Night shooting at DVinfo.net

August 21st, 2002, 01:54 PM

ANy one out there have any tips for the following problem:
When shooting at night at Animals that are lit with a spolight.. the balck areas have Blue pixels and appear very grainy.. Any tips for night shooting for a novice?
thanks
Brin

Ken Tanaka · August 21st, 2002, 03:00 PM

What type of camera are you using? If an XL1s, XL1 or GL-x try the "Spotlight" exposure setting. It's designed for hot subjects against a dark background. You might get better results.

August 21st, 2002, 03:07 PM

Thanks Ken.
Will try using the spotlight setting.
Am using an XL1s... great camera, but always battling in low light, as I shoot from the hip in the African bush, and lighting is a problem. Getting amazing results sofar with the camera. The DV community is a great help, and my first documentary should be broadcast in 3 months, all shot on the Canon...WHo needs film!

Rob Lohman · August 22nd, 2002, 01:24 AM

If you get too much grain it might be that you have Gain set to
auto or on a too high a setting. Try something lower and
compensate with other things like shutter and iris.

Oh, and in my experience you can shoot with a lot lower light
then either your light meter is indicating and what you are
seeing in the viewfinder. In other words. When I see the resulting
footage back it is always way brighter than I thought when I
was shooting it. So usually you can get away with more than
you think. Try it out.

August 21st, 2002, 01:54 PM	#1
kushnerb Posts: n/a	Night shooting ANy one out there have any tips for the following problem: When shooting at night at Animals that are lit with a spolight.. the balck areas have Blue pixels and appear very grainy.. Any tips for night shooting for a novice? thanks Brin

August 21st, 2002, 03:00 PM	#2
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	What type of camera are you using? If an XL1s, XL1 or GL-x try the "Spotlight" exposure setting. It's designed for hot subjects against a dark background. You might get better results. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

August 22nd, 2002, 01:24 AM	#4
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	If you get too much grain it might be that you have Gain set to auto or on a too high a setting. Try something lower and compensate with other things like shutter and iris. Oh, and in my experience you can shoot with a lot lower light then either your light meter is indicating and what you are seeing in the viewfinder. In other words. When I see the resulting footage back it is always way brighter than I thought when I was shooting it. So usually you can get away with more than you think. Try it out. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

August 21st, 2002, 03:07 PM	#3
kushnerb Posts: n/a	Thanks Ken. Will try using the spotlight setting. Am using an XL1s... great camera, but always battling in low light, as I shoot from the hip in the African bush, and lighting is a problem. Getting amazing results sofar with the camera. The DV community is a great help, and my first documentary should be broadcast in 3 months, all shot on the Canon...WHo needs film!