Advanced Features - Panasonic DVCPro Operating Manual

Advanced Features

Gain
On occasion, you might be forced to shoot in unusually low lighting conditions,
and not be able to use a stand light. For example:
·
Your light stand doesn't work
·
You are at a meeting or a restaurant or a nightclub and it seems awkward to suddenly
turn a light on
·
You have to grab the camera and run quickly to get a shot, and don't have time to
bring the light stand
·
You are doing a "hidden camera" report
Under conditions like these, there is a way to artificially boost the apparent light
level going into the camera with a feature known as GAIN. It is one of the series of
buttons located just above the POWER switch on the camera.
To boost the apparent light level, you would boost the GAIN on the camera. First,
white balance the camera with the GAIN OFF. Then try moving the GAIN switch from
the OFF or "0" position to the next position, "6/9". You should see things appear lighter
in the viewfinder. If it is REALLY dark, you might have to boost the GAIN all the way
down to the "12/18" position.
1) There is a tradeoff here! The more you boost the gain, the more grainy your
video will become. Often there is little or no visible graininess in the "6/9"
position, but you will almost certainly see some graininess in the "12/18"
position. You have to decide which is the lesser of the two evils.
2) REMEMBER TO TURN OFF THE GAIN (BACK TO "0") BEFORE
SHOOTING UNDER ANY OTHER LIGHTING CONDITIONS!!!
Macro
Sometimes you may want to shoot a very small object, or something so small you
need to get unusually close to it to tape it, like a paragraph from a printed document, or a
small photograph. The normal lens will not focus on anything closer than several feet
from the camera. To record subjects extremely close to the camera, you need to use
what's called the MACRO LENS.
To use the MACRO, find the part of the lens ring closest to the camera body that
has markings that looks like this:
WARNING: