Everio Video Hunters! Spring has come!

The long-awaited spring season has finally come, to Japan as well

Spring in Japan arrives with the cherry blossoms in April. The trees that were dried out in the heavy gray of winter were now all covered with bright pink flowers.

I was now ready for some serious video hunting! Since I’m known as the Everio Video Hunters’ "Boss", it was an opportunity that I couldn’t miss.
So, with the outstanding Everio GZ-HM400 in hand, I was off to hunt some Japanese springtime shots, namely the cherry blossoms in my neighborhood. This time, I’ll be using the camcorder in manual mode. I am embarrassed to admit that I have almost never shot anything in manual, but with the simplified manual controls of the GZ-HM400, I am determined to turn that around.

GZ-HM400 Full HD Memory Camcorder

The location is Machida City, my hometown, located 30-40 minutes away by train from the center of Tokyo. It’s a relatively local urban area where small farms still exist.

First, I headed to the closest cherry blossoms, located in between our house and that of our neighbor.

With the manual focus, I tried to capture the "gentleness" of the cherry blossom by focusing from the macro close-up of the cherry blossom to the treetop blossoms.

After walking for about five minutes, I arrived at Machida City’s current popular viewing spot by the Ondagawa River.

There are many kinds of cherry blossoms, a popular one being the Someiyoshino. Although the buds are pink, when the flowers bloom, they become almost completely white. For this, I adjusted the exposure by minus 1-2 levels.

By just wandering around, I was able to capture the spring sunlight in a number of different places. With the gentle breeze, the sun carried a certain amount of warmth.
I have tried to combine all these shots into one continuous video.

Now, do you think that I have succeeded in my first-ever manual photo session? Personally, I’m pretty satisfied with the results. Although it was difficult to capture the bright pink in different kinds of sunlight, the Direct Control Button and Multi-Function Dial made it easy for an amateur to change the white balance.
Shooting videos using the exposure adjustment, white balance and focus – not automatic but manual – I recommend you try it out.

But there was one small mishap. Being quite satisfied with what I’d done, the next day I went over to the Tech Team to show them my shots and ask their opinion. They then asked me: "Was the lens dirty? When you were in the field the video shows some cloudiness on the edge. It’s such a shame since the video you took is quite good."
I hadn’t noticed. What an easy mistake! I am embarrassed and even a little annoyed. But as this is a mistake anyone can make, I recommend everyone to take care to clean the lens before shooting.

Anyways, now that I’ve learned how much fun shooting in manual can be, I will definitely try to capture the perfect video next time.

Perhaps in May? This is when the entire island of Japan changes from being covered in bright pink, to a season with young green leaves glimmering in the sunlight.
It will also be a green season for Everio!

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