DV852 (mx8) setup for lowlight performance at DVinfo.net

Bryan Roberts · July 9th, 2003, 11:17 AM

Don't mean to be a post whore but I was curious if those who have owned or used this great cam could tell me the best way to shoot a very low light outdoors night scene that's taking place outside of a storage space that has two extremely high up lights(what are some settings for shutter speed, fstops etc.). The actors aren't supposed to be overexposed and the look is of mystery and suspense. Also, should I white balance with a white object in the lightest part of the location where the actors will be walking or in a darker area? I will be have access to an ARI spot light and a fill light but placing them may be very difficult since the space is not condusive to light placement. I ran a search and came up with settings for the canon GL's and the XL's but nothing very applicable in the dv852 series. Also, I read some of the most current posts on here but only came up more confused about what to look for and how to setup a nice looking dim set. Again, thanks to all!

Bryan Roberts · July 9th, 2003, 12:45 PM

Here are some frame captures I did with some low light situations around the APT.

First is a shot of the storage room bathroom with only a single desk lamp used for illumination at op+12 and 1/60 shutter speed with slight side natural light coming from a covered window.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~berobert/Grainy.bmp

This next is shot in the bedroom of the GF with using the same setting as above, 1/60 shutter and op+12 (I shouldn't use more than +12 setting because it makes the image too grainy doesn't it?) There are only the candles lit.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~berobert/Candle Test 1.bmp

The final image is of the bedroom but with the "candle low light mode" turned on with AWB in full effect. I couldn't get the manual white balance mode to set itself in this low light setting....

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~berobert/Candle Test 2.bmp

So, I will have more light than this setting but is this a pretty good extreme low light setting in general? 1/60 shutter speed op+12? What is a good way to judge how the lighting will turn out etc? There will obviously be shot reverse shots from different lighting situations (a person behind a crate or something spying on thugs in a car) so if I have one shot more grainy than the reverse shot, this will end up looking unprofessional and silly won't it? Thanks again.....

Yow Cheong Hoe · July 9th, 2003, 09:27 PM

Sadly, you won't get much out of the internet for settings of the 852 because it is not a pro cam, and the pros will not be discussing about this camera.

As for the white balance, it is subjective. I often balance to slightly blue coloured paper to achieve a warmer (yellowish) shot. But you should try to put your balancing target at the brighter areas, to get the most of the available light.

Laurence Spiegel · June 21st, 2005, 11:39 PM

Questions about low-light program mode vs iris (gain) vs automatic setting.

I tried to view the test bmps, looks like they're not available now (not suprising 2yrs after they were posted).
What does the low light program actually do? The manual only says that it "preserves the mood of dim light settings". I ususally want to see the image clearly more than preserve its ambiance. If I understand correctly you can add 'dimness' with an editor, but you can't fix an image that lost details due to being underexposed when recorded.
Will setting iris to a + value (say, +6) overexpose at all times or just bring up brightness in dim conditions?

Set in auto mode with no adjustments the 852 did better than I expected - great cam. I suspect there's more with a better understanding of the settings.

July 9th, 2003, 11:17 AM	#1
Bryan Roberts Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 436	DV852 (mx8) setup for lowlight performance Don't mean to be a post whore but I was curious if those who have owned or used this great cam could tell me the best way to shoot a very low light outdoors night scene that's taking place outside of a storage space that has two extremely high up lights(what are some settings for shutter speed, fstops etc.). The actors aren't supposed to be overexposed and the look is of mystery and suspense. Also, should I white balance with a white object in the lightest part of the location where the actors will be walking or in a darker area? I will be have access to an ARI spot light and a fill light but placing them may be very difficult since the space is not condusive to light placement. I ran a search and came up with settings for the canon GL's and the XL's but nothing very applicable in the dv852 series. Also, I read some of the most current posts on here but only came up more confused about what to look for and how to setup a nice looking dim set. Again, thanks to all!

July 9th, 2003, 09:27 PM	#3
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	Sadly, you won't get much out of the internet for settings of the 852 because it is not a pro cam, and the pros will not be discussing about this camera. As for the white balance, it is subjective. I often balance to slightly blue coloured paper to achieve a warmer (yellowish) shot. But you should try to put your balancing target at the brighter areas, to get the most of the available light. __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

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July 9th, 2003, 12:45 PM	#2
Bryan Roberts Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 436	Here are some frame captures I did with some low light situations around the APT. First is a shot of the storage room bathroom with only a single desk lamp used for illumination at op+12 and 1/60 shutter speed with slight side natural light coming from a covered window. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~berobert/Grainy.bmp This next is shot in the bedroom of the GF with using the same setting as above, 1/60 shutter and op+12 (I shouldn't use more than +12 setting because it makes the image too grainy doesn't it?) There are only the candles lit. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~berobert/Candle Test 1.bmp The final image is of the bedroom but with the "candle low light mode" turned on with AWB in full effect. I couldn't get the manual white balance mode to set itself in this low light setting.... http://www4.ncsu.edu/~berobert/Candle Test 2.bmp So, I will have more light than this setting but is this a pretty good extreme low light setting in general? 1/60 shutter speed op+12? What is a good way to judge how the lighting will turn out etc? There will obviously be shot reverse shots from different lighting situations (a person behind a crate or something spying on thugs in a car) so if I have one shot more grainy than the reverse shot, this will end up looking unprofessional and silly won't it? Thanks again.....

June 21st, 2005, 11:39 PM	#4
Laurence Spiegel Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Brookline MA Posts: 57	Questions about low-light program mode vs iris (gain) vs automatic setting. I tried to view the test bmps, looks like they're not available now (not suprising 2yrs after they were posted). What does the low light program actually do? The manual only says that it "preserves the mood of dim light settings". I ususally want to see the image clearly more than preserve its ambiance. If I understand correctly you can add 'dimness' with an editor, but you can't fix an image that lost details due to being underexposed when recorded. Will setting iris to a + value (say, +6) overexpose at all times or just bring up brightness in dim conditions? Set in auto mode with no adjustments the 852 did better than I expected - great cam. I suspect there's more with a better understanding of the settings.