Well I have used the A1 in two completely different settings. Setting 1 was a marhcing band competition in bright daylight. Setting 2 was a choir concert in a poorly lit auditorium. Having only worked with a panasonic dvc30 prior to this, I have a couple of questions. I used the VIVDRGB setting (minus a little red) for both events.

Question 1
On the panasonic there is an iris ring that also controls the gain. For instance, I can go from F9.6 to 9db all in one smooth motion. I have a dance recital to film on Thursday. Normally these recitals involve extreme lighting changes from one dance tothe next and within each dance as well. Is there a smooth way to make these changes once I have the iris wide open?

Question 2
Tonight I shot at 30F, 6bd of gain with the iris wide open and at times there were still dark spots on the stage. If I needed to film a darker venue (i.e. dance recital) what is my next step? I know that 24f will increase the amount of light, but the motion will not work with the fast moving dancers.

Question 3
When I filmed outside, I was not sure what steps to take to darken the image. I have read that adding ND filter can affect the image. I have also read (and observed a little bit) that the picture looks best at about 3.7 on the iris. Does this mean that I should crank the shutter speed to 1/250 to keep the optimal picture at 3.7? When should I add the ND filter?

I have tried to read as many threads as possible. Hopefully these questions are not redundant. If so, I could use some direction for answers. I appreciate any suggestions.

Jonathan Schwartz
Owner, CA Video Productions

Add the ND filter if you want to use a larger aperture and the same shutter speed. A 1/250 is good for stop action stills, but may give video a touch of strobed look.

For dark spots on the stage. Try 12 dB gain and experiment with NR settings, coring, etc. to mitigate the increased noise. Better yet, if you are taping this for use by the folks running (or important to) the recitals, try get them to improve the lighting.

Don,

Thanks for your reply. How would AE shift affect the image. The problem with adjusting coring and NR is doing it on the fly. Sometimes I need those adjustments for only a short time to get one child on the stage. Suggestions still welcome!

Jonathan Schwartz

Build your NR, Coring, etc. settings into a custom preset you can select. Do several presets covering the different situations you expect to encounter. (There are more nooks and crannies of capability in the A1 than for butter in Thomas' English Muffins.)

EA shift will increase/decrease exposure (lighten or darken) called for by the camcorder's metering - and it adjusts the exposure only if you are using an auto exposure mode (A, Tv, or Av).