Panasonic NV-S99A - Manual (Page 49)

Lighting
When you record in the Auto Mode, the Movie Camera always keeps the white balance adjusted to the
surrounding illumination. However, when you record in the Manual Mode, it is recommended to frequently
adjust the white balance—preferably for each new scene, like the professionals do it. This is because even
slight changes in the lighting (that are not noticeable to the human eye) or changes in position of the Movie
Camera could give the picture a reddish or bluish cast. In general, the colours tend to become reddish when
recording indoors, and under a clear, blue sky they become bluish.
■ Outdoors
Choose a Movie Camera position with the sun in your back, so that the sunlight falls evenly on the subject and
makes for a beautiful picture. See the table below and on the page 32-35 to decide whether to record in the
Auto or Manual White Balance Adjustment, and whether a Filter Kit (VW-LF43E; optional) or a Video DC Light
(VZ-LDCS13E; optional) is necessary to obtain brilliant pictures with vivid colours.
■ Indoors
It is possible to record indoors under fluorescent, halogen, tungsten or even candlelight. However, note that the
brighter the subject is lit, the more vivid a picture will be obtained. Therefore, it is recommended to brighten up
the scene with additional lighting, such as a Video DC Light (VZ-LDCS13E; optional) or a spot light. However, if
you want to capture the special mood of a dimly lit indoor (or outdoor) scene, recording is possible in the Low
Light Mode under weak lighting down to only 1 lux.
In Low Light Mode the picture quality may be noisy. This is normal and not a malfunction of the unit.
When using a Video DC light or a spotlight there are some points to keep in mind:
1. The Video DC light is only effective for up to 3 meters in general use.
2. In Close-up recording, for example Photographs, be sure to check for hot spot reflections and shadowing.
Standard Vaiues of Brightness
The values shown in this table are rough approximations for general reference.
Lux: Unit of illumination (the larger the figure, the brighter the light source)
Lux Place or Type of lighting To obtain Pictures with Vivid Colours
100,000
•Snow—covered mountains
•Mid-summer beach
•Sunlight at noon, clear sky (100,000 lux)
An ND Filter (contained in Filter Kit
VW-LF43E; optional) is recommended to
dampen the excessive light and obtain
stronger colours.
10,000
1,000
500
•Sunlight at 10 AM, clear sky (65,000 lux)
•Sunlight at 3 PM, clear sky (35,000 lux)
•Sunlight at noon, cloudy sky (32,000 lux)
•Sunlight at 10 AM, cloudy sky (25,000 lux)
•Sunlight one hour after sunrise, cloudy
sky (2,000 lux)
•Sunlight one hour before sunrise, clear
sky (1,000 lux)
• Inside a department store, bright office
(500-700 iux)
Range for recording without need for a Filter
Kit (VW-LF43E: optional) or additional
lighting.
100
•Street light (50-100 lux)
Additional lighting is recommended for most
types of lighting in this range to obtain
pictures with vivid colours.
20 •Candle-light at 20 cm distance
(10-15 lux)
Additional lighting is necessary to obtain
satisfactory picture quality.
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