Canon M50 Light settings

Discussion in 'Beginner Questions' started by BruceOz24, Oct 27, 2024.

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  1. BruceOz24

    BruceOz24 New Member

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    I use a canon M50 to take a series of photos which I use to make short product videos. I have the camera hard mounted atop a light bath and use Cam connect. The problem is that small changes in the product change the light detection of the camera so that some images have a bright background and some dark. How can I set the camera so that the background light setting does not change between shots?

    Thank you
     

  2. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    Page 172 https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/3/0300029803/01/eosm50-um-en.pdf of your manual.
    If the lighting is fixed, but the meter is reading objects differently, just set your exposure manually so it doesn't change between shots.
     
  3. BruceOz24

    BruceOz24 New Member

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    Thank you for your prompt reply.

    I've tried manual exposure with Auto Lighting Optimizer set to off but there's still brightness variation between the images. Can you suggest any other setting that might affect this?
     
  4. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    It doesn't sound like camera settings can solve your problem if your shooting manual. The lighting changes must be environmental. How close are the objects? What exact light setup do you have, not sure what you mean by a light bath, does not really say what sorta gear or placement situation you have here. I think examples of lighting differences at the same exposure setting would help a lot, as well as maybe a a shot of the setup.

    I could speculate the products are decent size and if reflective would be problematic if your shooting video not diffused. Are you using a large softbox?
     
  5. Caladina

    Caladina Well-Known Member

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    can you not lock the exposure with the * (star) button on top right of the back of the camera?
     
  6. BruceOz24

    BruceOz24 New Member

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    Thanks for your reply(s). In the end I used shutter speed priority and slowed the shutter speed right down which seemed to solve the problem. It may be something to do with the fluorescent lights I'm using. I also put a piece of black tape over the red eye detector. This gave me acceptable continuity and with a little post-processing with image magick I got what I wanted. Thanks again.
     
  7. Caladina

    Caladina Well-Known Member

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    ah, yes, if you have flo lights they will effect the colour, lowering the shutter speed is a common way to syn out of that.
    the sylvanian led battens are non flicker for what its worth, i replaced all my garage and house tubes with those, nice and bright for much less running cost, also made up a few on a strip of wood with PU plates on the back so i can use them on my C stands
     
  8. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    This does help a lot knowing a bit about the setup.... there are many factors here and the camera is only so smart in "auto" hence the first suggestion to lock in manual settings and remove that variation from the equation.

    Even for stills, while i am a strobe user, for medium power needs I highly recommend LED panels for lighting, they work great for video and are something you can white balance easy, florescent lights are just all around a pain.

    If your doing a setup on a table with a light box... Remove ambient florescent lighting from your equation :) with something along these lines...
    upload_2024-10-29_12-25-47.png
     
  9. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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