Zebra Levels
- Thread starter Rob
- Start date
Re: Zebra Levels
Rob, I use Zebra all the time. I never turn it off. Have been doing it more years than I care to mention. Once you get used to using the Zebra pattern, you will know what I mean.
There are many secrets to correctly using Zebra. The DVX100A gives you additional features, including 105 IRE.
For general purposes, I use a setting of 80IRE for faces (fairly light faces) and 100IRE for blown out highlights. If I have the sky in a normal shot, expect to see some zebra in it. The best way to experiment with Zebra is to use a very good external monitor that has been calibrated correctly using the color bars from your camera and a blue gun.
Hope this helps.
eric
Rob, I use Zebra all the time. I never turn it off. Have been doing it more years than I care to mention. Once you get used to using the Zebra pattern, you will know what I mean.
There are many secrets to correctly using Zebra. The DVX100A gives you additional features, including 105 IRE.
For general purposes, I use a setting of 80IRE for faces (fairly light faces) and 100IRE for blown out highlights. If I have the sky in a normal shot, expect to see some zebra in it. The best way to experiment with Zebra is to use a very good external monitor that has been calibrated correctly using the color bars from your camera and a blue gun.
Hope this helps.
eric
Re: Zebra Levels
Hi Paul:
Your post a very good question. Why? Zebra for me is one of my very best friends. It lets me know what is happening with regard to the amout of highlights in my image.
At say 80 IRE (actually anywhere from 70 to 85) is a very good indicator of the light (or highlights) falling on the face or skin of a caucasain. Except for bright jewery on say a womans face, I turn the iris down until the zebra disappears. This of course changes with dark skinned people.
The DVX100A not only has a 100 setting, but it also has a 105 setting. Since I have both cameras (the 100 and 100A) and I'm used to using 100 as my limit, I set both cameras to 100. If I had two 100A's I would use the 105. Why? Because at 105, you're really given the limit without crashing.
In audio, we talk about "headroom" meaning how much room we have to play with before our audio "crashes or distorts". With analog, you had much more room to "play" with.
Digital is a different story with regard to both audio and video.
My rule of thumb when shooting? When in doubt, alway err on the side of "less is better". Less db's and less light. You can usually "save" an image or sound in post if it's alittle under. If you hit the wall, put a fork in it. Your DONE.
The very best way to really learn zebra is to use a really good monitor in your studio. Make sure your monitor is calibrated along with your eye piece and flip out LCD. First try lighting or overlighting a subject. Put it into the auto iris mode and observe the zebra pattern. Now put it into the manual mode and start working with the iris until you get the image that you're looking for.
Do the same thing now outside (this time just using your camera viewfinder or LCD) first with auto and then manual. Within a very short period of time, you'll know just how much zebra should be in the image to give you the very best exposure. As I mentioned before, once you learn to rely on the zebra pattern, you'll never leave home without it.
Hope this helps.
Hi Paul:
Your post a very good question. Why? Zebra for me is one of my very best friends. It lets me know what is happening with regard to the amout of highlights in my image.
At say 80 IRE (actually anywhere from 70 to 85) is a very good indicator of the light (or highlights) falling on the face or skin of a caucasain. Except for bright jewery on say a womans face, I turn the iris down until the zebra disappears. This of course changes with dark skinned people.
The DVX100A not only has a 100 setting, but it also has a 105 setting. Since I have both cameras (the 100 and 100A) and I'm used to using 100 as my limit, I set both cameras to 100. If I had two 100A's I would use the 105. Why? Because at 105, you're really given the limit without crashing.
In audio, we talk about "headroom" meaning how much room we have to play with before our audio "crashes or distorts". With analog, you had much more room to "play" with.
Digital is a different story with regard to both audio and video.
My rule of thumb when shooting? When in doubt, alway err on the side of "less is better". Less db's and less light. You can usually "save" an image or sound in post if it's alittle under. If you hit the wall, put a fork in it. Your DONE.
The very best way to really learn zebra is to use a really good monitor in your studio. Make sure your monitor is calibrated along with your eye piece and flip out LCD. First try lighting or overlighting a subject. Put it into the auto iris mode and observe the zebra pattern. Now put it into the manual mode and start working with the iris until you get the image that you're looking for.
Do the same thing now outside (this time just using your camera viewfinder or LCD) first with auto and then manual. Within a very short period of time, you'll know just how much zebra should be in the image to give you the very best exposure. As I mentioned before, once you learn to rely on the zebra pattern, you'll never leave home without it.
Hope this helps.