Post your HDR-HC1 settings

[Nick Outram]

Originally Posted by Floris van Eck

The thing I do not like about the AE modes is that you lose some of the manual control with this (i.e. control over shutter speed if I am right).

But I still do not understand this completely. If I am right, this are the options:

- 1/50 (or 1/60 for NTSC) shutter speed
- 1/50 (or 1/60 for NTSC) and then pull it down to 1/24
- 1/25 (or 1/30 for NTSC) and then pull it down to 1/24

The main question is IF I want to achieve the film look, is it better to shoot my footage straight away at 1/25 or at 1/50 and achieve it in post?

Of course, I want to know which way will give me the highest quality.

If you simply go on the shutter speed (and I would recommend 1/50PAL, 1/60NTSC) then in a brightly lit scene you are going to have almost infinite DOF unless you zoom right in -try it. This is NOT going to create a 'film' look if two people are talking. What you need in this scene is a shallow DOF to blur the background and focus our attention of the subjects...

In a brightly lit scene you will probably still have to put a couple of ND filters on even if you ramp up shutter speed. I did a test the other day in good sunlight and was getting good DOF at 1/700sec! Yes you need lots of light to get saturated colours but it can also have it's drawbacks. The real problem with the HC1 and other consumer cameras like it is that it does not have any indication of gain being applied (I read the thread that gave the tip about getting info in tape playback mode -thanks, will give it a try- test scene 'strips' needed though.)


Nick.

[James Gerber]

Thanks for the info Nick... but I just have this feeling that some people are confusing Shutter Speed with Frame Rate.

jg

[Mikko Lopponen]

Originally Posted by Nick Outram

The real problem with the HC1 and other consumer cameras like it is that it does not have any indication of gain being applied (I read the thread that gave the tip about getting info in tape playback mode

Six stops from the right (in the exposure lever) and gain is 0.

[John McManimie]

Originally Posted by Nick Outram

The real problem with the HC1 and other consumer cameras like it is that it does not have any indication of gain being applied (I read the thread that gave the tip about getting info in tape playback mode -thanks, will give it a try- test scene 'strips' needed though.)

Download the HC1 "F-Stop Meter." It is a convenient tool for you to determine aperture and gain settings quickly:

[Heath McKnight]

A slightly late post, but I just wanted to throw in that I like adding a little more color, maybe +3 to +5, maybe even +7 depending on the look you want. On a Z1, it would be +1 to +2, as high as +3. I'd recommend testing these out to find what you like.

heath