General AG-DVX100P help

[Guest]

I'm going to be the cinematographer on an independent documentary in January and will be shooting it on the AG-DVX100p camera. This'll be my first time using it, and I would like some help with the settings.
The documentary will take place mostly inside a conference room of a hotel and the lighting will be awfull, probably all halogen lights. anyway, I will have to be able to pick up dark colored details on the black clothing of my subjects. Could anyone out there suggest the best settings I could use?

Also, any and all tips would also be greatly appreceated!
Plus, I want to set the timecode to correspond with wich tape is being used (01:00:00:00 for tape one, 02:00:00:00 for tape two etc.)

I am in the middle of studying the manual but would still like to hear from people who have used this camera and know what they're talking about!

Thanks!

 

[bgundu]

Re: General AG-DVX100P help

The DVX doesn't do too well in dimly lit environments. If in 24p mode you open up the iris all the way and drop the shutter speed to 1/24th and still find it too dark, you may have to switch to 60i and play with the gain. Unless of course you have the DVX-100A which has gain in progressive mode as well.

 

[Multi-Media]

Re: General AG-DVX100P help

Isn't there any way for you to augment the lighting?
I think that's your answer... you have the time.
Try going there and shooting some tests with different lighting combos.

 

[Guest]

Re: General AG-DVX100P help

Thanks guys, this is exactly the kind of advice I weas looking for, keep it coming.

Unfortunately I have no way of getting to my location beforehand, I'm in Savannah, GA and we will be shooting in St. Louis in about 4 weeks. So tests at the location are out, and I won't have access to the actual camera until January 5th......

Other than that, thanks for the help so far and I hope I keep getting lots of helpful hints and info