Manual control, shutter and exposure at same time? at DVinfo.net

Love Mov · May 4th, 2004, 08:48 AM

I know I have tons of questions, here is another...
Start to play with manual controls, seems like shutter and exposure can't be set at the same time? I mean, if I am in shutter mode, I can't access exposure button, to access it, I have to de-select shutter(so the shutter become auto again)...so what's the point of having manual if I am unable to set a desired shutter speed/exposure combo? Or, am I missing something?

Boyd Ostroff · May 4th, 2004, 09:04 AM

Actually this has been discussed before. You cannot continuously vary both the shutter and exposure, although I'm not sure why you would want to continuously vary both as you shoot.

But you can set any combination of shutter and exposure that you want. The caveat is that you must choose your shutter speed FIRST. So push the shutter button and select any desired speed. Then press exposure (actually you may need to press the shutter button again to release it, can't remember) and you can continously vary the iris while the shutter will remain locked at your chosen setting.

You are correct that if you then decide to change the shutter speed the camera will automatically choose a new iris setting, but you can then take manual control of the iris afterwards. This is the exact same behavior exhibited on my VX-2000.

What's the point? You'll have to address that question to Sony! ;-)

Love Mov · May 4th, 2004, 11:14 AM

Boyd,

You are right! So these Sony guys are at least smarter than me. All I tried is to set exposure first, and then speed, this way it will not work....thank you.

The reason I post this question is that, anything I shoot under strong sunlight are not good. Too much over exposure, and the picture (resolution) looks much worse than cloudy days; I guess the internal ND is not good? So I want to see if manual control will do any better...

Boyd Ostroff · May 5th, 2004, 09:45 AM

You will definitely want to use manual control to get the best results. But high shutter speeds may not be a good idea as they create sort of a "jerky" result with motion. Experiement a bit and see what you think. If you can't bring the exposure to a level you like using manual control then you may want to try adding and external ND filter. Fortunately they are very inexpensive given the PDX-10's 37mm threads. I have an ND 2 and ND 6 that I often use in bright sunlight.

Love Mov · May 5th, 2004, 11:48 AM

Adding ND filter is something I probably have to do later. But I am from still world(film), I hate ND filters frankly. I will try to avoid any filters (except polarizer)...
But under strong light, I get the apeture is too narrow and if turn up the speed is not a good choice, that means ND is a must...well well, is there a comparism clips/still between sony 2100 or dvx100a to pdx10 under strong sunlight? I think 90% of my shooting is in outdoor fine day...
Thanks Boyd, you're very helpful...

May 4th, 2004, 08:48 AM	#1
Love Mov Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 97	Manual control, shutter and exposure at same time? I know I have tons of questions, here is another... Start to play with manual controls, seems like shutter and exposure can't be set at the same time? I mean, if I am in shutter mode, I can't access exposure button, to access it, I have to de-select shutter(so the shutter become auto again)...so what's the point of having manual if I am unable to set a desired shutter speed/exposure combo? Or, am I missing something?

May 4th, 2004, 09:04 AM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	Actually this has been discussed before. You cannot continuously vary both the shutter and exposure, although I'm not sure why you would want to continuously vary both as you shoot. But you can set any combination of shutter and exposure that you want. The caveat is that you must choose your shutter speed FIRST. So push the shutter button and select any desired speed. Then press exposure (actually you may need to press the shutter button again to release it, can't remember) and you can continously vary the iris while the shutter will remain locked at your chosen setting. You are correct that if you then decide to change the shutter speed the camera will automatically choose a new iris setting, but you can then take manual control of the iris afterwards. This is the exact same behavior exhibited on my VX-2000. What's the point? You'll have to address that question to Sony! ;-)

May 4th, 2004, 11:14 AM	#3
Love Mov Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 97	Boyd, You are right! So these Sony guys are at least smarter than me. All I tried is to set exposure first, and then speed, this way it will not work....thank you. The reason I post this question is that, anything I shoot under strong sunlight are not good. Too much over exposure, and the picture (resolution) looks much worse than cloudy days; I guess the internal ND is not good? So I want to see if manual control will do any better...

May 5th, 2004, 09:45 AM	#4
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	You will definitely want to use manual control to get the best results. But high shutter speeds may not be a good idea as they create sort of a "jerky" result with motion. Experiement a bit and see what you think. If you can't bring the exposure to a level you like using manual control then you may want to try adding and external ND filter. Fortunately they are very inexpensive given the PDX-10's 37mm threads. I have an ND 2 and ND 6 that I often use in bright sunlight.

May 5th, 2004, 11:48 AM	#5
Love Mov Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 97	Adding ND filter is something I probably have to do later. But I am from still world(film), I hate ND filters frankly. I will try to avoid any filters (except polarizer)... But under strong light, I get the apeture is too narrow and if turn up the speed is not a good choice, that means ND is a must...well well, is there a comparism clips/still between sony 2100 or dvx100a to pdx10 under strong sunlight? I think 90% of my shooting is in outdoor fine day... Thanks Boyd, you're very helpful...