On Sun, 3 Feb 2002 01:15:57 -0800, Valerie S. wrote:

>Tonight I got to shoot in a very quiet atmosphere (I live in SF... it's
>just loud). I noticed for the first time some extra noise wehn
>recording. In camera/standby mode, I hear a bit of a whine. O presume
>that's just standard motor noise; not offensive. However, when I was
>recording, I noticed the noise level raise. Is that normal?

Yes.

>My ears may be a bit more sensitive than average (I was
>a professional musician for "a long time") and have been a bit bummed
>with the on cam mic being so omnidirectional. A shotgun purchase is in
>the near future, but I'm trying to find one without such a tight pattern
>and small enough to keep mounted while in my cam bag, as I like to get
>in and get out quickly.

Omnis tend to have the best (smoothest, widest-range)
frequency response (and the off-axis response of shotguns
can be TERRIBLE) - and shotguns rarely have really tight
acceptance angle, so don't expect miracles...;-) Most are
also long. I like the discontinued ("it's good, so
therefore it's discontinued" appears to be the motto of
manufacturers...;-) Sony ECM-Z157 in a compact shotgun,
used with the pattern-select slider just ahead of the
front edge of the cardioid symbol...

>ps FWIW, I shot some beautiful looking footge downtown tonight with the
>shutter speed down to 30, rolled back the sharpness and can't remember
>the f-stop. Anyway, with all of the slagging of the cam's Progressive
>Scan mode, I wonder why nobody ever mentions other methods of getting a
>more "f*&^ look".

Try a subtle diffusion filter, too...;-)
But, some of us like to preserve as much as possible
of the very limited resolution standard NTSC video is
capable of - and any modifications can then be added
in post (try copying a clip and putting it on a
special-effects track in synch with the original,
then apply 50% transparency and some "better Gaussian
blur" [and maybe boost saturation, too] to the
upper clip...). The VX2000 has a sharp picture; mods
can be added later for any effect you want...;-)

>Another thought - has anyone considered starting a
>newsgroup for footage binaries? A place where we can post
>examples/samples of techniques, tools, project samples, etc... ?

How 'bout web-pages, with URLs supplied here,
instead...? ;-) BTW, I have several articles on
video on my web page (URL below, look under the
"I babble" index, then for the "video" section...