Camcorder night time shooting

[cazzie]

I have just got my camcorder and I am having problems with the night shooting. I have put it on night but everything is fuzzy and looks like it is in slow motion it is fine if it is perfectly still but the minute their is movement its rubbish. Can anyone help I have never used one before so I don't know if I am not doing somthing or it is an extremely naff camcorder.

Thanks

 

[tmt martins]

Is it nighttime or nightvision ( GREEN ) night time will be jerky and fuzy with movement it does this by changing film speeds to capture more light .
Night vision uses an led light sourse thats nextto nakid to the eye and read green on the CAM.
hope this helps just try to hold very still and let the subjects do the moving.

 

[cazzie]

It is Night View and it is 'to allow you to record colour subjects in dark locations to stand out against the background'.

I have tried keeping it still and my husband moved his arm but we are getting fuzzy almost like a strobe effect.

Thanks

 

[LordAthens]

Short of getting a quality camcorder with a fast lense on it (f/1.2 or faster), there really isn't much you can do to get good night color video.

 

[PaulD]

There's not enough light for your camcorder to record. What's happening is the same thing that happens with a camera. When the light dims the camcorder can either open up the aperture, gain up the sensor (i.e. increase the ISO), or use a slower shutter speed. In these situations that you're describing the camcorder has already opened the aperture to the max (larger opening to let in more light), and set the gain to it's highest level (so that it's more sensitive to light). All that's left is using a longer shutter speed. If that speed falls below 1/30 of a second then moving subjects will be blurry.

Unfortunately, all video equipment has the same issue. If you spend more money you can get a camera with a better lens (and a larger max aperture) and a sensor that can gain up higher. But no matter how much you spend you have to realize that when it gets dark you're going to have trouble.

The only realistic solution is to add more light. You can use the built-in light on your camcorder (if it has one) or you can buy an external light.

Some camcorders have an infrared option where it shines an IR light into the scene to supplement the available light. Generally these videos look green but some are black and white. This is really nice if you don't want to disturb other people with your light (like on a ride). You can also buy more powerful external IR lights to extend the range of your camcorder. I have a Sony that uses this technique and I use this mode a lot at the parks.

 

[cazzie]

Thanks, I am just going to have to hope that there is enough light around the parks and perhaps Spectromagic will be okay because of all the lights. After seeing other peoples videos on the net I thought it would be great to have my own to be able to watch when I get back.

I emailed Panasonic last Friday to ask them about it as it's shown as a feature but to be honest I can't see what you could do with it but so far no reply from them.

 

[PaulD]

I was looking back at some video I shot of Spectromagic and it turned out pretty good. The same goes for the fireworks. I didn't have to use a night shot mode since the lights in the parade and the fireworks are actually pretty bright. You can't see much else but who's interested in the crowd anyhow?

So, you'll probably be fine shooting parades and fireworks even without a night shot mode. In fact, I would try using your camcorder without the night shot mode for these subjects to avoid the jittery/blurry motion problems. It'll probably work.

 

[cazzie]

Thanks PaulD, I had an email today from Panasonic and they said the same as you it should be okay on normal settings. I must admit though to being intrigued as to what this night view is for as they didn't say.

 

[PaulD]

It's really only good for shooting something that stands still. It has a very limited practical use for the average user. Maybe you could take a shot of the castle at night as long as you hold the video camera very steady. I guess if you don't have a regular camera handy then it would be useful.

 

[LordAthens]

Thanks PaulD, I had an email today from Panasonic and they said the same as you it should be okay on normal settings. I must admit though to being intrigued as to what this night view is for as they didn't say.

Depending on your model, there are 2 different types of "Night Shot". Some will call it a "Color Night Shot" which is just uses a very slow shutter and ends up resulting in the blurry jerky video.

Other types of night shot use IR illuminators (not visible by the naked eye) to light up the area. It's typically only useful at short range, unless you have an external IR illuminator.

My Sony for example, has both.

 

[HarambeGuy]

Some quick notes:

* I have used our Canon ZR60 to videotape Spectromagic in normal mode and it turned out nicely. Agree with PaulD, you probably won't need night mode for that.

* The closer you zoom in on the lit subject the better your quality will be. If you are shooting a subject that is lit when all around is dark, then the night mode will try to compensate to a degree that will bring out all the darkened areas and not just the subject. The less dark/black you have in your frame surrounding the subject the better your picture quality will be.

* Try other settings and see what the picture quality is like. Zoom in really tight in normal mode, or try an alternate low light setting.

Good luck!