DVX ND and Filters

[acutshall]

First, Thanks to all the valuable posts and help from Wells, I am a happy owner of a new mattebox and now I am trying to add to the arsenal by purchasing some 4x4 filters, the question I have is as follows;

1. I want to purchase a ND Filters, the manual for the DVX states that the built in ND reduces the light quantity by 1/8 and 1/64, does anyone know what this is in F Stops and what the equivalent is in filter ratings?

2. I am doing a shoot of a company picnic in a couple of weeks, this is taking place in mid day Florida sun at a park on the beach. Although the picnic area has grass, a stone throw away is the beach with its intense light, sand and water therefore I feel that a polarizer and ND would be of most value for me to purchase. Being I can only use two filters at a time what ND would someone suggest?

3. Concerning a UV filter, can a screw on type be used in conjunction with a rail mounted mattebox, so it can be left on all the time.

This is only my second shoot outdoors; the last one I did , all the colors looked bleached out compared to the interviews indoors that was part of the doc., so any input would greatly be appreciated. Shooting at 30P

THX

 

[H8ster]

1/8 is 3 fstops with a .9 density rating.
1/64 is 6 fstops with a 1.8 density rating.

 

[acutshall]

Thank You

 

[avr]

another question

another question

i´m curiosity... gives better quality an optical ND fliter than the in built Pana DVX ND filters? the same quality...?

 

[digitial dan]

Same quality. Responding to the first post: you may wish to use a graduated ND filter also. I live in Florida and when used correctly it can give you some real dramatic effects. When in combo with a polarizer filter you can achieve even greater breathtaking effects when shooting skies and beaches. Obviously it would not be a good choice for use with people in it.

 

[thisiswells]

Digital Dan is spot on. I personally don't even have a 4x4 ND filter and prefer using the ones built into the camera instead. I tend to keep my trays open for two filters: Polarizer, 0.6 Grad ND. I find that between those two filters I can get the most function out of the kit for an outdoor event. (Occasionally I tape a 4x5.65 Digicon filter to the front of the matte box using roughly 14 layers of gaffers tape, but I honestly can't recommend proceeding this way!)

The grad is usually upside down to knock down the grass to a reasonable level (as green grass is said to be very close to 18% grey, and that's too close for comfort when highlights burn out 1.5 stops above mid grey...) and the polarizer is used to knock down the skies a bit. This makes for an attractive looking image, in my opinion. If the Grad ND becomes a nuisance, it can always be pushed out of frame until you are only shooting through the clear portion. So, you don't even need to carry the pouches...

I also like using the WarmCards white balance system when the trays are full and I can't pop in a warming filter.

As I recall, the ND's on the DVX camera are supposed to be one stop and six stops, but have been more accurately measured at 1.3 stops and 4.5 stops, respectively

Hope this helps. Congrats on your new matte box!

"Wells"