[Gene Kois]

Definitely set the AGC limit. Out of the box it will go up to 21 Db gain on its own. Also I found a great plug-in for FCP (and other non-linear systems)… Neat Video for noise reduction. https://www.neatvideo.com/ I was out on a lava field at night with my NX5U. We couldn’t get close enough to see the actual lava, but lots of orange pluming against a pitch black sky. To get a a picture I had to go to 18 gain. As expected, the blacks and the plumes were noisy. But I ran the footage thru Neat in FCP, and was totally amazed at the results. The blacks are rich with no grain, and the orange plumes look like silk. This filter has really made me rethink the use of gain.

[Gene Kois]

You’re definitely right. I didn’t mean to imply my “full wide zoom/macro” trick is the way I normally shoot. Especially on interviews, I’m always looking for that focal length/f stop combo that gives me the most control over the background sharpness. It’s just that nothing I’ve seen out of the NX5U is any more dramatic than my old PD-150 or PD-170. Did they have a 6 blade iris? I don’t know.

I just don’t see the 6 blade iris that Sony specifically refers to in its marketing doing anything different than other 1/3″ chip cameras. It’s interesting to me that Sony would highlite it like it is something unique to the NX5U.

For example, the marketing hype for the Canon XA10 (and a number of its other camcorders) says: “In contrast to a typical 6-blade iris, the XA10’s 8-blade iris captures extraordinarily smooth out-of-focus ‘bokeh’ for a more attractive image effect. The additional blades also reduce diffraction of light passing through the iris, allowing for the use of smaller apertures while maintaining image quality.”