still 16:9 in dvcam mode?

Marcel Zyskind · May 24, 2005

Hi there

Does anyone know if shooting dvcam on these cameras, will it still be using the full 16:9 chip?

Many thanks

Marcel

Phil Rhodes · May 24, 2005

Hi,

Yes. I checked one out for this exact feature a few days ago.

But really, shoot the HD and downres it. I bet it'd look... well, if not fanatstic, at least very unreasonably good for such a low-cost piece of technology!

Phil

Marcel Zyskind · May 24, 2005

Hi Phil

Thanks.

We're looking to shoot dv since our footage will be intercut with archive footage originated on dv.

I think I'm going to go for the DVX100, but 50i, since the footage we're intercutting with is 50i. I'm worried it would look very different if I shoot progressive? We're using FC4 to edit. Can you cut between the two formats in the timeline? Our FC4 timeline would be our master, we would not conform.

How and where do you downres the hdv footage?

We are possibly going to 35mm...

Thanks again

Marcel

Phil Rhodes · May 24, 2005

Hi,

I would most certainly shoot 16:9 HD. Even the 1080i will look vastly better filmed out than anything you can shoot on DV. I shoot a lot of documentary and I think it's perfectly legitimate to have one look for your archive material (which will be whatever it happens to be) and a more polished picture for your newly-originated material. It legitimises the whole production, ties it together with a high-quality thread which then reflects in the production value of the whole show. Shoot it hi def, without a doubt.

You can cut interlaced or progressive on the same timeline, it doesn't need to know the difference. I'm sure FCP would downres your HD if you wanted it to. Much more sensible, though, to upres the SD and have a much better-looking, much more saleable HD production.

Phil

Marcel Zyskind · May 26, 2005

Hi

I'm not sure about this HDV. I saw a comparison test on 35mm print some weeks ago. It was DV, HDV, 35mm & 65mm.

Lets leave out the 35mm & 65mm since they are in a league of their own and they were to be used for background and model work.

The DV looked like DV transferred to 35mm, but HDV, it kind of had this crappy ntsc look to it and it had some ugly horizontal noise. It kind of looked like interference lines.

It did look like it had better resolution, but aliasing looked worse on the HDV than the DV.

This was all shot on sticks in a dimly lit interior set.

My purpose for these cameras would be shooting handheld, in hot sunny deserts and dark nights.

I know what I can get with DV, how far I stretch the grade and so on.

I have just been grading a feature shot on HDCAM (sony 750's) and to be honest it was uncool to grade, I prefer to grade Digibeta since it has more strecth. Yes, I agree HDCAM has higher resolution, but I think there is to much compression involved, which is also my worry with the HDV format.

I'm hoping to do my own tests, but budget and time constraints might not let me...

My bet for the moment for my film is to go with the DVX100A and anamorphic adapters.

All the best

Marcel

Btw 65mm is nice...