GL2 adjustments question at DVinfo.net

Jim Pruett · July 14th, 2003, 10:44 AM

I have a Canon GL2 and am still learning about all of its features/adjustments. I was out in the mountains of Colorado this past weekend, and was wondering when you would use some of the adjustments, instead of others. I have the zebra lines turned on, and found that the only way I could get them to disappear was to use the AE adjustment. I also tried adjusting the shutter speed and the aperature, using the Manuel mode, but never could seem to get the lines to disappear. Could someone please tell me when you might want to use the shutter adjustment or aperature adjustment, instead of the AE adjustment? I think I was demanding quite a lot from the camera, as I was trying to photograph very green mountains, that still have snow. So when I adjusted the AE down, to remove the zebra lines on the snow, the green turned out too dark. Is there anyway to determine when the rest of the picture will be too dark (similar to the zebra lines indicating an overexposure)? It looked pretty good through the view-finder, but when I returned home and viewed the video on my TV, I could see that the green areas were a bit too dark. Any information will be greatly appreciated. I do a lot of outdoor photography - mainly of nature, with occasional wildlife too.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Jim Pruett

Rob Wilson · July 14th, 2003, 10:54 AM

Jim,

It's normal to see the zebra lines in autoexposure and other modes. They indicate the areas that are close (depending on what level you have them set at) to over exposed to the point of no detail. They are used as a guide and it's quite subjective depending on both the photog and the subject being shot. One down side to MiniDV is it's lack of dynamic range, ie ability to expose correctly for both bright and dark in the the same frame. Sounds like what you're shooting is kind of a worse case scenario with both white snow and dark trees. You typically don't want the lines to disappear, they are a ref to show what is on the edge of over exposed. Manual modes allow you vs. the camera logic to determine what will be properly exposed. You judge that by using the zebra bars. Typically you would manually adust exposure so that the zebras are only on areas that detail won't matter much.

Jim Pruett · July 15th, 2003, 08:45 AM

Thank you Rob, for your reply, and for clearing up my confusion with the zebra lines. I will take that info into account next time. Do you happen to know when one would adjust the shutter speed, instead of the AE adjustement to improve the lighting conditions?

Thanks Again...

Jim

Rob Wilson · July 15th, 2003, 08:55 AM

Jim,

Very basically:
Usually the apature is used to control depth of field (range of your shot that is in focus). The smaller the apature (higher F stop number) the greater DOF. Shutter speed is adjusted to higher speeds to capture faster moving objects clearly.

Alex Dunn · July 15th, 2003, 09:08 AM

I use a GL2 professionally everyday, and I'm not aware of an AE swith in Manual Mode. Are you sure you're in manual?

If you're not a master of using zebra lines, I would turn them off and get a good eye piece for your viewfinder. The GL2 is a WYSIWYG camera, what you see is what you get. There's little guesswork. If you like what you see in the viewfinder, you'd like it on your bigscreen at home.

However, if you are shooting for professional edit, I think it's better to error on the the side of over rather than underexpose your footage because you can always darken the image in post-production.

Jim Pruett · July 15th, 2003, 10:19 AM

Rob, thank you again.. VERY helpful information...

Alex, I actually had my camera in Auto mode when using the AE adjustment. I was just wondering why one would use the AE (in Auto mode) over the other settings in Manual mode, but I think Rob has explained it to me. Thank you for your reply too. I do like using the zebra lines - now that I understand them better. Besides, the only way to become better at using them is to practice with them.

Thanks again..

Jim

July 14th, 2003, 10:44 AM	#1
Jim Pruett New Boot Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 16	GL2 adjustments question I have a Canon GL2 and am still learning about all of its features/adjustments. I was out in the mountains of Colorado this past weekend, and was wondering when you would use some of the adjustments, instead of others. I have the zebra lines turned on, and found that the only way I could get them to disappear was to use the AE adjustment. I also tried adjusting the shutter speed and the aperature, using the Manuel mode, but never could seem to get the lines to disappear. Could someone please tell me when you might want to use the shutter adjustment or aperature adjustment, instead of the AE adjustment? I think I was demanding quite a lot from the camera, as I was trying to photograph very green mountains, that still have snow. So when I adjusted the AE down, to remove the zebra lines on the snow, the green turned out too dark. Is there anyway to determine when the rest of the picture will be too dark (similar to the zebra lines indicating an overexposure)? It looked pretty good through the view-finder, but when I returned home and viewed the video on my TV, I could see that the green areas were a bit too dark. Any information will be greatly appreciated. I do a lot of outdoor photography - mainly of nature, with occasional wildlife too. Thanks in advance for any help! Jim Pruett

July 14th, 2003, 10:54 AM	#2
Rob Wilson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 473	Jim, It's normal to see the zebra lines in autoexposure and other modes. They indicate the areas that are close (depending on what level you have them set at) to over exposed to the point of no detail. They are used as a guide and it's quite subjective depending on both the photog and the subject being shot. One down side to MiniDV is it's lack of dynamic range, ie ability to expose correctly for both bright and dark in the the same frame. Sounds like what you're shooting is kind of a worse case scenario with both white snow and dark trees. You typically don't want the lines to disappear, they are a ref to show what is on the edge of over exposed. Manual modes allow you vs. the camera logic to determine what will be properly exposed. You judge that by using the zebra bars. Typically you would manually adust exposure so that the zebras are only on areas that detail won't matter much.

July 15th, 2003, 08:45 AM	#3
Jim Pruett New Boot Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 16	Thank you Rob, for your reply, and for clearing up my confusion with the zebra lines. I will take that info into account next time. Do you happen to know when one would adjust the shutter speed, instead of the AE adjustement to improve the lighting conditions? Thanks Again... Jim

July 15th, 2003, 08:55 AM	#4
Rob Wilson Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 473	Jim, Very basically: Usually the apature is used to control depth of field (range of your shot that is in focus). The smaller the apature (higher F stop number) the greater DOF. Shutter speed is adjusted to higher speeds to capture faster moving objects clearly.

July 15th, 2003, 09:08 AM	#5
Alex Dunn Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 202	I use a GL2 professionally everyday, and I'm not aware of an AE swith in Manual Mode. Are you sure you're in manual? If you're not a master of using zebra lines, I would turn them off and get a good eye piece for your viewfinder. The GL2 is a WYSIWYG camera, what you see is what you get. There's little guesswork. If you like what you see in the viewfinder, you'd like it on your bigscreen at home. However, if you are shooting for professional edit, I think it's better to error on the the side of over rather than underexpose your footage because you can always darken the image in post-production.

July 15th, 2003, 10:19 AM	#6
Jim Pruett New Boot Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 16	Rob, thank you again.. VERY helpful information... Alex, I actually had my camera in Auto mode when using the AE adjustment. I was just wondering why one would use the AE (in Auto mode) over the other settings in Manual mode, but I think Rob has explained it to me. Thank you for your reply too. I do like using the zebra lines - now that I understand them better. Besides, the only way to become better at using them is to practice with them. Thanks again.. Jim