Shooting in Alaska

[CrEsTo]

Hi folks,

I just got an HV20 but I'm a totally newbie on video stuff, so anyhelp would be appreciated.

I will take a cruise to Alaska in a couple of weeks and of course I'll take the HV20 with me.

In which scenarios is recommended to shoot @ 24P? and when 60fps?
Any suggestions from experienced people shooting nature with this camera?

Thanks for your help.

 

[pdpfilms]

Cresto,
I'm the new owner of an XH-A1, and I've been playing around a lot with the camera so I've got a few tips. First, I'd decide on a single framerate (24F, 60i, etc) and shoot all your footage on that. That way it maintains a constant look/feel throughout your travels. Personally I'd recommend 24F as it shoots a progressive frame (none of those jaggy lines with fast motion), but that's up to you.

Once you have that set, I think the best option would be to use the Tv mode (does the HV20 have it?). This allows you to set a shutter speed to remain constant*, and the camera adjusts aperture manually. 1/48 is a good standard shutter speed for 24F footage, though something a little higher will work as well. Any lower and you'll get some intense blurring with motion.

Then, I'd turn Auto Gain off. I'm not sure where in the menus to find this, but this is what makes noisy/grainy footage. It allows you to film in low light, but does so simply by electonically brightening the image. In the XH-A1 at least, Auto Gain adds gain when it's not really needed, giving you much dirtier, uglier footage than is necessary. I assume the HV20 does the same.

That should be about it... any questions?





*The shutter tends to be the variable that most drastically affects the look of footage, so it's often good to lock that.

 

[CrEsTo]

Thanks for your help!

I think I will go with the 24P mode for all my trip... how is the performance while walking or shooting from a plane?

Yes, the HV20 has Tv mode, I've been playing with it for a few hours and as you said 1/48 looks good, no blurring with motion I will go with that one.

Regarding auto gain, I don't think the HV20 provides manual adjust for that... can't find anything about it on the menu or the manual. All I found is the BLC (automatic backlight correction).

What do you think about the White balance options (Auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, etc) and the Image effects such as vivid, neutral, etc.. Should I use automatic mode for white balance and image effects turned off (I can correct the color in FCE)


Thanks!

 

[ppc_michael]

Alaska question (*smirk*): are you going to the pleasant part of Alaska, or the cold part? If you're going to be in cold environments, make sure to bring a camera jacket, because you risk the tape freezing and not recording your footage! You don't know until you play it back and it's not there. Had a similar situation myself, and I gotta tell ya, it was bad. xD

 

[CrEsTo]

Alaska question (*smirk*): are you going to the pleasant part of Alaska, or the cold part? If you're going to be in cold environments, make sure to bring a camera jacket, because you risk the tape freezing and not recording your footage! You don't know until you play it back and it's not there. Had a similar situation myself, and I gotta tell ya, it was bad. xD

hehe, I will go for vacations so I hope it's the pleasant part.... Anchorage/Juneau/Ketchikan and then up to Denali in early June, so shouldn't be that bad.

 

[AKcameradude]

Dude, if he's coming in the summer, no worries. It's the summer, and yes here in Alaska we get summer just like everywhere else. It's not ice and snow up here like people think year round, as a matter of fact, because we are so far north we get TONS of sun in the summer.....anywhere from 18-24 hours of sun a day! So it can get quite nice and warm because of all the sun.

If you are taking a cruise, you will be going through my region. I run a little video production company in Juneau. The SE portion of Alaska (Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Skagway, Haines) is mild and doesn't even get that cold in the winter as we are right on the water. We do however get LOTS of rain, in the winter and the summer so bring a rainjacket for yourself and your camera!! Along with that we have some cloudy, misty weather so the contrast isn't always the best for shooting on those days. Of course if you get sun, you'll get some of the most beautiful shots you've ever seen! When in Juneau make sure you get out and see the glacier (you can drive right out to it, and even walk up to it if you want to take a bit of a hike from the road, you can see it really well from the visitor's center though). Other tour ideas... you might want to take the tram up to the top of the mountain to get some "arial" shots of Juneau and the surrounding area. Glacier Gardens is another nice tour (with "arial" type shots), and the Zip Line is a blast. For a more relaxed time you can check out the Juneau Steamboat Company (a real ride on an steam powered boat) and get some shots of Juneau and the boat and plane traffic in the channel.

Denali is in the interior and they have some of the nicest summers around (and coldest winters) Down here we range from 20 degrees in the winter to 75 or so in the summer. In the interior they can get down to -60 in the winter but get up to 95 or so in the summer as they don't have the ocean to moderate the temperature. I'd bet you'll have nice weather up there and get some nice shots of the mountain.

Anchorage is the big city and you'll find lots of stuff to see and do around there.

Any other questions just ask! You'll have fun, trust me!!!

 

[CrEsTo]

Thanks for the tips AKcameradude, I will visit Juneau I already booked a tour for watching whales, visit the Mendenhall glacier and baking a salmon or something.... typical tours in AK. Still thinking about the dog sled thing... sounds pretty interesting, but it's $500 per person.

Do you know a nice restaurant in Anchorage for dinner? It's my anniversary and I'd like to celebrate with my gf in a nice place.

Marco

 

[Blazer5913]

hehe, I will go for vacations so I hope it's the pleasant part.... Anchorage/Juneau/Ketchikan and then up to Denali in early June, so shouldn't be that bad.

Cresto, I recently just went on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska and visited those exact 3 places. It's a beautiful place, have a great time!