Low light photography

K

KodaMax

New member
Hi, All

Being nearly a virgin user of the DVX, I have a technical challenge that I need advice on.
Next week, I will be shooting a scene with only candlelight. I know the DVX is capable of shooting down to 3 lux, but I need some tips for shooting.

Obviously, I will be shooting on a tripod. But I don't want to get lots of grain by pumping up the gain.

Any info will be most useful. Thanks in advance. :beer:
 
Are you shooting this scene because the only light source available to you is a single candle?

Or do you want to make it look as if all there was, was a single candle? Those are two very different things.

Use adequate lighting, flag it off of the background, and use the candle as your "motivated" light source, but don't use the candle as the ACTUAL light source, or you'll likely be quite disappointed in the results!
 
It is a ceremony and there will be several candles lighted by family members. I won't know specifics until the day of the shoot.
 
I shot several scenes in my movie 'the black Mass.' with a procession of candles. I used the panasonic DVC30. The footage looks gorgeous and I was handheld!

If that camera can do it then I'm betting the DVX100A will hold up nicely...

J
 
Ah -- okay, so not a dramatic/film scene, where you can control lighting; rather you're shooting a live event. Well, that does sound challenging. You can't use slow shutter and gain together, so if shooting 24p the slowest you can set the shutter is 1/24 if you want to be able to use gain. Gain will make it grainy, there's no doubt about that.
 
Do the tried and true test.. light a candle and shoot it a few different ways (slow shut ... gain) and see what you like best.
 
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