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Need to get good footage

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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
So i have been getting more and more experience with shooting video on my nikon d300s and i am starting to be able to get some good looking vids. but i am going on a trip to copper mountain all next week and so i am trying to get everything prepared and ready. I am hoping that i will be able to get enough good videos to put my first good quality video on vimeo but i just want to check with you guys to see if this stuff sounds right

The settings i am planning to use for daytime sunny shots are:
WB sunny
iso 200
aperture 10
shutter speed 1/100th (for 720/24fps)

With these settings i want to do follow cam shots and tripod shots
any suggestions? does this sound good?
Mar 8 2012 2:28PM
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[evan]
Posts: 5628 - Karma: 117
No those do not sound good.

Aperture for Glidecam - 11
Aperture for Tripod - 8

ISO - Lo-1 (100)

Shutter Speed - 180-250 Depending on the light.

Sucks that it only has 720/24p
Mar 8 2012 3:22PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
Thanks fo da help i will try those out and yeah it does suck about the 24fps but hopefully i can still get some good stuff
Mar 8 2012 3:34PM
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[evan]
Posts: 5628 - Karma: 117
Well whats going to be important for you is shooting in the moment. It's super tough to edit 24p footage because you cant change much about the speed of it. Good luck!
Mar 8 2012 3:37PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
I know that if your shutter speed is too slow then you get choppy video but if it is too fast what will happen?

Mar 8 2012 3:56PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
also do most of you guys just leave exposure compensation at 0
Mar 8 2012 4:03PM
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MLeone
Posts: 725 - Karma: 72
nothing really, itll just make the shot darker, look more digital, and will add more detail and i believe possibly moire in some small cases
Mar 8 2012 5:20PM
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family_vacation
Posts: 6200 - Karma: 7,840
Keep the shutter speed constant and use your aperture to adjust. You want all your motion to look the same.

Also, I'd go a little lower with the shutter speed if I was shooting 24p. 250 is good for 60p, but i'd go down for sure.
Mar 8 2012 6:52PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Don't use shutter speed to adjust exposure...that's what the aperture is for.
Mar 8 2012 8:12PM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,328
you don't need to use exposure compensation when you're shooting on manual. if you were shooting on A, S, or P then you would want to compensate to like -.7 or so since the camera will usually blow out the snow.
Mar 8 2012 8:21PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
What would you say would be a good shutter speed for 24fps?
Mar 8 2012 9:48PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Rule of thumb is for the denominator to be twice the frame rate, so 1/48. But it's preference. I prefer 1/60 and wouldn't recommend going faster. I also wouldn't go slower than 1/40 or else you'll get ghosting.
Mar 8 2012 9:51PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
Another question i had but forgot to ask is how does the settings change when you shoot indoors (ex woodward at coppers barn) just bump the iso up and change the wb and its good or do you also have to change aperture

Mar 9 2012 11:36PM
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[evan]
Posts: 5628 - Karma: 117
I would probably go down a stop or two. I typically dont like lowering my iso because I have a Nikon and it doesnt handle video noise well.
Mar 10 2012 10:01AM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
Is like f/5 or 6 good for a tripod shot?

Mar 10 2012 11:56AM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
I believe most lenses sweet spots are around f6.3. Try to keep it anwhere from 5.6-11 when shooting. If your going for a shallow depth of field look, then somewhere around 3.5 will be where you wanna be.
Mar 10 2012 12:11PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
1. Set shutter speed (never use this to adjust exposure. Find a number you like and stick to it).
2. Set ISO
3. Adjust aperture to fine-tune.

Ideally, f/5.6 is the "sweet spot", but if you aren't there don't go changing all your settings so that you can get f/5.6 because you'll do more harm than good.
Mar 10 2012 1:12PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
your saying f/5.6 is the sweet spot for indoors right

Mar 10 2012 1:16PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
No. By sweet spot I mean that's where the optics are best.

There are no universal settings for certain situations. There's zero point in asking questions like "what's the best settings for sunny/cloudy/indoors?" because there's no such thing. Just give up now because anybody who believes they have the answer to this doesn't know what they're talking about.

Use aperture to adjust exposure. If you have to go to extremes to expose correctly (wide or down to f/11), use the ISO to change the "range," then adjust aperture again until you can get it around f/5.6.
Mar 10 2012 1:19PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
I should also add that exposure depends on what you're pointing your camera at, so it's not a good idea to find one setting for a scenario and stick to that. I change my settings literally every time my camera moves, even if the conditions are the same.
Mar 10 2012 1:21PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
Alright thanks a lot this helps me a lot
Mar 10 2012 1:29PM
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