Christopher Bell

DVCPRO HD codec reduces the 1280x720 image to 960x720. It's part of the compression process. You still see 1280x720 on your screen as it plays out. Trust. Chris Bell

Final Cut Pro offers real time editing with DVCPRO HD. It works great and you can do it all via firewire. For 1080i, you will need a G5. No need to offline/online. That workflow is quickly becoming old school. Chris Bell

Did you set up the monitor with bars? An improperly set up monitor can lie to you. I like the Panasonic LCD monitors as they have a built in waveform. It's a great tool to make sure you are in the range. I tend to shoot a lower contrast image for acquisition, then dial in the contrast later. That way the client can get the look they want. Chris Bell, Seattle

I am seeking opinions on Panther Dollies. Never used one. Shot for years on Fisher and Chapman. How do they compare? Movietech makes a pee-wee like dolly as well. Anyone used the Movietech? Thanks in advance, Chris Bell

When the shutter is off, the exposure is 1/24th second (at 24fps). The camera should display shutter settings in degrees. If it is not, you can go into the menus and change from fractions to degrees. I never shoot less than 180 degree shutter, unless I need the extra light. Chris Bell Note: There are four or five shutter position settings. You can customize them as you like, between degrees and fractions. The 1/100 setting is special. It allows you to make frame rate changes without affecting exposure. You can find the setting in the menus.

I have used a Pro35 with Varicam and the results were impressive. Your mileage may vary. The Varicam's 720p resolution should never be compared to PAL. While it is easy to look at the numbers, the comparison ends there. The Varicam creates substantially better images. I have done a side by side comparison and it was no contest. Chris Bell

Firewire editing offers great value for the money. You can edit in HD, and deliver your 720p project for film out directly from the 1200a deck at 1080 24p! Final Cut Pro 5 is required for the best picture quality. Apple made substantial improvements to how it handles the DVCPRO HD codec. I color correct and use dissolves with confidence now. There are always limits to everything, but as long as you don't push color correction too far it should work great. Remember, firewire editing offers great value... it may not necessarly be the best work flow for all projects. Chris Bell

Take the camera to a video engineer, and have him set it up for you. Consider a low contrast look, which will give you lots of information to work with in post / color correction. Chris Bell

Are you sure your camera was a Varicam? I own a 1200a and it cannot convert 720p to 1080i via firewire. Only via HD-SDI can it convert 720 to 1080i or 1080 24p. Are you importing 720 and converting in FCP? I am curious how you are doing a firewire conversion. Here is a Panasonic web site describing all of the firewire options: https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/sal...AP_FCPHD45.html Chris Bell, Seattle

The HVX and P2 have their limitations. If you need longer record times use a Varicam. 60 minute DV tapes makes us lazy. I don't see the HVX's limited recording time as a big deal. If the HVX were a 16mm camera, 2 P2 cards would provide about the same record time as 4 400' mags! (720 24 vs 24fps) I don't hear any filmmakers complaining about record time! You simply live within the realities of your gear. P2 is a new way of working. The HVX puts a decent broadcast HD format into a 10K camera. New work flows will be created, but it won't work for every situation. Regardless, I think the limited record time is good. It will force us to shoot for the edit, instead of giving the editor endless miles of footage. I have noticed that younger producers I work for put a great emphasis on quanitity... I think this comes from not working with the limitations of film. Chris Bell

Somewhere in the VTR menus, there is a SDI out function for relaying viewfinder info to a monitor. Look deep and you will find it. Chris Bell Varicam Owner/Op

To achieve a blurred look at lower frame rates, turn the shutter off. This will give you the most blur. If you want the frame speed effect, it must be converted using a frame rate converter (mac/Panasonic/AJA/Blackmagic/ect) 1200a workflow: http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/dvcpr...flow_balis.html 1200a menu set up: https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/sal...AP_FCPHD45.html A few hints: Never capture to the internal drive which uses the OS. Never. Use a seperate drive for media (7200 rpm) Always connect the 1200a to the rear firewire 400 connection. No other firewire devices can be connected. If you are capturing to a firewire dirve, it must be connected to an entirely seperate fire wire card/bus. If you capture offspeed footage via firewire, do not move the file until you have run it through the FRC. If you move the file, it will not convert. Be sure the deck menu settings are complete before you boot FCP. Set the deck to remote. FPC 5.0 works much better than 4.5 for DVCPRO HD. Upgrade. (Upgrade your OS before, though) Be sure the deck is off when you connect the firw wire cable. If is is ON, you will most likely blow up the firewire card in the deck. $1200.00 fix.

Looks like the rumors were finally true: http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon...with-No-24P.htm No progressive, no 24 fps. Looks like Panasonic and JVC will own the indie digital filmmaker world. Too bad Canon was not able to progressive, they have such a strong following in the indie world. Chris Bell

In Film REC, you can swing the dynamic range from 200% to 500%. This is a great tool for controling highlights. In video REC, the dynamic range control is disabled. Film REC gives you more options to control contrast. Chris Bell

Jan, Was it shot on an HVX-200 or a Varicam? Chris Bell

No other product creates more speculation and rumor than Canon's next XL camera. I remember 2 years ago when there was some rumor about a guy who saw a XL-2 box at a factory (HD, 24p ect.) It was all made up. No doubt Canon is working on an HDV camera, but it's anyones guess when it will come out. History tells us it will be later, rather than sooner. Canon is a giant company, and moves at its own iceberg pace. Chris Bell

The Varicam is, by some distance, the superior camera. I have owned both and I think the SDX is a fantastic camera. The Varicam's higher resolution, however, places it in a class of it's own. Variable frame rate, and adjustable dynamic range gives you better, more film like images. If you are going for the "video" look, 60p is a good as it gets... this is why most live sports is shot in 60p. I have owned my Varicam for a year now, and as a former Aaton XTR owner, I can say that it is the "filmmaker's HD camera". It has the same frame rate range as my Aaton, therfore I can think like a cameraman (if you know what I mean). I just returned from Hawaii where I shot on a beach at 60fps. The converted slow-mo footage looked amazing... very commercial like. Chris Bell

Yes your time code should remain the same. Down res does not make a lot of sense if your frame rate is 24 at 720. We just cut a show on a 12" powerbook in HD! The trick is to load your HD footage to a firewire 800 drive, then the powerbook can use the 400/800 connection to access the data. The 1200a cannot share a firewire 400 bus, so you must load your data via firewire 800. Worked without a hitch. Chris Bell

This site will answer most of your questions: http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/dvcpr...flow_balis.html Chris Bell

You will see a difference. Think source first. Just like shooting film, the Varicam's higer pixel count, even when downconverted, will provide a superior image. I have owned both cameras and I think the SDX is a great camera. The Varicam, however, is more "filmic", much less video looking. The Varicam is also able to record a much wider range of contrast, and can hold highlights far better than the SDX. The $40,000 price difference does provide a better image. Many of my clients shoot Varicam, then downconvert via firewire to DV or DV50. The result is exceptional. (It's like the old days of shooting 16mm, and NTSC telecine, sigh.) Chris Bell Varicam owner/op

Tristan, Cine Gamma feature should be set to 500% on the Varicam. Use a Panasonic monitor with the cine gamma corrector function on. This will allow you to propperly expose for a film out. While pixels are important, Varicam's 4:2:2 color space should print out nicely. Chris Bell

David, What did you think of the Varicam's image? Would you use it again? Chris Bell

I was told at NAB that atleast one Japanese company is considering H264 for a future solid state HD camera. I am curious to see how good the codec looks. Chris Bell

Glad to hear it looked good. Any trailers available online? Chris Bell

Since there is no tape deck, the rules change a bit. The codec is still the same, so the data rate for DVCPRO HD 720 at 24fps is 40mbs. 60fps or 60p is 100mbs. The 1080i codec is 100mbs and you will be able to shoot in the 24p advanced mode to extract 1080p from the 60i much like a DVX-100. Chris Bell