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DVX100B Tutorials
Jan Crittenden said that I should check out your tutorials on DVX users board on the DVX100B, but I don’t see any. I need to be able to visually see how to use the options and switches on the camera,
not read about it, to be able to get the full use of the camera. I am a real visual type person, and need to see them used and explained, to acutually get them to stick in my head, or better yet, by physically doing it myself. I asked her also about if there is anywhere that gives classes on the use of the camera, and she really didn’t answer that question. Or any other dvd tutorials on the use of the camera.
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15 Replies
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Hmm, let me see. Well, I already have that book, and dvd. Although it is well done, it doesn’t help me any. DVD is just examples of what the camera can do, does not show you how to. And like I said, I HATE to read, I just don’t have the attention span when I read, I get bored real quick (I know, my problem), but that is why I would like something that explains in detail, the camera. And the other one that you found (CallBox). Seen it already also, and it is geared to Final Cut Pro, and what you can do in editing with the camera, not just about the camera. I don’t like Apples, so I don’t use FCP. I use Vegas 6.0. So, you see, I am way ahead of you. I would not have asked without checking on these things first. Been checking about 8 months already.
Nice to know that you can’t ask a question here, without getting a rude response. Not all of us have experience with, or around these camera’s, and I believe that nobody would know anything, if they didn’t ask for help every now and then.
Thanks so much for the kind response!!! -
Well, with statements like “I HATE to read” and “I am way ahead of you”, I can understand Mr. LaRonde’s brief statements with provided links regardless of whether you see it as a “kind response” or not.
I’ve seen where Dave’s been extremely helpful and informative in identifying people’s issues and helping with certain questions.
If you’ve spent the money on a DVX series camera, then it might be wise to invest some time with it as well. By your own admission, this has been an ongoing search for “8 months already”. Once you’ve identified a specific camera operation issue or question, it’s much easier to address than delivering a spoon-fed visual manifesto on the inner workings of a camera you may already have in your possession.
Since you feel the market is lacking in education materials that meet your needs, we await the release of your groundbreaking and sure-to-be award-winning DVD tutorial, “DVX & Vegas for Dummies that hate Macs and Reading”.
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ah ha, touche`
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Okay, okay… all kidding aside. What specifics are stumbling you up?
You’ve seen Beery Green’s stuff and Noah’s DVD, is there a specific area that you’re having trouble with?
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I have taped one wedding, and just like anyone else, we can all do it in fully auto. I am just overwhelmed by all the settings. I just want to be able to manipulate the camera to the best of my ability to achieve what the camera is able to do. Just like, for example if I am capturing the bride in her dress, in a solid white room (where she is getting ready) naturally it is goig to be washed out, what is the best thing to do, so I have some contrasr between her and the rest of the room?
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By “all the settings”, I assume you mean the scene file settings. I also assume you are shooting in 24p. Maybe not. Most people lean that way since it’s one of the primary advantages of the camera.
1st off – forget ‘auto’ mode. What you probably want to do is customize a scene file and keep tweaking it as you get more comfortable, saving your changes along the way so that it’s there each time you power up the camera. I never shoot under fluorescents, so I blew that preset out (FLUO) and customize there. I believe scene F5 is the deault 24p setting. Just leave it alone.
I don’t know how comfortable you are w/ navigating the menus, so this is a bit awkward. I’ve seen this listed as a “good starting point” (mine are different as I’ve experimented):
Master Ped: -8
Matric: CINE
Detail LVL: -2
Detail Coring: 2
V Detail LVL: -1
V Detail FREQ: THIN
Gamma: CINE_D
Knee: LOW
Chroma LVL: 2
Chromas PHASE: 0
Color TEMP: 0 or -1
Skin Tone DTL: OFFAgain – forget “Auto”-anything. Use the zebra’s to help set your exposure.
Now that you’ve dialed in some digits and can look at test footage, you can focus (w/ Barry’s book if you need it) on each single parameter rather than being overwhelemd by a laundry list.
i.e But I don’t like my blacks crushed that much…. Then, play with the pedestal. I wanna warm or cool it… Then , mess w/ Color TEMP. I don’t like where the highlights are rolling off…. Then , check out the breakdown on Knee.
It might be easier to isolate each setting as you get more comfortable and visualizing what it is you want your video to look like.
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Thanks alot. I haven’t really changed any defaults, so I will begin there. I had went through them last week, and was checking the settings of each one. I need to build confidence in knowing what I am doing everytime that I change something, so this is a starting point. I appreciate your time and sharing your knowledge. These settings that you showed me would be some good settings for a wedding theme?
I was playing with the iris in manual mode, and it seems to close and open with a very very slight movement of the dial.
Thanks again. -
Sure thing. I’m happy to help out. Hopefully we didn’t get off on the wrong foot. I know you’ll be much more comfortable getting past that initial ‘settings overload’.
The thing that I’ve found with settings comparisons / camera tests is that after staring at the same set-up over and over, it’s easy to lose reference of what the settings are doing. I know you need to see the same shot to have as a comparison but it can all start looking the same after a while. If possible, hook the camera up to a monitor and see how the settings are happening in real-time. Also – don’t worry at all about messing up the camera, you can always reset it to its default factory settings.
A good way to get confident w/ manual iris is to turn on the zebra and move the iris to where you think it should be. Then, hit the ‘auto’ button and see what the camera thinks. This function is still a part of my ‘other’ camera – a Sony BetaSP tank that you’ve seen news crews lugging around.
Here’s another example. These were listed elsewhere by someone who claimed they were network-suggested settings for shooters using DVX’s for some “Flip that House’ pick-up shots.
PED -5
MATRIX CiINELIKE
DETAIL -4
CORING 0
V DETAIL 0
V DETAIL THICK
GAMMA CINELIKE
KNEE AUTO
CHROMA 0
C PHASE 0
TEMP 0
SKIN DTL ON
A. IRIS -3
24pThis may sound like gibberish at the moment but this shows that they want it THICK because it’s for TV and they don’t want jagged lines. They do not want any tampering with the color. Pedestal’s pretty ‘normal’ at -5. They don’t trust the auto-iris much : it’s at -3. The DETAIL’s a bit low at -4 (might get a little soft). They’ve decided to go w/ CINELIKE GAMMA and they trust the AUTO KNEE protection. There’s nothing very special about these settings. They’re playing it conservative probably so that they can have a standardized look from anyone in-field.
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So, are you saying that I should try to shoot a wedding in 24p,or 60i?
I saw a few comments about others not liking to shoot weddings in that mode. Shot last one in 60i. I have till November for the next wedding, so I have some time to play. No we didn’t get off on the wrong foot, just getting frustrated because I have seen other training videos listed for other cameras, but not this one. But I will make sure you get the first copy of my “DVX & Vegas for Dummies, that don’t like Macs and reading” training DVD. -
Nice. It’s an honor. I look forward to the autographed, advance copy of the DVD. Beyond that, the 60i / 24p is a matter of both personal and project preference. For me, 24p is why I became interested in the DVX in the first place. I have had {and still have} a camera that shoots ‘straight’ video (60i).
The “film-look” interested me and I wasted enough time rendering software workarounds that I decided to invest in a Panasonic and learn more about this 24p mojo.
If you’ve read from other wedding videographers that don’t like 24p, then that’s just not their thing. Personally, I would think a wedding could benefit from some pretty progressive footage. The problem that I could see with shooting weddings would be low-light concerns. That holds true for any video camera but could be an issue. Maybe drop the shutter speed a little? You may be doing a little more work (adjusting audio and focus as you should) than with other prosumers but I think the ‘look’ would be worth it.
That and $5 will get you a Starbuck’s.
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