Does the HD7 have fully independant manual controls (shutter/App..)

[James Millward]

Hey guys,

As per the title really, Im considering the HD7 but I am alittle confused as to whether this cam offer fully independant manual controls.

I realise from what ive read, It has manual focus/WB, BUT are the shutter and appature linked only??

OR can you set each one as you please?

Also, can this cam down convert to SD??

Many thanks
Jim

[Simon Gee]

James
A quick summary for you (ignoring the auto setup)
Focusing
manual
...nice large and smooth focus ring
focus assist for a manual
...auto focus button in easy reach near focus ring for seeking the focus, quick and accurate, a further function is assist which will highlight areas in focus to aid manual focusing.
MWB
...is in the function menu works (2 clicks to set) though i havent checked how accurate. Only downside is you have to open the LCD screen to access it.
Aperture and Speed
...are set independently. the buttons are handy but a little bit recessed so a can be awkward to find when looking down the viewfinder.

Bright button...quite handy as it will push or pull the exposure a bit like an ND

aperture speed and bright when selected are scrolled and confirmed easily and without need to leave the viewfinder.

You can capture in FHD, 1440CBR and SD down scaling would need to be done in your editing package.

I had trouble to start with (2-3weeks ago) getting the JVC properietary files to be recognised by editing software. In the end I have plonked for vegas 7.0 as patch 7.0e directly supports it and the capabilities and workflowof Vegas.
Quality from the camera dn handling is excellent so far i am very happy, though i never looked at the canon.

Hope this helps
S

[James Millward]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply Simon

This cam looks to exactly what im looking for. Im not a pro, or even semi-pro, but am very interested in the world of cinema/videography so im looking to learn...

I am looking to use this cam with a homemade 35mm dof device (uses a vibrating focusing screen inside Eos extension tubes with a 28mm Canon fd prime), I will need full control of the settings.

Am I correct in saying that the HD7 does not allow manual adjustment of gain, but instead allows you simply to turn the gain off (something im guessing I will need to do if I want to use the 35mm dof device).

When all attatched, I guessing I would end up with a very cool looking, comapact shooting solution whichn I intend to use with a grip (rather like old fasioned super8 cine cameras!)

My major concern with the FD7 is its file extensions and editing. I am not a very technical guy and pretty much all of the posts about conversion seem to go way over my head!! :(

I intend to use something like Vegas Movie studio Platinum v8 (hasnt been released yet) to begin with which as far as I am aware supports HD editin, but do you know if it support the HD7's file formats so I dont have to worry about conversions????

I would be grateful for any help you can give me mate, and once again, many thanks for the quick reply.

Jim

[Simon Gee]

Sounds interesting james what will you use this for?
I am getting into this probably at the same level as you with interest in adventure filming. I expect to do the kendal mountain film festival adventure film academy week in november to learn a bit more.
Drop me a line a on my email sg_at_sycamore-house.co.uk so I can arrange to send you some bits I have got that help me in my decision making and all the file editing stuff especially this TOD file rubbish. Where in the UK are you? You are welcome to try out my HD7 before you make your buying decision if you are near Leeds?
Simon

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by James Millward

Am I correct in saying that the HD7 does not allow manual adjustment of gain, but instead allows you simply to turn the gain off (something im guessing I will need to do if I want to use the 35mm dof device).

If you leave AGC on it doesn't add gain -- unless the scene is dark. So it is not a gain on/off switch. It is an AUTO GAIN on/off switch.

Vegas 7.0e directly edits TOD files. No conversions to worry about.

EDIUS 4.5 also directly edits TOD files. No conversions to worry about.

[Kaushik Parmar]

Hello,

I always keep Auto Gain off; if some one can help me when exactly we should put it on? I noticed when I put it on with good light condition then it gives me over expose and my videos lost some definition in bright area! I usually use auto function, frankly speaking I don’t know how to use manual controls, I would appreciate if some one here brief about manual controls.

Kaushik

[Simon Gee]

using manual controls genrally and specifically on HD7.

Focus
Auto focus might be good at a focusing but not neccesarily on the right thing!
Additionanlly HD will show poor focus more.
So IMHO
The best use of Autofocus is to get you in the ballpark. Then use manual to get and stay sharp.
Heres what I do.
Centre on Subject (ignore compostion at this stage)
Autofocus (button on front left side below lense).
Zoom into subject and sharpen focus manually. There is a focus assist button just infront of auto focus button that will paint the sharp focus stuff with blue line...sometimes useful).
Zoom out and compose.
White Balance
The CCD in your camera responds to natural light, and artificail light in different ways. For accurate colours relative to one another mnaul white balnce should be done before a shot. Dead easy.
Hold a white card paper in front of the lense say 30cm away. Focus.
Press function button select WB, select MWB pressand hold toggle control 2 secs MWB will flash as it is adjusted. Press Function to exit.
Its worth messing about with MWB on different colours other than white just so you can see the effect it has.
Sciving off work at the moment so i will add aperture, speed and brightness later if its useful?

[Steve Mullen]

Because modern cameras use INNER FOCUS servo driven focus -- even in manual -- you do not need to:

Zoom into subject and sharpen focus manually.

Zoom out and compose.

UNLESS you plan to zoom IN during a shot -- a simple manual or AF is all you need to do. You can use FA with AF. Very nice.

Since I try very hard to never zoom -- I save a lot of focus time.

[James Millward]

Thanks for the replys guys, its getting clearer for me now.

However, becasue I am such a newbie, my guess is I will be better of with a cheaper cam to begin with. While I was thinking about the FD7 I had coming my way a secondhand Panny gs150.

I chose this basically as a good cam to test my 35mm dof device. It has FULL manual control (albiet menu driven), and is a little 3ccd gem.

If I can learn to produce good quality images with this, then I will take the next step up.

Simon, many thanks for your time, and your email. Im gonna PM you tomorrow so I can pick your brain if thats ok? :)

Thanks again
Jim
tbip2001

[James Millward]

Originally Posted by Kaushik Parmar

Hello,

I always keep Auto Gain off; if some one can help me when exactly we should put it on? I noticed when I put it on with good light condition then it gives me over expose and my videos lost some definition in bright area! I usually use auto function, frankly speaking I don’t know how to use manual controls, I would appreciate if some one here brief about manual controls.

Kaushik

Hi Kaushkih, as you can tell from my posts im a beginner, but as far as I am aware you are best to leave the gain off. If as you say the lighting conditions are good anyway, you do not nned to increase the gain.

Gain adds noise to a scene, so your first step in brightening a scene up would be to open the iris. The iris will be expressed as an 'f' value eg f1.6 etc. If the scene is still too dark even with the iris fully open, only then shoud you add gain (expressed in dB). Ideally you would add more light to the scene before touching the gain.

ANyone feel free to correct me if ive made a mistake with the above.

Hope that helps mate
Jim

[Kaushik Parmar]

Originally Posted by Simon Gee

using manual controls genrally and specifically on HD7.

Focus
Auto focus might be good at a focusing but not neccesarily on the right thing!
Additionanlly HD will show poor focus more.
So IMHO
The best use of Autofocus is to get you in the ballpark. Then use manual to get and stay sharp.
Heres what I do.
Centre on Subject (ignore compostion at this stage)
Autofocus (button on front left side below lense).
Zoom into subject and sharpen focus manually. There is a focus assist button just infront of auto focus button that will paint the sharp focus stuff with blue line...sometimes useful).
Zoom out and compose.
White Balance
The CCD in your camera responds to natural light, and artificail light in different ways. For accurate colours relative to one another mnaul white balnce should be done before a shot. Dead easy.
Hold a white card paper in front of the lense say 30cm away. Focus.
Press function button select WB, select MWB pressand hold toggle control 2 secs MWB will flash as it is adjusted. Press Function to exit.
Its worth messing about with MWB on different colours other than white just so you can see the effect it has.
Sciving off work at the moment so i will add aperture, speed and brightness later if its useful?

Thanks, appreciate it.

[Kaushik Parmar]

Originally Posted by James Millward

Hi Kaushkih, as you can tell from my posts im a beginner, but as far as I am aware you are best to leave the gain off. If as you say the lighting conditions are good anyway, you do not nned to increase the gain.

Gain adds noise to a scene, so your first step in brightening a scene up would be to open the iris. The iris will be expressed as an 'f' value eg f1.6 etc. If the scene is still too dark even with the iris fully open, only then shoud you add gain (expressed in dB). Ideally you would add more light to the scene before touching the gain.

ANyone feel free to correct me if ive made a mistake with the above.

Hope that helps mate
Jim

Jim, thank you very much.

Kaushik