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Whiter whites, blacker blacks
Hi! I’m shooting whiteboard video with a GY-HM100U. It’s doing a great job, but now I’m wondering if there is a way to tweak the image somewhat.
Is there a way to get whiter whites and blacker blacks?
I am getting nice whites with exposure and white balance, but the black goes a bit gray. Other than white balance and exposure – I’m not familiar with other camera settings – and the manual isn’t much help in this area.
( I’m lighting from the top in to center at 45 degrees – 4 feet away with 2 Lowell Omnis, and a 650 Tota directly overhead. )
Thanks for any tips.
DD
Dennis Dean
The Dean Group
-It’s about results-
http://www.deangroup.com -
8 Replies
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[Dennis Dean] “Is there a way to get whiter whites and blacker blacks?”
I have a HD110U, and I’m not that familiar with the gy100. But they should be pretty close, feature wise.
The HD110 has the ability to make scene files. To alter the gain of each channel in the whites and blacks, etc. These usually can be expanded somewhat to improve exposure latitude.
Plus in the menu most of the JVC cameras come set-up pretty conservative. The whites are probably set to clip at 95, and the blacks could be at 7.5. You should be shooting at 0 black, and going to a super white (110) clip is how I would set the camera. That way you have a lot of exposure latitude for post.One thing to remember is a lot of white boards are not as white as a piece of paper. And the black dry-erase makers are not as black as something like a Sharpie.
Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.comI have a system, it has stuff in it, and stuff hooked to it. I have a camera, it can record stuff. I read the manuals, and know how to use this stuff and lots of other stuff too.
You should be suitably impressed…“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
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Thanks very much, Scott – I’m not too technical but I’ll see if I can find these adjustments and make per your recommendations. The whiteboard is reasonably white – but you’re right about white. There are about 10,000 of them at last count. And the black marker is not as black as a Sharpie. We may end up switching to traditional marker on paper… Just have to see what we can adjust to…
Best,
Dennis Dean
Dennis Dean
The Dean Group
-It’s about results-
http://www.deangroup.com -
[Dennis Dean] “And the black marker is not as black as a Sharpie. We may end up switching to traditional marker on paper… Just have to see what we can adjust to…”
I’m not trying to be a jerk, but since you said your not technical, I was wondering if you were shooting in auto-iris? Could be part of the problem.
If you are not familiar with the camera, I wouldn’t make adjustments to the scene files. Instead, start with the basics, and make sure they are OK.
In the first layer of menus, maybe in video format look for “set up”. This item should be set for 0, and not 7.5. Digital should always be at 0. 7.5 is for analog TV. Using 7.5 in digital will give muddy, elevated blacks
In the ‘camera process’ menu, look for ‘white clip’ and set this to 108%. This will let the camera shoot a brighter white before it has that blown out over exposed look. You can then bring that down in post, to the normal level.
If your shots are sill lacking enough contrast, look for ‘black’ in the camera process’ menu. Try going from ‘normal’ to ‘Compress1’ to make the blacks, blacker and increase the contrast.
Like I said, I have an earlier camera, but JVC menus tend to be similar. Maybe not identical, so you might have to do some looking around.
Be sure to test your changes before shooting any mission critical stuff.
How are you posting this? I wish I could see a couple of seconds of your footage to see what can be done in post with it.
I really can’t imagine it is so far off that the blacks and whites can’t be fixed.
Feel free to contact me if you can’t get what you’re looking for.
SScott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.comI have a system, it has stuff in it, and stuff hooked to it. I have a camera, it can record stuff. I read the manuals, and know how to use this stuff and lots of other stuff too.
You should be suitably impressed…“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
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Hi Scott – I cannot locate the type of settings you mention on this camera. I can white balance, control exposure etc. Gamma and Knee are both set to standard, so is Color Matrix.
I’ve gotten the exposure about where I want it but have noticed another issue. In shooting the whiteboard, when the artist puts his hand into the shot, the white board gets brighter! I’m shooting in manual mode, manual focus, manual exposure. It’s the weirdest thing. I have – essentially a white screen with some black drawing on it. When the hand and arm goes in, something inside the camera tries to compensate for something – and the whiteboard gets brighter.
I’ve posted a clip here: https://www.vimeo.com/26013567
It’s a password protected clip. The password is scenetestAny thoughts you have would be appreciated…
Again – this is a JVC GY-HM100U camera. I’m going to repost this with the camera model in the subject heading in the hopes of finding someone who has the actual camera and may have experienced the same thing.Dennis Dean
The Dean Group
-It’s about results-
http://www.deangroup.com -
Solved the issue with the camera opening up automatically. Apparently in manual if you do not set BOTH the Iris AND Shutter speeds, they continue in auto mode. I was assuming they stayed where they were set unless you reset them.
Still could use a way to get blacker blacks but I think we’ll have to resort to that all-too-often-heard remark “We can fix it in Post!”
dd
Dennis Dean
The Dean Group
-It’s about results-
http://www.deangroup.com -
[Dennis Dean] “Solved the issue with the camera opening up automatically. Apparently in manual if you do not set BOTH the Iris AND Shutter speeds, they continue in auto mode. I was assuming they stayed where they were set unless you reset them.
Still could use a way to get blacker blacks but I think we’ll have to resort to that all-too-often-heard remark “We can fix it in Post!””
Glad you figured out whats going on.
I just looked at the clip, I think it looks pretty good, except for the level shift which you have fixed. But the black marker isn’t bad at all, and the whiteboard looks pretty accurate. The exposure on the guys arm looked pretty good too. If you wanted to push the whites and blacks a little in post, I don’t think you’re that far from where you want to be.
I wouldn’t call this fixing it in post at all, since it’s not a mistake, or horribly overexposed/underexposed. I think everyone should look at levels, and color match between shots and massage them in post. That’s what its there for.Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair
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