Filters and more

arielman

arielman

Well-known member
I just purchased my first DVX 100AP and I'm not afraid to admit this is new to me .
Although the manual is good , I was still lost in setting up my DVX 100 . But thanks to one of the Post on how to set up your camera for the first time was excellent. I have also ordered the DVX book to help me as well .
Now my question . I'm thinking of using UV and Polarizing filters. What do you recommend? (we are doing a Documentary on a Motorcycle race held here in 1936 and hopeful we will try and get it aired locally) .
How are the filters attached ? Do I have to buy a new hood ?
When filming in 24pa I noticed the cars are a little jittery , so I filmed my son cutting the lawn and yet he looks a little jittery as well .
I've seen video done in 24pa and it looks good , how do they do it ?
If I try to video motorcycle races eg.road races , motocross, trials etc or just a meet . Should I use the 60i setting instead of the 24pa setting .
When recording ,which setting should I use for sound ..32/12 or 48/16 bit .
My last question . Pinnacle says I can edit in 24p with Studio 9 Plus .Does any members use Studio for editing and what are your views on this . Sorry my budget was blown when I purchased the DVX 100 . Thanks for all your help with these questions ...Ian
 
For filters, I would go with the Schneider optics avaliable at www.evsonline.com. For the polarizer, you may have to go with the circular. I was going to order a linear, but apparently they are hard to get/keep in stock, so I ended up going with a circular (doesn't give any advantage on the DVX, but it was in stock). There are other good brands of filter, although I tend to be a little leery of the lower end Tiffen stuff.

As for the 24p strobing, the DVX book/DVD gives a very good explanation of what and why.
 
Ian-

Congratulations on your purchase of a DVX100a. I truly believe you'll love it to pieces and enjoy making films as well. I'll assume you've read differences of pulldown between 24p and 24pa.

Essentially 24pa was designed as an easier, higher quality format for editing and dvd making.

Original 24p looks better and "less-jittery" when viewed directly on a monitor, but is generally more problematic to edit. (certain software natively handles 24p as well as 24pa, but not all) So, ya kind of gotta pick between the two.

If you capture 24pa into your computer, edit in a 24pa timeline, output to 29.97 it WILL look normal when viewed on a regular video monitor, or at least look the way it was supposed to.

Something you could try out: open the shutter a bit more. By default, the DVX100a exposes each frame for 1/50 second in the 24Fps modes. You could crank it open a bit more (i.e. - longer exposure time). See, shutter speed is what stops motion and the faster the shutter, the sharper the image. With a slower shutter speed, you introduce an ever so slight motion blur which effectively reduces the sharpness of each frame while making the motion smoother. It's worth trying out, but to re-iterate, your footage will only appear "normal" on a monitor when in 24p (or if the 24pa is edited/rendered to 29.97, which is the same way the 24p camera mode records 24p). Confusing isn't it!? That's just how it works.

Pinnacle Studio 9 should work with 24p just fine. But, I highly doubt it will correctly work with 24pa. It Shoot in 24p, Edit as normal. Try some experiments with 24p on the camera and open the shutter a bit more then let us know what you see.

Good luck!
 
Just curious if anyone has the link, as referred to by original poster, to setting up your camera for the first time? Thanks
 
arielman,
Filters can be very useful.

U.V. Stops lens getting damaged. Reduces Haze (outside). Pops the blues a little.

C. Polarizer. Great outside for enhancing colors. Getting rid of light reflections from a variety of objects, mainly metal - chrome, water. Also glass, I shot through glass recently gave it a turn and bang the reflections from my side were gone.
They do reduce the light getting to the lens so you have to compensate or hope it's sunny. Get one for the motorcross it will come in handy.

Jp
 
Thanks to everyone for their replies . Thanks to Andy Starbucks article I have shot some footage .Incredible !! His article was a responce to a post "Getting the right image " As of this date it is on page 5 in the technical section . I printed it off about 7 pages . This is an excellent "how to" article. There is a Vintage motorcycle meet on Sat , July 2nd Nr Belleville ..Called Indian Day ..So I am going to try and video the event in 24p not 24pa . I will let every one know how this turns out with Studio 9 .
This is a Great site site . The one thing I like with the members , we are all treated equal , no matter if your new or an expert .Thanks again....Ian Taylor
 
Ian--

I'm glad you've found help here. I've learned a ton from this site myself and it's why I keep coming back!

I never really mentioned anything about filter brands because in all honesty, while B+W/Schneider are the best because of the materials they use and are my personal choice, there are much more affordable brands that will work 85% as well for 1/3 the cost. Often I hear the "extra 10%" in performance costs a fortune and that is certainly true with lens filters.

That said, a polarizer would be really, really useful for shooting outdoors. The DVX100a accepts a 72mm diameter filter which will connect to the threads surrounding the camera lens.

General description of their applications:
http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/filters/polarizers/tool.htm

Here are samples of what a polarizer can do for reflections:
BEFORE:
sample_pol.jpg

AFTER:
sample_pol2.jpg

http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/filters/polarizers/true_samples.htm
http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/filters/polarizers/circular_samples.htm

If shooting outdoors, a polarizer has an almost magical effect which turns light blue skies into deep blue skies.
There are more concise resources available (i.e. - photography book from library) than a simple email message could do, but the general rule of thumb is they are most effective when the camera is pointed 90 degrees away from the sun. And, still effective in varying levels at different angles away from the sun.

Here is what a polarizer can do for blue skies:
BEFORE:
268c8960.jpg

AFTER:
26cc8960.jpg


http://www.geocities.com/cokinfiltersystem/polarizer.htm

If given the choice, Linear Polarizer is what many/most use instead of a Circular Polarizer.

Anyways, hope this helps and enjoy!!

Brian Wells
 
jpbankesmercer said:
They do reduce the light getting to the lens so you have to compensate
Click to expand...
Usually 1 and 2/3 stop light loss. (which is very, very helpful for the DVX considering the recommended 640 ASA rating; anything which knocks it down a few stops outdoors is a GOOD thing.)

:)
 
Thanks for the tip on filters . So much to learn......Before I purchased my DVX . I read a few test between the XL2 and the DVX ..In the end I feel I made the right choice , the $ 2000 I saved will help buy a tripod ,filters and Panasonics external mic.

Question ...When shooting in dusty conditions Eg . a Motocross track , what can you use as a cover to help keep the dust out. I have been asked to video a young lad who is rising in the motocross ranks . This is great as it will give me more experience . Thanks again for the tips ...Ian
 
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