Question about upgrading to a HD camera

[Zenon]

hey guys,

sorry if this has been asked before (which I'm sure it has) but I'm currently planing to shoot a movie that relies entirely on green screen with probably one human actor.

For previouse short films I've used a dvx100, but realized that the resolution is much too low to get any sort of descent keeying for green screen.

I'm just wondering what are the major differences with say using an exspensive Panasonic HVX100 to a much more inexpensive Canon HV20 camcorder?

again my aim for upgrading to a HD camera is purley for green screen based movies, so I'm just trying to figure out if I need an expensive camera for this.

please educate my HD noob-ness! :embarasse

cheers :)
zenon

[William_Robinette]

The HVX200 will give you twice the color information (4:2:2 instead of 4:1:1) if you record in the DVCPRO50 or DVCPRO-HD modes. For green screen this is greatly desired over the Canon's 4:2:0 color sampling.

[Zenon]

I see, cheers William. I did read up somewhere that the colour information is just as, if not more important then the resolution. Though £3000 for an HVX is still out of my price range for the moment. dont suppose you know of any cheaper HD camcorders that can give 4:2:2?

I guess I need to find some High Def green screen footage shot on a HV20 or a simular camcorder to test out on.

[Zenon]

Here's the new HV30

http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/17830/canon-hv30/

Though I cant find any specifications on colour information. It's not made entirely obviouse but do these cameras have hard disk storage? or do they rely on dv tape?

[Captain Pierce]

The HV30 is mostly just a minor upgrade to the HV20, including using tape-based HDV (actually, I'm not sure there's any other kind of HDV :) ), so would be limited to the same color sampling as the HV20. Canon just came out with some AVCHD camcorders that record to compact flash, but i have no idea what the color sampling would be on those (or for that matter whether they're doing any sort of 24fps mode on them). I think there were threads on them floating around in either the Canon Cameras forum or the announcements forum way at the top...

[Huy Vu]

There is no other camera cheaper than the HVX that delivers 4:2:2. Of course, you can conceivably get an HV20, a Blackmagic Intensity HDMI card and tether yourself to a computer to capture uncompressed 4:2:2 output.

Or if you can find one, you can get an Andromeda DVX for around 3k. These are DVXs that has been modified so that if you're connected to a Mac laptop you're able to record uncompressed 4:4:4 HD resolution footage. Due to the difficult workflow, this technology never caught on and the company behind it has sinced liscenced the technology elsewhere. Andromedized DVX are rare these days.

But really, the SD resolution of the DVX has little to do with how well it keys in a green screen environment. There's two main factors involved: lighting the green screen and the color sampling, lighting being more important. A well lit green screen will key very well, a poorly lit one won't, even with an HVX.

[Zenon]

cheers for the info guys. I'm still learning all the technicalitys involved with these cameras.

The dvx100 keys out really nicely providing the green is well lit. It's just when your subject is further away then you start to notice the pixalisation around the hands and hair etc. I think doubling up that resolution using HD will help solve issues like that.

Very interesting to hear about that dvx conversion. I still need to read up plenty more over the HVX. It looks like thats the camera I'm gonna go with. My brother handled the camera settings etc with our last films, even though I did my share of setting up the shots I never really new anything about it technically.

Does anybody know of any example green screen footage people have posted demonstarting the HVX200 or any other camera?

[NeverColdCall]

I think doubling up that resolution using HD will help solve issues like that.

Actually it's doubling up the color information that will help :)


Does anybody know of any example green screen footage people have posted demonstarting the HVX200 or any other camera?

Yes, my homepage :) www.nevercoldcall.com/home.htm (http://www.nevercoldcall.com/home.htm)

Or if you want to see an HVX200 key in HD, you can go to my HD podcast (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=255928395).

Keep in mind these aren't even all that well-done, more like "quick & easy" using the Primatte filter in Apple Motion.

[Zenon]

Brilliant! Thanks Frank :D I'll check it out.

Ed