Last month I wrote about my new Panasonic G7, and how I was having good success in low-light video. I’m using an old inexpensive manual Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 lens, along with an Fotasy FD – M4/3 adapter.
At our last night-time gig, I had to position the camera really far away for the 100mm focal length to fit the entire band in the frame.
We’ve been using the Sony HDR-MV1 camera to video our gigs, and it works reasonably well, but I’m continuously frustrated by the poor quality in low light. The stages we play in my band are always either super-sunny, or very dimly lit.
I know that my Canon T2i DSLR works much better in low light with its bigger sensor and better lenses, but like most cameras, its maximum video recording time is very short (under 15 minutes). So it’s impossible to use for gigs.More
Trying to video a live band in low light is a challenge! Grainy footage, crappy sound, dying batteries… the list goes on.
At this year’s NAMM show, I saw a new camera from Sony which intends to improve and simplify this- the HDR-MV1.
In addition to playing guitar and running the sound for my band, I’m also in charge of the cameras and making the videos. So I picked up an HDR-MV1 and have been using it for a few months to record some rehearsals and gigs. More