iso settings for dslr video

[pettypoh]

hi all,

i tried using various ISOs on dslr to shoot video, the higher ISO is slightly more grainy (i think) but other than that not much difference in picture quality ... why's that so?

even the low ISO also looks a bit grainy to me ... for those using dslr to shoot videos, what's your usual settings?

i'm doing 1/50 coz video settings 1080i 24fps, aperture f3.5

thanks

[HazeMaze]

I'd done quite a few video with slr, my usual settings where 1/50 (for 25fps), iso 160 (read from some source saying 160/320 etc. is recommended for video). As for aperture, its mainly for controlling light. I rarely shoot night unless its really necessary, if it does, f1.4 will be good with iso1280 (depending on situation). For light controlling, ND filter is your best choice during bright sunny days, have a few with diff stops at all time. Night else, i will normally shoot using day for night technique.

Hope it helps.

[pettypoh]

I'd done quite a few video with slr, my usual settings where 1/50 (for 25fps), iso 160 (read from some source saying 160/320 etc. is recommended for video). As for aperture, its mainly for controlling light. I rarely shoot night unless its really necessary, if it does, f1.4 will be good with iso1280 (depending on situation). For light controlling, ND filter is your best choice during bright sunny days, have a few with diff stops at all time. Night else, i will normally shoot using day for night technique.

Hope it helps.

hi hazemaze,

thanks for your reply.

i have problem - my d3100 can only do iso100,200,400,800 =D

i think my main problem is probably lighting insufficient so become grainy ... but if outdoors, background will usually overexpose ... just bought fader ND ... will see if it helps to control the light better outdoors

thanks lots ... still learning

[S2Glow]

to me theres no definite setting , if i want to shoot aesthetic shots i will at f1.8 ( my lens at best ) haha and control shuttle speed , i guess you know all of these but keeping iso at low is good o_o!! but to me 100 and 200 no difference so ya. For my setting i will always put auto first then adjust from there lol

[daniyal]

pettypoh>>> Usually clips tend to be more grainy if you shoot indoor or at night, and if you shoot at higher ISO settings. Based on my personal experience. I hope this link will provide you more info. But, sorry, it is Canon. I presume it should be the same for Nikon.

https://vimeo.com/23082874

Just sharing my favourite settings with you. See whether it can be applied to Nikon.
- 25fps / 50fps / 60fps
- 1/50 / 1/50 / 1/125
- Aperture I always prefer the lower the number, the better it is.
- ISO settings; I always shoot at ISO160 and I will try my best not to go beyound ISO1250.
- Just a guide though. Always shoot with ISO160 and its multiples first. Followed by ISO100 and its multiples. Followed by ISO125 and its multiples.
- Neutral Picture Style with Sharpness 1 click to the left, Contrast zero and Saturation 1 click to the left.
- I always try my best not to shoot video over-expose because I will lose the details in the video clip. Try to shoot your video clip under-expose a little bit because you can ramp up the contrast in post. Over-expose clips, no matter how much you edit in post or darken it, there is not much details left.

ND Fader - This little guy works wonder !!! I love it !!! With this, you need not to meddle so much with your aperture. While maintaining at your desired aperture settings, you can play around with the stops on the ND Fader to achieve your results! SUPERBZ !!!



I hope it helps you out. Happy Video-Shooting !!!

[pettypoh]

pettypoh>>> Usually clips tend to be more grainy if you shoot indoor or at night, and if you shoot at higher ISO settings. Based on my personal experience. I hope this link will provide you more info. But, sorry, it is Canon. I presume it should be the same for Nikon.

https://vimeo.com/23082874

Just sharing my favourite settings with you. See whether it can be applied to Nikon.
- 25fps / 50fps / 60fps
- 1/50 / 1/50 / 1/125
- Aperture I always prefer the lower the number, the better it is.
- ISO settings; I always shoot at ISO160 and I will try my best not to go beyound ISO1250.
- Just a guide though. Always shoot with ISO160 and its multiples first. Followed by ISO100 and its multiples. Followed by ISO125 and its multiples.
- Neutral Picture Style with Sharpness 1 click to the left, Contrast zero and Saturation 1 click to the left.
- I always try my best not to shoot video over-expose because I will lose the details in the video clip. Try to shoot your video clip under-expose a little bit because you can ramp up the contrast in post. Over-expose clips, no matter how much you edit in post or darken it, there is not much details left.

ND Fader - This little guy works wonder !!! I love it !!! With this, you need not to meddle so much with your aperture. While maintaining at your desired aperture settings, you can play around with the stops on the ND Fader to achieve your results! SUPERBZ !!!



I hope it helps you out. Happy Video-Shooting !!!

hi daniyal > thanks for your comments .. yah i have seen this video before .... one of the reasons why i bought a nd fader =D *very cooolll*

btw, by "low" aperture ... you mean smaller aperture? as in larger f-number?

one problem that i don't understand with video exposure (on my camera) is whether to set exposure first (before going into live-view mode) or to only set it after ... and i tried setting proper exposure and also under-expose (the camera once going into live-view mode seem to compensate automatically) .... i think i need to go consult google and nikon more on this =)

thanks for your help

p/s - i have seen "dragon nana" -- very well done ... gotch "feel"

[pettypoh]

to me theres no definite setting , if i want to shoot aesthetic shots i will at f1.8 ( my lens at best ) haha and control shuttle speed , i guess you know all of these but keeping iso at low is good o_o!! but to me 100 and 200 no difference so ya. For my setting i will always put auto first then adjust from there lol

hi s2glow > thanks for your advice. 1 problem i have ...

(1) i don't have a f1.8 lens =D ... now only got f3.5-4.5 zoom ... so got to wait for opportunity to borrow one =)

yah, i think i will also shoot auto-mode and test accordingly against manual-mode again and see the exact differences between the two ... if auto-mode works well enough, then i guess "no fish, prawn also good"

[daniyal]

pettypoh>>> Hahahha...It's not Dragon Nana...It's Dragon Naga....Naga means Dragon...Hehehehhe...

I am not good with terminalogy. I was refering to F-number or F-stops. Always go lower if possible. Lower the F-stops, more light can be taken in. Which will reduce the grainy look. And lower F-stops, you can play around with the DOF. If you want very focus clip, you can shoot at F10 or F16. But remember once the F-stops goes higher, less light will be taken in and you only have your ISO to play with.

Manual Exposure - I may be wrong. There is no manual exposure for your D3100. You got to lock your Auto Exposure.

No Manual Exposure for Nikon D3100

BUT....you can lock the Auto Exposure so you have more control over your settings... >>> Here! <<<

Anyway, I am also on a learning journey too. I am just sharing my personal video gigs experiences.

[pettypoh]

pettypoh>>> Hahahha...It's not Dragon Nana...It's Dragon Naga....Naga means Dragon...Hehehehhe...

I am not good with terminalogy. I was refering to F-number or F-stops. Always go lower if possible. Lower the F-stops, more light can be taken in. Which will reduce the grainy look. And lower F-stops, you can play around with the DOF. If you want very focus clip, you can shoot at F10 or F16. But remember once the F-stops goes higher, less light will be taken in and you only have your ISO to play with.

Manual Exposure - I may be wrong. There is no manual exposure for your D3100. You got to lock your Auto Exposure.

No Manual Exposure for Nikon D3100

BUT....you can lock the Auto Exposure so you have more control over your settings... >>> Here! <<<

Anyway, I am also on a learning journey too. I am just sharing my personal video gigs experiences.

@daniyal, thanks for the links, i will be probably test out the exposure lock this weekend to see how's the difference like

btw, when using ND fader, did you get a big "X" when bump up to near the max? was trying to take sunset photos but got a big "X" in the middle =D

[eleveninth]

hi all,

i tried using various ISOs on dslr to shoot video, the higher ISO is slightly more grainy (i think) but other than that not much difference in picture quality ... why's that so?

even the low ISO also looks a bit grainy to me ... for those using dslr to shoot videos, what's your usual settings?

i'm doing 1/50 coz video settings 1080i 24fps, aperture f3.5

thanks

hi bro,

u can refer to this video from vincent laforet.

[daniyal]

pettypoh>>> Yes. I have an eclipse shape in the middle which is darker in the middler and brighter at the outer shape. This happen only at the last 2 stops before max. I do not not know whether this is a fault or it is designed that way? Already feedback to the shop. They will check with the supplier but yet to get back to me. Maybe they will get back to me when I drop by their shop soon.

Oh yes, you will see a huge difference when using and not using. Do pay attention to the vibrance of the sky when using the ND Fader. You will appreciate it like I do when I was at Koh Samui.

[pettypoh]

@eleveninth - thanks for the link video, i'm mostly trying to stick as close as possible to the recommended settings ... lots of trial and error ahead

@daniyal - i read online that this problem quite common ... btw, are you using any graduated ND? i think it's great too, especially when need to bring down the brightness of the sky slightly

[daniyal]

pettypoh>>> graduated ?? Dun really understand. I am using ND Fader by Hercules.

[pettypoh]

pettypoh>>> graduated ?? Dun really understand. I am using ND Fader by Hercules.

it's the "half-half" type of filter, top half is dark, then bottom half is clear ... helps to better balance outdoor sky exposure to match the "ground level" or "ocean" if taking landscape photos ... quite a useful tool =)

[daniyal]

pettypoh>>> I believe Circular Polarizor is the same as graduated ND. I have seen a video by Cinevate where their technician was using a CPL ND. Right now, I personally do not have the use for CPL just yet. Maybe further down the road.

[pettypoh]

pettypoh>>> I believe Circular Polarizor is the same as graduated ND. I have seen a video by Cinevate where their technician was using a CPL ND. Right now, I personally do not have the use for CPL just yet. Maybe further down the road.

i'm not 100% sure but should be different thing ... i don't have CPL yet but read online its for "sky and water" -- makes the colours ... ehh ... "pop out"?! haha ... i have the graduated filter .. it's square shaped, looks like this

maybe their uses the same also ... haven't figured out yet

[eleveninth]

different.

[daniyal]

pettypoh>>> I see. Heheheheh. Nope, I have yet to get one of those. I will get them soon. I did watched one of the Top Gear episodes - "Behind The Scene", they were sharing tips on how they capture their clips and techniques that they applied. Basically, I have an idea on how to use. Could not find the link in the youtube cause I watched over the TV. If I could find the link, I will post it here. I would love to try them if I want to shoot at a lake or reservoir.

eleveninth>>> My Bad My Bad.....Hehehhehe...

[SCULDER]

similar with all the above, here's from my idol, Philip Bloom...

[daniyal]

sculder>>> My IDOL too !!