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Post very helpful tips- DSLRs

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ridearmada14
Posts: 441 - Karma: 18
I saw the other thread and couldn't help but wish there was a thread where everyone could read through and learn a lot. I usually just cut and paste some things i find useful from members. I'll start off.


WILL START- talking about shutter speed and aperature (for Video)

"shutter speed for video can be a confusing concept at first, but its actually very simple once you wrap your head around it. just think about it, all a video is is a bunch of pictures. each pictures needs a shutter speed and apertured. the thing is, the shutter speed has to be equal to or higher than the frame rate (otherwise it wouldn't be able to take enough frames to keep up with the frame rate). so the lowest your shutter speed can be is 1/60 if you're shooting 720p60p. and if you go higher than that, there will be times between frames when the shutter 'closes' and stays 'closed' until it's time to take another frame. of course when you're shooting video it's not like an actual shutter is opening and closing."

"a lot of people follow the 180 degree rule, which means your shutter is double or a multiple of your frame rate. so if you're shooting 720p60p, you would want your shutter speed to be 120. this is a supposed to give a nice feel to the footage. slower shutters will give your images motion blur and produce a film-like image. higher shutters will give you crisper slow motion but produces more digital looking footage. so it's really up to you. i use higher shutter speeds for action and lower ones when filming lifestyle."


"as for aperture, i've heard that a lot of lenses are at their sharpest around f/6 (i believe?). That's a pretty solid value since it still lets a decent amount of light in and gives you solid depth of field to work with. i kind of like depth of field porn, so i like to shoot wide open or close to wide open a lot when filming lifestyle type stuff. for action, i like to go more toward something between f/6 and f/11"

Frame Rate X2= Shutter Speed
30P= 1/60
Jul 31 2011 9:11PM
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HeadyTopper
Posts: 1170 - Karma: 97
the wise words of Will Start
Jul 31 2011 10:23PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
haha i like this thread!
Jul 31 2011 10:35PM
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edd1e
Posts: 679 - Karma: 16
I like to shoot video with prime lenses for video. I really like the fact I can get a 35mm or 50mm prime @ f1.8 for less than $300. I love shooting video @ less than f3.5 with my prime lenses. Some of my f2 or 1.8 lenses are super sharp at 2.8.

Also as most of the time we dont need autofocus, this opens the door for vintage or old manual lenses. I have a 50mm Asahi Pentax Super Takumar which cost me $35 mint and m42 lens adaptors are cheap on ebay. Vintage lenses are great if you are on a budget. Also I love the manual aperture control.

Remember ND filters are great if you want shallow depth of field in Daylight. I use an nd8 in daylight and I can get down to f1.8 w 1/60 shutter speed, which is great. I use nd2/4 and 8 as well as Circular Polaraizers to cut down the light. I wish I could find an affordable fader ND though.....



Check out vimeo videoschool for lots of tips on dslr film making.
Jul 31 2011 10:46PM
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1337
Posts: 31038 - Karma: 29,002
false, its the recommended shutter speed, not the actual one
Jul 31 2011 10:47PM
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SSteezle
Posts: 9221 - Karma: 9,939
Here are some basics that i found on a sticky from when I was learning very basic information regarding DSLRs.


Three Factors affect the exposure of the image.
1. Shutter Speed (affects the image focus)
- shutter speed refers to how long the shutter remains open.
1/1000 (means shutter is open for one thousandth of a second)
- the longer the shutter speed remains open- the brighter the exposure
- shutter speed also determines whether a moving object appears blurred.
- fast shutter speeds, the camera "freezes" the action, so it appears that the object isn't moving.

2. Aperature F-stop (affects the image focus)
- the amount of light allowed between the lens and the shutter.
- the amount of light that makes its way through the lens when the shutter is open.
- aperture sizes are stated as f-stops
- higher f-stop number= the less light enters the camera
(f/11 allows in less light than an f-stop of f/2)
- aperature also affects the depth of field (or the range of distance that appears to be in sharp focus)
- lower the f-stop number= shalloer the depth of field. (so objects at a distance from the main subject appear blurry)


3. ISO (affects picture quality)
- a measure of light sensitiivty
- higher ISO= more light-sensitive
- Using higher ISo settings enabes you to capture poorly lit subjects that the camera otherwise couldn't record.
- As you increase the ISO setting, you increase noise.
- ISO is very critical to picture quality
Jul 31 2011 11:18PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
There are a couple notes I'd like to make on what i wrote since some of it is a little misleading.

-only on a DSLR can the shutter speed not be lower than the frame rate. on a normal video camera, you can often set a slower shutter than frame rate and it just gives crazy motion blur.

-i make it sound like a bad thing if your shutter speed is faster than the frame rate and closes between frames. it's not a bad thing at all.

-the 180 degree rule refers to shutter being twice frame rate. shutter being any multiple of the frame rate is a variant on this rule.

-i didn't mean lower shutters than 120 give you motion blur, and higher shutter than 120 give you a digital look. i just mean lower shutters in general (slower than 250 or 500, somewhere around there), provide a more film-like image, and shutters above 250 or 500 will give you a more digital image.

Jul 31 2011 11:24PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
Another important piece of advice that I learned the hard way is DON'T JACK UP SATURATION AND CONTRAST IN CAMERA. There's definitely something to be said for adjusting your camera settings a little (i.e. saturation +1, contrast -2, something like that). Landis is big on adjusting your in-camera color settings so that you "shoot it right the first time." This takes time to learn, but it's pretty sweet once you get the hang of it.

However, if you jack up saturation and contrast, it will distort color tones (especially skin tones), will make shadows appear very harsh, and will make color grading an absolute nightmare.




A lot of kids also wonder what frame rate to shoot at.

In general, I shoot all things sports-related (in other words, things that might go into slow motion) at 720p60p, then conform it to 24p on my computer to give me slow motion at 40% of real time. I shoot lifestyle stuff at 1080p24p.

If you want to be really legit, you should be utilizing 24p, 30p, and 60p. Shoot things you know you don't want in slow motion at 24p (will most likely be 1080p24p) so they play back at 100% of real time. Shoot things you want in subtle slow motion at 30p (will most likely be 1080p30p). When you conform this to 24p, it will play back at 80% of real time. Shoot things you want in a lot of slow motion at 60p (will almost definitely be 720p60p). When you conform this to 24p, it will play back at 40% of real time.

This way, all your clips play back at 24p, and you already have everything at the speed you want it to be at. However, this takes a lot of planning and if you change your mind in post, you're screwed.
Jul 31 2011 11:32PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
I'm going to have to respectfully call bullshit. 180˚ "rule" is more of a suggestion. I like it for 60p, but for 24p I think it looks awful.

I'll contribute some personal "rules" of my own:

- Optimal aperture is 5.6 because most lenses have their "sweet spot" here. Actually, I usually do everything I can to avoid shooting wide open because it never looks good in my opinion. I see no point in having only inches of usable focus, when a shallow DOF with usable focus range, along with a sharper image, can be had at f/5.6. And really, how often do you see crappy DSLR footage zoomed in on a person's eye and only five hairs on their eyelash are in focus? I suggest avoiding that cliché garbage.

- Expose to the right. This means expose your image to be as bright as possible without clipping. DSLR footage can't handle blacks very well, and its better to make blacks darker in post than it is to brighten them. But be careful when doing this, which brings me to my next point...

- Repetitive use of crushed blacks or otherwise overly high-contrast footage just screams "amateur." A lot of times when the inexperienced are CC'ing or grading footage, their whites are just on the bring of hitting the ceiling, while their blacks are also just on the brink of clipping. This creates a high contrast, hard lighting look. I'm going to make a very nuanced point here: high contrast isn't inherently bad. What's bad is when you make EVERY shot high contrast as a standalone rule, and without regard to the mood or emotive quality of the light.

Here's an example: You know how mossy forests generally look more beautiful in cloudy weather? This is because plants generally photograph better in diffuse light, meaning flatter light as opposed to hard shadows. This diffuse light is what contributes to the overall tranquility and emotion that is often found in forest footage. Cranking up the contrast of this type of footage will do more harm than good, because it doesn't MATCH the mood of the scene.

So in conclusion (bold for emphasis), what's important isn't making your image POP out at the viewer. What's important is making sure the colors and tones of your footage accentuate the atmosphere and mood of the scene. Some scenes look more beautiful in diffuse (flat) light, while others do not.
Aug 1 2011 6:32PM
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TaranItUp
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 802
Threads for when i can read, gracies amigos.
Aug 1 2011 7:05PM
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TPalms
Posts: 859 - Karma: 252
Threads for when I have the money to buy a DSLR that takes video. Damn Rebel Xsi...
Aug 2 2011 8:27AM
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[evan]
Posts: 5628 - Karma: 119
this is so sick. K+ to everyody that gave advice.
Aug 2 2011 9:18AM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
it seems like my 24p footy is really choppy, the frame rate 50 and i had my ISO set for 200 cuz i was indoors but had tons of sunlight, my aperture was either 2.8 or 3.2, can someone help?
Aug 5 2011 6:21PM
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the.cheat
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 171
you mean shutter speed 50? you could try dropping it further to increase the motion blur, or maybe your computer cant handle it properly or something?
Aug 5 2011 6:40PM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
yeah thats what i ment, shutter speed. and i didnt even upload it to my computer yet, im just looking at the video on the camera, it seems alot more choppy then 30p
Aug 5 2011 6:43PM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
24p will always look more choppy than 30p in direct comparison. Having your shutter at 1/50 is fine; I shoot with mine at 1/60 even. The thing about 24p is that you have to be much more fluid or stable in your movements, or else it shows.
Aug 5 2011 8:01PM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
oh ok, thanks much for clearing that up +k
Aug 5 2011 8:52PM
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B.Snow
Posts: 1859 - Karma: 92
To be honest I actually think 30p is a good base for shooting any kind of action shots, which is what most of you are going to be doing. Ya 24p has its place, but 99% of people on here are making edits of skiing/action shit only for the internet, so it really doesn't matter. Joe simon makes amazing edits and he's down with shooting 30p for action stuff. Check it



He also does some amazing color grading. He uses magic bullet looks which people on here have mixed feelings about but man his colors are wicked.
Aug 5 2011 10:25PM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
^ those were sick, what was he filming with?
Aug 5 2011 10:52PM
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ChucklesNorman.
Posts: 1197 - Karma: 719
Threads
Aug 5 2011 11:02PM
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mBall
Posts: 1690 - Karma: 2,827
I don't understand why you wouldn't just shoot everything in 720 60p... If you are making a video it seems like there would be no point to shoot in 108024p and 72060p because you would have to bring down the 1080 to 720 anyway. And if you wanted to use 60p footage as 24p(without conforming) you could just put it in normally and just drop frames? Hopefully you get what I mean, if you shoot everything in 60p (making a 24p video) you could utilize however many frames you wanted to for slo mo (30 or 60) and just drop frames for normal speed? Please correct me if I am wrong.
Aug 6 2011 1:31AM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
I upscale my 720p60 to 1080. Looks fine...

Also, I personally like to restrict myself. Sure you can shoot everything in 60p, but you will be a better filmer if you can learn to shoot things right the first time rather than relying on some technological crutch. Besides, I will do whatever I can to minimize time spend behind a godforsaken computer.
Aug 6 2011 1:37AM
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mBall
Posts: 1690 - Karma: 2,827
I don't think it's a technological crutch at all. If anything it is an aid. It gives you the ability to choose after the shot how much slo mo you want. Yes, you would become a better filmer in a sense, but I think it only opens up more options.
Aug 6 2011 3:04AM
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B.Snow
Posts: 1859 - Karma: 92
5DmkII and 7D
Aug 6 2011 9:03AM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
those 2 edits were sick
Aug 6 2011 9:45AM
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B.Snow
Posts: 1859 - Karma: 92
ye he's got talent for sure. I can't get over his color grading, especially in the texas edit. He shoots a lot of wedding stuff too.
Aug 6 2011 10:05AM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
Arguable, but even then, doing so means more time behind a computer...
Aug 6 2011 1:14PM
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Chunter
Posts: 2050 - Karma: 1,894
Yayyy you made it haha. I was about it if nobody else was going to.

The Brenizer Method or Bokeh Panorama

Click for larger image

Mainly seen used in portraits but it effectively gives apertures not possible with current lens' like f/0.65 and f/0.50 and so on by stitching together multiple shots with a single focus point.

Tutorial: http://content.photojojo.com/tutorials/get-greater-depth-of-field-with-brenizer-method/

Cross Processing

Alot of people should be fairly familiar with this editing tehcnique/method but just in case some arent there is a nice YouTube tutorial below. Its mainly seen in Portraits as well but can be used in just about anything and when done correctly gives off nice film-esk colors and glows.




Aug 6 2011 10:44PM
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sammyk
Posts: 436 - Karma: 131
threads
Aug 8 2011 8:38PM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,325
threads :)
Aug 8 2011 9:08PM
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kingofsteeze
Posts: 61 - Karma: 10
threads :)
Aug 10 2011 2:01AM
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TaranItUp
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 802
I don't like you and
Aug 10 2011 11:18AM
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TaranItUp
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 802
Your posting on every thread, does anyone have a thorough tutorial on how to affectively color correct?
Aug 10 2011 11:19AM
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ChucklesNorman.
Posts: 1197 - Karma: 719


Hope that helps you.
Aug 10 2011 11:34AM
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TaranItUp
Posts: 1313 - Karma: 802
Yeah, thanks man just saw this video on another thread I will check it when I get home, thanks again.
Aug 10 2011 3:56PM
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