Nikon D3100 Video is really giving me a hard time…

[Steve Crow]

Ok, let me start off by saying that even experienced shooters can run into this…filming outdoors can be tough under uneven lighting which you you here. A filming location like in your sample clip is particularly difficult so I try to avoid them.

You didn’t provide any information on your camera settings (ISO, shutter speed, aperture) which would be helpful however what I see here is a location with spots of very bright sunlight intermixed with closeby areas that are relatively dark.

So if you expose for the darker areas then the areas in brighter sunlight are going to be overexposed and vice versa. On Hollywood films, professional photoshoots and larger productions they sometimes bring in very large “silks” to reduce, soften and even out harsher light which means you and/or the camera don’t have to make such drastic exposure choices – do I expose for the lighter or the darker areas or somewhere in between?

Are you filming on an automatic exposure mode, letting the camera make all the exposure decisions for you? If so, any camera is going to get confused by a location like this. I suggest always shooting in full manual mode which as a new DSLR Video shooter you may find intimidating but it’s such a better way to shoot and learn.

I don’t really have any solution for you (except not to shoot locations like that!) but I would be very interested in how other shooter deal with this situation.

I often see the same issue even in Hollywood movies and TV shows where the scene is exposed for the interior but if you look at any windows in the scene, they are blown out. Shots inside a car almost always suffer from this problem,

I do know that there is a film you can buy (kind of like what car window tinters use) which you place on the outside of any outdoor facing window which dramatically cuts down the light and so makes the indoor/outdoor lighting more even and easier to get a balanced exposure.

Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com

[Steve Crow]

Oh, the other thing I would add is to make sure you have set up your camera to give you the best shot at a “film look” – there are tons of tutorials online for Nikon and Canon shooters on how to do this. Basics include shooting in 24p and at 1/50 shutter speed and turning the in-camera sharpening all the way down, opening up the aperture (this may require the use of ND filters). Do some quick research and you will find the correct settings for your camera in under 5 minutes I guarantee.

Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com

[Slade Mitchell]

Steve –

Thank you so much for the reply. I had a good feeling that my problem was lighting this whole time. It’s hard to practice when you dont have a subject who is willing to do any acting and stuff like that, haha. I will work on seeing if I can get some more neutral lighting areas, and see if that improves my results. The aperture, ISO, and shutter speed were all being controlled manually, as photography, and video are two things I very much enjoy, and love to learn about, so I am practicing with manual only.

The thing I have the most trouble with is using the focus while trying to shoot, haha. Anyway, thanks for the advice, I will see if I can get a more balanced lighting and try it out.

~Slade

[Slade Mitchell]

Yeah, I was looking into ND Filters just now as I thought that might fix the issue a little. I will search for those settings now. Thank you!

[Slade Mitchell]

Steve –

A simple fix won it for me! Even though the lighting was quite poor, I stepped out again with a shutter of 1/50 like you said as well as some custom settings on the back end, and WHAM, clearer image. At least enough to use color grading! 😀

Thank you so much, I obviously still have A LOT to learn. Real quick, is there any reason I should change the Shutter Speed in video form, or should it always stay 1/50 when I am shooting 24fps?

What other things do you think I should try? Anyway, thanks again Steve you’re a life saver!

[Slade Mitchell]

Steve-

You and your blog have some great information! Makes me wish I went with Canon instead. 🙁 (Debated it over and over before I decided Nikon) Big shame there, but it’s still a DSLR, and it’s effeminately better than my Panasonic Point and Shoot I had before! Hehe.

I’m going to pickup an ND filter for sure now, and definitely a Vari ND at that. As for audio, I have been doing videos for a little while, so I do have some decent audio equipment, but just recently upgraded the more expensive half! 😉 Either way, thanks for all the help, you can count on me reading many pages of that blog of yours! Haha.

Take it easy!
~Slade

[Slade Mitchell]

Steve-

Sorry to pester you one more time, just wanted to make sure I get the right equipment the first time around, and you definitely know what you’re talking about! haha.

I wasn’t looking to spend nearly as much as some more popular Vari NDs cost, but I think I may have found one that I am willing to fork over the cash for. Would this be a good choice?

https://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Multi-Coated-Variable-Neutral-Density/dp/B004GYXRK6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382661464&sr=8-2&keywords=polaroid+variable+nd+filter

If not, what do you recommend? I would like to stay under $60 if at all possible, but I did see a few going for $100… CRAZY!

Anyway, what Vari ND do you suggest, and would that do the job if I got it?

Thanks again for the assistance today!

~Slade

[Steve Crow]

I don’t really have any personal hands on real world basis for comparison since this is the only one I have ever owned but I did find a video customer review on Amazon.com which compared the two:

https://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Multi-Coated-Variable-Neutral-Density/dp/B004GYXRK6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382661464&sr=8-2&keywords=polaroid+variable+nd+filter

Since both you and I are using entry level DSLRs for Video (I STILL am using a Canon T2i!) I honestly believe you would be better off switching over to Canon if your ongoing interest is video. Even the entry entry Rebel line like mine is quite something in what it can do, then there’s the 60D which is interesting. If I had the bucks I would probably go for the Canon entry level full frame, I believe it’s the 6D but it’s out of reach pricewise for me now.

Steve Crow
Crow Digital Media
http://www.CrowDigitalMedia.com

[Slade Mitchell]

Yeah, it seems I picked the wrong brand. 🙁

I would love to upgrade to a T3i or T2i, but I used every last dime on the D3100… I guess I could sell it and get a Canon… Hmm.

Well, it’s something to think about I guess. Thanks for the help man, I really do appreciate you sticking with me here…

[Ken Jones]

I shoot with a Nikon D800. I do not know if the D3100 correlates, but…

The first shoot I did with my D800 the blacks were all crushed and the highlights were blown out. I quickly figured out that you need to have your Picture Control set to “Neutral” instead of the default “Standard”. The other biggie (on the D800 at least) is to set your LCD Monitor Brightness to -2. This will give you a more accurate picture to judge exposure with. It also helps to learn how to read a histogram. I was used to reading a waveform so a histogram made no sense until I had a still photographer friend explain it to me.

Here’s my menu settings:

SHOOTING MENU
Set Picture Control: NL (Neutral)
I use these settings: Sharpening 3; Contrast 0; Brightness 0; Saturation 2; Hue 0

SETUP MENU
Monitor brightness: -2