60D Understanding Exposure/Lighting Issues

T

thundermonkey

Active member
Hey all, I'm using the kit lens with my 60D for now (18-135mm) and would like some advice on exposure. How best will I know if my image is over/under exposed? The screen seems to deceive me when it comes to image quality and I have no external monitor right now so it's all I have. I took some footage that was a bit grainy but looked great on the screen at the time. How do I use the histogram thing to tell if my image is over/under exposed? I expect to be doing a shoot on the beach, so should have ample sun. As it is every shoot I do is eyeballed for getting a good shot, but would like to add some technical know-how so I know exactly what I am doing. Also, what do you think is an ideal ISO for outside in the sun? Or would you say just eyeball it?

I've dome some shoots in a store, and while I know I need to get a lighting kit that isn't an option right now. Since the lens is just f/3.5 and I shoot at 24p, I keep the shutter speed at 50. Would it be advisable to use a shutter speed of 30 in an attempt to get away from raising the ISO to 1600/800?

Thanks for your time!
 
Hi Thundermonkey;
I think the best way to go is to get yourself a good light meter, there's different brands and models. Do a research about "light meters" online, there is tons of articles and videos.

Cheers!!
 
Set up your shot to where it looks good on the LCD, and then shoot a few seconds of footage. (This is how I do it on a T2i anyway). Press playback, and hit the "display" button until the histogram appears. Go by the histogram, protect your highlights and keep the bulk of the data in the middle of the graph. If you're doing something artsy or strange, keep this in mind when viewing the histo - you may have a dark scene with one lone face or something, this will affect how you judge the histogram.

You can also snap a still and do the same, but I don't trust the "sameness" of stills vs. video.

If you find you are continually underexposing, make the LCD darker in the menu system. I find it's a little bright. This can help you feel more comfortable that you're getting good exposure - if the histogram says "too dark" but the LCD looks gorgeous, it's very hard (for me anyway) to shoot with the scene looking too hot on the LCD. And... get a magnifying loupe for the screen, it makes a huge difference in how you shoot, isolating and magnifying the screen.

Regarding meters - good to have and know, but... is the meter's ISO the same as the camera's? Does the compression and camera electronics alter that result? The histogram is a picture of the data - a meter seems superfluous to me for judging footage (though they're handy for initially lighting a scene). The histogram tells you everything you need to know about how your camera, lens, and settings are affecting the final footage - it shows you what the final footage is.
 
thundermonkey said:
Hey all, I'm using the kit lens with my 60D for now (18-135mm) and would like some advice on exposure. How best will I know if my image is over/under exposed? The screen seems to deceive me when it comes to image quality and I have no external monitor right now so it's all I have. I took some footage that was a bit grainy but looked great on the screen at the time. How do I use the histogram thing to tell if my image is over/under exposed? I expect to be doing a shoot on the beach, so should have ample sun. As it is every shoot I do is eyeballed for getting a good shot, but would like to add some technical know-how so I know exactly what I am doing. Also, what do you think is an ideal ISO for outside in the sun? Or would you say just eyeball it?

I've dome some shoots in a store, and while I know I need to get a lighting kit that isn't an option right now. Since the lens is just f/3.5 and I shoot at 24p, I keep the shutter speed at 50. Would it be advisable to use a shutter speed of 30 in an attempt to get away from raising the ISO to 1600/800?

Thanks for your time!
Click to expand...


Judging by your post History all you have asked is how to do this and how to do that trying to mimic every Music Video you see....... I suggest you take it 1 step at a time & find yourself. You can only get so far trying to copy everything you see. Provide something useful to these boards.
 
+1 to michael carter's instructionslight meters are for film; you can find a use for them when using a digital camera, but in this case the histogram is a much more useful tool
 
vision_filmz said:
Judging by your post History all you have asked is how to do this and how to do that trying to mimic every Music Video you see....... I suggest you take it 1 step at a time & find yourself. You can only get so far trying to copy everything you see. Provide something useful to these boards.
Click to expand...

I'm not in a position to be of much help to anyone, so lurking, reading and asking questions is what I am sticking to until I can. Forgive me if there are things I really want to know and ask. If I didn't, I would have no clue about data-moshing. Judging by your post history you're a very negative person. I moderate on a large technology forum and no I'm not linking/boasting, but you're the type of person that scare people away. I like to think that if someone is willing to learn there's no reason to be discouraging.
 
Michael Carter said:
Set up your shot to where it looks good on the LCD, and then shoot a few seconds of footage. (This is how I do it on a T2i anyway). Press playback, and hit the "display" button until the histogram appears. Go by the histogram, protect your highlights and keep the bulk of the data in the middle of the graph. If you're doing something artsy or strange, keep this in mind when viewing the histo - you may have a dark scene with one lone face or something, this will affect how you judge the histogram.

You can also snap a still and do the same, but I don't trust the "sameness" of stills vs. video.

If you find you are continually underexposing, make the LCD darker in the menu system. I find it's a little bright. This can help you feel more comfortable that you're getting good exposure - if the histogram says "too dark" but the LCD looks gorgeous, it's very hard (for me anyway) to shoot with the scene looking too hot on the LCD. And... get a magnifying loupe for the screen, it makes a huge difference in how you shoot, isolating and magnifying the screen.

Regarding meters - good to have and know, but... is the meter's ISO the same as the camera's? Does the compression and camera electronics alter that result? The histogram is a picture of the data - a meter seems superfluous to me for judging footage (though they're handy for initially lighting a scene). The histogram tells you everything you need to know about how your camera, lens, and settings are affecting the final footage - it shows you what the final footage is.
Click to expand...


In school I haven't had any experience with histograms, so I'm on my own learning to use them. So keeping everything in the middle is what I want, nice. I do take test shots beforehand, but I definitely mess around to ensure I am getting say, detail in the sky and not blowing that out. I guess some ND filter may come in handy.

Light meter sounds like something down the road, so I'll have to make best use without that. My main concern as of right now is inside shots which may not be the best lit. Since I am trying to keep the ISO down, I am wondering how smart it might be to shoot at a shutter speed slower than half. So going from 24fps @ 1/50 down to say 30? Is this frowned upon if this makes the difference helping me keep lower than 800 ISO?

You know what's strange, I got my hands on a T2i with the same lens, same room, same settings, and I found I could see a lot better on the T2i! It seemed to give a better image! I am wondering if maybe I need to adjust the LCD?

I've viewed a tutorial where it was shown you can take a picture and have it show zebra lines I believe, on areas overexposed. I have not been able to use this feature, but I suppose I should shy away from having images dictate how my video looks. Appreciate the help, all!
 
You can get the histogram live on the 60D - I use it all the time. As a very general rule of thumb, I tend to keep the 'spike' of anything peak white at the start of the 5th segment (going left to right) - works for me, and protects my highlights.
 
mr bill said:
You can get the histogram live on the 60D - I use it all the time. As a very general rule of thumb, I tend to keep the 'spike' of anything peak white at the start of the 5th segment (going left to right) - works for me, and protects my highlights.
Click to expand...

Was just doing some testing and going to ask about the live Histogram, but there were shots I liked that were technically overexposed, though I am guessing if I am satisfied with the look I can go with it. Will keep an eye for the fifth segment part of it.
 
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