hv 200 SD Card Scene File Question

[Benjamin Kasulke]

I have been crossing internet references to 'film emulation' settings contained within SD cards for use with the HVX200....

 

Are these emulation cards an actual product? If so, do they provide any settings one could not set themself with a calibrated monitor and a few solid tests?

 

Many Thanks For Your Time,

 

Ben

[Michael Schrengohst]

No I do not think those are actual "products".

What are you trying to achieve???

With an HVX shooting HD try these settings:

 

Any settings not listed are 0

 

OPERATION TYPE: Film Cam

FRAME RATE: Default (Try shooting 720 24pN with a P2 card to start)

SYNCRO SCAN: 200.0d

Detail: +2

Detail Coring: +2

Chroma Level: +2

Master Ped: -4

Gamma: Cine Like V

Matrix: Norm

V detail Freq: Thin

 

These settings should get you started, tailor them for

specific results.....

[Robert Aldrich]

With an HVX shooting HD try these settings:

 

(snip)

 

These settings should get you started, tailor them for

specific results.....

 

Hey Mike,

 

What about this: If I don't have a calibrated monitor to shoot with, how can I best get in the ballpark with the camera in the field? Shoot a gray card first? White balance and watch zebra levels during shooting I would think, but do you think there are settings in the camera that would pretty well guarantee good color? Are the cameras pretty standard one to another? At different temperatures and humidity?

Edited November 8, 2006 by Robert Aldrich

[Michael Schrengohst]

Hey Mike,

 

What about this: If I don't have a calibrated monitor to shoot with, how can I best get in the ballpark with the camera in the field? Shoot a gray card first? White balance and watch zebra levels during shooting I would think, but do you think there are settings in the camera that would pretty well guarantee good color? Are the cameras pretty standard one to another? At different temperatures and humidity?

 

Hello Robert,

Practice - I rarely have the luxury of shooting with any monitor....most of

the stuff I shoot is run & gun......after years of BetaSP shooting and then

using the DVX you get a feel for what is going on and how the video will look.

The HVX does have a "spot" meter and along with the zebras I get fairly

accurate exposures.....Having a monitor on a shoot is great but it must be

set-up in a proper viewing environment.....You must look at each scene

and tweak the camera settings for the best results. I have a basic setting I like

and then go from there....and don't be afraid to experiment with pedestal,

white balance settings......

I have my own HVX and have used and rented others as well and the

look between cameras is very consistent.

[Robert Aldrich]

Hello Robert,

 

The HVX does have a "spot" meter and along with the zebras I get fairly

accurate exposures.....Having a monitor on a shoot is great but it must be

set-up in a proper viewing environment.....

 

and then go from there....and don't be afraid to experiment with pedestal,

white balance settings......

I have my own HVX and have used and rented others as well and the

look between cameras is very consistent.

 

I recently bought a gray card and haven't had a shoot yet to try it on, but thought this might be a good way to determine base exposure with this camera.

 

True?

 

I've often in the past gone with a touch of 70% IRE on faces, but found that to be unworkable unless the subject was a light-skinned caucasian...

or, if shooting a black guy or other darker person, I'd find a caucasian nearby and expose for that, then go to the black guy and adjust for taste if he looked too dark. This is mostly on movie premieres where you have to be fast to get anything useable.

 

As for white balance, I was at a concert last summer where we interviewed a about twenty bands all afternoon, one right after the other. We were in a shaded area on a very hot, bright day, so I white balanced on a white card for the shaded skylight, but the skin tones were all washed out and a very odd color to boot. I went to AWB later and they then looked normal! I found this odd because the white balance detector is in such an strange place on the camera, maybe the detector is seeing the ceiling, or both the ceiling and what's in front of the camera, I can't see what's in there. Any comment on that?

 

Another odd thing I saw last week, I was on this shoot where a photographer did his shoot after me on the same subject. He took a gray card and white balanced on that! Does this make sense? Also, he had a neat little color chart about the size of the gray card which he held up and snapped right afterwards, to check his colors, and they looked good. I didn't get a chance to ask him where he got that color chart but it's about half the size of an 8" X 10" sheet of paper. Guess I can check some photo supply shops or something.

 

Overall, I'm just trying to find a way to "get in the ballpark" video-wise in the field without having to drag along a monitor.

[Michael Schrengohst]

The grey card method will get you started...you are right...70% means nothing if you are recording people with darker skin....

Ansel Adams invented the Zone system of photographic exposure and the same basic rules apply to video....Lets say you are recording a bright sunny snow covered scene....the light meter on AUTO will stop down too much so you must learn what the right exposure should be...

you probably need to open up a few stops....If you were recording

a performer that was brightly lit against a black background your AUTO exposure would try to open up too much...in that case you would need to stop down to expose the performer properly....

You could white balance with a proper grey card....try it and see....the color chart was for the editors to properly color correct the scene....

The best way to learn is to keep shooting until the exposure adjustments

become automatic....even then I still find myself tweaking exposure and color in the edit bay....

[Tim O'Connor]

The grey card method will get you started...you are right...70% means nothing if you are recording people with darker skin....

Ansel Adams invented the Zone system of photographic exposure and the same basic rules apply to video....Lets say you are recording a bright sunny snow covered scene....the light meter on AUTO will stop down too much so you must learn what the right exposure should be...

you probably need to open up a few stops....If you were recording

a performer that was brightly lit against a black background your AUTO exposure would try to open up too much...in that case you would need to stop down to expose the performer properly....

You could white balance with a proper grey card....try it and see....the color chart was for the editors to properly color correct the scene....

The best way to learn is to keep shooting until the exposure adjustments

become automatic....even then I still find myself tweaking exposure and color in the edit bay....

 

 

Do you use Final Cut Pro by any chance and if so what methods do you use to tweak exposure?

 

Thanks.

[Michael Nash]

Do you use Final Cut Pro by any chance and if so what methods do you use to tweak exposure?

 

Easiest way is with the 3-way color corrector. But of course you can only do so much. A mild tug on the midtones up or down can "correct" an exposure +/- 1/2 stop no problem. If you need to go more than that, you may need to make other mild adjustments to keep contrast and color saturation looking normal.

[Tim O'Connor]

Easiest way is with the 3-way color corrector. But of course you can only do so much. A mild tug on the midtones up or down can "correct" an exposure +/- 1/2 stop no problem. If you need to go more than that, you may need to make other mild adjustments to keep contrast and color saturation looking normal.

 

Cool, thanks.