On Fri, 14 Dec 2001 12:02:21 GMT, Ernest wrote:

>I have tried to read up on this topic at the bealecorner.com and 2-pop
>sites as well as postings here. I'm new to the camera and am trying to
>understand what's happening.
>
>I recently shot a basketball game with a Raynox .66 wide angle lens. I
>set the AF Program to sports mode but I had to manually adjust the
>exposure to where the shutter indicates "Open".

Do not use this mode in low light - it forces the shutter speed too high.

>I left White balance on
>automatic.

OK, if the color-balance looks good.

>Progressive scan was on.

Do not use this for motion-video - it is a mode optimized
for still work, and motion-video shot with it is inferior.
You can still grab frames from the motion-video (if that
was the reason for using it), selecting for minimum
interlacing effects (or using a "deinterlace" filter in
a photo editor).

>The resulting footage is ok but a little grainy. Two problems:
>1) when zoomed in, there is a point at about 3/4 zoom that the image
>shifts noticably darker (unsatisfactory)

You have locked down the variables with non-optimal
settings... Also, for zooming in, do not use the Raynox
(it is least sharp near the zoom long end, has a
tendency to flare, and it shortens the max. zoom - and it
reduces the effective aperture available for a given angle
of view, since the camcorder lens is variable-aperture with
focal-length.

>2) even when holding steady (no panning, wide shot), there is a
>throbbing in the image brightness where it grows bright (goodness) for a
>second or so and then returns to the nominal "ok" level. It's hard to
>say but it probably happens every 15-30 seconds.

Unknown cause... It may be due to the odd combination of settings used....?

>I'm open to suggestions on better ways to configure the camera for
>indoor sports. I'm clueless as to the lights in gymnasiums these days
>and I don't know if setting the shutter manually and using AES would
>help.

That is one solution, if you MUST use a high shutter speed.
My inclination would be to leave it all auto, and adjust
the AE-bias for best general exposure (or lock the exposure
if the light is constant-level everywhere), and go to
manual WB if AWB does not give you a good color balance
(you can lock down WB also, if it doesn't shift in the
scene).

>Part of the problem is not knowing what the pre-programmed
>"sports" exposure is doing. The manual is ummmm sparse.

Yes. The sports mode shifts the shutter speed very high...
Most (all, really...) of the program modes can be ignored
on this camera...