Beginner video settings

UaeExile

UaeExile

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I've decided I wanted to make a video of our summer this year and I've been inspired by some Youtubers I follow to put something together with a bit more care and attention than your average holiday video.

I'll be mainly using my D750 and probably 24mm 1.4, but I'll probably try other lenses as I go. I don't really want to invest in external audio as I think a large portion will be over-layed with music anyway.

My question is where do I start with video settings? I've got the option of 1080p or 720p and various frame rates. 60/50/30/25/24 etc and I don't really understand the difference between them (in real world usage anyway).

Any tips?
 
1080p means the frame size will be 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. The "p" means progressive which you can read more about HERE. If you choose 720p the frame size will be 1280 pixels wide by 720 pixels high. 1080p will give you more resolution over 720p. For YouTube I would use 1080p at 25 frames per second (fps). If you want to slow any footage down for a slow motion effect then shoot at 50 or 60 fps. I'd recommend you try out a few different settings before you go on holiday so you know what each frame rate option will look like in your finished film. The 24 fps option is if you want to use the same frame rate as celluloid film that movies are shot on.
 
Vimeo is worth having a look at - there are some great tutorials on there and some absolutely stunning footage to get inspiration from, but some of them must have taken months oof dedication to produce.
 
25 is PAL, 30 is NTSC. It also relates to the power grid (50hz/60hz) and the related shutter speed that is "best" to use with it (25fps- 1/50, 30fps- 1/60). This relates to the "flicker rate" of light sources that may be recorded as well as "natural motion blur."

The frame rate and corresponding SS both have the same effect on the individual cells as it does with still photography. And keep in mind that you can always "reduce" from higher settings, not so much the other way. 60/50i is a bit misleading... the "interlaced" means that only part of the frame is "new." It's similar to catching the shutter with flash except the "black area" is filled in (interlaced) with previoius information.

720 is adequate for most use, but it may be beneficial to record in 1080 and edit in 720. This will give you some compositional "cropping" capability you won't really have otherwise. But larger size/higher frame rate do equate to larger files.

I always use 1080/30, and I usually output 1080... but there is little point to the 1080 output (unless displayed on a large/HD screen for critical viewing).
 
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UaeExile said:
I've decided I wanted to make a video of our summer this year and I've been inspired by some Youtubers I follow to put something together with a bit more care and attention than your average holiday video.

I'll be mainly using my D750 and probably 24mm 1.4, but I'll probably try other lenses as I go. I don't really want to invest in external audio as I think a large portion will be over-layed with music anyway.

My question is where do I start with video settings? I've got the option of 1080p or 720p and various frame rates. 60/50/30/25/24 etc and I don't really understand the difference between them (in real world usage anyway).

Any tips?
Click to expand...


sk66 said:
25 is PAL, 30 is NTSC. It also relates to the power grid (50hz/60hz) and the related shutter speed that is "best" to use with it (25fps- 1/50, 30fps- 1/60). This relates to the "flicker rate" of light sources that may be recorded as well as "natural motion blur."

The frame rate and corresponding SS both have the same effect on the individual cells as it does with still photography. And keep in mind that you can always "reduce" from higher settings, not so much the other way. 60/50i is a bit misleading... the "interlaced" means that only part of the frame is "new." It's similar to catching the shutter with flash except the "black area" is filled in (interlaced) with previoius information.

720 is adequate for most use, but it may be beneficial to record in 1080 and edit in 720. This will give you some compositional "cropping" capability you won't really have otherwise. But larger size/higher frame rate do equate to larger files.

I always use 1080/30, and I usually output 1080... but there is little point to the 1080 output (unless displayed on a large/HD screen for critical viewing).
Click to expand...


Higher framerates give better motion portrayal, lower framerates give filmic motion judder. Once you've chosen a framerate, you use a shutter speed of 1/(2xfps) to give the best blend between motion blur and judder. If you're shooting artificial light, then you need to match framerate to mains frequency.

PAL and NTSC are analogue methods of encoding colour, nothing to do with framerates. It's quite possible to have PAL at 60Hz - it's used in Brazil.
 
PAL and NTSC are no longer particularly relevant since modern TVs will deal with either.
You can use it to get different frame rates though.
I'd use 1080p and 30fps but if anything might look better slowed down use 60fps perhaps.
Slowing footage makes any camera shake less obvious which is useful at times.

I don't agree with someone above said no point using 1080p.
1080p is standard full HD now and looks significantly better than 720p on almost any screen larger than a phone.
Most serious youtube content is now uploaded at 1080p or higher.
 
st599 said:
PAL and NTSC are analogue methods of encoding colour, nothing to do with framerates. It's quite possible to have PAL at 60Hz - it's used in Brazil.
Click to expand...

Brazil is an exception rather than the rule. Generally PAL is 25 fps.
 
Hi Adam
I recently started to film stuff and found the tube also very helpful. I tried various settings and ended up preferring 1080 at 60fps. I don't see the point in shooting in a lower resolution at all.
The only problem I had at 60fps was at night when everything was really dark and murky, I should have shot at 30fps to get a little more light.
I don't know anything about your camera, is it big and heavy? are you going to use a stabilizer for it?
 
Bletch said:
Hi Adam
I recently started to film stuff and found the tube also very helpful. I tried various settings and ended up preferring 1080 at 60fps. I don't see the point in shooting in a lower resolution at all.
The only problem I had at 60fps was at night when everything was really dark and murky, I should have shot at 30fps to get a little more light.
I don't know anything about your camera, is it big and heavy? are you going to use a stabilizer for it?
Click to expand...

Hi James, yes it's a bitch to hold and far too heavy for me to shoot as comfortable as I'd like.

For that reason, I've decided to pick up a small (but capable) point and shoot / video cam. Something like the Sony RX100 IV or the Canon G7X II.
 
This is what I found with my 5Dii - while the quality is good, stabilisation is inadequate for video handheld so you could more or less only record set pieces from a tripod.
My Canon S100 is better for most things but as an all rounder Hero4 Black with Feiyu gimbal takes some beating.
 
4wd said:
This is what I found with my 5Dii - while the quality is good, stabilisation is inadequate for video handheld so you could more or less only record set pieces from a tripod.
My Canon S100 is better for most things but as an all rounder Hero4 Black with Feiyu gimbal takes some beating.
Click to expand...

Cheers, what's the audio like on the Hero4 like? That's always been my biggest worry with investing any money in a GoPro.
 
Bletch said:
Hi Adam
I recently started to film stuff and found the tube also very helpful. I tried various settings and ended up preferring 1080 at 60fps. I don't see the point in shooting in a lower resolution at all.
The only problem I had at 60fps was at night when everything was really dark and murky, I should have shot at 30fps to get a little more light.
I don't know anything about your camera, is it big and heavy? are you going to use a stabilizer for it?
Click to expand...
60fps for everything? That seems odd to me as the default SS would tend to freeze too much motion to look natural. However, you do not have to use 180* shutter speed with digital because you are not using a mechanical shutter... You could use any SS you like in order to collect more light; keeping in mind the flicker speed of lighting in use and the fact that SS's around 1/50-1/60 seem the most "natural."

This is a pretty good article on the topic.
 
UaeExile said:
Cheers, what's the audio like on the Hero4 like? That's always been my biggest worry with investing any money in a GoPro.
Click to expand...
Really quite good though wind can be an issue obviously.
You can use a range of external microphones with an inexpensive adapter.

edit: or as above buy a separate audio recorder e.g. zoom
 
sk66 said:
60fps for everything? That seems odd to me as the default SS would tend to freeze too much motion to look natural. However, you do not have to use 180* shutter speed with digital because you are not using a mechanical shutter... You could use any SS you like in order to collect more light; keeping in mind the flicker speed of lighting in use and the fact that SS's around 1/50-1/60 seem the most "natural."
Click to expand...

My personal preference is to watch footage filmed at 60fps which I find more natural, It just seemed the obvious choice to go for when filming.
I tend to stick with the SS set to double the framerate. Not noticed any freezing problems on the GoPro4 or Osmo (yet).

Nice article in the link, although I hated the look of both those films in the example, might watch some more of these :)
 
4wd said:
Really quite good though wind can be an issue obviously.
You can use a range of external microphones with an inexpensive adapter.
Click to expand...

That gopro guy on youtube Micbergsma recently did a review of a probuct that cut noise out on his Gopro, might be worth a look?
 
4wd said:
PAL and NTSC are no longer particularly relevant since modern TVs will deal with either.
You can use it to get different frame rates though.
I'd use 1080p and 30fps but if anything might look better slowed down use 60fps perhaps.
Slowing footage makes any camera shake less obvious which is useful at times.

I don't agree with someone above said no point using 1080p.
1080p is standard full HD now and looks significantly better than 720p on almost any screen larger than a phone.
Most serious youtube content is now uploaded at 1080p or higher.
Click to expand...

CSB said:
Brazil is an exception rather than the rule. Generally PAL is 25 fps.
Click to expand...

PAL has nothing to do with framerates, it's a method of carrying colour information on a black and white signal.

Neither PAL nor NTSC is used in digital video. The colour is carried according to Rec709.
 
It does affect 'available' frame rates, because you can't select 30fps or 60fps in PAL setting.
 
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4wd said:
This is what I found with my 5Dii - while the quality is good, stabilisation is inadequate for video handheld so you could more or less only record set pieces from a tripod.
My Canon S100 is better for most things but as an all rounder Hero4 Black with Feiyu gimbal takes some beating.
Click to expand...

MrsExile just picked me up a Hero4Black... happy father's day to me :D
 
Now the accessories questions start!

At least one spare battery.
A frame type open 'case'
A selfie stick- much easier to hold steady with this.
A clip style mount.
A push on UV filter to protect the lens when not in full case.

Ebay and Amazon are good for all of these and have loads of alternatives a fraction GoPro price.
Most things that fit Hero3 fit Hero4
 
4wd said:
Now the accessories questions start!

At least one spare battery.
A frame type open 'case'
A selfie stick- much easier to hold steady with this.
A clip style mount.
A push on UV filter to protect the lens when not in full case.

Ebay and Amazon are good for all of these and have loads of alternatives a fraction GoPro price.
Most things that fit Hero3 fit Hero4
Click to expand...

I picked it up in a bundle with a hardshell case, couple of spare batteries with triple charging unit and a selfie stick. All of which seem reasonably well made although they are third party (Smatree).

When you say frame-type case, what does that mean? Also, clip style mount?
 
Example:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sametop-Backpack-Strap-Mount-Cameras/dp/B01BSE454S
This can be clipped on a hat, shirt, rucksack or other solid obects - a good versatile option.

These allow mic connection and are smaller when you won't get it wet or dirty.
You also get far superior sound compared to case even with open back door.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CamKix-Frame-Mount-GoPro-Accessible/dp/B00MVGRAOU
Note this includes a UV so is actually quite good deal, though both are just #1 on amazon search.
 
4wd said:
Example:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sametop-Backpack-Strap-Mount-Cameras/dp/B01BSE454S
This can be clipped on a hat, shirt, rucksack or other solid obects - a good versatile option.

These allow mic connection and are smaller when you won't get it wet or dirty.
You also get far superior sound compared to case even with open back door.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CamKix-Frame-Mount-GoPro-Accessible/dp/B00MVGRAOU
Note this includes a UV so is actually quite good deal, though both are just #1 on amazon search.
Click to expand...
This is the thing I'm looking forward to; getting home and ordering stuff from Amazon on the cheap! Here each of those would cost me 4/5 times that easy.
 
Interesting. I have been contemplating picking up a GoPro and a gimbal to capture family things but was always concerned about distortion? It seems a great bit of kit to always have on hand though. Look forward to your findings @UaeExile

Silly question. But how does one compose or shoot without a screen on the back of the Black version? Having a gimbal with the Black makes it a tad pointless or am I missing something?!
 
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You can use the app for a live view - but in any case the lens is so wide it's hard to miss entirely.
You can get an LCD screen for the Black but battery life is reduced, already a problem area especially recording 4K.
The distortion is less of an issue if you keep strong lines fairly central.
It can be corrected easily enough in more sophisticated programs like Adobe Premiere, however the sort of subjects you are usually recording - like close up action - there isn't usually any need.

You can get some pretty good results if you work with what it does best and understand the limitations - as can be seen with a youtube search
 
redlion said:
Interesting. I have been contemplating picking up a GoPro and a gimbal to capture family things but was always concerned about distortion? It seems a great bit of kit to always have on hand though. Look forward to your findings @UaeExile

Silly question. But how does one compose or shoot without a screen on the back of the Black version? Having a gimbal with the Black makes it a tad pointless or am I missing something?!
Click to expand...

You can choose between wide, medium and narrow... I find medium to be the sweet spot for what I intend to use it for. You can also set up using the wifi app then turn it off, so you don't kill the battery.
 
redlion said:
Silly question. But how does one compose or shoot without a screen on the back of the Black version? Having a gimbal with the Black makes it a tad pointless or am I missing something?!
Click to expand...
I would probably make a FOV ring (or one for each setting) to attach to the case... You could attach a director's viewfinder, but IMO it doesn't justify the cost. The gimbal is for stability in motion, not viewfinder use.
 
Using a DSLR for video recording, what are the ways to prevent camera shake that you guys use please - fast moving subjects, often on a moving platform (boat to boat, or boat, either both running, or one static, which is fine until the wash from theother boat hits the one you are stood on!
 
You can't do much without looking at some kind of glide cam or gimbal system which is unrealistic for amateur use with an SLR.
 
4wd said:
You can't do much without looking at some kind of glide cam or gimbal system which is unrealistic for amateur use with an SLR.
Click to expand...

Super - any preferences as to what works? There are probably dozens, and some will be good, others a waste of money.
 
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