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Home: Video University Forums: HDV:
FX1 low light shooting

 
 


extremalis
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Aug 22, 2005, 3:33 AM

Post #1 of 10 (2030 views)
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FX1 low light shooting Can't Post
Just got my hands on the FX1 baby yesterday. Heard that under low light conditions, this fella is not so ideal.
In a normal litted room at night, it requires about 12dB gain in order to match the similar footage captured by the PD170. I had done all these in DV mode.

While in a darker condition, i had no choice but to up the gain level to 18dB, and found that there were visible noise seen from a TV that i connected up the camcorder to. I would preferably not like to use such footage.

My short experiment and verdict tells me that i would allow auto-gain control up to 12dB where no visible artifacts or noise were seen. I am not sure if there might be any difference if i used the camera in HDV mode, and did the same experiments. Any gurus care to share?


Regards
extremalis


Ranko
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Aug 22, 2005, 6:00 AM

Post #2 of 10 (2020 views)
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Re: [extremalis] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
hi extremalis,

first off, good for you on getting your FX1.

by the way, just curious to know why you did not shoot in HDV mode?


extremalis
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Aug 22, 2005, 9:19 AM

Post #3 of 10 (2009 views)
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Re: [Ranko] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Ranko,

thanks!

I did not shoot in HDV mode yet, because i have to deliver express highlights (same day editing) for my next coming shoot in Sept. I think that HDV to DV conversion takes more than 1:1 (ie. 1 hour footage takes more than real time to convert).

I do not have enough CPU power to risk doing editing in HDV yet, to be able to edit in HDV and then after full editing to finally deliver in DVD.

Definitely i will slowly find the right workflow to start offering in HDV format, but i need to slowly break it in. Please feel free to leave me any comments or advise. Thanks!


extremalis


Ranko
User


Aug 22, 2005, 9:24 AM

Post #4 of 10 (2007 views)
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Re: [extremalis] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
i see. well, i ever saw DSE demo the gearshift which allow slower pc to edit hdv in proxy mode. looks cool and fast. however, i do know some here raise the issue of color correcting in proxy, etc. so i wish you all the best in your search for a suitable workflow!


szerangue
Veteran


Aug 22, 2005, 1:06 PM

Post #5 of 10 (1983 views)
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Re: [extremalis] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
I shoot all of my weddings with 2 FX1s and 1 Z1. I never use anything more than 12db of gain, never 18db. 18db is too noisy. However, 12db or less if very nice. Last weekend we used 9db almost the entire day and at times we bumped up some of the dancing footage to 12db because of low light. Soon after that we put our lights on our cameras and were good to go. These cameras do not produce light, they shoot the picture as is, which to me is a good thing. With 12db of gain there is little noise, if any, but the colors are true. I rarely have to do any color corrections and the last 2 weddings have done zero color correction. These cameras, used correctly, produce phenomenal footage even with 12db of gain.
Miracle Pictures
"If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle!"

"Life Productions, coming out of the dark, into the light"
4EVER GROUP AFFILIATE


adtr
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Aug 22, 2005, 1:23 PM

Post #6 of 10 (1981 views)
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Post deleted by adtr [In reply to]
 


szerangue
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Aug 22, 2005, 1:27 PM

Post #7 of 10 (1977 views)
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Re: [adtr] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
I am still on Edius and I have no problems when I create my DVDs. The picture quality is great. I do not downconvert from the camera if that is what you are asking. All of my editing is done in HDV and the only downsample is done in encoding.
Miracle Pictures
"If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle!"

"Life Productions, coming out of the dark, into the light"
4EVER GROUP AFFILIATE


KevinShaw
Veteran

Aug 22, 2005, 5:09 PM

Post #8 of 10 (1960 views)
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Re: [szerangue] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
Shane: what wattage of on-camera lights do you use at typical receptions, and how much of the evening do you usually need to use those? I'm finding that 20-40 watts (with diffuser) seems like plenty on the FX1, but that I'm running the lights more than I'd really like. I can even get passable footage at 10 watts with a little ambient room light, so that's what I'm doing when I don't want to blind people.

P.S. Regarding the original question in this thread, you should definitely try running the camera in HDV mode so you can see how much cleaner that looks in low-light than footage from most DV cameras -- which allows you to boost the gain more without sacrificing image quality. So if the FX1 with 12db gain looks as bright as your PD170 at 0dB and Has equal or lesser noise at that setting, than you're just as well off in terms of low-light capability and you have the advantage of shooting in high-definition.

(This post was edited by kwshaw1 on Aug 22, 2005, 5:44 PM)


szerangue
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Aug 22, 2005, 8:13 PM

Post #9 of 10 (1935 views)
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Re: [kwshaw1] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
Not sure if the comment about running my cameras in HDV was directed at me but obviously I only shoot in HDV. I have a Sony 10/20 light that I use on my camera and depending on the ambient light I will use the 10watt or 20watt as necessary. I also have a Frezzi 50watt and we use it on the stationary camera, but it is mostly not necessary. I really have not quite understood all the hoopla over these cameras in low light. Yes in a low lit ceremony where you cannot use ambient light you may have to bump up the gain and even then you could have an issue with low light. But at a reception where on camera lights are not a problem, there is no problem.
Miracle Pictures
"If it's a good picture, it's a Miracle!"

"Life Productions, coming out of the dark, into the light"
4EVER GROUP AFFILIATE


KevinShaw
Veteran

Aug 23, 2005, 10:06 AM

Post #10 of 10 (1878 views)
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Re: [szerangue] FX1 low light shooting [In reply to] Can't Post
Shane: sorry if I confused you by mixing two comments in one post. Sounds like you've had similar experiences to mine using the FX1 in low light, which is that just a modest amount of on-camera lighting is sufficient -- as is true with many popular DV cameras. I'm equally puzzled by all the criticism of current HDV cameras in low light: they do fine considering they're sub-$5K cameras with 1/3 inch sensors.

- Kevin