Every year I shoot video for a local haunted attraction in NH. Every year I'm confrunted with the same problem. Lighting! There is simply not much lighting. The lighting that I do have to work with is typically colored lights projected onto props. I have to shoot outside in the dark.

I have tried to use "on-camera" lighting in the past. However, it really takes away from the colored lighting. Also - when I crank up the gain... I get grain. I went out to the site tonight to try a few experimental pre-sets. The site was only lit by a few white lights here and there (it's still under construciton). The light was actually a little worse than normal.

I made three pre-sets.

LowLT1.bbp = Least grain (at +6 dB)

LowLT2.bbp = Slightly more grain - more overal detail in the shadows (at +6 dB)

LowLT3.bbp = A lot more grain - a lot more overal detail in the shadows (at +6 dB

I've attached three screen grabs for each setting. My goal is to have three presets that will give me options depending on the amount of light avaiable. Option-1 (best lighting conditions), Option-3 (worst lighting conditions), Option-2 (somewhere in between 1 & 3. Here are my current settings. Any help would be appreciated!


[Presets]
Preset Name = LowLT1
Gamma = 1
Knee = 1
Black = 2
NR = 3
VDetail = 1
Color Matrix = 1
Color Gain = 4
Color Phase = 6
Red = 2
Green = 3
Blue = 3
SetupLevel = 4
Sharpness = 4
Coring = 5
MasterPed = 1
Description = Low Light - Least Grain (Set Gain +6) By Tim Bickford


[Presets]
Preset Name = LowLT2
Gamma = 0
Knee = 1
Black = 0
NR = 3
VDetail = 1
Color Matrix = 1
Color Gain = 5
Color Phase = 5
Red = 5
Green = 4
Blue = 3
SetupLevel = 5
Sharpness = 2
Coring = 6
MasterPed = 4
Description = Low Light - Med Grain (Set Gain +6) By: Tim Bickford


[Presets]
Preset Name = LowLT3
Gamma = 0
Knee = 0
Black = 0
NR = 3
VDetail = 1
Color Matrix = 1
Color Gain = 5
Color Phase = 5
Red = 6
Green = 4
Blue = 4
SetupLevel = 5
Sharpness = -5
Coring = 6
MasterPed = 6
Description = Low Light - High Grain (Set Gain +6) - By Tim Bickford


Thanks........

I must admit. I really can't tell the difference between these screen grabs. There is a big difference when viewed on an NTSC.

I viewed them as a little slide show in the order you posted them. At first, I thought there was no difference between #1 and #2, but after clicking back and forth several times, I could see and improvement in #2. There is a good jump between the first two and the third.

The amusing thing is, that when I clicked all three quickly in order, I could watch the moon rising.

Jack-

Thanks for taking the time to look over the stills.

Yeah... I did notice that the moon was moving. It's funny. There was only 3 to 4 minutes total between all three shots. Fast moving moon.


I have a hard time telling the difference between the stills. It's easier to tell the difference on my NTSC video monitor.

Thanks again!

An off the wall suggestion, but have you tried using a really slow shutter speed? If the camera is on a tripod and nothing else is moving, you might be able to increase the brightness of the image this way?

Paul-

I agree. Good idea! When I shoot the props I can use a slower shutter speed. However, shooting action is another ball game. Worst case... I'll take the blur of slow shutter vs. black video.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Hi Tim,

Please let us know your basic settings:

1. f-stop? (hopefully 1.8)

2. Frames/second?

3. Shutter speed? Have you tried 1/30th?

BTW, have you tried cranking down the SETUP LEVEL and MASTER PEDESTAL all the way? And how about setting BLACK = PRESS ?

Also see: http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=49870

Regards, Michael

Michael-

Good point.

F-Stop 1.8

Fames Per Second = 24P (advanced)

Shutter 1/48th

I have a low light preset (Ash Greyson) that presses the blacks. I'm going to load that preset and give it a try.

Thanks.....

Rehi Tim,

Cool - sounds like you're off and running. After the event, let us know if anything helped. And if you're interested in a somewhat more affordable ($400) LED light, consider the Varizoom VZ-S2010C unit:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000MSZQ5E/wwwpricincomw-20

It's equivalent to 40 watts, so it certainly helps when the subject is under 20 feet and you don't want to play "bambie in the headlights". For us XL-2 types, the nice thing about this unit is that it runs on our XL-2 batteries.

Happy Trails, Michael