Looks great. Definitely the HV20/HV30 like to overexpose at times. What's the benefit of the Tv mode with such a low shutter time in daylight? Wouldn't you get less shallow field of depth? Or is that the reason you use it?

Hi Lucien. With the usual shutter speed of 1/50s, the aperture goes to around f11. Unlike with still cameras which have large sensors, small aperture settings on this type of video cam do not produce sharp images. There is a phenomenon called diffraction that causes the picture to go very soft when you close the lens down.

I would prefer to shoot no smaller than f5.6, which is why I use a faster shutter until I can get some ND filters. With the right ND filter fitted, I should be able to get a larger aperture at 1/50s which is my aim.

Richard

And here's some footage I took yesterday with my other cam, which does have ND filters built in. This was taken at 25F with 1/50s shutter.

vimeo.com/865005

Richard

Thanks! Interesting I have to test this... I know I can get a sweet spot with my digital camera at a mid-range F stop but didn't know that camcorders have this at smallest aperture. Also I can see you get a longer depth of field so everything is more in focus.

Hi Lucien. Yes it's even more important for video cams. BTW, the sweet spot is near the widest aperture, not the smallest. Just in case I wasn't clear.

The reason that my DOF is so large is just due to the small sensor. Even at wide apertures the DOF is not that narrow, except when you zoom in on the subject.

Richard