Digital Photo

Cameron Kane · October 12th, 2005, 12:09 PM

Hi, I am a very new to DV. I bought the XL2 and many places it talks about taking photos with it. The instructions do not say anything about it. Do I just capture the video and take a frame from it and consider that the Digital Photo? Also, it seems to be very grainy with all types of settings for video. Here is a quick video to see what I mean -> http://www.strategicdesigngroup.com/...g_VCD_NTSC.mpg

Any help would be appreciated.

And yes, that is me in the video. We setup the Camera in kitchen closet to capture a friend drink the rest of my booze. It is an ongoing issue and thought we would have some fun.

Thanks,

-CK

Pete Bauer · October 12th, 2005, 12:44 PM

Hi Cameron,

The long and the short of it is that the XL2 is a video camera only -- it doesn't have a still photo capability. So the only way to get a still from it is to do a frame grab.

As to the quality of the video, there are so many variables that it is difficult to advise you. Your clip is MPEG, which means it is rendered to a compressed format, giving some degree of lower quality than the original DV AVI would have been. If you're shooting in low light (which it looks like you were) with gain set to Auto, the camera will gain up and you'll see more noise.

The best you can do for stills with the XL2 is light your scene well, set the gain to 0 or -3, and export a frame grab directly from the timeline. Then you'll get a 720x480 non-square pixel image that you can sweeten in an image editing app.

Hmmm, sounds like you may need new friends -- who buy you a drink instead of steal yours! (And I hope you stop smoking soon, too). Cheers. ;-)

Cameron Kane · October 12th, 2005, 07:58 PM

Thank you for the answer. I am reading lots about this and slowly getting in the swing of things. Yes, my girlfriend also wants me to stop smoking.

Thanks Again.

-CK

October 12th, 2005, 12:09 PM	#1
Cameron Kane Tourist Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 4	Digital Photo - Grainy Hi, I am a very new to DV. I bought the XL2 and many places it talks about taking photos with it. The instructions do not say anything about it. Do I just capture the video and take a frame from it and consider that the Digital Photo? Also, it seems to be very grainy with all types of settings for video. Here is a quick video to see what I mean -> http://www.strategicdesigngroup.com/...g_VCD_NTSC.mpg Any help would be appreciated. And yes, that is me in the video. We setup the Camera in kitchen closet to capture a friend drink the rest of my booze. It is an ongoing issue and thought we would have some fun. Thanks, -CK

October 12th, 2005, 12:44 PM	#2
Pete Bauer Wrangler Join Date: May 2003 Location: Eagle River, AK Posts: 4,100	Hi Cameron, The long and the short of it is that the XL2 is a video camera only -- it doesn't have a still photo capability. So the only way to get a still from it is to do a frame grab. As to the quality of the video, there are so many variables that it is difficult to advise you. Your clip is MPEG, which means it is rendered to a compressed format, giving some degree of lower quality than the original DV AVI would have been. If you're shooting in low light (which it looks like you were) with gain set to Auto, the camera will gain up and you'll see more noise. The best you can do for stills with the XL2 is light your scene well, set the gain to 0 or -3, and export a frame grab directly from the timeline. Then you'll get a 720x480 non-square pixel image that you can sweeten in an image editing app. Hmmm, sounds like you may need new friends -- who buy you a drink instead of steal yours! (And I hope you stop smoking soon, too). Cheers. ;-) __________________ Pete Bauer The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Albert Einstein Trying to solve a DV mystery? You may find the answer behind the SEARCH function ... or be able to join a discussion already in progress!

October 12th, 2005, 07:58 PM	#3
Cameron Kane Tourist Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 4	Thank you for the answer. I am reading lots about this and slowly getting in the swing of things. Yes, my girlfriend also wants me to stop smoking. Thanks Again. -CK