Black Balance; Section 6: Audio - Sony PMW 500 Operator's Manual

Sony PMW 500
Operator guide
The white balance will need to be redone regularly
if and when the light source changes.
To artificially influence white balance
If shots need to look warmer (or less often: colder), use CT lighting gels in front of the lens while
doing a manual white balance. ¼ CT blue will give a useful shift towards orange, and ¼ CT orange a
shift to blue. The warming technique is useful when shooting interiors where the warm glow of the
lights needs to be retained, and works well even if energy saving or LED bulbs are being used.

5.4 Black Balance

It's advisable to do a black balance at the start of every day. This is especially important if the camera
has been in an aeroplane, or is being used at especially high or low temperatures. This procedure can
help with 'stuck (white) pixels' as well as the colour balance in darker picture areas. Flick the front
black balance switch down and wait for the 'OK' indication in the viewfinder. This is the same switch as
the white balance, but for black balance it is moved downwards.

Section 6: Audio

The PMW 500 can record 4 independent audio tracks (channels) with manual level control, metering
and monitoring. The camera has three XLR audio inputs, one at the front, and two at the rear.
N.B. The supplied on board mic is stereo and not good for picking up dialogue.
6.1 Front mic socket
The front socket is a 5 pin XLR and can be converted to two standard 3
pin XLR sockets using the special cable included in the kit. This must be
used if a directional mic is required on-camera.
The front socket is mic level with
phantom ON only.
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