what is Zebra?

1. RobertWurster
   Member

   

   I know what the zebra function does on my camera but I don't know what the zebra numbers or settings mean?  70,80,90?  I have looked everywhere and I cannot find what these numbers mean.  70 or 80 or 90 of what?  I just pick a number and turn on the zebra funtion and adjust my exposure until I think it looks ok, turn off the zebra stripes and video tape.  It turns out ok but i want to know what the zebra numbers mean. I am using the Canon XH-A1.

   Posted 3 years ago #

2. Rob Grauert
   Post Production Host

   

    zebra tells you what parts of the image are over exposed. When shooting, you dont want to see many zebra stripes in the shot. There can be a little, but not much. 90 is a good setting. 

   Rob Grauert, Jr
   http://www.robgrauert.com
   http://command-r.tumblr.com

   Posted 3 years ago #

3. Rob Grauert
   Post Production Host

   

    zebra stripes do not get recorded either. even if you see them in the view finder. 

   Posted 3 years ago #

4. Coreece
   Member

   

   The 70, 80 and 90 settings tell the camera to assign zebras to areas of the video signal that are 70 IRE's 80 IRE's or 90 IRE's.  Many cameras also have a setting for 100 IRE's.

   Basically, 0 IRE is Black and 100 IRE is White.

   Caucasion skin is correctly measured at 80 IRE, so if you're shooting an interview and your camera is set to 90 IRE's, your iris should be adjusted until there are subtle zebra's on the forehead, nose, and cheekbones since these are typically the "hotspots" on a face and would typically be measured above 80 IRE.

   Understanding zebras can be a little tricky to understand and requires a bit of practice to use them correctly, but hopefully this will get you going in the right direction.

   Best Regards

   Posted 3 years ago #

5. Rob Grauert
   Post Production Host

   

    oh wow. i didn't know it was as in-depth as Coreece explained. 

   Posted 3 years ago #

6. Coreece
   Member

   

   It's actually more in depth than that, and as I re-read my reponse, I realize that it doen't really do any justice in terms of understanding zebras; but as you said...the main concept is to determine the overexposed areas.

   I couldn't find much on this subject but here are a couple links that can explain it a bit more in depth:

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRE_(unit)

   http://thedvshow.com/faq-pro/?action=article&cat_id=002&id=2&lang=

   Regards

   Posted 3 years ago #

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