HV20 Protrait mode versus 35mm adapter

Nathyn

Nathyn

Low Budget Ninja
I just got my brand new Canon HV20 and I have a 35mm adapter on the way. But my question is it worth it? What I mean in is the 35mm adapter worth the money considering the portrait function creates a great dept of field image. And there are great techniques for rack focusing even though there's a scroller instead of an actual focus ring. What do you guys think.

-Nate
 
It generally creates shallow dept of field. I got that B&H Kit with the DVD so it goes through everything bit by bit. A lot of people don't even know about this function. Everyone's rushing to grab an adapter (including me) but I don't hear anyone talking about this. I don't even know if it's mechanical or digital function. It seems to be very usable, but keep in mind I just got the HV20 yesterday so I've done no field testing. I have to upgrade to FCP Studio 2 (including downloading some FCP updates) before I can edit on the timeline in 1080/24p (I mean with the new automatic ProRez set up and all).

-Nate
 
My guess is that it adjusts exposure by favoring a wide open aperture. It is like the protrait or 'aperture priority' mode on a still camera. For shallow DOF in my Canon still camera, I put it in AV mode and lock the aperture wide open.

My guess is that this will work pretty well on the HV20 if you are zoomed in (at the long end of the lens) and if the lighting conditions are favorable.

I would love to see some side by side tests. I am thinking of picking up an HV20 as a second camera. If I do, I will post the test myself.
 
Michael Friedman said:
My guess is that it adjusts exposure by favoring a wide open aperture. It is like the protrait or 'aperture priority' mode on a still camera. For shallow DOF in my Canon still camera, I put it in AV mode and lock the aperture wide open.
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That seems to be exactly what it does according to the DVD that came with it. I would love to see a side by side test as I haven't gotten my adapter nor lens yet.

-Nate
 
with the small chips theres no way you'll get the same depth of field that an Adapter would allow. My DVX has nice shallow DOF at full zoom wide open too but a 35mm adapter allows you to have the same thing shooting wider and also just generally more control of DOF. Plus you mentioned racking focus, i haven't used an HV20 but i have a 35mm adapter and even without a follow focus its a dream.
 
Trust me, you're not going to get anywhere near the results you want with an adapterless HV20 (assuming you want shallow DOF). It can be passible shooting wide open and zooming in, but that's a pain and forces you to mess with your shutter speed or ND filters. The only case I've found in which any small chip camera has a very shallow dof is when shooting something extremely close.
 
HBlack said:
The only case I've found in which any small chip camera has a very shallow dof is when shooting something extremely close.
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I wrote the guy and he says he's on it so hopefully in a few days we'll see what it looks like with the adapter. I'm planning on shooting a feature with it. I love the image at 1080/24p but I'm going to have to get used to not having my DVX around until I get the A1 or XL-H1. I'm amazed at how solid this little camera is. I think I'm going to do some test shooting this weekend or next week. A lot easier to run and gun with a camera that looks like a consumer model.

-Nate
 
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