DVX Secrets Revealed

John_Hudson said:
Is this new news ?
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Depends on the viewer I guess :D LOL.

For anyone out there wondering why those DVX 100s are so darn noisy, worth a read. I for one, learned quite a bit being able to look at the raw data from the sensors. It also makes me ask some serious new questions about other cameras out there.
 
I'm one of the few ( I think ) that embraces the noise. I love the feedback. The induced grain.

LOVE IT !!
 
John_Hudson said:
I'm one of the few ( I think ) that embraces the noise. I love the feedback. The induced grain.

LOVE IT !!
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Cool, but I've never considered macro blocks the same thing as grain. I too like grain if it fits the mood of the piece, but I'd rather shoot clean, and then add colorless grain that actually looks like film grain in post. DVX noise just looks like digital signal noise, at least it does to me.
 
Come on, it's Mini-DV, you can't expect it to perform as well as a $50,000 professional broadcast camera can.
 
Is there any chance that we can do a modification ourself that enhance the DVX image, even if we still shoot on miniDV?
Like reducing the noise? The thing with andromeda is that you get HD images, but if I don't have the technology to shoot to HDD, is any of this knowledge usefull for us who still shoot on tape? I would seriously like to reduce the noise, because I colorgrade quite alot and the noise is always a pain.
 
I think Chris's info for lighting a very low contrast scene and then exposing high up still holds true for those of use shooting to tape.
 
I have not yet messed with the noise going to tape with a DVX100. At the moment my energies are focused on a very stylized short film I'll be shooting with a linear LUT. After having conducted my studies though, I found that their will always be a certain amount of noise you'll just have to live with, after all, you are working with an under strength, over amplified signal to begin with... not to mention all the nasty DV compression.

You might be able to fair better if you pull a signal out of the cameras RCA output and capture uncompressed to a computer, but considering the cost to do that, you might as well just buy the Andromeda mod.
 
I did a test where I recorded directly into Avid from my camera, then comparing it to a similair shot recorded onto tape. What happened was that the noise and colornoise were stronger in the shot directly into Avid...
That's weird...
 
Glazarus said:
I did a test where I recorded directly into Avid from my camera, then comparing it to a similair shot recorded onto tape. What happened was that the noise and colornoise were stronger in the shot directly into Avid...
That's weird...
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How did you capture it to the Avid? There are various ways to capture it if you have a system with a break out box. You can also set the capture resolution to be MUCH lower than DV.
 
I captured DV 25p 420 in full resolution through a firewire I use when I edit.
Do you know if I can reduce colornoise and blocks when shooting, so that I can push the colors in post, without the noise?
 
How does the Andromeda mod work? The USB/Mac-only method is deeply flawed. Perhaps there is a DIY way to do it, and output via Gigabit, which the Hydra method purports to do (if it is ever released). $3000 for this mod is too rich for me. Especially when a XH-A1 is not much more and you get a 2nd (HD) cam.
 
marketmd said:
How does the Andromeda mod work? The USB/Mac-only method is deeply flawed. Perhaps there is a DIY way to do it, and output via Gigabit, which the Hydra method purports to do (if it is ever released). $3000 for this mod is too rich for me. Especially when a XH-A1 is not much more and you get a 2nd (HD) cam.
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The USB Mac only method isn't really flawed at all. Juan has been asked that a zillion times. Apparently it's easier making it work on all Macs because they are standardized, where as with PC architecture, its all over the map and making it work is sort of hit or miss apparently. Hydra will be released with PC support though. As for USB 2.0, you have to keep in mind that its an older system that originally came out in 2005 (beta testing began). Thats almost 3 years ago, a long time in computer technology timelines.

The mod is now $2,500 I believe.

http://www.reel-stream.com/store.php

The mod simply gives you access to the cameras analog to digital converters, letting you record fully sampled, uncompressed sensor data. Thats it. Initially the rendering algorithm wasn't perfect, but it has become much better now (about 3 years later). Thats the cool thing with the system, its upgradeable, old footage could look better when newer better rendering algorithms become available. Can't say that for HDV.

I wouldn't go the HDV road personally, but I'm a power user type of DP and relish full control over the cameras chips, plus, after using my current custom record LUTs, lots of people are comparing my stuff to Red One and Viper. I remember when the Andromeda first came out, lots of people thought the images looked horribly noisy. The issue wasn't the mod, it was the lack of understanding from the earliest users on how to make that camera "sing", which is why I've chosen to publicly document my progress in getting the cleanest most vibrant images I possibly can out of that camera. Before I bought it, lots of people were advising against it, telling me it wasn't practical and couldn't ever output really high quality HD images, but I knew better and bit the bullet anyways. What really amazes me is that the current system is getting ready for a performance increase... 12 bit linear. Its a firmware upgrade thats been in the works for a while now.

I've never regretted buying this system.

It's an extremely powerful system in a very reachable price range for most people.

Just my 2 cents :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
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