The camera automatically reads the scene as being bright, so it closes the iris, making your subject very dark. Manual aperture control can be handy when your subject is standing against a bright background. Some camcorders do not have explicit iris controls and instead adjust the overall exposure through some combination of iris and electronic amplification (gain). f/1.8 – f/16), with larger numbers indicating smaller openings. By turning the dial, you can make the image brighter or darker. The iris controls the amount of light that enters the camera. Some camcorders have an iris or aperture control dial. It's also not a natural eye movement, so your audience starts looking for the space you're zooming to, and might not take in the entire scene. Recorded zooms often don't look very good unless your camcorder has a variable speed zoom and you practice a lot using it. Its primary use should be in setting the image size before you begin recording try not to zoom during recording. The zoom can be a very helpful feature, but be careful not to overuse it. These buttons change the focal length of the optical system, which controls how close or far away your subject looks. You can also think of these as aWay and Towards. These buttons have the letters W for Wide (zoom out) and T for Telephoto (zoom in). The zoom control is usually a couple of buttons, a slider or a rocker switch on top of the camera. Then, when you release the button the camera enters the manual focus again so that it won't auto-fluctuate. Some camcorders allow you to hold the manual focus button down so that the camera focuses using its auto function. This effectively locks the focus until you change it again. If you are not comfortable focusing manually, let the camera focus automatically, then switch to manual. This constant check and rechecking of the focus, causes your picture to drift in and out of focus and is a major drain on your battery. Anything that moves across the lens will cause it to change focus and, even though your subject may not change position, the camera is constantly checking the focus and changing it, this is what the industry calls "breathing". This sounds great, but in practice, there are many problems with it. By setting the camera for automatic focus, you let your camera do the focusing, sending out an infrared beam, computing the distance and setting the lens. The focus button or dial is usually located on or near the lens but, on some camcorders, it is on the side of the casing. However, as you get used to your camcorder and do more shooting, you may want to switch it to manual so that you can take greater control of your focus. As a beginner, you may tend to let the camera do the work in Auto mode. The buttons, knobs or dials that control the lens and the picture are perhaps the most important controls on the camera. On some cameras, the record button also acts as a record/pause button when your camcorder is in the playback mode. The record button starts and stops recording while in camera mode. Some camcorders also have a record button on top or in the front for easier access when using the camera with a tripod. This button is usually red and is usually located where your thumb sits when holding the camcorder in your right hand. If yor camera shoots to videotape, the power switch might also be part of the switch that changes the mode of the camcorder from camera to playback.Īll camcorders have a record button, of course. To disengage this lock, press in the power switch to move it. Power switches sometimes have a "lock" feature that prevents you from turning the camera on accidentally. If your camcorder goes into the standby or save mode, simply push the standby button to power it back up. This switch often includes a save, standby or neutral position so that the camera goes into a power save mode when not recording, to preserve battery life. Somewhere on the camcorder, there is a power switch. In this column, we will give all you beginners an overview of the various buttons, controls, dials and knobs common to camcorders. Believe me, if you don't know how to focus, adjust your iris or when to select a different shutter speed, you are not alone. It's easy for first-time camcorder owners to be intimidated by all of the buttons and controls that seem to sprout from every recess and surface of a new camcorder.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |