Thread: Way to record video without night vision?

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I can't stand night vision videos. To me it's just like black and white. You don't get the realism of the haunt. I want to be able to see in the video what I see with my human eyes. The colors.

Does anyone know of way to video in the darkness?

I do a lot of videoing but, it usually involves the ir. If you don't want to do that then you have to go extremely slow so it can focus. The camera just doesn't know what to focus on in auto mode and most of the footage is going to be blurry. The only thing I could think of is using a small light that will diffuse the light. Something like a small circle shop light that has the metal reflector around it. Use a very low wattage bulb and lots of extension cords. lol I would suggest a flashlight but, it would pinpoint one spot too much. I also think an add on video light would do the same thing. I would go HD for the camera too.

I was hoping for something that wouldn't turn the lights on in a low light environment. Wouldn't white balance help with this? ( I know nothing about the manual settings)..but willing to learn.

White balance just adjusts your colors. What you need is to go into manual exposure (iris and shutter speed) and possibly manual focus. As a last resort, you can bump the gain. Lowering the shutter speed makes moving shots blurry, but I kind of like the effect. Unfortunately, not all camcorders are capable of the ranges required to get good night shots, and I often end up pushing up my "mids" in the computer.

Thanks!!...I will try this.

A lot of the problem with camcorders is the limitations of the lens size, and the sensitivity of the chips.

billman, are you using a camcorder, or a digital SLR with video capability? If the latter, you can invest in / rent a lens that has a wide aperture - this will at least let in more light.
Also, you may be able to tweak the settings on the camera to record at a higher light sensitivity.

Otherwise, you might need to add a bit more light to your haunt, and do as Mr. Chicken suggests - tweak the video a bit in post-production.


The price on digital SLR's is coming down...Canon and Nikon both have acceptable digital SLR's that can also record in HD video (the Canon can record 1080p, while the Nikon records 720p).
You'll be paying $800-$900 for a kit, but you'll have one hell of a camera.
Also, the still photo's on these in very low light are fantastic.

No SLR camera... Just a regular camcorder ...

If I had the money, I would so buy one!

If I used some black light LEDs as a camera light source, could that work?

I just don't want to light up the haunt with white light and take away from it's lighting.

My adivse is to secure to a tripod and go SLOWWWWWWW.

Ya'know...I completely forgot to ask: what application are we talking about for the camera?

Is this going to be an overview video of the haunt, showcasing the props, scares, actors and layout?
If that's the case, I'd say put a 25w bulb in a shop light, and carry that around as you film - that should be just enough light to allow the camera to see in color, but still make the video look dim, dark and haunting.

If, on the other hand, you're wanting to catch your haunt "in action" - scaring the living bejeebers out of your guests and capturing their reactions on film - then you're probably going to need to rely on the night-vision settings, as you're not going to want to introduce a lot of light to your set.

Perhaps there's a point in your haunt that might allow the guests to be fairly well lit, but the actors and scares to be hidden in shadows - this could give you enough light to get everyone in color, and still get the scares caught on tape. Then, later on, just edit in footage of the rest of the haunt leading up to the scares, so people can get a look at the haunt in it's "proper colors", and enjoy the scares in living color as well.