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Author
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Topic: A few questions for Digital 8 owners.
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horrormaker
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posted 01-31-2001 05:04 PM
I am going to be buying a new camera and with budget a major concern I have decided that D8 is what I will be going with.I just wanted to know a few things first about the either the sony or hitachi digital 8 cameras. First off what results can I expect in low light conditions? I am not talking about shooting in total darkness but fairly dark with maybe on pratical light on. Another question I have is how is the exposure on the cameras. I see that you can change it with a little switch but I'm wondering if it is decent enough to shoot day for night with. My last question is about white balance. I noticed that there is only auto but you can lock it in. Does it work well with the lock on? thanks, horror |
deaf to reason
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posted 01-31-2001 06:40 PM
I have had my digital8 sony for more than a year now and I am happy with it. Granted there are better out there, but for the money it is a good camera. As far as your low light condition question goes... Expect the video to be somewhat grainy without a lot of light. Of course with the night vision on the picture is better, but it has a green tint to it. If you are going to shoot day for night why not just do the effect in post? It is pretty easy to do. All in all I am happy with the camera, but I am planning on buying a better camera within the next year. For a reasonably priced start out camera there is nothing wrong with a digital8, that's my opinion. |
adamface2000
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posted 01-31-2001 09:52 PM
i own a digital 8 and so far i am pretty happy. It's a big improvement from my 8mm. The only real complaint I have is the too realistic "camcorder look". It can kind of be fixed by using slow shutter mode, but it still looks like video. It is a good low-budget camera though (which is why I bought it) and I think it should do you you just fine.
-Adam------------------
"I can't wait to bag me a deergoose!"
-John Leguizamo
The Pest "Why would you ever talk?"
-Random |
multimedia light & magic
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posted 02-01-2001 09:43 PM
it's a nice little rig. i have the sony trv120, and i'm happy with it.shooting in the dark, say, on a low lit street with only overhead lights, come out great looking, but is a bit fuzzy on big resolutions. it's a great buy. |
multimedia light & magic
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posted 02-01-2001 09:45 PM
day for night is no prob. i went oudoors one bright afternoon, and i could lower the exposure enough so it was ((% pitch black.if you use some kind of a blue tinted filter, especially on a clear day, it should look really good. |
horrormaker
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posted 02-04-2001 11:34 PM
Thanks everyone for your responces.I will be going in the next few days to buy one. horror |
The Outcast
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posted 02-05-2001 08:26 PM
As long as you get a good quality 8mm camera then just de-interlace the footage in post it can usually look more like film than video. Using a lot of telephoto shots can help this as well.
-The Outcast------------------
"The normal question...the first question is always 'Are these cannibals?'.No-they are not cannibals. Cannibilism in the true sense of the word implies an interspecies activity. These creatures cannot be considered human. They prey on humans, they do not prey on eachother. Thats the differance." -Dawn of the Dead
Favorite Moment #002 |
DigiteyeZ
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posted 02-05-2001 09:04 PM
wait a minute... de-interlacing gives it a "film" look? i knew it helped jittery footage and combined the odd and even fields of interlaced footage. how exactly does it change the look of the video though? |
multimedia light & magic
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posted 02-05-2001 10:11 PM
de-interlacing for day-for-night?
i don't think so...may improve the quality of the frames/rate, but it wouldnt improve the day for night look. |
The Outcast
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posted 02-06-2001 02:57 AM
No no! De-Interlacing totally helps the film effect. It takes the two fields in one frame from your camcorder footage and combines them. The point is, film is NOT interlaced. It is a series of still frames. When you de-interlace your footage it makes it become a series of still images, not the jittery (yet smooth and flowing) two fields that makes camcorder footage LOOK like camcorder footage.
-The Outcast------------------
"The normal question...the first question is always 'Are these cannibals?'.No-they are not cannibals. Cannibilism in the true sense of the word implies an interspecies activity. These creatures cannot be considered human. They prey on humans, they do not prey on eachother. Thats the differance." -Dawn of the Dead
Favorite Moment #002 [This message has been edited by The Outcast (edited 02-06-2001).] |
horrormaker
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posted 02-07-2001 06:24 PM
Thanks eveyone.I have one question though. I know that there is no manual white balance, but there is a white balance lock. Does this work?How is good is the automatic white balance. horror |
DigiteyeZ
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posted 02-07-2001 06:45 PM
hmmm... sometimes the automatic white balance works really good, but others it doesn't. a JVC i've used had several white balance settings: indoor, outdoors, automatic, and manual set. i liked the manual function because you can set the white balance for any kind of lighting or mixture of lights, to get a perfect white balance. i don't know about the wb "lock" but i'm guessing you take an automatic white balance reading in one light condition and lock that reading in so when you switch to another situation the setting will stay. doesn't sound as good to me, though. do the newer Sony DCR-TRV's have manual white balance? i think it would be worth it to have that function. |
