To record Progressive, or not the record Progressive

A

andybiz_2005

Well-known member
Hi all,

I've been using my DVX102A (PAL) camcorder to record quite a number of weddings now. However, in the past, I've recorded it in interlaced (50i) mode & never really tried recording in progressive.

The main reason is because I've noticed that it takes a considerable amount of time for the auto-focus mechanism on the camera to obtain a sharp focus. In interlaced, the focussing on the camera is much faster & I've also heard that recording in progressive mode doesn't allow the camera to capture as much light as in interlaced mode. Ie, the camera is not as light sensitive in progressive mode as it is in interlaced mode. Not sure if that's true.

I would like to explore the progressive part of this camera, but am not sure what are the optimum settings to attain sharp focus & crystal clear images. Maybe those who have experience recording in progressive mode can provide me some pointers on how to attain sharp images & really good-quality pix.

At this moment, I don't have Barry Green's DVX Book & DVD, so advice from this forum would be very, very much appreciated. Thank you all in advance.

Andrew
 
The progressive footage doesn't give the greatest slow motion results. The interlaced footage is much smoother when slowed down. I like to shoot interlaced for everything that might be slowed down. And I shoot progressive for candid shots, people talking, fast dances, etc. Things I know won't be slowed down.

The progressive isn't as good in low light but a camera light will take care of that. I use manual focus when shooting progressive. The auto focus does work, it's slow to get focused, but once it's there it's pretty good at maintaining focus as long as the subject isn't moving too much. Just limt your zooming.
 
Hi Sacksnack,

Thanks for your valuable suggestions. Yeah, I do use a videolight mounted to the shoe of my camera, which is 100watts actually. For me, I very, very rarely edit my video to slow-mo, I like to keep the pace of the video original. Yeap, I will learn how to use my DVX's manual focus, but I'm sure it takes practice to turn the focus ring without adding any uneccesary jerk/shake to the camera's footage.

In your country, do the majority of wedding videographers record in interlaced, or progressive mode?

Also, I've seen some wedding demos, where there's a focus-pull, ie two objects can be seen in the frame of the video, but at different depths (1 closer to the camera & the other further away). What happens is that the cameraman adjusts the manual focus so skillfully that 1 object appears to be out of focus & the other object is in sharp focus, then vice versa. I kinda like this effect, but I'm not sure whether it is a difficult feat to pull-off with the DVX, because of it's limited 10X zoom. I'm sure it would be easier with the XL2, because of it's powerful zoom lens. I've tried to do a focus pull, but each time I adjust the manual focus, both objects appear blurred, or sharp despite them being at different depths (1 in front, the other further behind). Any suggestions? Thanks.

Andrew
 
I like to mix progressive and interlaced. The majority of videos I've seen have been interlaced. Several users on this site have commented that they shoot their weddings progressive. If I didn't have the need for slo-mo I would shoot entirely progressive.

As for focus pulls, keep the f-stop at 2.8, and the zoom at 99. These settings give the shallowest depth of field. Experiment a little and you'll find the DVX pulls these shots off quite well. I would use a tripod for these because being zoomed in that much makes the camera shakey.

Maybe you could invest in a steady stick or something like that to support the camera. This would eliminate camera movement while focusing. I'm looking into purchasing something to put the weight of the camera onto a belt or shoulder support.

A little trick I use, frame your shot with auto focus on. For example, flowers in the foreground, people in the background. The people are in focus, the flowers are out of focus. Turn off auto and manually focus on the flowers. Now you're ready to get your shot. Hit record and turn auto focus on...the camera will pull focus off the flowers to the background. Or you could just do this manually...remembering your focus numbers.

Here's a wedding videographer from San Francisco...these wedding trailers are some of the best I've seen...all shot with the DVX.

http://www.alexalee.com/weddings/trailers/trailers_gallery.htm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top