What Settings on your DVC30 for low light? at DVinfo.net

Dan Burnap · October 24th, 2006, 09:52 AM

I will be filming an event outside at night, there will be some mood lighting but not a lot. I was thinking of 1/50s and boosting the aperture and gain via the focus ring when needed. Can anyone tell me what sort of result they get if shutter speed is dropped to 1\25s? Thanks

Jeffrey Lovell · October 25th, 2006, 11:52 AM

Is your a PAL unit? For NTSC you have 1/60, 1/30, 1/15.

I would say stick with 1/60 if you can just crank up the gain. Unless you know there is going to very little movement , you may be able to go with 1/30 but anything below that and you will get lots of motion blur.

Jeff

Michael Fossenkemper · October 25th, 2006, 12:13 PM

I think 1/25 should be alright. I also crank down the chroma a little, helps get rid of the redish look in low light. Now I just bring a big light.

Bruce Williams · October 26th, 2006, 04:15 AM

Over the last few weeks I have been using my DVC30 shooting in Italian churches, using available light. I sometimes used (PAL) 1/25, and was able to reduce the gain thereby. I had to be careful to avoid rapid motion in the shot: it can strobe somewhat. However, you will probably have autofocus probs, and manual focussing is such a bind in these low-light situations; Panasonic have yet to employ something like Sony's "infinity focus" feature, which is perfect for low light. I agree with the comment about the reddish tinge; I had to set a scene file for such shots.
Bruce Williams

Michael Fossenkemper · October 26th, 2006, 05:16 AM

The other thing, when you drop the shutter down to 1/30 or 1/25, it shoots in frame mode which is a bit of a resolution hit.

Seun Osewa · November 12th, 2006, 02:48 AM

How does frame mode affect resolution? ???

Jeffrey Lovell · November 13th, 2006, 01:43 PM

Because on the 30, frame rate drops one of the fields to get the "movie" look. You now have half the amount of picture info.

Jeff

October 24th, 2006, 09:52 AM	#1
Dan Burnap Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Rio de Janeiro Posts: 335	What Settings on your DVC30 for low light? I will be filming an event outside at night, there will be some mood lighting but not a lot. I was thinking of 1/50s and boosting the aperture and gain via the focus ring when needed. Can anyone tell me what sort of result they get if shutter speed is dropped to 1\25s? Thanks

October 25th, 2006, 11:52 AM	#2
Jeffrey Lovell Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 61	Is your a PAL unit? For NTSC you have 1/60, 1/30, 1/15. I would say stick with 1/60 if you can just crank up the gain. Unless you know there is going to very little movement , you may be able to go with 1/30 but anything below that and you will get lots of motion blur. Jeff __________________ Created Design Video Video production for the common man

October 26th, 2006, 04:15 AM	#4
Bruce Williams Tourist Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mooroopna, VIC Australia Posts: 3	What Settings on your DVC30 for low light? Over the last few weeks I have been using my DVC30 shooting in Italian churches, using available light. I sometimes used (PAL) 1/25, and was able to reduce the gain thereby. I had to be careful to avoid rapid motion in the shot: it can strobe somewhat. However, you will probably have autofocus probs, and manual focussing is such a bind in these low-light situations; Panasonic have yet to employ something like Sony's "infinity focus" feature, which is perfect for low light. I agree with the comment about the reddish tinge; I had to set a scene file for such shots. Bruce Williams

November 13th, 2006, 01:43 PM	#7
Jeffrey Lovell Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bloomington, IL Posts: 61	Because on the 30, frame rate drops one of the fields to get the "movie" look. You now have half the amount of picture info. Jeff __________________ Created Design Video Video production for the common man

October 25th, 2006, 12:13 PM	#3
Michael Fossenkemper Major Player Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: NYC, weeee. Posts: 417	I think 1/25 should be alright. I also crank down the chroma a little, helps get rid of the redish look in low light. Now I just bring a big light.

October 26th, 2006, 05:16 AM	#5
Michael Fossenkemper Major Player Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: NYC, weeee. Posts: 417	The other thing, when you drop the shutter down to 1/30 or 1/25, it shoots in frame mode which is a bit of a resolution hit.

November 12th, 2006, 02:48 AM	#6
Seun Osewa Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: West Africa Posts: 255	How does frame mode affect resolution? ???