VIMEO VIDEO SCHOOL DSLR BASICS:Nighttime shooting with a DSLR

This was shot for the Vimeo Video School. It is really basic basics for the total newbie. It keeps in nice and simple for the people who don’t know anything. For more in depth education check further tutorials on the education section of my website or get one of the excellent F-Stop Academy Training videos linked

For more advanced learning check out one of mine, Dan Chung’s or Drew Gardner’s training videos from F-Stop Academy


2 comments

  1. I’ve not made the investment yet myself, but it looks like plugins like Neat Video can really reduce the noise in post and let you push the ISO up when you’re shooting at night. Any idea how far this noise reduction can extend a good, working ISO range? I stay at or below 1600 on my 60D to be safe for now.

    1. Neat video can work great beyond 1600, depending on several things. First, a full frame sensor will produce better than a cropped frame. Secondly, and most importantly, the reference frame of your clip that is used. Another possibility is to get Magic Lantern to increase your ISO level choices between 1600 and 3200 etc.
      Neat Video begins by sampling a portion of one frame of your clip. The idea is to get 1 sample that would be very smooth under good lighting…. like a wall. The better the reference sample, the better the grain reduction. A shot outside will have very few options to use as a sample. The sky can work, etc. Sometimes a poor sample (a sidewalk or skin for instance) can end up causing NV to remove “wanted” detail leaving things looking plastic.
      With all that in mind, I’ve found nothing better to solve grain issues with high ISO or generally bad lighting.
      Good luck!
      Robert

Leave a Reply