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Posted by peter on 01/21/08 00:24
On the canon xh a1 there is a 3-position gain selector switch that the user
can pre-assign three different gain levels using the menu. Why do we need
this? A more direct method is to have a dial like the XL1 or XL2 to cycle
through all available gain values. This avoids using the menu and is very
quick to adjust.
The 3 position selector makes it difficult to shoot in this scenerio:
When shooting stage performances in a theater, my main concern is to
minimize low light noise. To do this, the obvious way is to set the aperture
to wide open and shutter to slowest possible speed without motion blur, and
then vary the gain as the lighting changes to maintain correct exposure. If
the light level becomes so strong that even -3db causes overexposure, then
and only then I close down the aperture or use a faster shutter speed. Based
on previous experience with a different camera, this is not likely to
happen -- I always had to boost gain quit a bit.
But with a 3-position gain selector, it is not possible to do this, unless
the theater happens to have only 3 different lighting levels. Leaving the
AGC on is not an option either, because the stage is so much brighter than
the surrounding due to spot lights and all, the AGC is bound to overexpose
the subject, especially when zoom out to wide.
Is this an "improvement" over the XL1 and XL2, or is this a cost cutting
move to replace a dial with a cheaper switch?
I have raised this question in a xha1 specific bbs but did not get a
satisfactory answer. Perhaps someone could shed some light? I'm looking for
two answers: (1) Is this a design flaw? (2) How to work around this in the
scenerio above? BTW, I have no control over the lighting in the theater.
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