Custom Presets advice for weddings

[Mark G. Roberts]

Greetings

I'd like to know other users experience of using some of the customised presets for filming a Wedding. I will be filming on Saturday, using the XHA1 in 50i.

Which of the Custom Presets have people successfully used for weddings with the A1? Have you midified them with better results?

1 - For outside during the day
2 - In low light during ceremony
3 - With and without camera mounted 20watt lamp inside during the evening (once lamp is used is this no longer classed as low light).

Has anyone found 3 (or less?) of the custom presets on the forum to be good for the above situations? If so, which ones match together nicely. If not then what setting values have you used?

Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers
Mark

[Doug Davis]

I just did one this last weekend that was an outdoor wedding. I used 18 "Panalook" for the outdoor part. Pretty good results...

[Joe Bryan]

I like the one that looks like a DVX100. But maybe it's because I am used to shooting that cam. If you are in a dark venue you will still be shooting "low light" with a 20w on-camera light. But don't worry too much. Let it look dark and natural. Just try to keep your gain at 6db or less. 12db works in the dark but is grainy. However if the final delivery is DVD then much of the grain is softenen by compression.

[Mark G. Roberts]

Many thanks for the feedback. I'm either going to use the AC PREF or PANALOOK for the day and the LOWLT12 one with a couple of tweaks for inside.

I'll let you know how I get on.

I filmed yesterday for a TV company using the AC PREF and was pleased with the results. Haven't had feedback from them yet though!

[Alastair Brown]

Any word on how it went?

I am shooting an evening reception in a hotel (first proper shoot using camera). Anybody got any tips presets that they have been having success with?

[Steve Montoto]

I am very interested on your results, Im about to buy this cam for my wedding business and Im very curious on others opinions for the low light part.

Also would like to know what you are using for gliding shots (glidecam ect.)

Thanks,

Steve

[Mark G. Roberts]

I was really pleased with the results the Panalook settings and then boost the gain in low light (6db) which doesn't add too much noise. Also having the shuttter speed at 1/25 gave good results too.

Have used this in wedding and corporate/conference situations where lighting not always great with still excellent results.

I have used the low light preset from here but preferred to tweak it as I felt the colours looks a little washed out as it was.

[Ari Perilstein]

Hello,

I am pretty new at the camera and dealing with the settings and would like to get some feedback on which would be the best library download setting for the following situations.

Outdoor Wedding with sun -
Outdoor Wedding with overcast skies -
Well lit indoor Wedding -
Dark indoor Wedding
Dark Reception Area and dance floor -

Thanks for all the help!!

[Peter Jefferson]

heres a tip... forget the fact that youre shooting a wedding..

now go out into those environments at various times of the day and work out which settings will work for you...
Just because its a wedding doesnt mean the settings cant be used for something else....

Forget library downlaods as your part of teh planet may have different environmental variables, and in the events game, one much be on teh ball and know enough of tehir gear to be able to adjsut as needed when needed without having to think to much about it..

With weddings, there is no second take and there is no room for error, so i would STRONGLY urge ANYONE no matter what camera they use, to go out and learn the camera inside out back to front..

Im not being critical, but if you limit yourself to weddings ( I know this is what youd be using it for) you may leave your skillset short, so try to learn as much as u can no matter what the conditions are... and THEN decide on how to take each job as it comes, as every wedding will be different.. lighting will be different as will audio and colour gradation of your subjects using natural/ambient light

[Khoi Pham]

Learn how to properly exposed a scene,
learn about white balance
learn about gain and shutter speed and you will answer your own questions, a good place to start is your owner manual.

[Bill Pryor]

You need to learn to use the camera's light metering system. It's just like using a reflective meter in a still camera. I would spend a lot of quality time with the manual. Set the zebras to about 80 percent if they default to 100 percent, and work with that so you know how to read them.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Ari Perilstein

which would be the best library download setting for the following situations.

For Ari, first, please search before starting a new thread. This topic has been previously discussed, so I have merged your thread into the earlier one from Mark G. Roberts.

Second, I think far too many people are placing too much importance on this particular set of Custom Presets (the Download Library vol. 1). I've even received frantic emails from new A1 owners still in the new registrant moderation queue stating how they "need" these presets for an upcoming shoot the next day. These people apparently are not familiar with the background of this particular batch of presets, so I'll explain it again:

Everything in Volume One is simply adapted, in a very rough manner, from a preset made specifically for the XL H1 and not the XH camcorders. Volume One is just an experiment to see if I could find a way to roughly translate an XL preset into an XH one. The results are not entirely accurate, as I have explained in great detail in the discussion XL vs. XH Custom Preset adjustment scales.

Basically, my work on XH Vol. 1 barely managed only to get into the ballpark of what the original authors intended with their presets for the XL H1. I have said before and will state again now that XH Vol. 1 is only a rough approximation of what it should be, and I urge you all not to put too much stock into it, and I'm eager for assistance from other XH owners to help with finding the proper adjustments to make them right, to deliver the same look as the original XL versions of these presets do for the XL H1. Because right now they don't do that.

So while you're welcome to download and experiment with Volume One, you must understand that nobody "needs" them as they are not at all accurate (at least, not yet they aren't). Tweak, adjust, fiddle around as you wish, and by all means post about what you're doing with them. But don't get into the mindset that they are something you need, or worse, use on a paying shoot such as a wedding. They're probably not good enough for that. It's just an experiment is all, one which isn't even finished yet.

Volume Two is shaping up to be a much better set of Custom Presets as they are coming from XH owners and are written specifically for the XH camcorders .

[Ari Perilstein]

Sorry about posting a thread that has already been discussed. I understand how gain control, shutter ect works and I was able to deal with it fine with my pd170. I have just been shooting a few events with the a1 and the footage does not look great. I just wanted to know how other people were dealing with settings for shooting weddings and dark event areas. I also understand how the library settings are not essential however as we all know you dont really get a chance when shooting weddings and I need to get the settings right. Thanks for all the help....

[Don Palomaki]

Right means right for the look you are trying to provide to your clients, which may be different from what others provide their client. Look can be a bit of an artistic signature. Further, coming from Sony you may be looking for the Sony look, which is not the same as the Canon look out of the box. So the solution is to practice, evaluate, adjust, then practice some more - just like playing an instrument, until you are satisfied.

And folks should never, never buy a new, unfamiliar tool (or toy) a day or two before a money shoot with the view to using it as their main weapon at that shoot.

In your case, analyse what you feel is is wrong with the video, then adjust the corresponding camcorder settings. And be sure the problem is not something that arises in post.