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T3i First Week Results – A few questions
Good morning,
I like to start every forum thread with an apology. I’m sorry to pester you fine folks with what are probably considered by most to be common knowledge issues.
My equipment:
T3i
tokina 11-16
canon 50mm 1.8
rode videomic pro
benro travel angel tripodMy initial endeavors:
Friday I shot my first (real) DSLR video and it went pretty well. I’ve been following the community for a couple of years but this was my first actual shoot, so while I’m familiar with the basic principals, this was my first time actually applying them.It was shot with the Tokina using the room’s florescent lighting (it was an engineering lab). The video was a short instructional procedure and the settings I used were:
1080/24/(1/50)/F5/ISO800Here’s a sample from the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljletZVAxKs&feature=youtu.be
I’m sure you guys have a better eye that I do, but it seems like it’s overexposed. I had some issues focusing but overall the video came out fairly sharp. I’m wondering if I should have shot for a higher F stop or went down to ISO400. If you guys have any general advice on some of the ‘sweet spot’ settings you like to shoot with or how I can improve the next video I shoot, I’d love to listen and try to learn.On Saturday I managed to rig the T3i up on top of a dune-buggy-like machine that my company manufactures in an attempt at my first time lapse.
This time I opted to use the 50 (mostly in case something was damaged). It was a sunny day and I used the following settings: 1920×1200 resolution(first mistake apparently)/F20/ISO100/(1/4 second shutter speed)/3 second intervals. Not only did my (16gb) card fill up pretty quickly, but the photos were unusable and way over exposed. I wanted to drag the shutter, and the time lapse effect actually turned out great, but of course I got way too much light. I’d like to try again next weekend, and am guessing I’ll need a quicker shutter speed to start with, but will I also need an ND filter to shoot in sunlight? I was hoping that with the ISO100/F20 that I would be alright. I’ll also need to shoot smaller images (480p?) evidently. If you have any recommendations on my time lapse settings, I would be grateful.
Apologies for the long post. I’m excited to learn and improve my results and sincerely appreciate your time.
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3 Replies
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Too long?
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Maybe a little hard to decipher what you are asking.
I think you are asking the Creative Cow community two things: 1) What are your thoughts on this sample video? and 2) What could be improved in my time-lapse workflow?
Is that right?
If so,
1)I don’t think your footage looks over-exposed. There is just a guy in a dark shirt and everything else is white in the shot. I think technically (with regard to exposure and focus) the shot is fine, it is just boring. Try getting a better angle, and better lighting.
2) You might have to tell us more info on how you are doing this “time-lapse”. When people typically use the term “timelapse” with a DSLR, they are taking a series of still photographs that are put together in a sequence. I am not sure if that is what you are talking about because you are asking about 1920 and 480 resolutions which would have no bearing on still photography.Give us more information and we might be able to help you out. And try to give us specific information with specifics questions instead of multiple paragraphs giving a vast narrative on your project.
Thanks. -
Hello, John.
Thank you for your constructive criticism and I apologize for my less than succinct original post.
My question about the video was somewhat broad and could basically be encapsulated into “how can I make it better?” It was the first one I’d shot and I was just sort of winging it with my settings. I was hoping some of you experts might be able to give me some advice along the lines of “well there is no ‘right settings’ because all shoots are subjective, but I generally shoot indoors at X-Y ISO, X-Y aperture, and X shutter speed.
In terms of the time lapse, I was indeed referring to taking a series of photos in succession to later incorporate into a motion video. I’ve since worked out some of the kinks in this area, setting up a round of shots each evening since my OP.
Thanks again for your notes – I’ll try and be more concise next time. It’s just in my experience that when I ask a direct question, the first response is usually, “tell us what you’re shooting” or “give us some more information”.
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