why is my film not glossy?

Before you start playing with MB start simpler with simple levels and curves (gamma) adjustments. If you can also experiment by taking a single frame and bringing it into photoshop if you have it. MB is great, I use a competitors products which are essentially the same, but first you want to figure out how to "correct" or optimize your image before you play around with "grading" it. By this I mean first develop a beautiful well exposed accurate image, and the you can get creative.
 
:) i am using a UV filter as well as shooting it from behind my office window which looked clean to me. Very perceptive !!

I think now i am convinced that there is nothing wrong with my camera its just that i don't know how to use it. I really appreciate all the great advise. My weekend project will be to shoot somthing beautiful, sharp using all manual functions and post it for you guys to judge.

Thanks again.

Cheers
 
Default f6 also has the detail level turned WAY down if I remember correctly. That might be part of the reason your image doesn't look sharp like you expect.
 
krish said:
I am using Auto Focus. I wanted to get just really sharp images. no particular look. One think i must say is all the great footage i have seen on this site have all been rendered using QuickTime i guess wmv is definitely part of my problem.
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I have never had a problem with WMV compression (or QuickTime) destroying an image that badly. I honestly think your problem is happening earlier when you are shooting, that that footage looks dull right out of the gate.

Also, auto focus doesn't work that well in 24p mode so I would switch to manual and then actually focus on something, then film.
 
Might I also suggest removing the uv filter? That is Leica glass you're putting your filter in front of, and I guarantee you, no matter how much you paid for it, it's far lower quality than what's on the dvx (this will always slightly to significantly lower your image quality.)
 
Yes. I will remove the UV filter.

Thanks guys, it really makes me feel quite good knowing that there is a community of DVX users out there who will help you no matter what.

About UV filters, what are the conditions when a UV filter is must and do most of the folks here actually always us it?

Thanks Again,

Cheers,
 
I go back and forth on this.

I know professional photographers who never use a UV filter because they believe that it will degrade the image. They take stunningly beautiful photographs.

I know professional photographers who pony up for the best UV filter there is (in their estimation), put it on and NEVER take it off because they would rather risk scratching an $80 filter than a $2,000 lens. They take stunningly beautiful photographs.

I can't tell the difference.... I can tell the difference with a cheap filter, but not a Schnieder... Horses for courses.
 
Personally I leave mine on all the time for lens protection. I agree that the Leica lens is a nice lens, but I'd rather smash a $70 UV filter and have slightly lower image quality than face the possibility of scratching or smashing my actual lens. It's a matter of preference when it comes down to it. Even though we all baby our DVX's, accidents do happen and I use the UV filter as insurance. But you'll hear all kinds of opinions. It's really what you feel best about.
 
uv filter on all the time, its not necesarly about scratching lense but about dirt and $hit getting down there i'd rather clean my uv, than putting a cleaning cloth inside....
 
I can't remember how many times a UV filter has saved my lens, I even carry a spare UV in the bag. I really don't think anyone should tell anyone else to take it off. Maybe advise them to try a test with and without so they can make their own conclusions on image quality vs lens safety. Most people will probably find that there's not a big enough difference to warrent risking their lens.

Marlene
 
ovjamaica said:
Yeah, I wondered about that too. The picture seemed really noisy for how much light there was. Hiking the gain and then closing down the iris will kill your picture like this, as others have said.
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for sure. to me any gain setting other than low creates too much noise. i never use that switch. i just get more light or don't shoot.....
 
Looks better. I may have opened it up a bit more to get a bit more vibrancy, but overall it's not bad. One thing you should keep in mind about the "glossy" footage you have seen from others is that color correction and other effects can certainly change the look of footage in a good way. What NLE are you using? You can probably do some post effects to make things look better. Not saying that you can't get great footage out of the camera, you absolutely can. Just trying to help you not be discouraged. :D
 
Thanks. i am using the trial version of Vagas 6. I have 16 more days to go before i have to buy a copy. So far i like it even though i have not used it very extensively. I am primarly a PC user to FCP is out. I was told that Avid Exp pro is also a good option but its way too expensive for me right now.
 
you can improve the sharpness by using the good focal numbers too. F5.6 makes the sharpest image. at fully open you loose 15% of resolution. near "full close" you can loose 50%. barry green, in his book (you should buy it), recommend to stay between f2,8 and f14.
settings are important too. some cinegammas add a lot of noise.
 
How about a clear lens? You shoot every shot with a uv? Even indoors with lighting? Just asking.
 
I was using UV for everything for indoors as well as outdoors but I removed the UV for the last footage i posted. I wanted to get the clear picture without any CC or anything.

I guess everything goes into making a film look great

Proper Lighting
Proper Focus
Proper F-stop
Proper Zoom
Proper WB
and Ofcourse CC in Post !

I will pick a better subject then my bedroom to try out the true potentil of my DVX next time!!

Stay Tuned.

Cheers and thanks again,

-Krish
 
i just threw your last footage in combustion and tweaked it a little and it looks pretty good. I cant put it up anywhere now because they locked down our network at work and I cant ftp anymore. You just need to color correct and adjust your levels to get it glossier looking. Theres a book out on color correction that pretty good.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578202019/103-9860006-0701427?v=glance&n=283155

it will help you understand whats happening when color correcting and why it should be done.
Good luck.
 
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