vx2000 exposure problem at DVinfo.net

Nancy Akin · July 3rd, 2006, 12:26 PM

I've had 2 vx2000 cams for two years. I can have both of them pointing at the same thing, same iris settings, same light, same everything. One of them, however, is a little darkish. Not real dark like the ND filter has been left on, but just darker than the other. I can brighten it up in post, but it's a real pain to always have to match the two.

The exposure has always matched perfectly until about a month ago. Now that one is just darkish. Does anyone have any idea what happened, or what I need to do to fix it?

Thanks...

Nancy

Boyd Ostroff · July 3rd, 2006, 12:37 PM

Hi Nancy, and welcome to DVinfo!

One other thing to double check: is the zoom setting the same on both cameras? This could be a factor if you're shooting with the iris wide open in manual mode (displaying OPEN in the viewfinder). At full wide zoom "OPEN" means f1.6 but at full telephoto it means f2.8; everything else is somewhere in between. So even though both cameras say OPEN they might have different f-stops. Probably not what's going on, since you say it just happened recently, but thought I'd toss it out just in case...

If you can't figure out the problem then one thing which might help would be to turn on the zebra patterns on both cameras and adjust one camera until it matches the other one.

Don Bloom · July 3rd, 2006, 01:13 PM

You might also want to look into the Custom Presets menu and adjust slightly to better match the 2. My 2 150 had a similar difference and the 250 also has a bit of a difference-just enough to make it a PITA in post but with a little play it can be made to a perfect match.

Don

Nancy Akin · July 3rd, 2006, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

Hi Nancy, and welcome to DVinfo!

If you can't figure out the problem then one thing which might help would be to turn on the zebra patterns on both cameras and adjust one camera until it matches the other one.

I'm glad you mentioned that, because I forgot to put it in my original post. I did adjust the zebra patterns until they were the same, but still the shot looked darker than the other cam. Highlights had the same zebra pattern, but the shot itself (everything else) looked darkish.

Nancy

Nancy Akin · July 3rd, 2006, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

You might also want to look into the Custom Presets menu and adjust slightly to better match the 2. My 2 150 had a similar difference and the 250 also has a bit of a difference-just enough to make it a PITA in post but with a little play it can be made to a perfect match.

Don

I have the custom presets the same. ANd, like I said, it's worked fine (same picture quality) until recently. I'll try to play around with the presets again to try to get it closer, but I think since it has just happened recently, the preset thing would be a work-around. I'd like to find the solution.

Of course, a work-around might be just fine, as I'm probably going to go with HD next year anyway!

thanks...

Nancy

Boyd Ostroff · July 3rd, 2006, 02:36 PM

Another work-around might be getting a screw-in ND filter of the correct variety and leaving it on whichever camera is consistently brighter.

Tom Hardwick · July 4th, 2006, 08:14 AM

Oh-oh Boyd. I'd not recomment the extra ND route, not with the custom preset menu so easily able to match the two cameras.

July 3rd, 2006, 12:26 PM	#1
Nancy Akin New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Watkinsville, GA Posts: 15	vx2000 exposure problem I've had 2 vx2000 cams for two years. I can have both of them pointing at the same thing, same iris settings, same light, same everything. One of them, however, is a little darkish. Not real dark like the ND filter has been left on, but just darker than the other. I can brighten it up in post, but it's a real pain to always have to match the two. The exposure has always matched perfectly until about a month ago. Now that one is just darkish. Does anyone have any idea what happened, or what I need to do to fix it? Thanks... Nancy

July 3rd, 2006, 12:37 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,798	Hi Nancy, and welcome to DVinfo! One other thing to double check: is the zoom setting the same on both cameras? This could be a factor if you're shooting with the iris wide open in manual mode (displaying OPEN in the viewfinder). At full wide zoom "OPEN" means f1.6 but at full telephoto it means f2.8; everything else is somewhere in between. So even though both cameras say OPEN they might have different f-stops. Probably not what's going on, since you say it just happened recently, but thought I'd toss it out just in case... If you can't figure out the problem then one thing which might help would be to turn on the zebra patterns on both cameras and adjust one camera until it matches the other one.

July 3rd, 2006, 01:13 PM	#3
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	You might also want to look into the Custom Presets menu and adjust slightly to better match the 2. My 2 150 had a similar difference and the 250 also has a bit of a difference-just enough to make it a PITA in post but with a little play it can be made to a perfect match. Don

July 3rd, 2006, 02:36 PM	#6
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,798	Another work-around might be getting a screw-in ND filter of the correct variety and leaving it on whichever camera is consistently brighter.

July 4th, 2006, 08:14 AM	#7
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Oh-oh Boyd. I'd not recomment the extra ND route, not with the custom preset menu so easily able to match the two cameras.