I was watching my more knowledgable friend use his DVX shooting handheld lifestyle stuff. He was using his Zebra setting and we discussed it, but when I grabbed my DVX I couldn't remember how to use the setting correctly. What is the proper balance between the manual iris and the Zebra? Do you want the lines to show in the whites?
Zebra Setting
- Thread starter stevemar
- Start date
With a gray scale, you can let the white chip and the lowest grays start to crawl. Without one, you'll have to wing it...
If I have a scene with too much white in it, I tend to lock iris when the zebras just begin to crawl in the white areas. In a properly balance-lit interview, where I have a one and one-half to two-stop drop from foreground subject to the set, I'll let facial highlights like foreheads and nose ridges crawl [a bit].
If you let little things like a white shirt under a dark jacket go really hot, it won't wreck the overall image, but detail in that one overexposed area will be diminished or lost. Do what you can to limit the latitude within any given shot - it will give you better saturation without sacrificing detail or color rendition.
e
If I have a scene with too much white in it, I tend to lock iris when the zebras just begin to crawl in the white areas. In a properly balance-lit interview, where I have a one and one-half to two-stop drop from foreground subject to the set, I'll let facial highlights like foreheads and nose ridges crawl [a bit].
If you let little things like a white shirt under a dark jacket go really hot, it won't wreck the overall image, but detail in that one overexposed area will be diminished or lost. Do what you can to limit the latitude within any given shot - it will give you better saturation without sacrificing detail or color rendition.
e
Overland,
I don't have a gray scale, I didn't go to film school but I'm not letting that hamper me!
Your second paragraph. Is that how I want to view the Zebra function? "If I have a scene with too much white in it, I tend to lock iris when the zebras just begin to crawl in the white areas."
Can you explain how to lock the Iris?
How would you handle it if you were shooting an outdoor ceremony without a tripod? (2nd camera). Keep your finger on the iris and have few lines?
Thanks, Steve
I don't have a gray scale, I didn't go to film school but I'm not letting that hamper me!
Your second paragraph. Is that how I want to view the Zebra function? "If I have a scene with too much white in it, I tend to lock iris when the zebras just begin to crawl in the white areas."
Can you explain how to lock the Iris?
How would you handle it if you were shooting an outdoor ceremony without a tripod? (2nd camera). Keep your finger on the iris and have few lines?
Thanks, Steve
Galt is right, I left out the 75 - 85% information up there. I think the DVX100a is set up at 80% and that would be what my original post was based on.
When I'm shooting fast, I tend to grab a quick, balanced reading of the framed shot using the auto iris function and then pressing IRIS to switch to manual. This keeps that original exposure as a baseline for you to work off of. Once you have that, you can dial up or down in subtle increments. That's what I call "locking iris". Keep in mind that an exposure taken on a wide lens might not be available to you at the long end of the glass - you can drop two stops between the wide and telephoto extremes.
The most difficult shooting situation (for me) is under trees on a very bright day. The auto-iris has a hard time balancing in dappled light and you have to really work to achieve proper exposure. If I'm shooting in shadows, I tend to expose for that and let the sunlit areas blow out. If your talent moves into the sunlight from the shadows, the exposure will need to change for that.
If you are doing lots of handheld at an outdoor event - where the light isn't changing too much (e.g., clouds rolling through while shooting, the tree thing or other light-limiting shelters in and out of scene) then I'd absolutely grab an auto exposure at your baseline focal length and ride the iris manually.
However, if you find yourself constantly swinging over three stops up or down, you might as well unlock the iris - it'll be quicker to respond than you are.
e
When I'm shooting fast, I tend to grab a quick, balanced reading of the framed shot using the auto iris function and then pressing IRIS to switch to manual. This keeps that original exposure as a baseline for you to work off of. Once you have that, you can dial up or down in subtle increments. That's what I call "locking iris". Keep in mind that an exposure taken on a wide lens might not be available to you at the long end of the glass - you can drop two stops between the wide and telephoto extremes.
The most difficult shooting situation (for me) is under trees on a very bright day. The auto-iris has a hard time balancing in dappled light and you have to really work to achieve proper exposure. If I'm shooting in shadows, I tend to expose for that and let the sunlit areas blow out. If your talent moves into the sunlight from the shadows, the exposure will need to change for that.
If you are doing lots of handheld at an outdoor event - where the light isn't changing too much (e.g., clouds rolling through while shooting, the tree thing or other light-limiting shelters in and out of scene) then I'd absolutely grab an auto exposure at your baseline focal length and ride the iris manually.
However, if you find yourself constantly swinging over three stops up or down, you might as well unlock the iris - it'll be quicker to respond than you are.
e