Shooting EX3- NTSC in India (PAL)

Arun Gopalan · May 30, 2010

Hey,

I would be soon shooting a short film on EX3 with 35mm adapter. Now the thing is I would be shooting NTSC here in India which uses 50Htz/PAL. I haven't shot NTSC here earlier and a bit confused.

Our target audience would be mostly on TV and net, and we don't plan to have a film out. So we would be shooting 30p. Now shooting NTSC 30p in PAL country, will the HMI and fluorescent lights give flickers? While shooting PAL here we have the shutter at 1/50th of a second. So, while shooting NTSC we keep it at 1/50th of a second itself or do I need to tune it to 1/60th of a second?

Also, I would like to know how to get a 1.85 or for that matter 2.40 ratio (w/o anamorphic lenses) on the EX3. I did go through the forum here but couldn't find a satisfying answer. Probably masking the LCD with a tape is the answer?

Thanks,

Arun

Adrian Sierkowski · May 30, 2010

You can turn the flicker reducer on the camera from 60Hz to 50hz in the menus, or you can just shoot 30p with a 1/50th of a second shutter, if you'd like Won't matter as they do similar things. When I was in Senegal on the EX1 I just turned on the flicker reducer (i think that's the name of it) in the menus and set it for 50Hz. Never had a problem then after. I was @ 23.98 though, not 30p, but should still be fine. Do a test once you get on the ground or else shoot at 24 (with a 172.8 degree shutter). Not really an issue either way. You can get a 1.85:1 ratio in post via cropping the 1.78:1 slightly, though it's very slight of a difference. Your best bet for anamorphic would be to crop to a 2.40:1 in post if you so choose and mask off the viewfinder in the field for framing. For masking, what I like to use is a piece of string taped across the LCD so i can still see all the information in the finder.

Arun Gopalan · May 30, 2010

You can turn the flicker reducer on the camera from 60Hz to 50hz in the menus, or you can just shoot 30p with a 1/50th of a second shutter, if you'd like Won't matter as they do similar things. When I was in Senegal on the EX1 I just turned on the flicker reducer (i think that's the name of it) in the menus and set it for 50Hz.

Ok. So you shoot with a 1/60th of a second shutter and turn the flicker reducer on from 60Hz to 50Hz or just shoot 30p with a 1/50th of second shutter, w/o touching the flicker reducer, is it? And thanks for the clarification on the ratio thing. That's what I had in mind too. Mask the frame with a tape for the desired ratio on the LCD for framing and crop it in the post.

Adrian Sierkowski · May 31, 2010

It would probably be best to turn on the flicker reducer and shoot @ 1/50th, though that's not what I did. Once you're there, before you shoot, just find a floro and try it both ways, see which one looks best on the clip on the computer and go for it. I just shot 1/48th with the flicker reducer on for 50HZ. It's under the "camera setup" in the menu, right under "color bar type" on my EX1.

As for 1.85:1, I'd not mask that, just use the 1.78:1 on the camera and mask it a bit in post. Also for 2.40:1 make sure you use something you can see through a bit, else you will miss out on some LCD information on the EX3.

Arun Gopalan · May 31, 2010

It would probably be best to turn on the flicker reducer and shoot @ 1/50th, though that's not what I did. Once you're there, before you shoot, just find a floro and try it both ways, see which one looks best on the clip on the computer and go for it. I just shot 1/48th with the flicker reducer on for 50HZ. It's under the "camera setup" in the menu, right under "color bar type" on my EX1.

As for 1.85:1, I'd not mask that, just use the 1.78:1 on the camera and mask it a bit in post. Also for 2.40:1 make sure you use something you can see through a bit, else you will miss out on some LCD information on the EX3.

Hmmmm... Thanks Adrian for the replies. Helped me in getting a few things clear. :)