Any tips for shooting video on Las Vegas strip? at DVinfo.net

Dale McClelland · August 4th, 2008, 09:06 PM

I'm going to Las Vegas in a few weeks with my Sony SR11. I plan to do a lot of shooting on the "strip", both at night and during the day. I am new to video recording, having owned one for only 3 weeks. Any tips for shooting on the strip?

Also a couple specific questions:

1. Would you recommend I buy a wide angle lens for shooting the large hotels from the sidewalk? I am not sure whether the SR11 goes wide enough to get the large hotels completely in frame when shooting from the sidewalk in front of the hotels.

2. At night there will be a mixture of very bright lights and areas of lower light. As I pan, the light level could change significantly. I am planning to use auto exposure with Twilight scene mode to minimize the gain in the darker areas, and thus minimize noise. I'd rather not use manual exposure because it would require dynamically changing the exposure on-the-fly as I pan, and I am not sure I can do it quickly and accurately enough. Do you think auto-exposure with Twilight scene mode is the best approach?

Thanks.

David Stoneburner · August 5th, 2008, 08:20 AM

The wide angle adapter will definitely help, but some of the hotels are so big that you may not be able to get all of them anyway. I think shooting in the twilight mode at night will be fine. With the varying light levels, it's almost impossible to get perfect exposure when panning. You have more control with static shots of different areas. I shot some stuff with my TRV-900, in manual mode, but it all came out nice. Have fun, it can be a great time.

Dale McClelland · August 6th, 2008, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Stoneburner

The wide angle adapter will definitely help, but some of the hotels are so big that you may not be able to get all of them anyway. I think shooting in the twilight mode at night will be fine. With the varying light levels, it's almost impossible to get perfect exposure when panning. You have more control with static shots of different areas. I shot some stuff with my TRV-900, in manual mode, but it all came out nice. Have fun, it can be a great time.

Thanks for the information. I am looking forward to shooting video in Vegas.

August 4th, 2008, 09:06 PM	#1
Dale McClelland Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Wayne, IN Posts: 60	Any tips for shooting video on Las Vegas strip? I'm going to Las Vegas in a few weeks with my Sony SR11. I plan to do a lot of shooting on the "strip", both at night and during the day. I am new to video recording, having owned one for only 3 weeks. Any tips for shooting on the strip? Also a couple specific questions: 1. Would you recommend I buy a wide angle lens for shooting the large hotels from the sidewalk? I am not sure whether the SR11 goes wide enough to get the large hotels completely in frame when shooting from the sidewalk in front of the hotels. 2. At night there will be a mixture of very bright lights and areas of lower light. As I pan, the light level could change significantly. I am planning to use auto exposure with Twilight scene mode to minimize the gain in the darker areas, and thus minimize noise. I'd rather not use manual exposure because it would require dynamically changing the exposure on-the-fly as I pan, and I am not sure I can do it quickly and accurately enough. Do you think auto-exposure with Twilight scene mode is the best approach? Thanks.

August 5th, 2008, 08:20 AM	#2
David Stoneburner Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 494	The wide angle adapter will definitely help, but some of the hotels are so big that you may not be able to get all of them anyway. I think shooting in the twilight mode at night will be fine. With the varying light levels, it's almost impossible to get perfect exposure when panning. You have more control with static shots of different areas. I shot some stuff with my TRV-900, in manual mode, but it all came out nice. Have fun, it can be a great time.