Canon’s new HV30, the update to the revered HV20, is the only camera in this price range to offer three major framerate modes: 60i, 30P, and 24P. Canon has suggested that the 30P mode is ideal for online video creators, since most online video is cut to 15 frames per second and that allows the encoder to simply remove every other frame, resulting in better quality video. Or so goes the theory. Camcorderinfo recently tested this assumption with Youtube, and has provided side-by-side examples of their test footage so you can compare it in realtime. Check it out.

The HV30 is available at B&H, currently at $899 with the $100 instant rebate. Purchases made via that link help support FreshDV at no additional cost to you.

TechThoughts and shooter Marshall Levy have teamed up to test a variety of different CF media cards for reliability and speed with the new Sony Z7U HDV camcorder with the CF card recorder option. What they discovered is that there is definitely a difference in media quality between brands and cards. In testing, about half the cards showed sync issues with the tape recordings (starting up to 3.5 seconds later), and some showed dropout artifacts. This is very interesting data.

Snapper is a unique application for Mac users that allows you to do a number of useful things with audio files on the fly. By simply selecting audio files in Finder, you can quickly pull out snippets of audio, export files to various formats, split stereo channels, drop a selection into Pro Tools, and much more. It’ll convert files on the fly to AIFF, WAV, BWF, mp3, or m4a (hello, Wedding and Event iRiver users!). The best way to understand is to watch Snapper in action, check out the 100-second demonstration video.

(Via MultimediaShooter)

Stu Maschwitz has a in-depth post up where he talks about the latitude of current Digital Cinema cameras, and how the Rec709 colorspace (i.e. video) handles highlights vs film’s highlight handling. Where it gets sticky is how a clipped highlight in video maps to the highlights on film. If you are shooting with the Red One or another such camera and wish to output to film at some point, this is a must-read. Short on time? Read the compact summary. Here’s an excerpt:

“Shooting with RED One and monitoring Rec709, if you put 18% gray at 45% IRE, you’ll capture 2 stops over 18% gray, plus some headroom.
Want to match Panalog? Underexpose by 3 stops for 5 stops over 18% gray, plus headroom.”

For more experiences with the Red One from the field, read this Studio Daily article on the production of 3 Days Gone. Two interesting notes…they used a P2 recorder on set to capture and review dailies, and ProRes proxies of the 4K footage for editing.

As with any new technology, there is a learning curve and some pain for early adopters. One of the issues with the CompactFlash media workflow introduced with the new Sony HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270U camcorders is the fact that CF cards are formatted in FAT32, therefore they have a 4GB filesize limitation (that’s about 20 minutes of video). Much like Panasonic’s method of spanning P2 cards, these new HDV camcorders simply split the recorded M2T clips at 4GB for rejoining later. Sony has released a software utility for PC users that can address this rejoining process, as well as provide renaming assistance if you’ve managed to record clips on different cards with the same filename. My understanding is that it’s basically a standalone import utility that will automatically re-join split clips as it pulls them off the cards. You can download it here.

There is also a new Final Cut Pro plugin from Sony that enables access to the CF media from FCP’s Log and Transfer function. Again, this is a very P2-like workflow. One minor difference is that the Log and Transfer Preview is inactive. Once files are selected, the software wraps the M2T streams into Quicktime and automatically joins 4GB-spanned segments as it transfers the clips. I have to say that I am quite impressed that Sony has delivered this particular plugin so soon. It looks like a simple and trouble-free workflow for Mac editors. You can download both versions and instructions here. We have continuing coverage of these two camcorders here.

Via Scott Simmons comes a link to one finishing company’s comparison test of Apple ProRes SD codec vs Uncompressed. This comparison was done on Standard Definition footage.

“When playing at speed, 1st Generation 10bit is indistinguishable from 3rd Generation ProResSD. I can’t see the edit…When paused on identical frames and quickly toggling between 1st generation Uncompressed and the 3rd generation ProResSD - levels and chroma are rock solid steady, but there is a oh-so-slight softening of the image. It’s slight enough that most my clients won’t be able to see it. Heck, I barely see it.

ProsRes SD is an impressive codec. While only doubling the storage space of DV it gives 98% of the quality of Uncompressed. Good enough for finishing purposes? Yes. I would not use it for heavy compositing where every drop of detail is essential. Unlike the HD variant, which I’ve heard is rock-solid through (at least) 10 generations, the SD variant’s ‘lossy-ness’ does exist after 3 generations.”

Over at kenstone.net there is a FCP tutorial on how to get best results when outputting Standard Definition DVDs from PMW-EX1 sourced HD footage.

Following the news of Blockbuster, Best Buy, Netflix and Warner Brothers backing Blu-Ray, it appears that the blue-laser has won the HD disc format war. According to multiple sources, Toshiba is pulling the plug on HD-DVD manufacturing and marketing. All that’s left is an official announcement from the consortium of HD-DVD backers. While this development is bad for early adopters who chose HD-DVD, it is a Good Thing for the industry and consumers in general. Regardless of the differing features they offered, having two formats to choose from has stalled adoption of the high-definition discs. I personally know a number of production companies that have been waiting for a clear winner before going ahead with plans to deliver HD content to clients. I, for one, welcome our new Blu disc overlords.

In another excellent blog post, Shane Ross points to a new utility for Mac users that simplifies the process of formatting P2 card media. HVX200 users rejoice!

One of the features added in Final Cut Studio 2 is the ability to capture and transcode HDV sources directly into ProRes 422. For editors that want to avoid the pain of long-GOP MPEG render times, ProRes is an extremely useful codec. The Cow’s Chris Poisson has a short tutorial that will lead you through all the steps. With the exception of a short lag time the process essentially happens “on the fly.”For more discussion on this workflow’s advantages and pitfalls, read this post by Shane Ross.

The Sony HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270U interchangeable-lens camcorders are two very interesting offerings for 2008. Offering 1080/24p HDV to tape as well as to CompactFlash media via an accessory recorder, they look to be a great way to bridge the gap between the reliability and simplicity of long-format tape production and the convenience of solid state media.

B&H is now accepting pre-orders on the Z7U, listed at $6,299.95. At this time you can also pre-order the S270U, listed at $9,299.95. As with the EX1 release you should note that orders will be filled in the order they are received. And as with the EX1 release, I anticipate an initial shortage of camcorders.

Both record 1080 HDV @ 24p and 30p via three 1/3-inch ClearVid CMOS Exmor imagers with a claimed 1.5 lux rating. Other recording formats include 1080i, DVCAM, and DV. Both downconvert HD to SD via Firewire and can simultaneously record to CF card in either HDV or SD resolutions. Additional output options include HD-SDI/SD-SDI (with embedded audio and TC) on the S270U and uncompressed HDMI output on the Z7U. If you’d like to keep tabs on these two unique camcorders, watch our continuing coverage here.

This article is part of a series of tests FreshDV conducted with the Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1. Thanks to Miami rental house and Sony dealer Midtown Video for providing a XDCAM EX camera. And thanks to DSC Labs for providing test chart patterns. You can read more about ours and others experiences with this camera here.

The Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1 is equipped with three half-inch CMOS image sensors, which not only perform well in low light but also deliver surprising depth-of-field. The EX’s Fujinon fully-manual lens can be adjusted down to f/1.9 and sustains that aperture throughout the entire range of the zoom. Bear in mind that shallow DOF is either a blessing or a curse, depending on what you wish to accomplish. For dramatic filmmaking, it can be a very effective tool at drawing focus to specific areas of the frame and de-cluttering backgrounds. Your focus puller may have to work hard, but the results can be brilliant. But for fast action and sports applications shallow DOF can be a curse. This footage from the EX1 shows exactly how shallow that DOF can be. For a very detailed explanation on the mechanics of DOF, watch this tutorial.

 EX1 1/2 inch Sensor DOF Example Footage [1:43m]: Download

Thanks again to both DSC Labs and Midtown Video for making this EX1 test series possible. Stay tuned here or at our EX1 link page for more test results.

Ahh, the Final Cut Pro vs. Avid debate. Much like the Mac vs. PC flamewars, this debate is destined to rage for as long as the two software packages exist. I believe this is because the choice of editing software is largely subjective and based on what you specifically demand out of a system and what your post workflow requires. So while I have built a Mac/FCP editing system and workflow for my work, I would be loathe to crown it as generally better than Avid, or any other NLE for that matter…too many variables exist, and everyone’s needs are different. I’m finding it better for ME at this point. That’s why it’s refreshing to read personal accounts like this one, an ACE feature film editor who is used to working with Avid but was forced to use FCP for a specific project. He lays out some of the differences between the two NLE’s as well as his specific likes and dislikes. A good read.

(Via Scott Simmons)

This article is part of a series of tests FreshDV conducted with the Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1. Thanks to Miami rental house and Sony dealer Midtown Video for providing a XDCAM EX camera. And thanks to DSC Labs for providing test chart patterns. You can read more about ours and others experiences with this camera here.

One of the areas that the new Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1 really excels is in native light sensitivity. Night shooting with the EX is relatively simple, as the camera seems to find illumination and color saturation in even the darkest of scenes. Here are a few examples of night footage shot with the EX1, including a 60p overcranked shot. I have included a half-resolution H.264 version to show the context of the “full scene.” Each H.264 version is paired with a clip excerpt that has been preserved in it’s native XDCAM format. This gives you a short native-format full-resolution clip that you can drop in your editing software of choice and tweak, push, destroy, whatever. The only compression difference between these full-rez excerpts and what came directly off the camera is the addition of a text overlay to document camera settings. I have confirmed this by overlaying them over the source clips with a composite difference mode applied. So here’s a chance to analyze how the XDCAM SP and HQ codec performs at night in both slow and fast motion scenes. Note how the vertical lines in closeups of the overcranked shot seem to distort/lean…we’ll have more on the EX’s vertical skew in a article coming soon.

 720/24/60p Overcranked Night Run Full (Compressed H.264) [0:25m]: Download
 720/24/60p Overcranked Night Run Excerpt (Native XDCAM HQ) [0:08m]: Download
 1080/24p Night Traffic Excerpt (Compressed H.264) [0:40m]: Download
 1080/24p Night Traffic Excerpt (Native XDCAM HQ) [0:10m]: Download
 1080/60i Night Alley Full (Compressed H.264) [0:38m]: Download
 1080/60i Night Alley Excerpt (Native XDCAM SP) [0:10m]: Download

Thanks again to both DSC Labs and Midtown Video for making this EX1 test series possible. Stay tuned here or at our EX1 link page for more test results.

This article is part of a series of tests FreshDV conducted with the Sony XDCAM PMW-EX1. Thanks to Miami rental house and Sony dealer Midtown Video for providing a XDCAM EX camera. And thanks to DSC Labs for providing test chart patterns. You can read more about ours and others experiences with this camera here.

For our testing Midtown Video provided FreshDV with a EX1 camcorder with the 8GB SxS media card. Before the camera arrived, I downloaded the latest XDCAM Transfer software and SxS drivers. I also had to ensure that I was at the latest FCP version, 6.0.2, and I also brought my Tiger OS and Quicktime versions up date using Software Update (I’ve been a bit behind, these things make me nervous). I should note that I am using Final Cut Studio on a PPC G5 2.7 Dual. I did not have a computer with ExpressCard slot available for these tests, so the USB connection on the camcorder was used. It simply uses a standard USB cable with mini connector on the camcorder end. Footage shot was a mixed bag…most of the time the card ended up with a mix of SP, HQ, and overcranked 60p footage on it. But regardless of the format, the import procedure into FCP is the same. I wanted to note my experiences with that process. For starters we should note a few things about the camcorder.

Below the rotating handgrip is a small flip-up plastic cover that conceals a line of output connections…A/V, Component mini, and USB mini. The EX has both Camera and Media (VTR) modes, but you can connect to your computer in either mode. When you connect the USB mini cable to the camera and computer, the EX will ask on the display if you would like to connect to the computer…Execute or Cancel. You can use the jogstick at the top of the handgrip to select and click Execute. As a side note, this camera makes you feel really powerful…every confirmation action prompts you to choose “Execute!” The only way that process could be geekier is if the camera gave you a “Make It So!” option. But I digress… Continue reading ‘XDCAM EX1 Hands-On - Final Cut Pro Workflow’