ok...so i'm the first post rookie i know but a long time reader, this forum is the reason why i made this purchase so, uh thanks all.
so i just received a dvx102a, i think in the states it's the same as a dvx100e (?) if memory serves me right, from the outset it's pretty sweet. a fair learning curve to be implemented but coming from a corporate a shoot late last year with a pdx10 and vx2100 it's fairly easy to overcome. i'm actually pretty stoked at the layout and ease of which reasonably major settings can be changed, those which i found myself buried in menu's during the shoot with the sony's.
having shot 16:9 for the past few years first impulse led me to the camera setup menu, i had read about the addition of 'squeeze' in the B models and thankfully they've carried it over into the 102a...but here's the reason for my post.
aspect ratio's.
playing with the settings and capturing into fcp so far it's all pretty straight forward.
4:3 is a breeze, enlarged screen and all the infomation at fingertips..i'm liking it.
i've never really seen the point in shooting 'letterbox mode', i find that it's the overall process and look of the 16:9 workflow that makes the widescreen feel, so being forced to edit in a 4:3 sequence with black bars top and bottom trying to simulate widescreen i find is not really an option.
moved onto the 'squeeze' mode and found that in both the viewfinder and the lcd screen, the picture is distorted, with no simulated bars top or bottom headshots etc. are stretched, and there's part of the image 'missing' from the sides.
moved into fcp and with the image in front of me on the lcd screen (playback) and the captured video on the laptop there's a good portion from the sides that shows on the laptop that doesn't show on the lcd...i can only imagine what dramas not being able to see the full frame while shooting can cause, boom mics, hotspots, cuecards etc.
having searched through this forum and others to the limit of my slow internet connection, (thanks rural australia) i've learned that the 'B' models have an extra setting in the display setup menu where the 'display aspect' of the lcd screen can be set from auto to manual, in effect forming the black bars top and bottom, although they're not being recorded.
while i'm not going to dive into the other features of the camera...i'll make it there soon i find this omission in the display to be pretty annoying, at the moment i'm thinking of shooting 4:3 and masking top and bottom with frosted tape as in this post (http://www.cinematography.net/DVX-100A_Shooting_43_vs_169.htm), benefits of reframing aside i'd rather not run the risk of having a blemish in the frame unseen in camera that turns up in post.
apart from this i'm stoked to have a camera in my hands that i can learn from, (not some consumer point and shoot that i was looking at buying...damn money issues.)
any thoughts on any the above?
thanks all.
mark.
so i just received a dvx102a, i think in the states it's the same as a dvx100e (?) if memory serves me right, from the outset it's pretty sweet. a fair learning curve to be implemented but coming from a corporate a shoot late last year with a pdx10 and vx2100 it's fairly easy to overcome. i'm actually pretty stoked at the layout and ease of which reasonably major settings can be changed, those which i found myself buried in menu's during the shoot with the sony's.
having shot 16:9 for the past few years first impulse led me to the camera setup menu, i had read about the addition of 'squeeze' in the B models and thankfully they've carried it over into the 102a...but here's the reason for my post.
aspect ratio's.
playing with the settings and capturing into fcp so far it's all pretty straight forward.
4:3 is a breeze, enlarged screen and all the infomation at fingertips..i'm liking it.
i've never really seen the point in shooting 'letterbox mode', i find that it's the overall process and look of the 16:9 workflow that makes the widescreen feel, so being forced to edit in a 4:3 sequence with black bars top and bottom trying to simulate widescreen i find is not really an option.
moved onto the 'squeeze' mode and found that in both the viewfinder and the lcd screen, the picture is distorted, with no simulated bars top or bottom headshots etc. are stretched, and there's part of the image 'missing' from the sides.
moved into fcp and with the image in front of me on the lcd screen (playback) and the captured video on the laptop there's a good portion from the sides that shows on the laptop that doesn't show on the lcd...i can only imagine what dramas not being able to see the full frame while shooting can cause, boom mics, hotspots, cuecards etc.
having searched through this forum and others to the limit of my slow internet connection, (thanks rural australia) i've learned that the 'B' models have an extra setting in the display setup menu where the 'display aspect' of the lcd screen can be set from auto to manual, in effect forming the black bars top and bottom, although they're not being recorded.
while i'm not going to dive into the other features of the camera...i'll make it there soon i find this omission in the display to be pretty annoying, at the moment i'm thinking of shooting 4:3 and masking top and bottom with frosted tape as in this post (http://www.cinematography.net/DVX-100A_Shooting_43_vs_169.htm), benefits of reframing aside i'd rather not run the risk of having a blemish in the frame unseen in camera that turns up in post.
apart from this i'm stoked to have a camera in my hands that i can learn from, (not some consumer point and shoot that i was looking at buying...damn money issues.)
any thoughts on any the above?
thanks all.
mark.