How to set BLACK LEVEL ?

downsouth

downsouth

Well-known member
I understand setting "white-level".....but I read somewhere in the manual (cant find it now), that you should set "black-level" also...especially on a new DVX.

How Do I Do Dat?

Jeff
 
craigbowman said:
Hold the white balance button down longer until the display indicates its now doing black balance and your done.
Click to expand...
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Should "black level" be done each time white level is set...or is this a one-time thing? Is it necessary to use a "black reference" paper or is this done automatically?

thanks,
Jeff
 
black balance is done internally. No cards or anything is necessary. Once its set it should stay set for a very long long time.
 
is anyone aware if this can be done on the XH A! as well? ( i know wrong forum )
 
Just outta curiosity, how would you know if you needed to re-black balance? I am not having any problems since I set mine when i got it, but what exactly is it doing and what not?
 
re: auto white level

I am taping a wedding and attended the rehearsal last night to test cams. This church is setup more like a "rock concert" than a typical church. Full audio console, colored light show...the works.

This light show is playing havock with whitelevels! Colored lights are changing throughout the ceremony! I need to use "auto white balance" I assume and hope for the best. Since this is my first shoot using the DVX I need to make sure I use the "best" whitebalance setup . Help

Since the colored lights "are" incadescent lights, should I just use the incadescent setting...or would the flouresent setting be best. Manual whitebalance is out of the question here.

Your suggestions please.

Jeff
 
Is this right?

If I go to the "auto" mode...irregardless of what white balance preset Im in( A or B.)..........autowhite is in effect. The only way I can get back to my manual autowhite (stored in A or B) is to get out of the "auto" mode.


Duh...this is confusing. Do I sound like Im in the PANIC mode? ....no Im cool. haha

Jeff
 
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If there are colored lights going off, set your white balance on a preset and stick to it. The colored lights are meant to look colored; if you go to auto white balance you'll just end up with a big random mess.
 
I would recommend against using auto track white in almost every situation, but especially in an indoors environment.

If you white balance while on A or B, it'll balance to whatever your lighting conditions are. Not everything is 3.2K or 5.6K.

PRST toggles between 3.2K and 5.6K.
 
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Got it....I think.

I will use the 3.2 preset or 5.6....which ever looks the closest. Like you said at least it should be consistant...........right or wrong. If way off, I may be able to correct in post a little.

May get brave and go with manual anyway.

Tired of worrying about it............outta here.
Jeff
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I would seriously recommend going with the 3200K preset and calling it good. I think that'll give you the best results that are the closest to what it'll look like with the naked eye.
 
Update...on first wedding shoot with DVX.

Not bad...not bad at all.

At the last minute I finally got the DVX white level thing figured out. As I said, this church was more "rock concert" than a typical church atmosphere. Spot lights (changing colors), actual "sets" on-stage(alter), beautiful sound system and light control. This scared the crap out of me initially.

I did use the 3.2k setting as suggested, and all looks ok. I may have to do a little post color work though. The shoot was worth the stress, because I learned how to quickly set white levels using a white card, going to (A), and BAM.....white level set just by pushing the button on the front. Even, on the fly, one can do it quickly. However, I could not do it on this shoot because the church was dark (Im in the center isle) and the altar was lit up like a concert.

Audio: Wow. Love the audio on the DVX. I used a dual-Azden receiver. Groom was mic-ed, other mic was near the house speakers. The ability to monitor and "ride" the mic gain on the DVX worked perfectly.

Question.......if I manually set white level using A or B, for two different settings, is this "saved" in ram or does it go away when I turn off power? I will try it myself this morninng.

Anyway.......thanks for all the help. Maybe I can return some knowledge to you folks in a few hundred years.

Jeff
 
Custom white balance settings saved in A or B will remain there. The DVX has an internal battery that keeps it in memory (same with the scene file settings).
 
Thanks...found that out this a.m...............which brings up another question.

Should the internal battery be changed often, to insure settings and custom will not change during a shoot?

Jeff
 
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