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C A S E S T U D Y
2
Making the Most of This Compact Camera-Recorder
Making Travel Videos
Maneuverability is the key.
Balancing the twin goals of picture quality and weight saving is a key issue
for camera-recorder designers. It can be difficult to find an ideal
compromise between these two aims, and the requirements of users are
constantly changing as well.
The AG-DVC30 was born to satisfy these kinds of requests from users. The
AG-DVC30 is very compact, especially when the attachments such as the
handle are removed.
Nevertheless, in spite of its compact dimensions, the control buttons are
large and easy to operate. The AG-DVC30 also offers a similar level of
flexibility to the AG-DVX100(A). It also may be just the thing as a backup
camera for the AG-DVX100.
Videos of a Day’s Hike in the Mountains
Many nature documentaries are full of beautiful images and make you feel
refreshed when you watch them, but they can be extremely grueling to
film. Recently I’ve revived my interest in hiking in the mountains, so I
decided to pop the AG-DVC30 and a tripod into my napsack and set out
for a day trip to the hills.
I tried shooting scenery out of a car window with the AG-DVC30. First of
all, I fashioned a “window hood” out of rubber from old gloves and
mounted it in such a way that reflections from the window glass would be
blocked out. If the camera-recorder is kept perpendicular to the window
and the lens held right up to the glass there are no problems with
reflections, but when you wish to change the angle, the window hood
comes in handy.
I tried shooting using the AG-DVC30’s Movie-Like mode. This mode
produces a simulated progressive signal at 30 frames per second rather
than a true progressive signal at 24 frames per second. I felt that 30
frames per second was better for shooting subjects that were moving by
quickly outside the window.
Next I tried shooting while walking around. To get really smooth video it is
probably a good idea to use a steadycam or similar device to absorb
vibrations, but for a documentary it is not necessary to go to such lengths.
Using a handheld camera-recorder while taking care to shooting
reasonably smooth video is sufficient.
