Panning issues with EX1

[Shanked]

I've had some disappointing results with panning over detailed backgrounds with my EX1. These are not necessarily "quick" camera moves. Example: a 90 degree arc covered in 5 seconds with a constant subject radius (distance from lens to subject) of 10 feet. The subject is a living room with a book shelf, lit with practicals.

I'm using 1080 HD at 24p. I toyed with shutter speeds a bit and toggled the "steady shot" function but I feel like there is some other setting I'm missing.

The footage is jittery over details (such a room corner vertical line).

Has anyone had success in improving the looks of their pans?

 

[MitchLewis]

Try one or a combination of these:

- Switch to 1080 60i or 720 60p
- Turn off the shutter
- Turn off the detail

 

[moldcad]

Try one or a combination of these:

- Switch to 1080 60i or 720 60p
- Turn off the shutter
- Turn off the detail

I guess Shanked is after 24p, in which case he should (in addition to panning SLOWLY):

- turn detail off, to get rid of unnecessarily over-defined edges
- throw the background out of focus, again to get rid of too much detail
- turn the shutter off, even though the theory says 180 deg (only if the above two measures are not enough)

But above all, he should check whether some hw/sw link in his display chain is not lagging behind - in 90% of "panning judder" cases, this is the main culprit!

Piotr

 

[Barry_Green]

Quick rule of thumb for panning speed is that when shooting 24p, an object should take about 7 seconds to cross the screen. Is that about how long you're allowing? Because if not, yeah, it's gonna strobe.

 

[Shanked]

Wow, thanks for the quick and helpful information.
1) yes, I am striving for 24p in all shots
2) no, I wasn't aware of turning off the "detail." Thanks.
3) no, I wasn't allowing a full 7 seconds for an object to cross. Thanks.
4) yes, I will trying turning shutter off completely.
5) no, display chain wasn't the culprit... this time... muhaahaahaa.
6) yes, where feasible we'll achieve a nice depth of field and soften the background

Thank you folks so much for your help!
Shanked

 

[MitchLewis]

Just to be clear, detail won't cause a "constant" shutter effect. You'll notice detail when you start or stop you pan. Things will suddenly sharpen or blur when you start/stop panning.

 

[DCSensui]

Barry's 7-second rule also applies to scrolling credits.

However, a 2-second rule applies to cookies dropped on the floor.

 

[EC Junior]

Barry's 7-second rule also applies to scrolling credits.

However, a 2-second rule applies to cookies dropped on the floor.

Something random:
I saw on Mythbusters, 5 second rule, 2 second rule will still get the same amount of bacteria if it was dropped for 1/10th of a second.

 

[GuyB]

Something random:
I saw on Mythbusters, 5 second rule, 2 second rule will still get the same amount of bacteria if it was dropped for 1/10th of a second.

Doesn't matter, a rule is a rule rogar-Dum(DBG):

 

[Shanked]

coping with detail

coping with detail

Just to be clear, detail won't cause a "constant" shutter effect. You'll notice detail when you start or stop you pan. Things will suddenly sharpen or blur when you start/stop panning.

Yes, I have noticed the detail abruptly kick in at the cessation of a pan. To be honest, I find it really destructive. There are very few shots that I feel can be labled "professional" or "high quality" when the detail effect is occurring.

I appreciate the heads up; altering this phenomenon will definitely help me improve the quality of my shots.


(And when it comes to food hitting the kitchen floor, I have a rhodesian ridgeback who observes her own 5-DAY rule... with strict compliance.)

 

[Sumfun]

Barry's 7-second rule also applies to scrolling credits.

The 7 seconds rule applies to a horizontal pan - or 1920 pixels. Since scrolling credits travel vertically - only 1080 pixels - shouldn't the rule be around 4 seconds instead?

Related question: I thought the 7 second rule was for SD video. Does it also hold for HD video (HD is up to 1920 pixels wide vs. SD with only 720 pixels)?