shooting in HD

D

digitial dan

Carbonite Member
Am I understanding correctly that this camera (HVX200) only records in HD using those expensive P2 cards? And that mini dv tape recording is only 4:3 sd mode?
 
If you are a hobbiest the cards are expensive. If you are someone making a living off the camera they are just the cost of doing business. They are a cost that can be easily overcome with just a couple of jobs.
 
haha expensive? Cost comparision to buying tape per project P2 is so cheap. I am going to be shooting a $20,000.00 DVD project. It is the P2 system that not only got me the job, but is going to allow me to shoot in true 24p and save me time from capturing, and I know this is clique but TIME IS MONEY... No log and capture time. I give the clients a .21 cent DVDR and they have the Raw files. But to answer your question P@ can shoot any of the shooting modes. 4:3 480i, 16:9 native 480i, all the way up to 1080p. Buy it, you want make a living off of it, Buy it, if you want to direct films.
 
The DV tape can record anamorphic SD - the information is stored in a 4:3 frame but is designed to be displayed in 16:9.

If you have a single P2 card, you can use it as an 'effects box' - record at variable frame rates etc. With a DV tape in the camera, you can transfer the variable frame rate content to the tape - it will be recorded at full-frame anamorphic SD. Once you have your SD content, you can wipe the clips on the P2 card and continue using some of the benefits of the camera.

When you import these elements into your editing software, you specify that the SD footage should be treated as anamorphic. It will appear as 16:9.

This makes sense for me for now, as I had the choice between a PD170 and some sort of HD camera, and I don't like the progressive and difficult to edit nature of the HDV format.

Alex
 
Well let me state that the Panny HVX200 is not HDV. It is DVCProHD. And Editing is a breeze. I have NEVER had a real issue editing.
 
If you don't want to spring for the cost of P2 cards, you could tether the camera to your NLE via a FireWire cable and capture DIRECT into the NLE from the camera. Another option is the FireStore. That's what's great about the HVX200, you have many options! P2 is NOT the only way.

When you compare costs, you need to compare the entire system lifecycle cost that includes labor, equipment, maintenance, incidentals, expendables, media, etc. If you do the calculations on a spreadsheet, over a two year period, if you do a lot of shooting, and you use a sensible tapeless workflow, P2 might even be cheaper than a system based around $16.00 Digital Master Sony tapes (these are required to avoid drop-out problems with HDV and I've got the dropout to prove it) And if you need to shoot and capture at the same time, with HDV you will need to purchase a HDV videotape deck, while with P2 you just slip that card into a Cardbus slot and capture away while the camera is working.
 
Thanks guys, I want to get this cam to make a TV pilot and two documentaries at least. Also I use Windows XP on my laptop, is this going to be an issue editing (my laptop has a pcmcia slot) since most of you use MAX FCP?
 
One more question guys. I have a 300 gb portable hard drive with firewire. Can I use this to transfer P2 footage so I can reuse the P2 cards?
 
digitial dan said:
Thanks guys, I want to get this cam to make a TV pilot and two documentaries at least. Also I use Windows XP on my laptop, is this going to be an issue editing (my laptop has a pcmcia slot) since most of you use MAX FCP?
Click to expand...

You can get Edius for the PC and edit from the .mxf s direct.
P2 cards are a whole lot cheaper than HD decks!!
 
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