Gamma and Contrast in Film and Video

[Yaron Y. Dahan]

Hello there,

So, I come from a film background (stills) and I'm starting to move into video a bit, and I'm trying to figure out how everything works. I am shooting with a DSR 300, and my question is about the Gamma adjustments. I know that for example in film, a high contrast situation will lay better on a more severe slope of the gamma, and a low contrast situation will fit better on a softer slope. the question is in video does adjusting Gamma in the camera change the range of what the chip itself sees, or is it only processing that happens after the chip reads it? (which would essentially make it useless to play with)