A1 Gain settings

[Cesar Ruiz]

What do you have your Gain Settings at?

I figured...since Canon likes to jump by 6 db (6 to 12) then so will I.


Low = -3
Med = 3
High = 6

The AGC Limit I set to 12

It is my experience so far, based on only a couple hours of testing, that the A1's gain settings match up 3db lower than the FX1's.

Example

A1 -3 = FX1 0
A1 3 = FX1 6
A1 6 = FX1 9
A1 12= FX1 15

I find that this gives me 4 presets. So if A1 6db isn't enough I simply flick the AGC switch to on to get 12db

What are your gain settings and why?

[Lou Bruno]

How are you setting the gain limit...which menu?

[Cesar Ruiz]

I must be going crazy. I was sure I set it and saw it but can't find it now

[Bill Busby]

Audio Setup/XLR Gain - 12dB?

Is that what you saw? :)

It's wishful thinking auto gain could be set to a max limit though.

Bill

[Cesar Ruiz]

I must have been dreaming about my old FX1s. OK so I have now set my L M H as follows

L: -3
M: 6
H: 12

Anyone else wish to share?

Bummed that there is no limit on the AGC... with all of other customizations this seems to be a bad oversight.

[Alex Leith]

I'm also using -3 / +6 / 12 for my gain switch.

[James Hooey]

my setup...

low -3
mid 0
high +3

I tend to think that the low range of adding gain is more important that the high range, so for anything above +3 I set the camera to auto and try to adjust how much light gets in by the iris whenever possible.

In the low range I want to usually only add small amounts of gain to help the camera out but still maintain the least possible signal noise. This setup seems to work for most outdoor situations well (sun or cloud)

[David McGiffert]

[QUOTE=James Hooey;647065]my setup...

In the low range I want to usually only add small amounts of gain to help the camera out but still maintain the least possible signal noise.


James,

That makes a lot of sense to me.
My gain settings are the same...although I can't say
I arrived at them with as much sense as you have.

David

[Richard Hunter]

Originally Posted by James Hooey

for anything above +3 I set the camera to auto and try to adjust how much light gets in by the iris whenever possible.

Hi James. I find that auto gain gives very grainy results, so would never use it through choice.

Richard

[Cesar Ruiz]

That's what I was thinking. Too bad there's no gain limit. I wonder what the chances are of a firmware update?

[James Hooey]

I agree and understand that auto gain adds noise to the signal. In my logic I use manual gains with minimal adjustments...ie the -3, 0 +3 asssignments to my manual gain. In those situations where more gain is needed..ie:indoors I already know that more gain is likely needed and let it work in auto mode and try to give the CCDs as much light as possible by opening up the iris full wide. I do most of my videography outdoors and want to keep the lowest possible noise signal with low gain settings for those situations.

[Richard Hunter]

Hi James. I understand the rationale for your chosen gain switch settings. But using auto gain indoors means you lose control of the exposure. For example, if you pan or move the camera around and the image brightness changes, the gain will adjust even though you are otherwise using a manual exposure mode. For me, I would prefer to set the gain to a fixed amount, even if it means going into the menu to do it. Would be nice having the same amount of control as the XL cameras though.

Richard

[James Hooey]

Originally Posted by Richard Hunter

Hi James. I understand the rationale for your chosen gain switch settings. But using auto gain indoors means you lose control of the exposure. For example, if you pan or move the camera around and the image brightness changes, the gain will adjust even though you are otherwise using a manual exposure mode. For me, I would prefer to set the gain to a fixed amount, even if it means going into the menu to do it. Would be nice having the same amount of control as the XL cameras though.

Richard

Richard,
When your moving across from one brightness to another are you changing the iris to keep exposure relatively constant? Just curious.