I know this is a kinda "depends on what you like" question but I dont have time to figure out what I like so I'm gonna fire it at you guys, :).

I'm filming a Mardi Gras parade that rolls tonight from the back of my truck. I'm parked downtown where I'm under a streetlight so it wont be complete darkness. and obviously the floats will have lights on them as well.

I've hardly played with the camera other than a few tapes on auto. So what would you guys recommend as far as going 24f or 60i and which preset (from the A1 preset download section) should I choose to give me some decent footage for tonight. I know that's a loaded question with many different answers but I need to just go with someone's recommendation on this being that I havent had time to test and see what I like yet.

thanks guys

Mark if I were you, I'd shoot 30F instead of 24. Much more forgiving on camera moves, pans / zooms etc. Try 30F with a shutter speed of 1/30th and some gain; should give you a bright image in that kind of light. You might crank up the Color Gain in the Custom presets menu... maybe somebody else will have some input...

People have had good luck with DVXMATCH and PANALOOK presets for general shooting. As far as frames rates, figure out how much light you'll get using 60i to begin with at a 1/60 shutter speed. Is this enough exposure on the viewfinder?

If not, go the 30F route @ 1/30 shutter speed to bump up the light level a little bit. Just be cautious about panning...slow is best. I personally like to use gain over a shutter speed that messes with motion, but a lot of people don't have a problem with it. Test it out and see if the playback suits your tastes.

well ill be panning and zooming a lot, there will be lots of action around me and I want to catch as much as possible. starting to finally get dark so I'll try some testing in a bit to see how it looks on the viewfinder

Could someone explain the difference in the DVXMATCH vs. PANALOOK?

Is the DVX suppose to emulate the 100B?

PANALOOK.......the Panny 200?

Thanks,
LOU

People have had good luck with DVXMATCH and PANALOOK presets for general shooting. As far as frames rates, figure out how much light you'll get using 60i to begin with at a 1/60 shutter speed. Is this enough exposure on the viewfinder?

If not, go the 30F route @ 1/30 shutter speed to bump up the light level a little bit. Just be cautious about panning...slow is best. I personally like to use gain over a shutter speed that messes with motion, but a lot of people don't have a problem with it. Test it out and see if the playback suits your tastes.