I typically shoot with the gain setting set to 0. I have a shoot coming up where the talent will be wearing all black, The color black seems a bit noisey with the xha1. Is there anything that I need to concern myself with if I use the -3 gain setting? It will be a controlled enviroment with tungsten lighting.

At least 90% of the time, I shoot with the gain on my XH-A1 set to -3. The only time I use any higher setting is if there is absolutely no other way for me to brighten the footage enough. I'll open the iris, I'll lower the shutter speed, I'll add lights, I'll go wide and move the camera closer, I'll do just about anything to avoid adding gain on my A1.

That being said, at 0 gain or up to about +6, footage is usually acceptable. But sometimes at those settings there is grain in dark areas. So I prefer to shoot at -3 virtually all the time.

Thanks for the input Roger. I plan on using the -3 setting for todays shoot.

-3 dB for least noise in blacks.
An I believe 0 dB for widest overall dynamic range.

Hi,

All my movies are with -3db and give realy good quality for black.

Follow links:
Leopard kill at night (Canon XH A1) on Vimeo
Leopard & Hyena on Vimeo

Wil