[gosman]

Today I tried video for the first time on my K-3. I searched the threads and have found nothing about video settings on the K-3. There are some complex threads that go far beyond anything I would ever want to do. There is hardly anything in the manual about the settings. I was getting a fluttering video and the camera was not focusing automatically. Should it?


If I could just get a simple setting to start with. I currently have the exposure setting at P, movie capture setting at FullHD 24p (I saw a work shop this week where the guy said most simple scenes could do just 24p and will keep the file size down). Digital filter is off, HDR is off,movie SR is on. I see nothing for auto focusing?


Any suggestions for a start on my video would be appreciated.

[Adam]

Today I tried video for the first time on my K-3. I searched the threads and have found nothing about video settings on the K-3. There are some complex threads that go far beyond anything I would ever want to do. There is hardly anything in the manual about the settings. I was getting a fluttering video and the camera was not focusing automatically. Should it?


If I could just get a simple setting to start with. I currently have the exposure setting at P, movie capture setting at FullHD 24p (I saw a work shop this week where the guy said most simple scenes could do just 24p and will keep the file size down). Digital filter is off, HDR is off,movie SR is on. I see nothing for auto focusing?


Any suggestions for a start on my video would be appreciated.

The K-3 doesn't have full time video autofocus. If you want to focus while recording, hold the AF button down. It's sort of rudimentary, but at least it's there

For more details on the K-3's video capabilities, check out our in-depth review:
Pentax K-3 Review - Movie/Video Mode - Pentax Camera Forums

[gosman]

Adam- that helped some. But still would like to know what others are using with their settings? Especially their frame rates.

[Bob from Aus]

I agree that the manual is not helpful.

As far as using SLRs in general for video, I have found this website the most helpful
The DSLR Cinematography Guide

[gosman]

Very Nikon and Canon centric!

[Steve.Ledger]

Doesn't matter which DSLR system it is, the basic rules are the same.
There's a ton of decent DSLR Video tutorials and tips on YouTube.
Dave Dugdale, Philip Bloom, Mike Browne, Tom Antos to name but a few..

[Bob from Aus]

Very Nikon and Canon centric!

Not surprising with the lower volume of Pentax cameras out there and the really basic video features of pre K3 cameras

[Steve.Ledger]

K-01/K-30/K-50 have full manual control and same settings as K-3. K-3 has more megapixels, but everything else is similar.
Yes, the K-3 has the Headphone out and Mic in, plus the HDMI out, but insofaras video settings goes, no not 'really basic'.

K-3: 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)

K-01: 1920 x 1080 (30, 25, 24 fps),1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25, 24 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25, 24 fps)

K-30/K-50: 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)

[rfg]

.... I was getting a fluttering video and the camera was not focusing automatically. Should it?

Digital filter is off, HDR is off,movie SR is on....

Any suggestions for a start on my video would be appreciated.

Try turning SR off - the video implementation on the K-3 can cause awful artefacts, it might be the fluttering you mention.

[Steve.Ledger]

You'll get a fluttery effect from recording under fluorescent lighting if you haven't set the camera to 50 or 60Hz (depending on your country)

[gosman]

I went back to 30 frames per second. Fluttering has stopped.

[PiDicus Rex]

Camera settings for video.

First, what is your Delivery Format?
BluRay/DVD in and NTSC country, shoot 30fps, Shutter set to 60.
Same for PAL counties - shoot 25fps and shutter at 50

Increase the shutter speed (not the frame rate) for sports or fast action.
Use 60 (or 50) FPS where you want to slow down the footage by 50% for super smooth slo-mo's.

Yes, some would argue to shoot 50p or 60p for BluRay/DVD, but there's not really much point as they and DVB-T use 25 and 30 frames for playback.

24 frames per second.... Is best kept for when you are shooting with an delivery medium of Cinema Projection, be that short film or feature film or adverts to play before the feature presentation.


Best advice for any 'newbie' to DSLR filming - Go, play, practice, and keep a log sheet of what you were shooting, and the conditions of the location, then read back that sheet while playing back the vision on your PC or TV.
The changes you make, and best of all, the mistakes you make, will teach you what works and what doesn't for what you choose to film.