Polarizing filter & depth of field AX-53

[Dave Brocklebank]

Hi,
I have shot some video indoors using format XAVD S HD, 50P, shutter speed 100 and the rest auto on the AX53 and the resulting quality of footage was excellent.

Will the shutter speed of 100 be too bright for shooting outdoors in the sunshine?

Or will the AX53 be likely to be able to reduce the aperture sufficiently for this shutter speed?

I am guessing that if I see zebras, that I could leave the shutter speed at 100, and put on a polarizing filter and rotate it, to see if this removes the zebras?

Let’s say I want to keep the aperture reasonably open in sunshine in order to get a shallow depth of field.

I guess I could rotate the circular polarizing filter to reduce the light coming in, so the AX53 should open the iris to compensate.

But how can I tell what aperture the iris has opened to?

Is there a reading of the aperture anywhere, or do I just have to depend on being able to see the image on the display and try to make out visually whether the depth of field looks shallow or not?

I guess this may be very difficult to make this out on the display in sunlight… and maybe a larger external monitor may be required?

Can anyone advise on useful tips to try to achieve this shallow depth of field in sunlight?

Could I try setting the aperture and let the shutter speed go to manual?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

[Doug Jensen]

Dave, the simplest solution is to buy some 55mm ND filters to bring the exposure down where you want it. A .6 and .9 ought to cover your needs pretty well. Do not adjust the shutter speed or the motion blur won't look correct, and do not close the aperture down below f/4 or diffraction will kick in. The correct solution is to use ND filters. Very simple, cheap, and effective.

[Dave Brocklebank]

Hi Doug,
How do I know whether I need to use the ND Filters?

How do I know which strength .6 or .9 to use?

Is it purely by watching out for zebras?

Would the polarizing filter not work or would it introduce other unwanted effects?

Is there any reading that will show what the Aperture is set to on the AX53?

Best Wishes,
Dave

[Doug Jensen]

Hi Dave,

The best way to describe ND filters is that they are like sunglasses for your camera. If it's too bright out, then you need sunglasses. In the brightest light, the .9 ND filter might be the best one because it is darker than the .6 filter. Or the .6 might be best. But it all depends on the lighting. There is no right or wrong ND filter, there is just the right one to use for the immediate circumstances.

A polarizer may have unwanted side effects in some circumstances, but beyond that, it won't be dark enough to take the place of a true ND filter.

Zebras are an excellent tool for judging exposure, but the correct use of them is more complicated that I can write in a short post like this. Sorry.

And I have never touched an AX53 so I don't know if it is capable of showing the aperture value or not. But I would hope so. If not, my advice is to upgrade to a better camera. one that has built-in ND filters as well. Here's a little known fact: The cheaper the camera, the harder it is to operate. The frustrations you are experiencing are due to the camera, not you. You'd be amazed how easier it is to operate a camera like the Ax700 and it still doesn't cost that much more for what you get. Just my two cents.

The most expensive piece of equipment you can buy is one that is incapable of doing what you bought it to do. :-)

[Dave Brocklebank]

Hi Doug,
Thanks for your explanation that the polarising filter will probably not be as dark as the ND filters.

And sounds like a good tip that the more expensive cameras have built in ND filters as well as many more settings which make the videoing job easier.

I purposely bought the AX53 as the image stabilisation (in HD Mode) is much better than the AX700… so I guess I will have to live without those extras that the AX700 has.

Best Wishes,
Dave

[Robert Young]

Hi Dave
The AX 53 is a terrific Handicam type camera.
As you have mentioned, it does a great job of using its "intelligent auto" to juggle shutter speed, iris, and gain (ISO) to produce excellent images.
However, due to the small size of the camera sensor, it is not going to allow much in the way of shallow depth of field- even with a relatively wide open iris.
Trying work-arounds like ND filters and longer focal length, etc. may help some, but will probably not give what you are looking for.
DOF is dependent on lens focal length + aperture + camera sensor size
Of these three items, the size of the sensor is the most important limiting factor in producing cinematic depth of field.
You can just begin to create this effect with what Sony calls its type 1 sensor (15mm diagonal)- such as in the Sony X90.and AX700
As you go bigger, the effect gets more dramatic, with the 35mm sensor being sort of the gold standard.
This is one reason DSLR cameras became so popular. You could obtain large sensor cameras for reasonable prices and get on with cinematic film making without breaking the bank.