Useful Information, Hints for Better Shooting

Appendix

Useful Information

Hints for Better Shooting

•Position the subject in the centre of the scene. When using auto focus, whatever is in the centre of the scene is kept in focus.

Position the subject in Focus manually when you

the centre.need to position the subject off centre (see

pages 53 and 54).

•Avoid backlit subjects. For the best picture, shoot with the light source behind you.

When the background is brighter than the subject, the subject often becomes too dark. If you have to record in this lighting, use Gamma Brightness Compensation or correct the exposure level to improve the picture (see pages 31 and 56).

Light from behind

•Before zooming, think about how to best frame the shot. Frequent zooming produces unattractive pictures. It also runs down the battery more quickly.

•When image shaking is noticeable during zoomed-in telephoto shooting, use a tripod or push the Power Zoom control to the W side to zoom out.

•Horizontal panning (lateral movement) and tilting (vertical movement) should be done slowly to emphasize the wide expanse of a scene or the height of a building, and to make scenes easy to watch during playback.

•Use a wide-angle setting for fast-moving subjects.

Note:

•It may take longer to focus when zooming and panning are used frequently.

Lighting

For clear, good-quality recording, 500 to 100,000 lux is needed. Recording is possible with less light, but the picture quality may suffer. Adequate lighting is also essential for correct white balance.

Brightness	Situation (Lux)
(Lux)

	Blue sky
100,000	Clear day at noon (100,000)

	Clear day at 10 am (65,000)
	Clear day at 3 pm (35,000)
	Clear day at 3 pm (35,000)	Optimal
	Cloudy day at 10 am (25,000)	Optimal
	Cloudy day at noon (32,000)
10,000		lighting

	Cloudy day, one hour after sunrise (2,000)
	Clear day, one hour before sunset (1,000)	range
1,000	Fluorescent light near window (1,000)	range

Factory floor (700–800)

Sales counter in department store (500–700)

Bowling alley (500)

Library (400–500)

Office with fluorescent lighting (400–500)

Fluorescent desk lamp (400)

Flashlight at 1 m (250)

100Shop stairway (100)

During intermission at movie theatre (15–35)

Cigarette lighter at 30 cm (15–20)

Candles on birthday cake at 20 cm (10–15)

Candlelight

Note:

• The figures in the chart are approximations.

Tips on good lighting

In most outdoor, daytime scenes, natural lighting is adequate for home videos. Indoors, however, artificial lighting is usually required. Video lights with halogen lamps provide the most natural artificial light over a long operating life.

Appendix

Appendix