What type of nature flms? Would it be about all things in nature, or more about animals or more about plants?

Have you ever shot out in nature before? If you are planning on shooting animals, you'll love the 20X optical on the GL2, but you'll still need more reach. Sssshhhhh! Don't let those hungry bears see you...
http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/dv/2x_tc/2xtc.htm.
Normally I would recommend KATA - but in this case, I suggest you blend,,,
http://www.camkote.com/gl1.htm

If you are planning on focusing more on plants and flowers, then perhaps you will want to get real close
http://www.centuryoptics.com/product...s/diopters.htm

Will you be out and about solo?

Tell us more about your goals please.

- don

Thanks for the response, Don.
I'm just finishing a field guide to the plants of a private nature preserve. But plants are relatively easy; they don't move much. I expect to be out by myself taking lots of DV (scenics/animals/plants) then blending them in with the stills I already have and adding sound in editing (a la Burns).
Now I'll look at some of your links.
Thanks again.
Roland

GL2 and USB Memory Drives
 

Has anyone had any luck (or know if it is possible) to use a USB Memory Drive to extract stills from the GL2's SD/MultiMedia card without using a computer?

For example, would you be able to stick a USB Memory Drive (for example: http://www.drivebuddy.com) directly into the GL2's USB port and extract the stills, rather than downloading to a computer?

My interest is because I will be traveling extensively with the GL2, but do not want to bring the laptop with me to download the stills. And I'd rather use the SD memory card than capturing stills to tape. A small USB Memory Drive would be much more practical to keep large numbers of high-quality stills.

Thanks...

GL2 Color Bar
 

Hello, everyone!

First off, I am a new member but have been lurking around here for some time. I must say that this site is very informative and I have learned alot during the relatively short time that I have lurked here

Posters here have been very helpful in answering questions and the threads do not degenerate to heated discussions and hurling of unprintables at each other.

Having observed all this, I thought this is a safe place for me to hang around and learn about videography which is my hobby along with digital photography. Along the way, I hope to be able to contribute but for now I just want to learn from you folks.

My first question: I have been enjoying my newly-purchased GL2 and I have read from the manual that it has color bar. Of what use is it? Is it used to set up your monitor to make sure it shows accurate color? If so, how do you do it?

Thank you in advance to anyone who would bother to answer.

Sam

Take a look here:
http://www.videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm

It explains just what you wanted to know.

Depth of Field question
 

Ok, what are tips on making a shallow depth of field besides zooming full in from far away? I noticed Hollywood flicks use very shallow DOF alot. I like using wide angle lenses but every now and then I'd like a nice and shallow DOF.

Open up the iris and zoom in from afar. That should work a little with small CCDs. How much? Don't know. With my 1/3" CCD cam I can get a shallow depth of field with this method (zoom in with ND 6 in sunlight). I shoot a lot of birds (with the cam).

This is an extremely well-covered topic. See Jeff Donald's article for a technical discussion. There are also at least two really long threads on the topic around here. Use Search to locate them.

DIY very Wide Angle Lens- $40
 

I like to post this once in a while-

Edmond Company has made another lens available for this project, so the page is now updated

See
http://www.neilslade.com/lens.html

Thanks for the link, Gary. That site is resource-rich.

I think I can figure out how to use the SMPTE color bar to tweak my TV set. How about my computer monitor, how do I do this?

Sam

For a monitor you should really get a monitor calibration device. I use the Spyder device from ColorVision.

http://www.colorvision.com/home.html

GL2 and Pinnacle Studio 8
 

Just ordered my GL2 (from Buydig, who had a good price and I trusted hem since I had bought something from them before).
I decided to start with Pinnacle Studio 8 as an editor and am trying to learn it now. Maybe I'm missing something, but shouldn't one of the first steps in editing be to carefully review -- in as large a format as possible -- my "take" for that day/event? Pinnacle does not seem to have that capability -- unless I missed it. I would want to check if the clips are in crisp focus and for other flaws, at full screen, and ideally as large the eventual output medium. What am I missing?
Thanks.
Roland

Send GL-2 back to Jamesburg,NJ ??????
 

I'll try to be a clear and precise as possible.Please bear with me as I'm no expert,but a hobbyist.In card mode my unit performs,(in my opinion)very poorly as directly compared to tape mode,even when all the settings are identical to the extent possible. possible.This post will specifically refer to the scenario when one directly compares what one sees in one mode to the other by simply just flipping the selector back and forth.

In card mode:

1)Scrolling the wheel to reset the AE settings in either direction,(postive or negative)has no effect,it does no change the amount of light being displayed on either the LCD screen or viewfinder. This holds true in auto,manual or easy modes.Anotherwords, what's there when you power on is all there is and it does not get any brighter,nor is it alterable and is "fixed".Should'nt this be adjustable?

2)The image is very dark compared to the same exact shot in card mode which makes it almost useless for digital photography shots indoors.Yes,I'm aware this is not a digital camera but a mini dv camcorder.Why is the amount of light displayed so dismal?

Even in bright,office lighting results are mediocre at best.When you throw the switch over to tape mode,voila,the change is so dramatic,it's like you just pointed the lens at the sun as there's a great burst of light and now your exposure is way too bright as opposed to formerly being dark and almost unusuable.

3)The image consistently takes on a reddish,pink,brownish hue.Throw the switch back to tape mode and its almost perfect color.Go figure.This is driving me nuts.I've sent this back to the factory before and they said it is full up to factory specs.BTW,this condition is achieved and present after a full/fresh white balancing,that's already factored into the equation.

Anyone in the group experience anything even remotely similiar and what did you do?

Please:comments,opinions,user experiences and suggestions wanted.I don't think my unit is 100% operational,and the warranty is about to run out as I did not opt for purchasing multi-year coverage.Also,is it too late to get more insurance at a reasonable rate going forward?Where would that be obtained?
Any of your live in eastern or central Massachusetts?
Can't find a store reasonable close that stocks one of these so I can see what another unit does.Thanks everyone for your input and advice.

Bruce

Cokin filters
 

Was going through some of my old still camera stuff the other day and came across a bag full of Cokin filters. I know they will fit on the camera fine (just need a connector with the proper filter size). Looks like some of the split density filters will give some interesting effects.

I'll be giving these a try this fall. Has anyone else played with Cokins on their GL1/2s?

I really would like to get some feedback from you regarding your experiments later this fall.