Gain now or Gain later?

B

bradywurtz

Active member
I have the HMC-40, which i know does not have the best low light, and i'm always trying to find ways to improve it.

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this or not, but would you say that it's better for me to leave my gain at 0db on a shoot that's slightly dark, and then add brightness to it (via FCPX) in post? Or should I just put the gain on during the shoot to get it exposed properly?

I haven't gotten a chance to test this out myself (my camera is being inspected and repaired for me), but I was wondering if anyone else has thought of this or has tested it to see which decision is the best?
 
Because the recording is only 8 bits, adding gain after its show will reduce the number of bits for dynamic range. This will create a banding effect in the video that will look worse than noise. Your best bet is to increase the gain or better yet add lights to the shoot. Gain can be increased to around +12dB without too much noise. You cna go higher, but the noise becomes excessive.
 
Last edited:
You can increase your gain up to 12 db as Bob said and bring your speed down to 1/40 of a second, and works great in low light
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top