My thoughts on the AF100 after 1.5 days

impressive creations said:
So, will your book be included in the box if I get my cam this Spring, or is it a limited time only thing?
Click to expand...
That's up to Jan. The HPX Book has been continuously included with the HPX170 for quite a while, and The HMC Book has been continuous with the HMC cameras, but I guess anything is subject to change. As of right now I don't know of any time limit.
 
So let me ask you this question. I am so used to on my 7D having the freedom of a ton of shutter times, and a ton of ISO settings so that I can pretty much leave my aperture constant which I like doing.

When going through the AF100, I already knew about having only 3 easily selectable gains at my finger tips, however, I didn't anticipate the minimal settings of shutter speed.

What do you all do? Do you constantly change the Iris then? I usually dial in the DoF I want and adjust from there, but I don't think that method was intended from what I see (well, not as easily at least).
 
From my limited experience, I would change the ND filter first, then the gain, since you pretty much want to leave Tv alone, and already have your desired Av dialed in.
 
Video is usually shot with a 180 degree shutter like film. At least that is what I do.

So for 30p I use 1/60 sec and for 24p 1/48 sec.

Exposure is generally set with iris, ND or other filters possible a ISO or gain change. But mostly with small changes to the iris. This is how I have worked with video cameras for decades. I almost never change the shutter speed unless it is for a special effect.

Usually the ND is set first.
 
We did a lot of experimenting with faster that 1/48 and as long as you don't go too far, we were happy with the results. We thought they looked very filmic. When we got to 120-200, they were more strobby, but for action sequences, we liked what they added (however, this is all preference).

Having more steps between 1/24 and 1/120 would be nice, right now we have:

1/24, 1/50, 1/60, 1/120, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000

On my 7D I've been used to

1/30, 1/40, 1/50, 1/60, 1/80, 1/100, 1/125, 1/160, 1/200, 1/250, 1/320, 1/400, 1/500, 1/640, 1/800, 1/1000, 1/1250, 1/1600, 1/2000, 1/2500, 1/3200, 1/4000

I've never used ANYTHING above 1/250 for anything, so I cannot really comment above that. I've really enjoyed having that freedom.

I agree that small changes in the iris are not usually a problem, so I might just have to start doing that. Just different really. Given the HUGE IRIS dial on the side, it's pretty clear the intention :)
 
Well video and film cameras have always been limited in the shutter speed (film you have to change the wheel).

Video was always 60i or 50i for decades, it is only lately (in my years) that it has become common to shoot progressive video (DVX100 was my first progressive camera).

With video cams there was a clear scan setting that actually could change by very small increments (1hz or less) but I never did use that for exposure, only to avoid flicker and banding on analog monitors being videod.

I think in a way more leeway with shutter speeds would be nice. I think in video people just don't think in those term much.

My older still film cameras only had whole stops on the shutter, not 1/3 or 1/2 like current cameras, this is relatively new too.

When shooting stills I usually pick aperture first and then speed, of course there are exceptions to this.

I think it is really interesting that new tools are giving us more creativity. And I agree that exactly 180 degree shutter is not really necessary, it is just an old standard that is comfortable to look at.
 
grimepoch said:
We did a lot of experimenting with faster that 1/48 and as long as you don't go too far, we were happy with the results. We thought they looked very filmic. When we got to 120-200, they were more strobby, but for action sequences, we liked what they added (however, this is all preference).

Having more steps between 1/24 and 1/120 would be nice, right now we have:

1/24, 1/50, 1/60, 1/120, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000

On my 7D I've been used to

1/30, 1/40, 1/50, 1/60, 1/80, 1/100, 1/125, 1/160, 1/200, 1/250, 1/320, 1/400, 1/500, 1/640, 1/800, 1/1000, 1/1250, 1/1600, 1/2000, 1/2500, 1/3200, 1/4000

I've never used ANYTHING above 1/250 for anything, so I cannot really comment above that. I've really enjoyed having that freedom.

I agree that small changes in the iris are not usually a problem, so I might just have to start doing that. Just different really. Given the HUGE IRIS dial on the side, it's pretty clear the intention :)
Click to expand...

As long as it has film style shutter in degrees like other Panasonic cameras, you should be able to set the shutter more precisely than the 7d. You probably want to be using the film shutter anyway so if you do any over or undercranking, your motion blur will look consistent.
 
grimepoch said:
So let me ask you this question. I am so used to on my 7D having the freedom of a ton of shutter times, and a ton of ISO settings so that I can pretty much leave my aperture constant which I like doing.

When going through the AF100, I already knew about having only 3 easily selectable gains at my finger tips, however, I didn't anticipate the minimal settings of shutter speed.

What do you all do? Do you constantly change the Iris then? I usually dial in the DoF I want and adjust from there, but I don't think that method was intended from what I see (well, not as easily at least).
Click to expand...
Never ever ever ever change the shutter speed as a matter of course, to set exposure. Never. Leave it at 1/60th, and find other ways to get your exposure. I leave it at 1/60th, and change the ND filter to get it as close to proper exposure as I can, and then fine-tune with the iris.

Leave the shutter put. Not only will it mess up your motion blur to go changing the shutter, but it could royally pooch you when it comes to shooting under magnetic-ballast fluos or HMI's.

Shutter speed is an absolute last-resort for changing exposure, only to be used after everything else has been tried.
 
Barry_Green said:
Never ever ever ever change the shutter speed as a matter of course, to set exposure. Never. Leave it at 1/60th, and find other ways to get your exposure. I leave it at 1/60th, and change the ND filter to get it as close to proper exposure as I can, and then fine-tune with the iris.

Leave the shutter put. Not only will it mess up your motion blur to go changing the shutter, but it could royally pooch you when it comes to shooting under magnetic-ballast fluos or HMI's.

Shutter speed is an absolute last-resort for changing exposure, only to be used after everything else has been tried.
Click to expand...

+1,000
 
So if that is the case, then why expose the shutter speed on the dial in the back and not ISO gains? I would much rather select a different ISO then shutter speed truth be told. It's just, harder to get to the ISO settings.

But, thanks for the tip on how to :) I will say, we do change shutter for effect (as in saving private ryan) on some things we do. I like it in the limited uses we've used. But, point taken.

(And I am familiar with the issues with motion blur. That said, when I am doing some VFX work, I tend to like a faster shutter as it makes rotoscoping much easier and I am fine with less motion blur on that sort of stuff in the context of the work I have done. It's usually decided on a scene to scene basis though.)
 
grimepoch said:
So if that is the case, then why expose the shutter speed on the dial in the back and not ISO gains? I would much rather select a different ISO then shutter speed truth be told. It's just, harder to get to the ISO settings.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. That would be a nice firmware update.
 
If overcranking 60fps, should you change the shutter speed then? I think I changed it to 1/120, and it looked good, but not sure if that was necessary or not. This is my first cam that can over crank so it's a bit new to me.
 
A 180 degree shutter for Normal 24fps recording on the AF-100 is either 1/50 (closest to 1/48) or 1/60 as Barry recommends for some HMI lighting.
 
Can't you select the angle of the shutter if the camera is in FILM CAM mode? Then you would just select 180.
 
mcgeedigital said:
That is correct. If you want an 180 degree shutter for 60fps, then 1/120 works.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the info. And does the camera default to 1/60 when you are shooting regular 24fps? Meaning you don't need to set the shutter for it to be correct (unless you want to for some reason, but as outlined above by Barry you rarely would.)
 
mcgeedigital said:
Yes.
Click to expand...

So I have my scene file that is selected in FILM CAM mode and the selections are all in shutter times, ie 1/60 (and I don't see 1/50) unless I scroll to the one setting that is 180.0d which I am assuming is syncro that I have to set in the menu. Am I missing something here?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top