OT: Auto Slow Shutter - Lesson Learned

plasmavideo wrote on 10/27/2009, 11:13 AM

I shot a local political debate for public access cable last week using 2 small cams, the Canon HV20 and a Sony HC7. The stage setup was not done for video, only audio, and the lighting was low and kind of odd. When I took a look at the footage in post, at some spots it looked almost like 24p, with odd motion artifacts. That would happen periodically throughout the footage.

After scratching my head for a while, I took a look at the camera setups. Both of them had the Auto Slow Shutter turned on, and the variable lighting evidently was causing the shutter speed to change on the fly.

Guess what will be the first camera setting I check from now on.

Tom

Comments

farss wrote on 10/27/2009, 2:26 PM

Slow Shutter is probably the same as what's know as Frame Accumulation on other cameras. I'd imagine with it enabled as an option for auto exposure the camera turned it on when it ran out of other options trying to get enough light. If the camera is locked off it's not a bad way to try to get more light when you've run out of other options, it can be better than using over the top amounts of gain.

I'm still amazed at how hard it is to convince event organisers that cameras need light to work and the more of it the better.

Bob.