i have the vx-1000, it seems to me that one of the things that look so hard about video is the bright highlights on sujects. film just seems to be softer highlights. Is the a way to set the video camera to soften them up? mabe a filter?

-- Aaron Chapplin (digitalriot@earthlink.net), September 27, 1999

Answers

Film (at least negative film) is superior to video in regards to handling highlights and shadow -- the technical term for this range is latitude. This is perhaps the main reason why high-budget projects (even those ending on video) are often shot on film.

When shooting video, there are a few things you can do to minimize this problem. First, of course, is to minimize extreme bright/dark spots within the frame. For instance, it is often advisable to avoid shooting in direct sunlight where there are hard shadows. Shooting in overcast conditions or in the shade will help avoid the extremes of brightness.

When you must shoot in high-contrast situations, various types of contrast-reducing filters can help. My personal favorite are Tiffen's Ultra-Contrast filters.

BW

-- Ben Wolf (bdw6@columbia.edu), September 30, 1999.