How do professional cameramen film in low light so well?

top camcorders for low light image

Teh Tarik

I've just bought a Kogan video camera (new Australian brand, not well known) that from my limited experience of camcorders is somewhere in the middle of the video camera spectrum (definitely not lousy, but nothing special either) and I"ve tried several times filming in a dark room with Night mode with very poor results. I can't actually tell the difference between normal and Night mode.

Do you have experience with video cameras that film well in low light? I made a bit of money recently and considering doing a trade-in somewhere.

Answer
Hi Steph:

Let's boil down this whole discussion into two things:
1) Your AU$399 (~USD$425) Kogan camcorder (which tells us your original budget range). That's no where near the "middle" of the $50 - $100,000 USD video camera spectrum.
2) The phrase "how do professional cameramen film... so well?"

It all boils down to spending good money for good equipment. The professional camera crews use equipment that costs thousands more than what you have now, plus --if you are not talking just InfraRed shooting in total or near-total darkness-- their cameras have multiple gain-boost settings for low light.

If you are trying to compare home camcorder footage of any kind with professional broadcast TV shows, just stop it. Their gear is way more advanced, plus (as others have mentioned) they also have post-production signal processors to help boost image parameters and quality.

The pro's also have access to "image intensifiers" they mount between their lens and camcorder (or on the front lens in cheaper cameras), like the AstroScope, which for around $6,000 USD will work for even a consumer camcorder or SLR. These can create an image using only starlight from the sky.

Your Kogan brand is not highly rated in picture quality to start with (see CNet Australia's review: http://www.cnet.com.au/kogan-full-hd-1080p-video-camcorder-camera-339293191.htm ). If you happen to have a more-expensive Kogan model, I apologize, but not much. A not-well-known brand that's in Australian K-Marts says a lot in itself. If you do trade-up, go for a name brand that's done this for awhile & has a track record for image quality as well as construction quality.

If you really have an interest in "Ghost Hunters" style IR shooting and not just poorly-lit parties, get a good used Sony Handycam that has true Sony "NightShot" features (the older consumer NightShot models could also "see" through certain garments, so Sony crippled newer Handycams' IR features).

The professional IR camera crews also use "bright" (but invisible to the eye) InfraRed spotlights mounted on the camera tops.

hope this helps,
--Dennis C.
 

What type of video camera would be the best?

Sonja H

My friend and I will be shooting a sort of documentary for our dissertation. We will be in different countries all over Europe and Asia, shooting in womans shelters, and interviewing officials. We may be in some low light situations. This documentary will be put on DVD and on the internet, and the documentary needs to be good quality. We are planning on buying a professional video camera. Any ideas? Thanks!

Answer
hello there,
i have some camcorders witch meet your expectations, but we actually need you
Budget
What type as in Consumer, Pro-consumer, Professional
HD (1920X1080 / 1440X1080)
SD

but you actually gave out some good ideas for a good camcorder out in the field


ok here's my top 3 Pro-consumer camcorders

1:- JVC GZ-HM400 HDD+SD SLOT
2:- Panasonic TM-300 HDD+SD SLOT
3:- Canon HS S-11 HDD+SD SLOT
4:- Canon Vixia HV40 HDV(mini dv tapes)+SD SLOT
5:- Sony HDR-HC9 HDV+SD SLOT ( IR emitter AKA NIGHT VISION SHOTS like in the military )

the review links>>
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/JVC-Everio-GZ-HM400-Camcorder-Review-37168.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Panasonic-HDC-TM300-Camcorder-Review-37105.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-Vixia-HF-S11-Camcorder-Review-37150.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-HV30-Camcorder-Review-34401.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-HDR-HC9-Camcorder-Review-34562.htm

And heres my "PERFERD" professional Camcorders

1:- Canon XH A1 HDV
2:- Canon GL- 2 HDV
3:- Canon XL - 2 HDV
4:- JVC GY-HM100U
5:- Panasonic AG-DVX100B

LINKS
http://www.reviewed.com/product/Canon/XL2/external.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/canon_gl2_camcorder_review.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/JVC-GY-HM100-First-Impressions-Camcorder-Review-36458.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-XH-A1-Camcorder-Review.htm
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/panasonic_agdvx100_camcorder_review.htm


Well there you go =D i hoped this helped

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