Newbie looking for advice after purchase at DVinfo.net

Alan Waugh · May 21st, 2006, 01:41 PM

Hi there,

My Wife and i have recently purchased this Camcorder, and i was wondering if you could offer us some advice please.

When we took it out the box on delivery, it was around 9 PM, so it was quite dark in our house. When I put the Camcorder on, I turned on the record button and started shooting. The thing is I sould hardly make anything out using the LCD screen it was so dark. I went in to the settings and adjusted the screen to as light as it would go, but it was still incredibly dark and extremely hard to make images out.

As we are complete novices with this, or any other Camcorder, we were wondering if this was a common trait, or have we got a faulty piece of equipment. If it is not faulty, is there anything we can do to rectify the problem?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Bo Lorentzen · May 21st, 2006, 02:00 PM

Alan,

Press Menu then change the ISO setting to 200 or 400 iso, this will make the camera more sensitive. Personally I prefer using 200 as it is significantly cleaner than 400.

Hope this helps.

Bo

www.bophoto.com/HDV

Alan Waugh · May 22nd, 2006, 04:30 PM

Thanks Bo.

I have tried it and it looks good in better lit rooms in the house, but all I can see ids the outline of an image in the poorly lit rooms in the house.

What if you are using it a Function such as a wedding reception where the lights are out? or for City scened where there is only streetlights?

Do you have tips?

Thank you in advance.

Bo Lorentzen · May 23rd, 2006, 07:35 AM

Alan,

Sorry for the slow reply, Im in Philadelphia for work right now and have sporadic internet access. ;-)

Two things, you will notice,
first - when you set the camera to 200iso or faster, strangely the screen show darker than it records, until you actually start recording, so to see how sentisive the camera is at this setting you need to record something.

Second... This camera is NOT very sentisive in the first place. its kind of a side effect of how it was made. Though you say that its so dark that you can only see outlines..? generally a video camera will require light. (smile)

As for the wedding reception with the light off.. see above.. a video camera DO require light, notice that the video professional most likely cpaturing the same event is using a powerful ENG light on top of his camera. You could do the same. You can either purchase a official light setup.. or have a friend shine a flashlight, if it zooms set it to wide and tape a piece of white cloth over the front to soften the light.

That said, there is no miracles with video cameras. photography is the art of capturing light... video is doing this for thousands of frames... there is no substitute for light.

Hope this helps.

Bo

www.bophoto.com/HDV

Calin Brabandt · June 10th, 2006, 12:15 PM

Alan,

Personally, I find the results of high ISO settings (noise in the video) to be so objectionable, I rarely use an ISO setting greater than 100. ISO 50 is generably unusable except in sunlight so 100 is what I use 80-90 percent of the time. As I recall from reading the HD-1 manual, the ISO selection is associated with still shots. In video mode, the HD-1 actually doubles what you've set in the menu. Whatever the case, it's just a number and I go by what I see in the resuting video. I've yet to use the ND filter, but it hasn't been very sunny lately. ;)

I use aperature priority mode and set the lens wide open for most videos. If the results are too dark or too blurry from high motion scenes, I find more light! I accept this tradoff as the result of a very small cam with lots of pixels (some would argue too many!) For outdoor shoots, a wide open lens may be too much light, even at the ISO 50 setting. That's probably the only time I stop this cam down. But like I said, it hasn't been very sunny here lately!

I also tend to lock the focus or simply use manual focus mode to reduce or eliminate blurring from focus "hunting."

I set the white balance manually for all indoor shoots.

I think the "soft" image settings is more realistic than the normal setting. Like most HDTVs sold today, there's too much digital enhancment in the normal setting, in my opinion.

The bottom line is this camera has quite a bit of adjustability for a little CE camera, but I don't find most settings useful.

Have fun!

-Cal

Lawrence Mayka · September 27th, 2006, 07:47 PM

On the HD1, the monitor does not "gain up" to show you how the video will look; whereas on the C6 it does.

Hawood Giles · September 27th, 2006, 08:21 PM

Alan,

I use a Canon VL-10 Li video light (rather powerful) when filming indoors at night. I'm not sure what the wattage of this light is, although it's scatters light throughout an entire room. I've had this video light for over 10 years, which at the time I bought for use with one of first Optura camcorders on the market. I now use it hand-held.

The HD1 produces superb video with this light --- even better than other SD camcorders that I own. You'll not be disappointed with the HD1/1a in low light, as long as you use adequate supplemental lighting.

HDG

Per Sjoborg · February 12th, 2007, 01:18 PM

I have bean searching high and low for information about Canon VL-10 Li. Do you know where to find it? canon doesnt seams to have any information on their hompage. Cant find any info more then that is a halogen (? dont know how to spell it) and it will fit in the accessori shoe.

Any ideas where to go for info?

May 21st, 2006, 01:41 PM	#1
Alan Waugh Tourist Join Date: May 2006 Location: Seaside Posts: 2	Newbie looking for advice after purchase Hi there, My Wife and i have recently purchased this Camcorder, and i was wondering if you could offer us some advice please. When we took it out the box on delivery, it was around 9 PM, so it was quite dark in our house. When I put the Camcorder on, I turned on the record button and started shooting. The thing is I sould hardly make anything out using the LCD screen it was so dark. I went in to the settings and adjusted the screen to as light as it would go, but it was still incredibly dark and extremely hard to make images out. As we are complete novices with this, or any other Camcorder, we were wondering if this was a common trait, or have we got a faulty piece of equipment. If it is not faulty, is there anything we can do to rectify the problem? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

September 27th, 2006, 08:21 PM	#7
Hawood Giles Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Coshocton, Ohio USA Posts: 29	Hand-held video light Alan, I use a Canon VL-10 Li video light (rather powerful) when filming indoors at night. I'm not sure what the wattage of this light is, although it's scatters light throughout an entire room. I've had this video light for over 10 years, which at the time I bought for use with one of first Optura camcorders on the market. I now use it hand-held. The HD1 produces superb video with this light --- even better than other SD camcorders that I own. You'll not be disappointed with the HD1/1a in low light, as long as you use adequate supplemental lighting. HDG

February 12th, 2007, 01:18 PM	#8
Per Sjoborg Tourist Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Helsingborg, Sweden Posts: 4	Canon VL-10 Li I have bean searching high and low for information about Canon VL-10 Li. Do you know where to find it? canon doesnt seams to have any information on their hompage. Cant find any info more then that is a halogen (? dont know how to spell it) and it will fit in the accessori shoe. Any ideas where to go for info?

May 21st, 2006, 02:00 PM	#2
Bo Lorentzen Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Los Angeles - California Posts: 114	Alan, Press Menu then change the ISO setting to 200 or 400 iso, this will make the camera more sensitive. Personally I prefer using 200 as it is significantly cleaner than 400. Hope this helps. Bo www.bophoto.com/HDV

May 22nd, 2006, 04:30 PM	#3
Alan Waugh Tourist Join Date: May 2006 Location: Seaside Posts: 2	Thanks Bo. I have tried it and it looks good in better lit rooms in the house, but all I can see ids the outline of an image in the poorly lit rooms in the house. What if you are using it a Function such as a wedding reception where the lights are out? or for City scened where there is only streetlights? Do you have tips? Thank you in advance.

May 23rd, 2006, 07:35 AM	#4
Bo Lorentzen Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Los Angeles - California Posts: 114	Alan, Sorry for the slow reply, Im in Philadelphia for work right now and have sporadic internet access. ;-) Two things, you will notice, first - when you set the camera to 200iso or faster, strangely the screen show darker than it records, until you actually start recording, so to see how sentisive the camera is at this setting you need to record something. Second... This camera is NOT very sentisive in the first place. its kind of a side effect of how it was made. Though you say that its so dark that you can only see outlines..? generally a video camera will require light. (smile) As for the wedding reception with the light off.. see above.. a video camera DO require light, notice that the video professional most likely cpaturing the same event is using a powerful ENG light on top of his camera. You could do the same. You can either purchase a official light setup.. or have a friend shine a flashlight, if it zooms set it to wide and tape a piece of white cloth over the front to soften the light. That said, there is no miracles with video cameras. photography is the art of capturing light... video is doing this for thousands of frames... there is no substitute for light. Hope this helps. Bo www.bophoto.com/HDV

June 10th, 2006, 12:15 PM	#5
Calin Brabandt Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 42	Alan, Personally, I find the results of high ISO settings (noise in the video) to be so objectionable, I rarely use an ISO setting greater than 100. ISO 50 is generably unusable except in sunlight so 100 is what I use 80-90 percent of the time. As I recall from reading the HD-1 manual, the ISO selection is associated with still shots. In video mode, the HD-1 actually doubles what you've set in the menu. Whatever the case, it's just a number and I go by what I see in the resuting video. I've yet to use the ND filter, but it hasn't been very sunny lately. ;) I use aperature priority mode and set the lens wide open for most videos. If the results are too dark or too blurry from high motion scenes, I find more light! I accept this tradoff as the result of a very small cam with lots of pixels (some would argue too many!) For outdoor shoots, a wide open lens may be too much light, even at the ISO 50 setting. That's probably the only time I stop this cam down. But like I said, it hasn't been very sunny here lately! I also tend to lock the focus or simply use manual focus mode to reduce or eliminate blurring from focus "hunting." I set the white balance manually for all indoor shoots. I think the "soft" image settings is more realistic than the normal setting. Like most HDTVs sold today, there's too much digital enhancment in the normal setting, in my opinion. The bottom line is this camera has quite a bit of adjustability for a little CE camera, but I don't find most settings useful. Have fun! -Cal

September 27th, 2006, 07:47 PM	#6
Lawrence Mayka New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Aurora, IL, USA Posts: 16	On the HD1, the monitor does not "gain up" to show you how the video will look; whereas on the C6 it does.