S2-IS video - shutter speed control?

[john a]

Can anyone tell me if there is a way to control the shutter speed when taking video. I'm sure you are aware of video camera's with a "sports" mode which simply reduces the amount of time the shutter is open while keeping the frames per second the same. It would seem this camera should have this capability, but I have not been able to "find" it. Thanks for any help.

[lakiluno]

can you extend on that a bit - keep the shutter open for less time while keeping the FPS the same? The S2 IS only has a partial shutter that closes at the end of an exposure as CCD chips can suffer from shutdown issues. The S2 IS is not a video camera, and although it has good video modes, if you want the versatility of a proper digital video camera, you'll have to buy one.

Leo

[john a]

I own a Sony digital video camera. It works great for doing sports video, which I then process and create slow motion clips. I also use frame by frame display to analyze the action of the athlete. However my Sony doesn't do good still images, is relatively big and heavy. With my Sony, the effective "shutter" speed is probably about 1/800 of a second which makes for great freeze frame analysis. Since I take my S2-IS with me for stills, it would be really nice if it could satisfy my video needs also. It does, except for the shutter speed.

The S2-IS can be set at very fast shutter speeds for still images. It just seemed to me that it would not be that hard for the electronics to allow setting a faster shutter speed (than I have been able to get) when taking video. Good quality video is usually taken at 30 fps, so the electronic equivalent of the shutter could be "open" for something a little less than 1/30 of a second but that would result in blurry individual frames. (I don't know what shutter speed is used on the S2-IS.) Since the S2-IS can be as fast as 1/3200 of a second, I would just like to have a "sports" setting that was something like 1/800 or so. Since it seems like it would be easy for the camera designer to include, I was thinking maybe it has been done and I just don't know how to access it. So I thought I would ask the people on this forum if they know anything about it. I hope that clears up what I am asking.:D

[adas]

You say that your Sony camcorder doesn't do good still images, why you think the 640x480 images produced by the S2IS in video mode would be any better?

Don't know about the possibility of adjusting shutter speed in video mode (although this is a real facility in most camcorders, even junk VHS ones), but surely filming in daylight the shutter speed could easily get as short as 1/800s or shorter @ 30fps.

[john a]

You say that your Sony camcorder doesn't do good still images, why you think the 640x480 images produced by the S2IS in video mode would be any better?
When I want still images, I would use the S2-IS as a still camera with full resolution.

Don't know about the possibility of adjusting shutter speed in video mode (although this is a real facility in most camcorders, even junk VHS ones), but surely filming in daylight the shutter speed could easily get as short as 1/800s or shorter @ 30fps.
That's what I think. That is why I am asking the question about whether the S2-IS has that as a settable feature.

- John

[adas]

If the manual doesn't states anything about it, probably isn't there.