Panasonic AG-DVX100B, User Manual

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Video image 

4 STEPS FOR AVOIDING OVEREXPOSURE

Determining the 
dominant light 
source
Before shooting, 
determine whether 
most of the light in 
the scene is com-
ing from the sun or 

from artificial lights.

For best color re-
sults, try to reduce 
the light com-
ing from the less 
dominant source. 
You can do this by 
covering windows (if 
your primary light 

source is artificial) 

or by turning off 
incandescent and 

fluorescent lights 

and placing your 
subject close to 
a window (if your 
primary light source 
is sunlight).

It’s also possible 

to match artificial 

lights to sunlight by 
covering the lights 
with blue color con-
version gels which 
can be found in the 
light kits.

Matching the light 
using one of these 
methods will pro-
vide better color for 
your scene.

ND FILTER SETTINGS
1/64 cuts light intensity by 1/64
1/8 cuts light intensity by 1/8
OFF

 ND filter is not used

Selecting the right neutral density 
filter

Neutral density filters allow the camera 

to operate correctly outdoors in sunlight. 

A neutral density filter does for the cam

-

era what sunglasses do for your eyes—it 
reduces the amount of light that can pass 
through without changing the color of that 
light.

Performing a white balance
1. Set the WHITE BAL switch to A or B.

2. Point the camera at a piece of white paper or a white 

  object and zoom in so that it fills the frame.

3. Press and hold the AWB button on the front of the 
  camera.

4. Release the button when AWB Ach (or Bch) ACTIVE 

  appears in the viewfinder. Continuing to hold the button 

  will also black balance the camera. Don’t panic if the 
  LCD suddenly goes black.

Setting a white balance
White balancing the camera guarantees that white and all other 
colors record correctly. Though the human eye cannot perceive it, white 
light coming from the sun is different than white light coming from a 
light bulb. Different light sources have different “color temperatures” 

measured on the Kelvin temperature scale. Artificial light has a color 

temperature close to 3200K and appears orange to the camera. Sun-
light has a color temperature of 5600K and appears blue to the camera. 
You should white balance your camera before recording, but especially 

when lighting conditions change (moving from sunlight to artificial light 

or vice versa).

FIRST THINGS

FIRST

AUTO IRIS
If you are using auto iris (see “Setting an appro-
priate iris” on the next page), the camera will tell 

you when you should be using a neutral density fil

-

ter with a message in the middle of the LCD screen.

MANUAL IRIS
If you’re using manual iris, you can judge the 

need for a neutral density filter by monitoring the 

F-stop of the lens. If you’re at F16 and the scene 

is still too bright, turn on the neutral density filter. 

Note: 1/64 ND reduces more light than 1/8 ND.

If you are indoors and your scene is too dark even 
with the F-stop reading OPEN, make sure the ND 

filter is OFF.

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