Basic Field Production - Sony PD 150/170

Overview Field kit basic parts and operation

Advanced Camera Adjustments

Shot composition

Types of mics and getting good audio

VCR functions of the camera

The Tripod Extend the legs using the releases

1st

2nd Extend each leg one “level” at a time Make sure to lock the releases after extending each level

Make sure the tripod is level by adjusting the legs incrementally.

The Tripod

Pan lock

Tilt lock

Level Plate safety latch

Plate lock

Tilt/pan handle

Sony PD-150/170

What’s in the box?

On board mic

Sony PD-150 or PD-170

AC Adapter

Putting the Camera on the Tripod

Line up the copper piece and the screw on the plate with the threaded opening bottom of the camera and tighten the screw. You can use a coin to tighten the

screw if you would like.

Putting the Camera on the Tripod

1. Put the plate on the camera 2. Loosen the lock lever 3. Push and hold the safety latch in 4. Slide the camera on 5. Tighten the lock lever

The camera should now be secure

on the tripod.

I M P O R T A N T

Make sure that the plate is left on the TRIPOD and not the camera when you are done with it!

What’s next?

Batteries

Mini DV tapes

Power!

You can use the AC adapter (lift the rubber flap)

Or you can use a (small or large) battery by tilting up the eyepiece and inserting the battery with

the arrow pointing down

Removing Batteries

To remove the battery after use, simply press down on the battery release button on top of the camera and pull the battery up and out of the camera.

Tapes We sell both 63 and 83 minute tapes.

Inserting a tape Hold down the blue button and push down. The tape deck will open. Insert the tape with the wheels facing in toward the camera and the flap facing down. Once the tape is in the camera, Hold the “PUSH” button on the door until you hear it click.

Opening the LCD

Push the silver button on the side and the LCD screen will open out.

Different Modes

VCR – Allows you to play back your footage Camera – Puts the camera in record mode so you can film your subject Memory – If you were to put a Memory Stick in the camera, you could take photos in this mode

Playback controls for VCR mode

Press in the green button and push up or down to Change modes

Record start/stop (Camera mode)

Ways to Zoom

Turn the ring farthest from the lens To zoom manually

Or use the zoom buttons on top of the camera

Note!

The PD-170’s also have a record start/stop and a zoom control on the handle.

Focus

You can either set the camera to auto focus (top), manual focus (middle) or infinity focus (bottom).

In manual focus, rotate the ring closest to the lens to focus.

Iris/Aperture The depth of field is the in-focus range, measured from the distance behind

a subject to the distance in front. Depth of field varies depending on the iris setting. A large iris (low F-stop value) will reduce your depth of field.

A small iris (high F-stop value) will increase your depth of field.

Small iris (low F-stop value) Large iris (high F-stop value)

Iris/Aperture

You can adjust the iris by pushing the “Iris” button located just in front of the LCD. Once you do this, you Should see “F” and a number such as “2.8” appear on your LCD screen.

Adjust the iris size using The wheel located in front of the iris button.

To manually adjust the iris, make sure that the lock slider on the back of the camera is

switched to the middle position.

Iris/Aperture The larger the iris (high F-stop value), the more light will be let into the camera.

The smaller the iris (low F-stop value), the less light will be let in.

A still camera would normally compensate for this by adjusting the shutter speed automatically. if you’re manually adjusting the iris, the camcorders do not automatically compensate for this. You can use a neutral density filter or adjust the shutter speed to let in less light if the image

is too bright.

After pressing the “Shutter Speed” button, use the scrolling wheel on the back of the camera to adjust the shutter speed.

Gain

The gain button acts like a volume control for the video signal. Gain increases the voltage level of the video signal, causing the image to look brighter. More gain means more noise, so use gain with caution. You can adjust the gain by pushing the gain button and using the scrolling wheel on the back of the camera. Gain will show up on Your LCD as a number followed by “dB.”

Neutral Density Filters

White balancing your camera before every shoot is very important. If you don’t white balance the camera, your footage may look blue, green, or yellow, depending on the type of lighting that you’re shooting in. To set the white balance, like adjusting the iris manually, make sure that the lock slider on the back of the camera is set to the middle position. Zoom in on something white (a piece of paper, a projector screen, etc.) and press on the “WHT BAL” button for a couple of seconds. Voilaa! Your camera is white balanced! This is called one step white balancing. If you’re shooting in specific lighting, such as incandescent, florescent, or sun, you can also use white balance presets by pushing the white balance button and using the scroll wheel on the back of the camera to scroll through the three presets. For mixed light conditions (sun and incandescent, etc.) one step white balancing is best.

NOTE – If you move to another location, always remember to re-white balance the camera!

White Balance

Buttons in the LCD Area The most commonly used features in the LCD area are the menu button and the zebra switch.

There are many settings that can be changed on the camera by going into the menu. To do this, press the menu button and scroll through the options using the same scrolling wheel on the Back of the camera that we used for Adjusting the gain and the white Balance presets. You can push down on the scrolling wheel to select an option from the menu.

The zebra switch shows you where parts of the image are overexposed. If you’re seeing a lot of “zebra”, you may need to adjust your iris or use a neutral density filter to reduce the amount of light entering the camera. Some zebra is ok, but too much means you might lose some detail on your subject. Note – The zebra lines will not record on your footage!

Rule of Thirds Imagine a grid on your screen that looks like a tic-tac-toe board.

Shots look best if the subject is placed at the intersection of any two of the lines on the grid.

Note: Sometimes rules are meant to be broken.

Shot Composition Head room

Lead room

Be sure to leave a bit of space on the edges of your shot. Some TV screens may cut off some of the edges. You wouldn’t want someone’s head to get cut off!

Shot Composition

Extreme Close Up (ECU)

Close Up (CU)

Medium Close Up (MCU)

Mid Shot (MS)

Head and Shoulders Shot (HS)

Wide Shot (WS)

Very Wide Shot (VWS)

Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)

2-Shot

Over the Shoulder Shot (OSS)

Medium Wide Shot (MWS)

Shot Composition

7 Deadly Camcorder Sins

-Headhunting - placing every subject in the center of your frame.

-Motorzooming - overuse of on-screen zooms.

-Rooting - staying in one spot instead of looking for interesting angles.

-Firehosing - panning all over the scene.

-Upstanding - shooting everything from standing eye-level.

-Snapshooting - taping only two or three seconds per shot.

-Backlighting - too much light falling on the background instead of on the subject.

Microphones All of the Sony cameras come with an onboard shotgun mic.

Microphones We also have stereo mics available. You can take out floor stands, table stands or boom poles for use with these mics. The one below is shown with a vibration reduction clip.

Microphones Lavaliere (Lav) mics clip on to the subject’s shirt. We have two types.

The one shown below is a hardwired lavaliere.

Microphones The other type of lavaliere is the wireless lav. This comes with a transmitter, a receiver and

9V batteries.

Microphones Lavalieres simply clip onto the shirt, like the one in the photo below.

Microphone Setup

All of the microphones connect to the camera using a male-female XLR cable. The female end of the cable plugs into the mic and the male end plugs into one of the two inputs located on the side of the camera handle.

Microphone Setup

When using only one mic, plug the mic into Input 1 and make sure that the channel select Switch is set to “CH1-CH2.”

When using a 2 mic setup, make sure the Channel select switch is set to “CH1.”

Headphones To plug in headphones, lift the small flap on the side of the camera that the tape deck

Is located on. They plug into the green input on the top.

Adjusting Audio Levels

To adjust the audio levels, press the “Audio Level” button on the back of the camera. A meter will appear on your LCD. To adjust the level, use the scrolling wheel that we used for gain, white balance, etc. You can change which channel is selected by pressing the scrolling wheel in. Generally, a level between -20 and -12 should be the right volume. Always make sure to look at the levels meter and not just go off of what you’re hearing in the headphones!

Camera Manuals Are Available!

We have camera manuals available, so if you’re interested in going more in depth with the camera, make sure to ask for a manual when you check out the equipment.

A Few Reminders

• Make sure to check the camera to see if it is set for manual or automatic focus before you start filming.

• White balance any time you start filming in a new location!

• Keep an eye on your audio levels. Between -20 and -12 should be good.

Happy Filming

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