Recommendations for good quality MiniDV video

[Mighty Unicorn]

I have the Sony dcr-hc30 handycam MiniDV camcorder. I do not have any filters yet. Do UV filters affect shots in dark situations? In other words, do they make your shots even darker?

I was also considering getting a wide angle lens in order to catch more of the peripherals in the scenes I capture. How does this affect format/quality?

And another hint for the MiniDV user at Disneyland, or anywhere: Do NOT try to reuse your DV tapes. No matter what you do, remnants of the old video will remain and cause you to drop frames of video/audio upon use of capture software. I am using Adobe Premiere Pro, and Premiere Elements, and I have a computer that can easily handle the capture/rendering (3,2 Ghz Prescott processor, 2 gigs of PC 3200 DDR RAM, Firewire, and the software mentioned). However, reusing tapes has proved to be a nightmare, as the timelines and frame continuity are compromised. Fresh tapes, and you will never fail.

So, anyway, does anyone have any suggestions as to the correct usage of UV filters and/or wide angle lenses for a Sony DCR-HC30?

Thank you,

Hans Wagner

:)

[RU42]

I have a UV on my camera at all times. As you can see from my video's, I do not see any difference or at least anything noticable.

I have not tried using any other filter then the UV.

RU

[Mighty Unicorn]

Very cool, will get one. Also, what do you think of using a wide angle lens? Does it really expand the viewing area very much, and is there distortion? If I tape with a wide angle attachment, will I have to render the video in widescreen format?

Again, thank you

Hans

[RU42]

I have never used a wide angle on a miniDV so I cannot really comment if they are good or not. I find I do not need one so I have never researched on it. The only thing I could suggest is trying a Google search and find a forum that might have an answer.

Sorry, wish I could be more help there.

RU

[Executioner]

Very cool, will get one. Also, what do you think of using a wide angle lens? Does it really expand the viewing area very much, and is there distortion? If I tape with a wide angle attachment, will I have to render the video in widescreen format? Again, thank you Hans

No, the wide angle will only show more viewing space. Your regular lens can only go so wide when you are zoomed out all the way, with wide angle lens you get, well, a wider picture. It does not change the format of the video, it still is 720 x 480 if you are using MiniDV. The wide angle lens is useful for small areas like a small room or hall and want to capture the whole picture or subjects. There is no distortion unless your focus is out. Now a fisheye lens is different, you can only zoom in very slightly. After that the sides go blury until the whole thing is blury. The fisheye, much like the wide angle, will really capture a broader area. It's great for walk throughs, example being a wedding reception hall. The fisheye lens also helps stabilize wobbles caused by the camera operator. It all depends on what you want to shoot. If you want to shoot widescreen you have to change that in your camera settings. If you want to fake this you can just use the widescreen effect in your editing software or just crop the pictures' top and bottom. Hope that helps you out some.

[Mighty Unicorn]

Sweet!

Now I guess all I need is a good UV filter and a wide angle lens. I am also looking into a good infrared lamp, so I can light things up better using the nightshot plus feature on my cam.

This is gonna be grrrrrreat!

Hans