Thread: Dark Video problem

I am absolutely new to video editing. I own a Sony DCR-HC46 camcorder. The only editing software I have is Microsoft Movie Maker. I am just shooting videos right now to log my hiking trips although I do post them on YouTube for fun. My problem is that when I use MM to capture the video from my camcorder the video winds up way darker than the tape captured. I shot some video of a moose outside my tent in Maine the other morning. The camcorder captured it beautifully but when I tried to transfer it, the picture was dark to the point of seeing basically the outline of the moose. I am considering purchasing a version of Pinnacle Studio. But I don't want to spend a lot of money. Any help?

Video can sometimes darken through being compressed. It's something I too have noticed in the past. However, I assume you have calibrated your monitor's contrast and brightness? Just make sure it's nothing like that.

I would recommend Premiere Elements over Studio personally. Neither are expensive to be honest and well worth it if you are doing a bit of enthusiast editing.

So if I capture the video at a higher rate it should lighten the picture? I purchased Pinnacle Studio 11. It was what I could afford at Best Buy. I'll give Studio a try and give you a report back on my progress. Thanks for the advice.

If the Sony DCR-HC46 is a standard definition camcorder, then there is no 'higher rate' to shoot at. I've never heard of video compression darkening a video, it will only add noise to it (artifacts - like a jpeg) but not reduce the exposure in it. Check the settings on your monitor.

I have definitely witnessed this myself and so I went searching on the net to see if it was referenced anywhere else.

Why? Because DivX blurs and darkens footage when compressing and compresses better when blurred. So each recompression makes your movie more blurred (and darker) ...

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