Why does gain go up to 24, can it go higher? Also how to get 1/24 on shutter?
- Thread starter JoeJITSU
- Start date
PerroneFord
Deals in Lead
Have you looked at any footage shot on 24 gain? A 4 stop boost... I can only imagine.
wannabeapilot
Well-known member
please please please limit yourself to 12db max gain
any higher and you lose color, resolution, and quality
34db can be achieved by going into the assign functions to button menu and setting i think "high gain" to one of the user buttons
any higher and you lose color, resolution, and quality
34db can be achieved by going into the assign functions to button menu and setting i think "high gain" to one of the user buttons
Mike Beckett
Well-known member
...or give it a go (in a controlled situation first, preferably wired up to a big monitor so you can see what it's like). There may be circumstances where it is better than nothing. 24db saved my bacon in a couple of dark locations recently. It was grainy, but the alternative was leaving the camera in its bag and do nothing.
bob, that's amazing
excuse the ignorance, but i didn't know the HMC40 could go that high on gain!
man, of course, you might not want to shoot a movie with such high grain, but to be able to just get the shot, it is pretty awesome.
like someone else said, if it is either this or leaving the camera in the bag, I'll take this any day.
thnx for sharing.
excuse the ignorance, but i didn't know the HMC40 could go that high on gain!
man, of course, you might not want to shoot a movie with such high grain, but to be able to just get the shot, it is pretty awesome.
like someone else said, if it is either this or leaving the camera in the bag, I'll take this any day.
thnx for sharing.
Jason Allen
Well-known member
OK, so having had the HMC40 for 2 weeks now, and having shot in a multitude of situations in the past 2 weeks with it (in a club, at a wedding, all around NYC and Washington DC above and below ground night & day) here's my two cents:
-Shooting at +12db gain is fine. The footage at +12db gain looks great and your clients will be more than happy unless they're strict "quality-nazis" like some pro-video gearheads (like us folks on DVXuser). I wouldn't touch the +24db or higher settings as the results I've seen from others, and the results I've myself shot were disappointing on a 1080p monitor, to say the least. That said, +24db is an OK alternative to missing the shot entirely, but I would be unhappy with the results, and so would my clients... but its better than nothing.
-To avoid needing stupidly high gain, BUY A VIDEO LIGHT!!!!!!!! The HMC40 camera is awesome for its price, but low light is NOT its strength. I recommend a powerful on camera video light like the Comer 1800 that I bought from LA Color Shop's website www.LAcolorshop.com (FYI, the owner of that site is a veteran DVXuser poster named Taky, and he has AWESOME customer service). Having a video light is ESSENTIAL to shooting in a night club situation, unless you want to shoot blurry, silhouetted subjects. Not even the HPX-170 or a super-sensitive DSLR like the Nikon D700 with a prime lens has light sensitivity good enough to shoot in an environment that dark without a secondary light source.
-For shutter speeds of 1/24th sec, you should be shooting in a 24p mode (1080p/24p or 720p/24p).
That should be enough to get you pointed in the right direction. Give it a go and post back with the results!
-Shooting at +12db gain is fine. The footage at +12db gain looks great and your clients will be more than happy unless they're strict "quality-nazis" like some pro-video gearheads (like us folks on DVXuser). I wouldn't touch the +24db or higher settings as the results I've seen from others, and the results I've myself shot were disappointing on a 1080p monitor, to say the least. That said, +24db is an OK alternative to missing the shot entirely, but I would be unhappy with the results, and so would my clients... but its better than nothing.
-To avoid needing stupidly high gain, BUY A VIDEO LIGHT!!!!!!!! The HMC40 camera is awesome for its price, but low light is NOT its strength. I recommend a powerful on camera video light like the Comer 1800 that I bought from LA Color Shop's website www.LAcolorshop.com (FYI, the owner of that site is a veteran DVXuser poster named Taky, and he has AWESOME customer service). Having a video light is ESSENTIAL to shooting in a night club situation, unless you want to shoot blurry, silhouetted subjects. Not even the HPX-170 or a super-sensitive DSLR like the Nikon D700 with a prime lens has light sensitivity good enough to shoot in an environment that dark without a secondary light source.
-For shutter speeds of 1/24th sec, you should be shooting in a 24p mode (1080p/24p or 720p/24p).
That should be enough to get you pointed in the right direction. Give it a go and post back with the results!
wannabeapilot
Well-known member
id love to see a few shots done with the 40 and the comer
Jason Allen
Well-known member
I'll post some clips up later this week when I edit this past weekend's wedding footage, wannabeapilot. I need a few days to recuperate from the shoot first 
wannabeapilot
Well-known member
I'll post some clips up later this week when I edit this past weekend's wedding footage, wannabeapilot. I need a few days to recuperate from the shoot first
very cool, thank you!