New user questions at DVinfo.net

Justin Turner · March 27th, 2013, 03:46 PM

Received our ea50 yesterday and have been playing trying to work everything out. As a stills photographer we started shooting video on dslr so the ea50 seems familiar ish but cant work out a few things.

I have worked out by making the manual wb the preset i can then select it and press the little button on the side to scroll up and down the kelvin rating giving me more options then just the three presets but is there a way i can make the two other a and b options a kelvin rating. I would like to have one as a daylight setting around 5000k and the other as an evening setting around 7500k. I guess i can just do two custom settings using a white/grey card under those lighting conditions but to match up with other camera we are using ( dslr) it would be nice to know im on the same settings without having to scroll using the manual kelven preset. The manual kelvin way we would then use at receptions in mixed lighting to get the right look, but for the rest of the day a preset is quicker and easier.

Next question, is there any way of setting one of the iso/gain presets to a manual version so i can scroll through all the iso/gain options. I feel just having three presets is limiting. Im used to just hitting iso and selecting what i need from a dslr. The only way i can work it out is selecting three presets and if i want more i have to go into the menu and assign a different value to one of the presets which is slow. So far im using 200, 400 and 800 but as the evening goes on and i to the night i will be needing values much higher. We changed the display to show iso and not gain as thats what we are used to.

Last question, in auto mode shooting 50p it selects a shutter of 50? I thought you should have the shutter at double the fps so 50p has shutter of 100 and 24p you use 50. Is it ok to use 50 as the shutter on 50fps?

Sorry for the long first post, the camera seems amazing and much easier then rigging up the dslr's have read throuh the manual and worked most things out just a few questions to sort out before we use it at a real situation.

Chris Harding · March 27th, 2013, 06:21 PM

Hi Justin

Welcome to the bunch of EA-50 users! Very quickly the answer to both questions is nope and nope!!
You can only dial in WB on the 3rd option ....why not try Auto WB?? I am using 2 EA-50's for weddings and the autoWB is pretty much perfect!!!

One of Noa's big gripes is the fact that you cannot dial in ISO's so you are stuck with presets only which are almost impossible to change on the fly...What you can do of course, is go manual aperture and manual shutter (if you so wish) and simply leave the camera ISO in auto ..that way it will pick it's own setting based on what you have set the iris/shutter to!!

Double frame rate works fine at 1/50th ...Basically the auto default is 1/50th but it's easy to change in manual.

BTW: Add yourself to the post "Who owns an EA-50"

Chris

Justin Turner · March 28th, 2013, 06:28 AM

Hi Chris thanks for your reply! Just got home from a wedding so havent had a chance to play with the camera but have another wedding Saturday which we hope to use it for the first time. Its good to hear auto wb works. Will make up a preset for a and b tmorrow just in case but hope auto will do the trick.

The iso thing is a shame. I find in weddings esp in the morning i will shoot alot of backlit and just blow the highlights out and expose for their skin tone so auto iso wont work in that case but under normal lighting auto might be the go. I read just today about the firmware wish list and was funny to see Noa wanting the same iso idea as i want. Hopefully its something that can be fixed in the future?

And its ok at a shutter of 50 even with 50fps? I always thought i should be at 100.

Coming from dslrs that could only shoot at 24fps im going to leave this on 50p as we use sliders and some pans and they just dont work at 24p, jerky outputs. Im hoping shooting at 50p will smooth things out and let us start using our slider again.

Thanks again for your reply, im learning lots through forums like this. By the way im a stills photographer, i just set up the video side and learn all the ins and outs then teach my wife the tech side and she shoots the video at weddings sometimes with a second shooter while im happy staying with stills. I just play with video in between weddings and unfortunatly i have to edit it :(

Chris Harding · March 28th, 2013, 06:50 AM

Hey Justin

The EA50 also has EV values that you can set which are quite useful for backlit scenearios...you can make the EV something like 1 stop over and then assign EV to a function button...when you hit a backlit scene by simply hitting the assisned button you will push auto exposure to 1 stop over (over whatever you choose) It's a very useful setting. I seldom intentionally use backlit situations as brides expect the skin tones and backgrounds to look the same so I would only use it mainly when I have backlighting behind an outdoor wedding ceremony that cannot be changed ...normally I will simply shift so my background isn't backlit ...at weddings you have little time to fiddle with the camera so quick solutions are really needed.

Chris

Justin Turner · March 28th, 2013, 07:15 AM

Ok cool, I will try to set up a shortcut. I didnt know you could do that. I agree backlight isnt ideal. Thanks for the tip will work out how to do that. Thanks!

Noa Put · March 28th, 2013, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Turner

Next question, is there any way of setting one of the iso/gain presets to a manual version so i can scroll through all the iso/gain options. I feel just having three presets is limiting

Join the club... I can't understand why Sony did like this and I"m sure it's possible by a simple firmware update. Eventhough setting 3 fixed iso/gain to a switch is pretty much standard for higher end smaller sensor professional camera's it doesn't work well for large sensor camera's. I basically set my shutter to 1/50th and leave it there, then I set my iris depending on teh dof I want/need and then I select a iso value that gives me the right exposure and if necessary I finetune the iris a bit to get it right. Since there are so many usable iso values for this camera having 3 fixed is stupid design or intentionally crippling for whatever reason.

Noa Put · March 28th, 2013, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Turner

Last question, in auto mode shooting 50p it selects a shutter of 50? I thought you should have the shutter at double the fps so 50p has shutter of 100 and 24p you use 50. Is it ok to use 50 as the shutter on 50fps?

Just leave it at 1/50th, maybe if you follow the "film rules" that should be 1/100th but I honestly can't see any side effect of having it at 1/50th with 50p. If you use 1/100th you have to compensate with higher gain and that will have a side effect such as more noise.

Justin Turner · March 28th, 2013, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Just leave it at 1/50th, maybe if you follow the "film rules" that should be 1/100th but I honestly can't see any side effect of having it at 1/50th with 50p. If you use 1/100th you have to compensate with higher gain and that will have a side effect such as more noise.

Thanks, I guess during the day we can shot at 100 and as we lose light we can drop to 50 to gain some light and like you have a little less noise. Hopefully the iso thing will get sorted in a future update but will learn to live with it. Im not used to shooting auto but sounds like auto iso will be the go unless the exposure gets tricked by backlighting etc. Thanks again

March 27th, 2013, 03:46 PM	#1
Justin Turner Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Sydney NSW Posts: 29	New user questions Received our ea50 yesterday and have been playing trying to work everything out. As a stills photographer we started shooting video on dslr so the ea50 seems familiar ish but cant work out a few things. I have worked out by making the manual wb the preset i can then select it and press the little button on the side to scroll up and down the kelvin rating giving me more options then just the three presets but is there a way i can make the two other a and b options a kelvin rating. I would like to have one as a daylight setting around 5000k and the other as an evening setting around 7500k. I guess i can just do two custom settings using a white/grey card under those lighting conditions but to match up with other camera we are using ( dslr) it would be nice to know im on the same settings without having to scroll using the manual kelven preset. The manual kelvin way we would then use at receptions in mixed lighting to get the right look, but for the rest of the day a preset is quicker and easier. Next question, is there any way of setting one of the iso/gain presets to a manual version so i can scroll through all the iso/gain options. I feel just having three presets is limiting. Im used to just hitting iso and selecting what i need from a dslr. The only way i can work it out is selecting three presets and if i want more i have to go into the menu and assign a different value to one of the presets which is slow. So far im using 200, 400 and 800 but as the evening goes on and i to the night i will be needing values much higher. We changed the display to show iso and not gain as thats what we are used to. Last question, in auto mode shooting 50p it selects a shutter of 50? I thought you should have the shutter at double the fps so 50p has shutter of 100 and 24p you use 50. Is it ok to use 50 as the shutter on 50fps? Sorry for the long first post, the camera seems amazing and much easier then rigging up the dslr's have read throuh the manual and worked most things out just a few questions to sort out before we use it at a real situation.

March 27th, 2013, 06:21 PM	#2
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: New user questions Hi Justin Welcome to the bunch of EA-50 users! Very quickly the answer to both questions is nope and nope!! You can only dial in WB on the 3rd option ....why not try Auto WB?? I am using 2 EA-50's for weddings and the autoWB is pretty much perfect!!! One of Noa's big gripes is the fact that you cannot dial in ISO's so you are stuck with presets only which are almost impossible to change on the fly...What you can do of course, is go manual aperture and manual shutter (if you so wish) and simply leave the camera ISO in auto ..that way it will pick it's own setting based on what you have set the iris/shutter to!! Double frame rate works fine at 1/50th ...Basically the auto default is 1/50th but it's easy to change in manual. BTW: Add yourself to the post "Who owns an EA-50" Chris

March 28th, 2013, 06:28 AM	#3
Justin Turner Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Sydney NSW Posts: 29	Re: New user questions Hi Chris thanks for your reply! Just got home from a wedding so havent had a chance to play with the camera but have another wedding Saturday which we hope to use it for the first time. Its good to hear auto wb works. Will make up a preset for a and b tmorrow just in case but hope auto will do the trick. The iso thing is a shame. I find in weddings esp in the morning i will shoot alot of backlit and just blow the highlights out and expose for their skin tone so auto iso wont work in that case but under normal lighting auto might be the go. I read just today about the firmware wish list and was funny to see Noa wanting the same iso idea as i want. Hopefully its something that can be fixed in the future? And its ok at a shutter of 50 even with 50fps? I always thought i should be at 100. Coming from dslrs that could only shoot at 24fps im going to leave this on 50p as we use sliders and some pans and they just dont work at 24p, jerky outputs. Im hoping shooting at 50p will smooth things out and let us start using our slider again. Thanks again for your reply, im learning lots through forums like this. By the way im a stills photographer, i just set up the video side and learn all the ins and outs then teach my wife the tech side and she shoots the video at weddings sometimes with a second shooter while im happy staying with stills. I just play with video in between weddings and unfortunatly i have to edit it :(

March 28th, 2013, 06:50 AM	#4
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: New user questions Hey Justin The EA50 also has EV values that you can set which are quite useful for backlit scenearios...you can make the EV something like 1 stop over and then assign EV to a function button...when you hit a backlit scene by simply hitting the assisned button you will push auto exposure to 1 stop over (over whatever you choose) It's a very useful setting. I seldom intentionally use backlit situations as brides expect the skin tones and backgrounds to look the same so I would only use it mainly when I have backlighting behind an outdoor wedding ceremony that cannot be changed ...normally I will simply shift so my background isn't backlit ...at weddings you have little time to fiddle with the camera so quick solutions are really needed. Chris

March 28th, 2013, 07:15 AM	#5
Justin Turner Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Sydney NSW Posts: 29	Re: New user questions Ok cool, I will try to set up a shortcut. I didnt know you could do that. I agree backlight isnt ideal. Thanks for the tip will work out how to do that. Thanks!