Lab 10: Save the pixels

Lab 8 : Know your camera re Video capabilities

KNOW YOUR CAMERA re VIDEO CAPABILITIES

TO DO – Copy/Paste all of the following material into a new "page" on your Camera Works II blog,
 try to research and find answers to all questions

Main Online Resource Web sites:
DP-Review
https://www.dpreview.com/products/cameras

Canon User Manuals        (follow "EOS Series" link)
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/camera-user-manual

Nikon User Manuals         (follow "Digital SLR Cameras" link)
http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/index.html

1. your camera (manufacturer & model)

answer: 

- Nikon D3100

2. the sensor size (in mm: ? x ?), maximum megapixel rating, sensor type (eg “APS-H”)

answer: 

- APS-C (23.1mm x 15.4mm)

3. lenses you own & can use on your video recording-capable camera 

    — in 35mm equivalent focal length range, associated widest apertures

answer: 

-  AD-S NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G

4. biggest memory card you own in terms of capacity (in GB), class (eg “class 10”), 

   and card speed (eg. x 133). 

   If it’s an SD type card, which class is it?  (e.g.. class 10)

   Read the following article from B&H PhotoVideo which indicates all relevant aspects of cards:
   Memory Cards Explained

   Which class of card do you need for shooting video? What does your SD card classification 

   mean in terms of writing speed: is it fast enough to be shooting video?

answers: 

-  SD HC card: 32GB Class 10 300x (My memory card)

Class of card I need for video shooting: Try to find SD cards that are UHS speed class or SD card with a V shown. The 

the ones with V are recommended for the most high quality and best performance for video recording.

Class 10 is the minimum quality for a good video shooting. It is fast enough for minimum requirements.

5. How many minutes of video capacity does your biggest memory card have shooting at both the 

     highest & lowest resolution capture settings?

     Also, does your camera have a limit on the amount of video shooting time?

     What is the technical reason for limiting single shot video shooting time?

     State your answers as memory card size / recording quality (resolution & mode) & maximum minutes

     ( eg. 8GB memory card / 1280 x 720p [SD mode] yields 20 min. of video)

     (NB. you will probably have to test this out by turning on your camera with your empty reformatted

     memory card installed, the display set to indicate total frames remaining/total video time available,

     video quality set to highest and then lowest resolutions)

answers:

- highest resolution no. of minutes: 16gb / 1920 x 1080; 24 fps 10 mins

- lowest resolution no. of minutes: 16gb / 640 x 424; 24fps 10 mins

6. maximum file size per clip        

answer:

- 4GB

8. format of movie files created (eg. QuickTime Motion JPEG, AVCHD, MPEG4, etc.)

    (... there’ll probably be more than one, depending on camera and resolution sizes & modes) 

answers:

-  MOV and MPEG4(From my camera Nikon D3100).

9. which video output resolutions does your camera produce? 

     try to include all of the following info for each level of video resolution your camera produces:

- (sample answer might be:     720p / 1280 x 720 pixels/ SD / 4:3 / 30fps)

               answers:

-  1080p / 1980 x 1080 pixels / SD / 16:9  / 24 fps

- 720p / 1280 x 720 pixels / 16:9 / SD / 30 fps

- 720p / 1280 x 720 pixels /16:9 / SD / 25 fps

- 720p / 1280 x 720 pixels / 16:9 / SD / 24 fps

- 424p / 640 x 424 pixels / 4:3 / SD / 24 fps

10. looking at the above resolution dimensions available, are they using the same aspect ratio or not? 
      (eg. 800 x 600 is a 4:3 aspect ratio while 1920 x 1080 is a 16:9 aspect ratio). 
      What are the differing aspect ratios for each of your camera's video format resolutions?

answers: 

- 4:3 aspect ratio gives a more square wish screen while 16:9 aspect ratio gives a wider screen, the 

standard of high definition picture. (It comes with black bars)

11. shutter speed range your camera can record video in: does your camera permit you to set shutter 

      speed when recording video? (Can you in fact set manual setting for video shooting?) Whether it 

      does or not, what shutter speeds can you set on your camera for shooting video?

answers: 

- Depending the fps I have, with 30 fps, I'd use 1/60. With 24fps, I'd use 1/48 or around 1/50.

12. aperture: does your camera permit you to set the aperture when recording video?

             answers:   

              - Yes, I have to do it manually.

    

13. shutter speed & aperture restrictions — answer this only if your camera does not permit you to 

       choose manual video shooting settings. 

       If your camera doesn’t have manual setting capabilities, what other camera setting can you use to 

       control exposure then?

  answers:

-

14. focus: how does your camera focus when shooting video? Does it permit you to manually focus

       or are you left with autofocus only?

eg. — The most important thing to know about the Nikon D5000’s video controls is the fact that the camera cannot 

autofocus while video is being recorded. You can autofocus the image before recording begins (by pressing the shutter 
button halfway down, just like you do with still images), but once you start recording you must manually focus 
everything..When you try to autofocus while recording, the camera lens moves and changes exposure just as if 
you’re autofocusing a still image.
answers: 

- My camera permits me to manually focus and autofocus. I'd rather manually focus since it's easier

to manipulate while autofocusing keeps moving and tries to focus the spot.

15. your camera records video at what data rate (expressed in MB/sec. or mbps)

answer:
            - Might be 24mbps.

16. specific and particular settings recommended for your camera model — the best way to 

      do this is to look at the camera reviews for your model on preview.com and/or imaging resource.com

      and read their review section on the video functioning (often listed as “video” or “movie” review section). 
      You can also research this in a Google search —eg. at least one very popular camera (hint: 5D) has

      suggested settings for ISO to obtain the least noise in video mode.

answers:

-  There is nothing specific or particular settings recommended for my camera.

Lab 7 : Light Painting

Constant Light:

 Flash Light:

 Writing/drawing Light:

Lab 6 : HDR - Higher Dynamic Range

N developed

16bits HDR +/-3 stops

32bits HDR +/-6 stops

Lab 5 : Histograms

Histograms

                            High-key scene                

                            Low-key scene

                             Scene with varied tones

a.     According to the histogram, where do most of the pixels in your high key image fall (left or right on the histogram)

Most of the pixels in my high-key image fall on the right side on the histogram, which means the tones are white/bright.

b.     Are there any pixels in the high key image that would not print with detail?

There could be any pixels in the high key that would not print with detail if the white tones start to clip. It means the information is losing.

c.     According to the histogram, where do most of the pixels in your low-key image fall (left or right on the histogram)

Most of the pixels in my low-key image fall on the left side on the histogram, which means the tones are black/dark.

d.     Are there any pixels in the low-key image that would not print with detail?

There could be any pixels in the high key that would not print with detail if the black tones start to clip. It means the information is losing.

e.     According to the histogram, where do most of the pixels in your varied tones image fall (left or right on the histogram)

Most of the pixels in my varied tones image fall in-between the black and white tones, which means it is in the middle tones.

f.      Are there any pixels in the varied tones image that would not print with detail?

There could be any pixels in the varied tones image that would not print with detail if the image is underexposed or overexposed. 

g.     Considering the information on the histogram, do you feel your camera is properly exposing the high key and low-key scenes? Explain your answer

Yes, because it mostly goes either on the right or left side, but the histogram doesn't touch either edges of it. I made sure there was no clipping.

h.     Which histogram shows the most dynamic range?

The histogram that shows the most dynamic range is the one with varied tones. It falls in-between white and black tones. 

Assignment 1 : Creative use of Shutter and Aperture

Shutter:

 Frozen Motion

Blurred Motion

Aperture/DOF:

Shallow DOF

Deep DOF