View Full Version : First wedding-Looks pretty good!
davideo.net
12-02-2008, 03:21 PM
http://www.vimeo.com/2408822
This was the first time I have ever used a small camera for a wedding (Normally I use a Sony DSR-450WS) I was a guest, so it didn't matter that I wasn't very steady - you can't complain when you're not paying for a video! I used autofocus and auto exposure-which I plan on never doing again... I converted the AVCHD to P2, so I would not have the "green screens" from my previous test. My CS4 Premiere froze on me while editing - I could not move any clips whatsoever - so I rendered it out "as is" to Vimeo. Since then, I figured out what froze Premiere - I had imported an After Effects comp directly into Premiere without rendering (I had never done that.) All was fine until I changed the AE comp frame rate to 24 while Premiere was still open. That is not a good idea, I learned.
rosebud
12-03-2008, 07:12 AM
Really beautiful footage and nice edit.
This isn't a criticism, just a question: I see some blown out highlights on people's foreheads, is this the way the original footage is, or is it due to Vimeo compression?
davideo.net
12-03-2008, 07:50 AM
I used autofocus and auto iris, since I had never used a small camera. Auto iris is to blame, not the Vimeo compression. That's one of my pet peeves about the 150 - there is one ring that can be switched from focusing to irising - but you don't have two rings to control both! Other "small camera" people have told me to switch to manual focus and use the "push to focus" button. Then I can use the ring for the iris.
Bounce
12-03-2008, 06:48 PM
wait. i'm in the market for one of these cams.
are you saying there is not a separately dedicated iris control and focus control?
and how easy is it to control the shutter?
ouch
There are dedicated independent controls for Iris, Focus & Zoom, however, the focus ring on the lens barrel can be switched to also control the iris. The iris can also be controlled from the small thumb wheel on the body of the camera.
From the standpoint of an ex-DVX camera owner I'm really pleased that they made the iris dial twice the size of the original DVX because it makes it all the more user friendly and I don't really miss having an iris control on the lens barrel like on my other cameras :D
davideo.net
12-03-2008, 09:38 PM
There are dedicated independent controls for Iris, Focus & Zoom, however, the focus ring on the lens barrel can be switched to also control the iris. The iris can also be controlled from the small thumb wheel on the body of the camera.
I would rephrase that to say that the focus ring on the lens barrel can be switched to ONLY control the iris, instead of the focus. In that case, you could use the "push auto" button to focus. If you have the ring set to control the focus, then as Evro says, you'd use the thumb wheel for the iris. I'm not used to it yet, but I'm sure I'll learn to live with it. I assume at this point that I'll just use the thumb wheel to control the iris, and use the barrel ring for focusing.
Actually disabling the focus ring is a great idea especially for those of us using DOF adaptors :)
j1clark@ucsd.edu
12-05-2008, 06:55 PM
http://www.vimeo.com/2408822
This was the first time I have ever used a small camera for a wedding (Normally I use a Sony DSR-450WS) I was a guest, so it didn't matter that I wasn't very steady - you can't complain when you're not paying for a video! I used autofocus and auto exposure-which I plan on never doing again... I converted the AVCHD to P2, so I would not have the "green screens" from my previous test. My CS4 Premiere froze on me while editing - I could not move any clips whatsoever - so I rendered it out "as is" to Vimeo. Since then, I figured out what froze Premiere - I had imported an After Effects comp directly into Premiere without rendering (I had never done that.) All was fine until I changed the AE comp frame rate to 24 while Premiere was still open. That is not a good idea, I learned.
The wife would probably have slapped me up side the head had I 'dwelt' on the bride's bust line that long during the Ketubah/license signing, and then when the maid of honor leaned over... but then I do have a prurient and studied reprobate mind...
Otherwise, I just rented a HMC150, and found that it didn't feel particularlly foreign, given that I have a DVX100, so, I'll probably be looking at it when I have the money to upgrade.
On some of the table shots, the whites looked blown out, as you indicated you were letting the 'auto' exposure do its thing, it seems that auto does not deal with high contrast very well.
Everts
12-08-2008, 05:39 PM
Other "small camera" people have told me to switch to manual focus and use the "push to focus" button. Then I can use the ring for the iris.
Small camera people you just got to love them .:)
On some of the table shots, the whites looked blown out, as you indicated you were letting the 'auto' exposure do its thing, it seems that auto does not deal with high contrast very well.
After 3 weeks of solid event work I'll probably like to add that overall the auto settings on the HMC are pretty awful after having gotten used to the Canon XH-A1 instant auto focus & white balance over the last 12 months.
I'm now back to my DVX roots where I'm doing everything manually, it's nice to be in control again :) The DVX had the same slow AF, white balance and auto exposure that does seem to be less intelligent than Canon's - anyway I don't mind the compromise.