Wondering what you're all doing when 6 stops of ND isn't enough to keep proper exposure with aperature wide open (say f2.8 or f4.0 depending on the lens) and ISO set at 850.

Thanks!
Dave

Change iso to 320?

Yup I've tried that, despite hearing the C100 is optimized for use at 850 ISO. But even at 350 ISO with 6-stop ND I can still get overexposed images (I think Guatemala is at a similar latitude to Hawaii - ie. bright, tropical sun).

I've dug out my VariND when doing 'accumulation' or 'slow' shutter work (1/3rd second shutter) in noon-day Floridian sunlight. Even my EX1 was a bit sweaty in those conditions.

I would attach an external ND filter on the lens.

I would attach an external ND filter on the lens.

That's what I thought. Just wondering if anyone had any other ideas - hate to go back to screw-on ND filters ...

Not tried this yet on my C100 (very bright sunshine is rarely a problem in the UK!) and I'm not sure this is the right way to go....but what about trying Exposure Compensation (AE Shift) - see page 60 in the Manual.

Let us know if this works!

Because I shoot 30P with the C100 I also crank up the shutter when I have ND-6 and Aperture at 1.8 outside. Highest shutter was in the 200's don't remember the exact number as the shoot was last month.

Okay, I'll call the Elephant In The Room: Negative Gain.

I'd prefer to tote an ND in a spare pocket, rather than use Negative Gain.

You can select -3 and -6 dB gain, but this is chopping off your shadow detail - instead of blowing your highlights, you're blowing your shadows. Maybe this isn't huge for some setups, but it's in bright contrasty lighting (noonday sunlight) where you're trying to squash the tonal range, so having 1-2 stops of DR taken away at the bottom end is something to be avoided. So much so, I've 'not even gone there'.

But it would be an interesting concept to illustrate some day...

Monday - Increasing the shutter speed is an interesting option. I'll have to take a look and see how it affects motion when shooting regular, everyday life. How have you found shooting at 200+? Stuttery?

Andy - Exposure Compensation is something I've never looked at. Time to do so!

Matt - interesting idea, and a feature I'd never looked at. But think you're right, it'd be a last ditch solution.

Thanks all!

i'll be heading to galapagos and hawaii, and will just be bringing a 3 stop nd and a CPL. mostly going to be shooting long lens high aperture, but for the occasional superspeed stuff, 9 total stops should be more than enough

How have you found shooting at 200+? Stuttery?

Hey look, as an FS100 shooter, I've been caught in brighter sunlight than I'm prepared for and I'm not proud: I've used 10,000th of a second when I had to.

Is it stuttery? Yes. There gets a point when quite frankly, the difference between 1/250th and 1/10,000th is no difference at all, it's all Dog Beach from Saving Private Ryan. Or better still, RangeRover vs Tank on Top Gear.

If you're faced with dirty (or missing) NDs and you have to kick the shutter speed up, I've not really seen the difference between 1/250 and 1/10,000 because the subject matter is missing the motion blur, period. So fill your boots. Just like Jazz: hit a bum note? Do it again - LOUDER. Make it a feature. Chalk it all up to artistic direction.

Yes, it's stuttery. I MEANT it that way! :)

Monday - Increasing the shutter speed is an interesting option. I'll have to take a look and see how it affects motion when shooting regular, everyday life. How have you found shooting at 200+? Stuttery?
Shooting 30P you get the stutter but I don't mind as long as my camera movements aren't fast. I also shoot 80% at 1/120 in 30P. If you're shooting 24P I don't honestly know but in 30P the stutter is more then 1/60 but what you going to do if you want the Shallow DOF.

Not on a c100 yet, but I hop shutter on the 5diii a lot, I kinda like the look. Depends what you're shooting, but I find for a lot of stuff it conveys motion better actually.

I shoot 50i for broadcast news (uhhh interlaced I know). Will try to ramp up the shutter and see how it looks. Might pick up a 3 stop ND as well.

Thanks all!

A few notes:

ISO 320 is the same as -6dB. This INCREASES the number of stops below middle gray to 8.1 (compared to 6.7 at ISO 850).

ISO 320 (or -6dB, depending on how you have setup your camera to display sensitivity) provides the cleanest image with most shadow detail that the C100 is capable of.

ISO 850 is the lowest ISO (cleanest, best signal to noise ratio) that provides the most stops of highlight protection: 5.3 stops. All higher ISOs give the same highlight protection, but may potentially introduce more noise.

ALL ISOs, from 320-20000 delivers a total of 12 stops (in Canon Log or Wide DR).

Monday Isa: I'm not sure what you mean when you are describing DOF and shutter speed. There is no correlation between the two, A certain focal length combined with a certain aperture (on a certain sensor) will give you your DOF. Shutter is irrelevant.

Shooting at 30p, most people would select 1/60s as shutter, akin to a 180 degree shutter angle. The shutter can then be fixed there for 30p. No need to change for different DOF needs.

.....Monday Isa: I'm not sure what you mean when you are describing DOF and shutter speed. There is no correlation between the two, A certain focal length combined with a certain aperture (on a certain sensor) will give you your DOF. Shutter is irrelevant.

Shooting at 30p, most people would select 1/60s as shutter, akin to a 180 degree shutter angle. The shutter can then be fixed there for 30p. No need to change for different DOF needs.

I think you misunderstood my post which is ok. It probably wasn't stated properly. Shooting with the C100 I have found that ISO 320 clips the highlights badly compared to ISO 400 and 850. If I'm outside and want to use a fast aperture like 2.0 on a bright sunny day for shallow dof, I will have to use nd-6 and the only other value I can increase is the shutter. Since I shoot 30P I don't mind the higher shutter values. If I want shallow DOF without using additional nd filters and shooting 12stops, I'm stuck with the shutter value being the one that changes.

No, I get that you will run out of options if you're already at 6ND and opening up makes your image too bright.

I also understand that you might want to shoot at ISO 850 for maximum highlight protection.

In the following:

Since I shoot 30P I don't mind the higher shutter values.

I'm tripping over the word "since".

Why wouldn't you mind higher shutter speeds because you choose 30p? There are no 'right' or 'wrong' here. You can always make a creative decision, but why do you feel once at 30p, you can increase the shutter speed?

I understand now. I shoot at 30P and shooting at a higher shutter doesn't bother me all that much ;)

Great, then we're on the same page!

=)

If you're faced with dirty (or missing) NDs and you have to kick the shutter speed up, I've not really seen the difference between 1/250 and 1/10,000 because the subject matter is missing the motion blur, period. So fill your boots. Just like Jazz: hit a bum note? Do it again - LOUDER. Make it a feature. Chalk it all up to artistic direction.

I saw a film on a big screen that was shot with a lot of outdoor high shutter speed action and it gave me a splitting headache.

A bit like the Dog Beach scene of Saving Private Ryan?

Can't think of any other suggestions except for placing some black cloth on your reflectors and placing it close to the face.

Circular polarisers often give a nice look. However, that may interfere with your looks. It can make the sky deep blue depending on the angle of light, subject and camera.

I prefer a higher shutter speed when I am in a boat.

A bit like the Dog Beach scene of Saving Private Ryan?

If it lasted 90 solid minutes and had far more camera movement? Yes.

That's what I thought. Just wondering if anyone had any other ideas - hate to go back to screw-on ND filters ...

Try Welcome to Xume! (http://www.xumeadapters.com/).

Yesterday I tried doubling and even tripling the shutter speed (from 1/50 to 1/100 to 1/160) and I think that'll work fine. No filters to worry about, no color shift, etc.

Thanks all!

TO achieve the same DOF you could (following are approximates). Move away twice the distance from subject, double the focal length and then drop aperture to around f5.6, then you wont have to touch shutter.