Manual settings for rookies at DVinfo.net

Daniel Billings · July 14th, 2008, 07:16 AM

I got my GL2 and have played with it a little and I see that everyone urges us rookies to go manual as soon as they can. Not having a background in photorgaphy I am slowly starting to understand the settings however, any advice on a good starting point would be greatly appreciated.
Here are three scenarios to start with....

Bright sunny day outdoor shooting....

Darker evening shots on nature trails....

Indoor shooting under flourecent lighting...

Graham Bernard · July 14th, 2008, 07:47 AM

In all your "headings" we are considering the use and variation of:

A] Aperture

B] Shutter Speed

C] White Balance

. . I bet I've missed something . . ?

Bright sunny day outdoor shooting....
* Try to shoot early to mid morning or early evening. These periods are called the "Golden Hour" periods.
* Keep sun to one side from about 10 to 80 degrees - if possible!
* Use the Canon Outdoors White Balance Preset OR experiment with Manual White Balance. I find the Canon WB Preset very good!
* If too much light, and your shots are looking flat, because you have had to close down the aperture a lot, and your shutter speed is getting beyond 100, DO use the Neutral Density filter and, if necessary, purchase an additional ND to screw-on. I now have a full range 4x4 NDs plus polarizer. There are very little Sun levels that phase me.
* Keep an eye on your Zebras and their settings
* Keep an eye on the light scale. I attempt to keep mine just below mid-way to a quarter. I don't like the look I get over midway, not enough variation/dynamic for my tricks within Vegas!

Darker evening shots on nature trails....This implies not enough light to pick out detail. Getting detail in low light levels with our 1/4" CCD is real tough. So . . ..
* Wide open or the widest/necessary aperture you can get away with.
* Try a small bit of gain - yes gain!
* Again, use External WB preset

Indoor shooting under flourecent lighting... Horrid! The issue will be the amount of sickly green you get with this stuff. But, but, but . . often this "lends" a look and feel to your work.

* I would manually WB against a good standard white OR, as I have, a floro card. When I get to edit, and still to "Martian", I WB in Vegas.

Excellent question. Others will chime in, but in the meantime do do some searches ALL over DVInfo net. DON'T just plonk yourself here but travel to other forums and get get some "other" input too.

Regards,

Garzie

Graham Bernard · July 14th, 2008, 07:51 AM

Actually, Daniel, you could post 3 sample stills of each scenario you are getting at present. Then we could come up with some potential suggestions?

What do you think?

Grazie

Daniel Billings · July 14th, 2008, 08:09 AM

I appreciate it, when I start to do some recording I will do some different testing and narrow down what looks best. A basic starting point is what I was looking for, as soon as I have some stuff to post I will, and hopefully get some further guideance, Thanks for the help......

July 14th, 2008, 07:16 AM	#1
Daniel Billings Tourist Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Conroe, Texas Posts: 2	Manual settings for rookies I got my GL2 and have played with it a little and I see that everyone urges us rookies to go manual as soon as they can. Not having a background in photorgaphy I am slowly starting to understand the settings however, any advice on a good starting point would be greatly appreciated. Here are three scenarios to start with.... Bright sunny day outdoor shooting.... Darker evening shots on nature trails.... Indoor shooting under flourecent lighting...

July 14th, 2008, 07:47 AM	#2
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	In all your "headings" we are considering the use and variation of: A] Aperture B] Shutter Speed C] White Balance . . I bet I've missed something . . ? *Bright sunny day outdoor shooting....* * Try to shoot early to mid morning or early evening. These periods are called the "Golden Hour" periods. * Keep sun to one side from about 10 to 80 degrees - if possible! * Use the Canon Outdoors White Balance Preset OR experiment with Manual White Balance. I find the Canon WB Preset very good! * If too much light, and your shots are looking flat, because you have had to close down the aperture a lot, and your shutter speed is getting beyond 100, DO use the Neutral Density filter and, if necessary, purchase an additional ND to screw-on. I now have a full range 4x4 NDs plus polarizer. There are very little Sun levels that phase me. * Keep an eye on your Zebras and their settings * Keep an eye on the light scale. I attempt to keep mine just below mid-way to a quarter. I don't like the look I get over midway, not enough variation/dynamic for my tricks within Vegas! *Darker evening shots on nature trails....This implies not enough light to pick out detail. Getting detail in low light levels with our 1/4" CCD is real tough. So . . .. Wide open or the widest/necessary aperture you can get away with. * Try a small bit of gain - yes gain! * Again, use External WB preset *Indoor shooting under flourecent lighting...* Horrid! The issue will be the amount of sickly green you get with this stuff. But, but, but . . often this "lends" a look and feel to your work. * I would manually WB against a good standard white OR, as I have, a floro card. When I get to edit, and still to "Martian", I WB in Vegas. Excellent question. Others will chime in, but in the meantime do do some searches ALL over DVInfo net. DON'T just plonk yourself here but travel to other forums and get get some "other" input too. Regards, Garzie

July 14th, 2008, 07:51 AM	#3
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	Actually, Daniel, you could post 3 sample stills of each scenario you are getting at present. Then we could come up with some potential suggestions? What do you think? Grazie

July 14th, 2008, 08:09 AM	#4
Daniel Billings Tourist Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Conroe, Texas Posts: 2	I appreciate it, when I start to do some recording I will do some different testing and narrow down what looks best. A basic starting point is what I was looking for, as soon as I have some stuff to post I will, and hopefully get some further guideance, Thanks for the help......