built in 'level' for DVX or any other camcorder

D

dat5150

Active member
Was playing some recent footage captured with my DVX 100a for a third party and he commented that it was 'crooked'....meaning I'd shot the video and it wasn't level. I shot the footage with the spider brace and thought it was fine...but it was off. Now I'm thinking how great it would be to have a built in 'level' on the screen to assist...is there a device to help a shooter make it 'level' ....I'm talking about a hand held situation, not a tripod.

Any ideas are appreciated...
 
The only thing I can think of is practice. Eventually, you'll just be able to tell if you're level or not.
 
You could always get a little bubble level for 5 bucks from your local hardware store, and glue it to your lens hood. But horse is right, practice is the way to go. Look for things in the scene that should be level, horizon lines, or even veritcal walls, and line them up with the edges of your screen.
 
Theres always a steadicam as an option. It will keep you level, and if you want to swap from steadicam to hand held, keep the steadicam attached and it has a built in level. Depends what you want, what you want to spend etc. Bit right field I know but just a thought.
 
scharky said:
You could always get a little bubble level for 5 bucks from your local hardware store, and glue it to your lens hood. But horse is right, practice is the way to go. Look for things in the scene that should be level, horizon lines, or even veritcal walls, and line them up with the edges of your screen.
Click to expand...

There're small bubble levels that mount on the camera accessory shoe. Just the right position to be in sight at most shooting angles. Available from any camera shop or on eBay.

Lutnik
 
An on-screen level like the horizon indicators on airplanes? Heh heh.

Even a bubble level would not be a good idea except in static shots or on a tripod. ...Unless you learned to ignore it. How annoying would it be to watch a clip where someone corrected and corrected and corrected and corrected when they went a little off vertical?
 
They actually do make "electronic bubbles" (AKA: 'Artifical Horizons') for video, they are designed for Steadicam (where horizon is a big issue) They generally attach level to a part of your camera or rig, have a 12v power input, and then a video input and output. Input from the camera, and then an output which has the bubble drawn on top to send out to your monitor.

They are prety pricy though. I can dig up a few links on them if you'd like?

- Mikko
 
I want to thank all of you for the great advice. When I watched the video, I didn't notice the level problem...in fact its still hard for me to see it. I believe the third party may have been exaggerating the problem just to give me a hard time. Whatever the case, I'm going to be more cognizant of the issue.

Gen...I actually like your idea of an on screen horizon indicator...I don't know the high end but I bet there is such a creature in the market....maybe in the new 'Red' super camera? ha
 
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