Barry Green - can u help me?

J

Joe Decko

New member
Barry...I just got a DVX200 and have watched your videos on line explaining the camera and its functionality. Thank u so much for the informative videos.

I am struggling with 2 things though....

First....I am setting my zebras to 70% for Caucasians. What should I be setting them to for darker complexions like African-Americans? I heard from a buddy that it should be around 50% but I don't understand why. Could u help explain this and is 50% the right number.

Next....to focus the camera I am zooming in, focusing, zooming out, and then composing my shot. I am confused as to why this type of camera needs to be focused like that. On my DSLR I just twist the focus until my subject is sharp. What is different about the lenses on ENG style cameras? Why do they need to be focused like that?

Thanks in advance.

JD
 
1) It depends on the skin tone. People's skin varies widely in shade (as we all know) and among darker-skinned people can range from an intensely dark shade on up to a light caramel-like color. Lighter shades should register higher on the IRE scale than darker shades should (just like any other type of tonality).

That's why the 18% gray card was a useful tool; it provided one specific known shade to expose for, with the understanding that if you get that shade "right", the other shades will fall where they should. And using that guide, yes, common average dark skin tones do generally fall in the range of around 50 to 55, but the more extreme the shade (lighter or darker) the further it will likely fall outside of the 50-55 range.

2) zooming in to grab focus can yield more accurate sharp focus. You don't have to, you could do it DSLR-style, especially if using the magnified focus assist. But zooming in narrows the depth of field and magnifies the details so you can get pinpoint-resolved focus.
 
Joe: the other thing to remember, if you are new to parfocal lenses, is the advantage of Barry's zoom in method. Here's a real world test for you. Zoom in one third of the way, and focus until it looks sharp. Now, zoom all the way in to the subject. There's a good chance it is not fully in focus. But, if you zoom all the way in first and focus, then as you pull out for the framing, the subject stays in perfect focus, no matter what the focal length you finally choose for your shot. It's just a slightly different way of thinking, but one very familiar to those of us who grew up with parfocal ENG lenses.
 
Another option for determine exposure is to take a measurement off the palm of a hand as they're all roughly the same shade no matter the skin tone.
 
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