For batteries, don't forget Bescor. I have the 9 hour pack and the Sony car adapter cord. That 12 cord has saved me a few times. Dead batteries on the way to a graduation ceremony, charge it on the way there. Things like that.

http://www.bescor.com/

Sean McHenry

A 9-hour battery battery....thanks. I'll check it out.

sorry for such a late reply - I just joined

if it were me doing a cooking show, I'd probably lean towards using a low con filter as you'll have lots of things with bright reflections, which the pdx10p does not handle as well as other cameras

It can be difficult sometimes to get the right exposure and contrast without blowing out a few highlighted spots so just keep an eye out for things like lights reflecting off silver or chrome pots and white plates etc....

In similar situations, I found underexposing a little as well as keeping the contrast fairly flat during shooting, can help as bringing up the highlights in post will get nice results.

again, sorry if this is too late

Firstly, I would like to welcome you Matt. It's always good to have new posters in this forum.

Showing my ignorance here, but a low con filter.
I am unfamiliar with them. Obviously different from ND filters, and different from the menu settings in PDX10 of sharpness. Is that correct?

Thanks Matt for your post

I have never used a low contrast or ultra contrast filter, but these are what Matt is talking about:

http://www.tiffen.com/contrast_filters.htm

Only caveat: before using a special effect filter like this be sure to observe the effect on a good monitor. The little LCD panel doesn't have enough resolution to show what's going on. Some things may look very cool on that little screen, but afterward when you view on a monitor you may find noticeable grain, blur, etc. which you don't like.

yep those are the ones
tiffen make vey good ones

Boyd has a very good point about the LCD screen - it's very difficult to see the true effects of filters on this so a little experimenting or a calibrated field monitor is necessary.

Filters are tricky to use in 1/4" CCD cameras like the PDX10.

Most contrast filters diminish resolution from object lines and details that already are not too well resolved by the CCD.

You can try a contrast type (like fog or contrast from Tiffen, or even myst types if you can afford it) or first try some tests with different type of silk filters that you can do your self. But whatever the type use them with care, because you may end up with a poor quality image.

What you should learn to manage are pola screens and graduated NDs. The first is easy to get, as is part of a basic Tiffen filter kit. But the grad ND is not so easy as it's not available for the PDX10 lens: you will need an adapter.

In my case I got a 37mm to 52mm adapter and a Tiffen 52mm clear to ND 0.6 filter.

An ND grad may save your life on many outdoor situations, as it will lower the sky usual whiteout, in backlight situations, down to manageable levels. It will let you open your F setting one or two stops.

I have always considered it an essentila filter in videocamera kit.


Carlos

PDX 10 Setup Recommendations
 

Always have a monitor to set exposure and always have a ND2 filter and a polerrizing filter.