Vegas not capturing 16:9 footage. HELP!!

[Evro]

Greets all,

I've recently bought a DVX102B (100B PAL version) and use it to shoot everything in 16:9 letterbox mode progressive, however, when I capture into Vegas I cannot get the footage to transfer in propper 16:9.

Yet when I capture 16:9 footage from my consumer Sony TRV250 (PAL version) it fills the whole 16:9 screen as it should.

So far I've had to stretch the DVX footage for every clip via the Pan/Crop window to get it to fill the entire 16:9 screen. The Vegas 6D capture & project settings are: PAL DV Widescreen (720x576; 25.000 fps)

Does anyone have a solution to this problem??

Thanks,

beziermask

[scharky]

If you want to import your footage as native 16x9 widescreen you need to shoot in "squeeze" mode not letter box. Letter box is basically 4x3 with black bars placed on the top and bottom.

[Evro]

scharky, I purposely did not try shooting in Squeeze mode because I've read elseware in this forum that the resolution is considerably compromised.

The thing that really annoys me most is that my cheap 2 year old Sony consumer cam transfers it's 16:9 footage without this problem and to add insult to injury it mattes the top & bottom of the captured image just like the DVX.

If that's the case then I will have to reconsider a native 16:9 camera for my next cam because it would be really time consuming to shoot in anything else and then pan/crop reframe it in Vegas in order to maintain premium resolution.

Sorry charky I don't mean to doubt your seniority or experience in this forum, but does this mean that there is no other way to capture full 16:9 footage with a stock DVX into Vegas?
Is this a known issue with Vegas & the DVX, how are others dealing with the problem?

Cheers!

[Jive]

Shooting in squeeze mode is actually better than shooting letterboxed because it uses more of the CCD for the active image area. Letterboxed actually wastes a large portion of the available pixels (top and bottom of frame) because they are not used at all. Shooting full frame is far better than shooting letterboxed if you ultimately want to go widescreen because you're not wasting any pixels and you can recompose the frame in post if you need to.

If you shoot letterboxed, use the standard PAL DV project template in Vegas, as that is what your footage is (standard PAL 4:3). You can also check your media properties by right clicking a media item in the Project Media bin and check that the PAR is correct. It should be set to 1.0926 (PAL DV). If you shoot using squeeze mode, make sure the PAR is set to 1.4568 (PAL DV Widescreen) for those clips.

[Evro]

Oh right then, I think what must be happening is that my sony TRV consumer cam automatically stretches it's 16:9 cropped output to fit the widescreen template where as the DVX dumps the original 4:3 image with the tops and bottoms cropped (as scharky pointed out) without actually stretching the image to fit. I'll do some comparisons tonight with the squeeze mode and report back the results tomorrow.

Thanks again guys.

I've just ordered the DVX book at $108AU which is a lot of money for an indie videographer, come tio think of it it'sabout the price of an after market 5400ma/hr battery for my DVX - I hope the book is worth it.

[Michael_Bott]

Have no fear of squeeze mode. It works extraordinarily well. I have shot (as have many others) professional projects that are on release on DVD internationally using squeeze mode exclusively. Indeed there was a doc aired recently on Ch5 over here that used a whole heap of my DVX footage alongside DigiBeta stuff - yeah, there was a difference in res if you were looking for it, but it stood up incredibly well. Relax - your footage will be great. Just pay attention to the craft of photography and the camera will reward you.

[David Jimerson]

Squeeze doesn't actually use the whole CCD; it stretches the image which would be between the black bars in letterbox mode to fill the whole frame and the records it that way. You can do the same in post with a 16:9 crop.

The only way to use the entire CCD for 16:9 footage is to use the anamorphic adapter.

As for shooting in squeeze vs. shooting full frame and cropping, the latter has considerable advantages when it comes to post, because it gives you the option of reframing a shot. You can correct a framing you may have fudged, or you can add an extra camera tilt here and there where appropriate.

It should be noted that 35mm film frames are 4:3 and generally cropped to a wider aspect ratio, so you'd be doing the same thing in post.

If your Sony camera can take its letterbox footage and transmit it as 16:9 (without the black bars), then it's doing the same thing the DVX does in squeeze mode, just (apparently) only over firewire.

[scharky]

Pretty much just adding to what others have said, I shoot in squeeze mode when I need to, but you said you are using a 100b, right? Well if that is the case, I'm pretty sure you can shoot in squeeze mode and still view it in the viewfinder with letterbox bars, although I could be mistaken, something you might consider.

[Evro]

Yes you are all correct!

I did some shooting in SQU mode last night and the captured footage filled the entire screen in all its glory!

Scharky, Yes I'm shooting from a 100B (actually the 102BEN - PAL version) in 25P.

So I guess the only way to get the full res of the CCDs is to spend the $1,320(AUS) on the Panasonic anamorphic lens.

Other than the Panasonic version of this lens, is there a better priced anamorphic lens available out there that can do the same job?

Cheers

[Michael_Bott]

Other than the Panasonic version of this lens, is there a better priced anamorphic lens available out there that can do the same job?

No.

In fact think very hard about what you want to do with your camera before spending all that on the Pana anamorphic.

For example, if you are normally shooting under controlled conditions where you can take the time to set up and pay attention to focus and aperture control, then fine, there is a clear advantage in resolution.

If, on the other hand, you're more of a run 'n gun shooter - looser, more spontaneous, hand held, then that big bit of glass can be more trouble than it's worth. In fact, if your not careful, you can LOSE resolution.

Do a search and read all you can about this lens before you commit yourself.

From my experience, in hindsight, I would have prefered to buy a good wide-angle adapter and saved some money. Squeeze is good - and by the way, much better than cropping in post.