LCD screen of HVX brighter than image in MacBook Pro

amber

amber

Active member
Hey all sorry if this topic has been beaten to death already, I can't find a decent post about it, so here it goes.
I'm shooting in a mall, with huge skylights, I'm getting tons of zebra-ing.
So I lower my iris, gain, etc, which makes the image darken on the LCD screen.
Problem is, what looks great to my eye, is way too dark after its been converted
into FCP. Also, I'm there at all times of day, and sometimes away from the skylights
in dark hallways. This is a nightmare! Help! What should I do?
just allow a whole lot of zebra-ing, cause I've also gotten the opposite,
FCP footage that's way white, blue and blown out...

Thanks in advance,
Amber

P.S. I'm shooting in 720pn / 24p
 
First - you cannot use the lcd on the HVX for any kind of fine exposure or color judgement - only for 'roughing in' and framing.

Second - unless you absolutely need it (or want a particular look) - set your gain to 0.

Third - make sure you are not in auto settings which will override your manual choices.

Your zebras can be set to two different levels - 70% - considered about right for normal, caucasian skin tone, and 90% - which most people would use as a warning indicator. When I am using zebras at 70%, I only like to see a patch or two on the key side of someone's face (ie forehead and cheek), not covering them all over. Take into account different skin tones too (someone who is paler should have more Zebras than someone who is darker).

You also just have to use your judgement when you can't control the light and have a very contrasty situation, What are you exposing for? people in the mall? Storefronts?

Figure out what is most important to have correct exposure.

When you have the skylights dominating - you should have a different white balance and exposure than when you are in a dark hallway - lit by flos or tungsten. Make sure you are adjusting these as you go.
 
Thank you quicklad for all of the advice. It's especially helpful
to get a sense of what percentage to set the zebras, and then how much to
allow in an image, i.e. on the highlight of the girls face.

Much appreciated!
 
-You can set the zebras to whatever you want in the menus (I forget which one, but it's there). I've got mine at 85/105, IIRC. The spot meter "marker" mode (a third press on the zebra button) is also great. It might not be set as active on your camera, so if not, go into the menus again to turn it on.

-Watch out for any LCD's tendency to shift contrast wildly with different vertical angles of view. Generally a straight-on angle is most accurate.

-FCP will almost always look darker than reality due to its default gamma, which can be changed, but not fully. A broadcast monitor or adapter solution like a Matrox MXO and a second display is the only way to see it right in FCP.
 
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