How could I know at which f-stop The HDR-A1 is shooting?

[Tom Hardwick]

You plan to use an IR filter? Maybe you mean a UV? Whatever - the internal ND will make no difference at all - it's neutral as the name suggests. If you attach a polarisor that absorbs 1.5 stops, the internal ND will simply move to allow 1.5 more stops of light to the chips.

Before you buy the circular polarisor it's worth trying a linear polarisor. Much cheaper and will probably work just as well.

[Derek Heeps]

I'm reading this thread getting on for 20 years after it was started !

The reason being I have just agreed to accept an HVR-A1E , as part of a bundle of bits and pieces as a swap for a PDW-F70 XDCAM deck ; I don't expect to get the stuff until after the holidays , whenever I next see my friend who has the stuff , but I thought I'd read up on the camera here .

Like the OP on this thread , I first shot moving pictures on film , although I can hardly call myself a cinematographer ; I just started out as a kid borrowing my dad's standard 8 Bolex , then later got a Minolta Super 8 .

When I was a little older I got some very secondhand U-Matic kit , before moving on to Video-8 , Hi-8 and eventually Mini-DV with a DCR-VX700 then a VX-1000 . Later , after the two smaller cameras had died , I got a JVC GY-DV500 and a second one , then a DSR500 , which at least shot in 16:9 natively .

I moved into HD with an HVR-V1E , again a used camera , chosen because it was both small enough to use for holidays and home use , but gave good enough results to use for work from time to time . A bit later I picked up a JVC GY-HD251 .

More recently , around 2 years ago now , I spotted a PDW-F350 on eBay for a very reasonable price , and having used the same camera at work , picked it up for my own interests , I then got the F70 deck to capture from , rather than using the camera . Just last year , after we upgraded to 4K at work , I was given the other PDW-F350 from there , along with the mint PDW-F70 from the edit suite ; hence my disposing of the one I already had .

To come right up to date , although I used to shoot weddings at weekends to make extra cash when I had the VX700 and 1000 , I hadn't done any in several years . Then last month a colleague at work asked if I knew anyone who might film his sister's wedding in April next year ; I said I didn't but that I'd be happy to do it as a favour .

I have done a couple of weddings with the V1E over the 10+ years I've had it , and know it to be OK , but wanted another 'small' camera to use alongside it , so bought the cheapest HVR-Z7E I could find on UK eBay about a week ago ;. On arrival I had to sort out a couple of small issues , but I'm happy with it now , and one of the deciding factors , besides I knew it would be capable in low light ( haven't yet seen the venue ) is that it uses the same batteries and accessories I already have for my V1E .

I didn't want to use my PDWs for the wedding as I know that in low light , if you put gain on they can get noisy , besides they are just a bit too big and heavy to lug around and have to set up quickly . While I have plenty of lighting I could take along , I don't want to go OTT , besides working by myself I have limited time for setup , and at most might just put in a Paglight set to wide beam and with diffuser to lift the faces a little if at all needed , and hopefully not .

Plan is to set the Z7 up on a tripod to capture the ceremony , shooting both on to tape and capturing continuously on my Firestore FS4 HD , and using the V1 handheld for guests arriving etc . I will have an ECM-MS2 stereo mic on the Z7 to capture ambience , this will go into my audio technica field mixer and back to the camera in stereo , whilst adding a single radio microphone down near the couple , panned centre to pick up the vows etc . While the other cameras will capture on board sound , I will only use the audio from the Z7 . The big advantage of my PDWs is that they have four channel audio , but I can mix the audio from the ceremony live to get a good recording .

Anyway , when my friend was going through stuff he had to swap for the deck , he mentioned he had about half a dozen A1Es , so I agreed to take one as long as it was in good working order , and he assured me at least two of the ones he has are . My thinking being that it is small enough to be hidden somewhere for a reverse angle shot of the vows , rings etc ( although I will try to place the Z7 on the tripod where it can also capture that ) , and since I have three Firestores , all can be left running to capture the full ceremony without missing anything .

Now that I'm reading up and learning about the A1 , I have found out a few things I hadn't considered about the camera - first it uses different batteries than the V1 and Z7 ; a nuisance but I will just make sure I get a few , besides I may be able to plug in and use mains power . The business about auto exposure is also a minor inconvenience , but it is very much going to be a 'C' camera and only used for a few cut-ins , as long as the image quality is not markedly inferior to the other two cameras .

From my perspective , the main benefit of the A1 is its small size , and there have been plenty of comments about its excellent picture quality .

I do appreciate all the dialogue in this thread about exposure control and display , but since it will only be used as a third camera , or for casual use if out hiking etc , then this won't matter . Both the V1 and Z7 display all parameters on their LCD displays , and the controls on the Z7 are especially nice ; I can even mount the Canon and Fuji lenses from my JVC onto it and have 'real' focus , zoom and iris rings , but the supplied Zeiss lens just works so nicely . I can also use my Manfrotto pan bar remote with the Z7 , as I have done with the V1 and the VX1000 before it , although I have a Canon zoom demand which I've used for years with my larger cameras .

As I was reading the thread , and all the discussion about aperture controls and alternatives , I don't think the V1 existed in 2006 , but it is quite compact , maybe a bit bigger than the A1 - I shall see when I get it . Taking size aside , and bearing in mind the €2700 cost of the A1 , I can't help wondering what a GY-HD100 series camcorder would have cost back then ? I'm sure it would have been more , but how much more ? Although very much a 'prosumer' product , it was very much engineered to be a compact camera for people used to using professional ENG type cameras , and possibly unique at the time ; the only let down being it was 'only' 720p rather than 1080i as the Sonys and Canons of the time were . I still like my GY-HD251 and can't bring myself to part with it .

I can fully appreciate the comments about aperture and shutter speed , having done photography as a hobby ( never had any formal training but I learned a lot in the camera club I went to as a boy ) before I ever shot even 8mm cine , and having had many 35mm SLRs , as well as medium format both TLR and SLR , then both APSC and 35mm DSLRs , I can also appreciate how much the sensor size influences the way the lens parameters affect DOF . I have four digital still cameras with the capability to shoot video , yet I very rarely ever do so . The main exception being my little Canon Powershot G11 , and that is only because it as my 'always with me' camera , just as my old Rollei 35S was back in the film days ; so the Canon gets used to photograph things or film occurrences that I just happen across . My three Pentax cameras K-01 , K-3 and K-1 are just used for photography , although the first , being a mirrorless camera just somewhat larger than the Canon , and with a larger sensor , is the one I tend to take on family outings , or to places where carrying a large SLR would be too conspicuous , so again it might be used to shoot the odd video clip .

I have almost come round in a circle since I got a Bolex H16 REX4 cine camera a couple of years ago , but have never yet got around to shooting any film on it ; it is a lovely thing with fully manual controls , variable frame rates ( which must also influence shutter speed ) , a fade/dissolve gadget that closes down or opens up the shutter angle and of course fully manual focus and aperture controls on the lenses , besides the three small primes I got with it , there is also a large zoom lens , which will no doubt be optically inferior , but perhaps much more convenient in use . I also have a couple of period Weston Cine meters , as well as my several Weston exposure meters for still photography , although I only use my Master V or Euro Master when shooting stills on my Bronica , which I don't often do these days . At some point , after I retire , I will get some film and begin to learn to use the camera .

The main reason I do not use still cameras to shoot video is that is just not what they were designed to do ; the form factor is all wrong , the controls are all wrong , they don't have proper audio inputs or controls - yet you see these people with Heath-Robinson cages and all sorts of contraptions bolted on to the point that they probably spent more than a proper digital cine camera would've cost , and they still struggle to carry and operate them . Many still cameras also have serious restrictions resulting from memory card storage , or sensors overheating and shutting down after so many minutes ( and not so very many minutes ) of operation , because they were just not designed for that purpose . When I see people trying to shoot video with still cameras , I just get a sense that they are making a virtue out of awkwardness !

So , it has been 18 or 19 years since this thread started , and 15 years since the last comments ; I wonder if any of the original posters will see this , and perhaps even reply ?