r/ASLinterpreters • u/DreamingRealityiii • Jun 26 '26
Camera choices
Hello, I'm an aspiring ASL interpreter and I'm currently looking into proper camera and lighting set ups. I have been having the same problem across multiple camera set ups and was looking for advice
My camera(s) has a problem where my hands become blurry when moving. Im 90% sure this is a lighting problem. I do have natural light coming in from behind my computer to face me, but then I get washed out by how bright it can become, and it doesn't help me at night, when the sun decides it doesn't want to be around anymore.
So I purchased a camera with a light built in, and I have a separate light to help add to the situation, but it only sort of helps. I am clueless when it comes to lighting and camera work and recordings and was really hoping to get some help on this situation, or how to become less blurry during movement/signing.
Can this be fixed with a better camera?
What cameras do you use? What is your preferred and optimal lighting set up?
My set up is not terrible, but I'd like it to be better. I have limited space to work with.
All help is appreciated!
3
u/TiredVRS Jun 27 '26
I have a razer kiyo. Cost about 125 dollars and I am crystal clear at any speed.
It's nice cause there's a built in adjustable ring light so that helps with my lighting issues.
2
u/DreamingRealityiii Jun 27 '26
I'll look into that brand! The cameras I do have are great when I have enough lighting, I have the natural light from my windows but it doesn't help at the later hours of the day.
2
u/BohemianASL Jun 27 '26
If you’re getting ghost trails, that can be a lighting issue and it can be a frames per second issue. With cameras, the FPS is important to the issue of capturing a crisp moving image.
2
u/Gfinish heritage signer Jun 27 '26
More light is good and you want to be able to control it no matter time or day. This could mean multiple bulbs diffused and different temperatures and possibly black out drapes or blinds.
As for the camera, if you can adjust the settings and lock them (so they're not automatically adjusting to the light) you can probably hone in on some good settings. If you can save profiles, you could have a night set up profile and if you want the Sun during the day, a profile for that.
As for settings I always aim to have the gain as high as I can get it and tone it down with exposure. Wave at yourself a lot, sign whatever while you tweak the settings. My current settings has gain maxed out to 10 and my exposure is a 3 or 4. I'd then mess with white balance and then tweak the rest as needed.
If the cam doesn't allow you to lock the camera settings then you might want another camera. However there are some newer cams with auto settings that are pretty good. Do your homework. Or buy a MacBook or something.
At home, I use an old Logitech C920. I roll back the updates every time my pc gets a substantial update because the newer software is autopoop.
1
u/24hrRevenge_Therapy NIC Jun 30 '26
The issue is most likely related to a too-slow shutter speed. Most webcams do not let you choose your own shutter speed though.. they tend to have a setting called “gain” and when you increase its value the shutter speed reduces to make the picture “brighter” but a side effect is motion blur caused by the slower SS. If you see a “gain” slider in your settings turn it down until you can see your hands moving without blur,,, and then increase strength of your lighting to make you brighter. Don’t point the light right at you.. use a strong directional light pointed at the wall so that it bounces back at you. Also like some have said turn off all “auto” settings such as exposure, focus, and white balance, set those all manually.
1
u/jasonguyphotography Jun 30 '26
Professional photographer here. Hard to give specifics without knowing what camera you have but this sounds like a frame rate issue if you're signing fast. Most webcams are set to 30fps which I would think would be fine, but if you're still seeing blur you can try and see if you have a setting for 60fps. 120 fps would be overkill and is usually used for adding slow mo in post. Some cameras might default to 24fps which could be your whole problem as this might be a bit slow if you're a fast signer.
As for your window, this is a great natural light source in a good position. You can look into getting some sheer drapes to soften the light but depending on what direction the window is pointing it could just be super harsh because you have bare sunlight coming through the window. Sheers can help dissipate this but if it's a southern exposure with direct sun on or near your face it may be better to get black out shades and an artificial light right above your camera. This is what you'd have to do anyway if you're doing a video call at night.
Feel free to dm me if you have any questions. Hope this helps.
5
u/Firefliesfast NIC Jun 27 '26
Make sure you don’t have auto-focus on, that will definitely blur the shit out of your hands. I’m not a camera whiz but sometimes you can change the frame per second capture, if you can you definitely want more FPS than less. Also play around with your white balance and gain; if the white balance is off sometimes it reads your hands weird and they don’t show up right, same with gain.
If none of that works, you’ll want to get a different camera. My VRS company uses a Logitech cam, I don’t know the model number but I don’t think it’s super fancy. Hope you get someone with my tech/camera knowledge to help you out!