Anyone have any tips for getting video of LEDs with it looking like a bunch of colored blobs? Is it all about the camera?
I struggle with exposure and white balance.
But i’ve found fixed/manual focus and manual exposure is a must.
I find I need to turn down the brightness quite a bit. Way way down.
Also, depending on your camera, I think it helps to have a bit of surrounding (ambient) light so the camera isn’t just looking at darkness and super bright pixels. This helps with the exposure it chooses (if automatic) and can also help with focus.
Shoot at a higher frame rate if you can, use LOW ISO and FOCUS prior to the LEDs turning on. I usually put something shiny next the leds focus my camera/phone and lock that focus, then start shooting. Also make sure your lense is CRYSTAL clean
If I understand you right the answer is to defocus the camera. So you need a DSLR or another cam that allows manual focus control. Photographers call the colored blobs “bokeh”.
https://www.google.de/search?q=led+bokeh&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMI5Z3au-2HyQIVAh0PCh08-AVm&biw=1680&bih=955
Hmm photographers are trying to make them look like coloured blobs! That’s cheating.
To be precise the quality and shape of the blobs is defined by the bokeh which results from optical effects within the lens system. Cams with an wide depth of focus (like nearly all build in mobile phone cams) suck at this because everything is sharp - so they produce no nice blobs except you manage to focus on infinity and have the leds just a few cm in front of the lens.