Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Canon XL-1

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Manual Vs Automatic

• Full Creative Control

• No ‘Searching’ on auto functions

Creating Pretty Pictures

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Colour Temperature and White Balance• Light is not all the same colour• The camera needs to be calibrated to tell it what

colour white is under current conditions

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera BasicsExposure: Aperture/Iris control• Controls the amount of light entering the camera• Underexposure results in grainy images• Overexposure results in clipping and loss of detail

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

• The aperture opening is measured in f-stops

• Higher numbers let in less light

• f/1.6 lets in more light than f/16

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Shutter Speed

• Faster speeds capture sharper images, reducing motion blur

• But less light reaches the CCD

• The aperture may need to be opened to compensate

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Focus

• Depth of Field

• Pull/Rack Focus

• Focal Length and angle of view

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics• Depth Of Field

– The area in front of and behind the subject that is in acceptable focus

Lens is focused here

Range of image inAcceptable focus

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

• To increase DOF– Use a wide angle setting– A high f stop setting (closing the aperture)– Long shots

• To decrease DOF– Use telephoto setting – A low f stop setting (opening the aperture)– Close ups

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

• Pull or Rack Focus– Changing the focal

point from on subject to another to draw the viewers attention.

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

• Focal Length and Angle of View– Using a telephoto setting will appear to

compress the distance between objects– A wide angle setting will give a more natural

representation of depth

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Menu Controls

• Zebra patterns – displays overexposed areas of the image

• Aspect Ratio – 4:3(fullscreen), 16:9(widescreen)

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

• Aspect Ratio– 4:3 Is being replaced by 16:9 widescreen

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

Focus Ring Zoom Ring Aperture/IrisShutter

White Balance

Power DialSet To ‘M’

Level 1 Film Technology

Camera Basics

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Canon XL-1 Manual

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