Hi all - I'm shooting my first dance recital in many years next month and I wonder if any of you good people have done something similar using locked off handycams (Sony CX730/PJ780 in this case) I'm also setting up 2 A7s and a GoPro.

The thing that I'm pondering is exposure for cameras I'll be unable to get to during the performance. I'm tempted to lock focus on the middle of the stage and have the cameras on autoexposure with AE compensation about -1 as the Sony cams overexpose a little

Any tips? There is a sticky at the top of this forum but the posts are pretty old

Pete

Whatever you do, don't zoom out with the cx730 after you have locked the focus, the lens is not parfocal and you will loose focus. AE compensation depends on how the stage is lit and what kind of backdrop (dark or light) there is, that is something you need to test during the rehearsals.

I use CX700 and NX30U in this mode as full stage camera. As Noa says, I frame the stage and use touch focus where I want on the stage, set fixed shutter speed and AE shift depending on lighting though most of the time it is -2 or -3 as it is much easier to correct for under exposure than over exposure.

Ron Evans