effect. Just practise and get the desired look. Make sure you got a ND or polariser filter in conjuction to the internal ND filters as well.

January 17th, 2011, 04:01 AM	#3
Lee Mullen Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Western Australia Posts: 576	Thanks Adam, I will be shooting rugby league. I have used a nice polariser filter which worked on an FX1.

January 17th, 2011, 09:32 PM	#4
Rob Stowell Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 55	Annnd... if you don't need it to be HD (and if it's essentially 'coverage' as opposed to promo type shots) I'd stick with standard def 50i. It will look more like sport-on-tv. :) If you haven't done a lot of that: for single camera coverage, you need a decent camera position, ideally raised a fair way, and dead on half-way. At a pinch, the top of a van, a few metres back from the sideline, will do, but ideally a good deal higher. Set yourself up early, and make sure you can, with relative comfort, pan and zoom to anywhere on the field. League can be fairly static and predictable, but they still sometimes run the length of the park in one burst- or unexpectedly kick after the second tackle. If you have done a lot of rugby/league etc you'll be well aware of all this :)

January 17th, 2011, 10:07 PM	#5
Lee Mullen Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Western Australia Posts: 576	Thanks. Yes I am knowledgeable with RL having been a supporter for over 20 years. It's a far more easier game to shoot than AFL one. I did a night game for one of our local aussie rules clubs and struggled to know the flow of that game and what a strange game it is lol. Cheers

February 14th, 2011, 06:17 PM	#6
Wayne Faulkner Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Shrewsbury England Posts: 69	I've only recorded Rugby League Conference for one Summer about three years ago, and the problem was there was no central position at the venues I was attending, so I concentrated on catching a few good runs nearest the camera position rather than capturing the entire game. I was using an old DV camera at the time, and the season is relatively short in the UK, April to August, and as I was covering Rugby Union between late July and early May, there was only a few weeks I could commit to the game. Since then I've concentrated on Rugby Union, and have been recording in HDV for about two years, generally, without an elevated position at a central point, the only place to film from is behind the dead ball line to get anything worthwhile. This latter position does give good material from Lineouts, and overall player positioning, it isn't the best, but at least you're less likely to lose the action behind other players in your field of view if an elevated central position is unavailable. Worcester Warriors actually provided good advice on the use of video within the amateur game in a document about five years ago, including camera positioning to aid coaches. You can forget digital zoom, at least on the cameras I use it's just not worth it, so the minimum useful will be a camera with 10x optical magnification, but certainly shooting footage near the try line the opposite end of the pitch at full magnification can be challenging without using a fixed mount. You're using a different camera than I am, so you'd be the best to judge on the colour balance through experimentation, I've only ever used a UV Filter myself. No matter what camera you're using, the better your tripod or monopole, and especially video head, plus a LANC control on a fixed position, the better the overall results when covering fast moving sport. Friction adjusted video heads are a nightmare for framing the moving action without camera shake and/or vibration. I use Manfrotto gas fluid equipment to support my cameras, its expensive, and my cameras are cheap second-hand (HDR-HC3E & HDR-HC9E), but one day I might be able to upgrade to better. The professionals in here will no doubt have better advice.