Re: OT: HDV and video gain "noise"

My first shoot with a Z1 was an evening reception, where I had to crank the gain to 18db. The second shoot the next day was a morning wedding -- I forgot to turn the gain back down so I closed the iris to adjust exposure. I thought it looked almost unacceptable. Looked fine in SD, but I wasn't able zoom in at all (like I planned). Could've been the lighting, too, idk. The Z1 has better sensors, so it might not produce as much gain noise as the Z1.

But for the A1, I've actually tested the difference in the A1 between boosting gain in-camera, and boosting gain in post. Boosting in post generally produces less noise and fewer MPEGgy artifacts. The HDV compressor will work to accommodate the extra "detail" of the noise, and the overall image quality may drop. If you're in locked-down position, probably not so much, but if the image has a lot of motion, it increases the potential of introducing macroblocking. The difference is usually imperceptible in a downconversion to SD, but I think the difference is substantial in HD.

YMMV. The Z1 might have a better onboard HDV compressor, but IIRC from a paper from Sony about their HDV compressors in that generation, the Z1 and A1 have the same processor... but whatever. Whatever works for you. :-) Good color correction and good sound help a lot to lessen your audience's perception of the noise, anyway.