720p24, what's the big deal?

M

Mike Poindexter

Active member
I understand why people are gung ho about 24p - I am one of them. What I don't get though is the sheer volume of 720p material being shot when 1080p24 is an option.

Are people mixing the footage with other cameras that cannot do 1080p and they want the same look without scaling down the 1080p material?

Is it the extra GBs required for shooting 1080p?

I just figured that we would see more 1080p footage than this, relative to 720p stuff.
 
Some reasons people might choose to shoot in 720 over 1080:

1) 720 can do in-camera variable framerates. 1080 cannot.
2) You can shoot a little longer on p2 cards with 720. With a 4gig card, 720 is like 10 minutes and 1080 is around 4 minutes of footage.
3) Some people think that 1080 looks "too real". They prefer the look and feel that 720 footage gives them.
 
I shoot allot of 720pn for the variable framerates. If there were variable framerates in 1080p I'd do allot more of that.
 
Beacuse the camera doesn't do 1080p, it does 1080 24p (over 60i). They take up the same amount of space unless you shoot 25pN.

There's also the fact that you cant do variable framerates with 1080..


I myself like the 720 progressive look better then the 1080 interlaced.. But thats just me.. and shooting in Native mode gives you a great deal more time on a P@ card..
 
My problem is 1080 preview in the Panasonic P2 Viewer. I can't do it in real time. So I shoot 720p24pn that does it just fine
 
It's imaging 1080/24p, and recording it within a 1080/60i data stream (same as the DVX does for 480/24p).

I use 1080/24p all the time, but the other posters have answered many good reasons why to use 720/24p. And the difference in detail between the two modes isn't THAT much... it's maybe about 20% more resolution in 1080 mode. For many, the tradeoffs (no VFR, and less space on the card) don't justify the resolution boost. But anytime I can record 1080, that's the mode I use.
 
I choose 1080 25p/50i cuz it's the only dam HD mode I can edit...........
And don't mention Raylight, if I wanted to use PC's I would.
 
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We encourage all shooters to shoot 720 24pN and 1080 24pA
whenever possible. If the shoots are with talent they might do 6-8 takes of the same thing as we change frame rates or sizes. We get requests from editors who might be editing an all HDV 1080i show and some editiors using HDCAM 1080 24p. We try to have as much of the same material in different formats as possible. We also have our clips in DVCPRO HD so the FCP editors can drop a clip into the timeline without rendering as well as PhotoJpeg which is pretty common in the stock footage business.
 
I really like the image quality of shooting in 720/24pN, along with the record time to the P2. However, I have recently begun to shoot in 1080/24p for the resolution boost. I will say, upon comparing similarly lit situations, that I have to light the be-Jesus out of stuff shot in 1080/24p, whereas the 720/24pN setting appeared to be a bit more light-friendly. I don't quite know why...?
 
I just don't think it's really worth it. I can't afford much so being able to shoot in Native mode and have 2.5 times as much record space is quite appealing. Also the ability to do multiple frame rates (one of the key selling points of the camera) is quite nice. I'd also get a bit worried that 1080i would take more processing power on my PC.
 
I hear you. The render times in FCP 5.1 are a little long whenever you manipulate footage shot in 1080i... but thus far, it hasn't been a huge stumbling block. If you do color corrections, however, in FCP, then you get to wait for an hour or so, while it does stuff. I have to say, only having had the camera for a couple of months, that I love the 720/24pN footage, so pick your poison -- either way, the camera ROCKS!
 
I'll weigh in with a Gb predilection - I like it, and I like having lots of it free. 720 helps me out with that.

And if it weren't for the variable frame rates I may well have made the biggest mistake of my life - and still be shooting tape. :banned:
 
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