New HV20 - lots of questions

[Gregg Kimball]

Ken you must have gotten lucky with a package deal because I haven’t found any offers that included the Firewire cable but now that I have one I’m happy, just a few more bucks gone from my retirement.

Questions for Ken and Jack, do you use the Auto or Program mode? I have been in program because that is what I use when taking pictures with my Digital SLR and I like the flexibility but I don’t know if the same rules apply to video. Any good tips on settings that you have found that work well in different shooting environments will really help my learning curve. I haven’t shot any serious video since the 70’s and things have changed a little since then. I still remember my RCA video camera that connected to the tape drive section of my VCR. Between the camera, recorder, battery belt, and tripod I looked like a reporter from NBC. Ahh, the good old days.

[Ken Jarstad]

Gregg, the procedure Jack Falbey posted suggests using the "Cine Mode" on HV20 and that is what I use. Many folks have been put off by the motion artifacts visible in MPEG video. Add to that the incredible sharpness of the format and a good lens - and high contrasts shots out of doors can look rather garrish. There has been considerable discussion about this on the HV20 and DVI forums.

OTH, I have shot indoors using the program AE mode and found the images quite acceptable.

The Cine Mode reduces contrast, color level and sharpness (among other things) which many people find gives them a more pleasing image. In addition to the Cine Mode I add +1 to the color and +1 to the sharpness (if I remember right. The discussion on the DVI forum goes into various personal preferences.) Remember that contrast, color level and sharpness can be added with little problems while editing. The reverse situation is always much harder or even impossible to do without serious image degradation.

[Gregg Kimball]

Thanks Ken, I'll try your suggestions and start shooting.