Canon 814XL-S & Crystal Sync

[Jim Hoene]

Is the 814XL-S already equipped with crystal sync or do they require a modification?

[Jim Hoene]

Never mind, I found out it needs modifying.....end of line

[jacob thomas]

Never mind, I found out it needs modifying.....end of line

 

I wouldn't bother these cameras seem to run so close to sync it isn't really worth the cost of having them sync'ed.

 

What are you intending to shoot that requires perfect sync?

[Jim Hoene]

I wouldn't bother these cameras seem to run so close to sync it isn't really worth the cost of having them sync'ed.

 

What are you intending to shoot that requires perfect sync?

 

Well I was told that I'd be ok for shots of 10-15 seconds but then I'll start getting some drift. I'm planning on a short documentary which will have some interviews which may have shots exceeding that length. I am very encouraged by your comments though. Thanks

[Alessandro Machi]

Well I was told that I'd be ok for shots of 10-15 seconds but then I'll start getting some drift. I'm planning on a short documentary which will have some interviews which may have shots exceeding that length. I am very encouraged by your comments though. Thanks

 

I syncd a few hours of footage that was shot with a Canon Scoopic on betacam sp. It's really not that hard to sync up footage. Usually a camera will drift in the same direction each time during the same shoot. So if you find the camera is slightly faster than crystal sync, you will need to extend your audio if it drifts out before your take is done. It's really not that hard, assuming you have what I call "average ambience" between ambience your audio can actually be overlapped a frame or two to keep sync. Since you know the audio will move ahead of the film, don't start sync exactly on the clapboard, you should be able to start sync two additional frames in the opposite direction of sync, this actually doubles your syncing time before the audio gets noticeably out of sync. But you do have to watch the audio sync like a hawk and resync as soon as the picture gets out of sync noticeably.

 

I tend to like it when the camera is slightly slow versus slightly fast. I'd rather clip out a frame or two of audio ambience than overlap because every now and then the overlap is noticeable if the background audio is loud, although that is usuall a sign of a bad audio recording.

[Jim Hoene]

I syncd a few hours of footage that was shot with a Canon Scoopic on betacam sp. It's really not that hard to sync up footage. Usually a camera will drift in the same direction each time during the same shoot. So if you find the camera is slightly faster than crystal sync, you will need to extend your audio if it drifts out before your take is done. It's really not that hard, assuming you have what I call "average ambience" between ambience your audio can actually be overlapped a frame or two to keep sync. Since you know the audio will move ahead of the film, don't start sync exactly on the clapboard, you should be able to start sync two additional frames in the opposite direction of sync, this actually doubles your syncing time before the audio gets noticeably out of sync. But you do have to watch the audio sync like a hawk and resync as soon as the picture gets out of sync noticeably.

 

I tend to like it when the camera is slightly slow versus slightly fast. I'd rather clip out a frame or two of audio ambience than overlap because every now and then the overlap is noticeable if the background audio is loud, although that is usuall a sign of a bad audio recording.

 

When you say "overlap", do you mean inserting some ambient sound? thanks