A Few questions..

J

JitCam

Well-known member
Hello friends,


After having the hvx for about 2 weeks, i have a few questions if anybody can help.. first of all, im shooting in miniDV mode as i dont have any p2's yet.

first question

1) Is there a difference between 25p & 25pn? In the manual it states that you can shoot 25p in tape mode but not 25pn, the p2 card is needed for that. Is there a difference between the two?

2) In the manual again.. it states "Note the following when shooting in progressive mode: Set the shutter speed to 1/50 (off) for best results...) my question is... since i shoot mainly in progressive if i use other shutterspeeds does this produce less quality results? because seldom do I have the shutterspeed "off" in progressive mode, only if the specific lighting and motion requires it.

3) ok, sort of a lame question.. quoting the manual again.. There are 3 modes for the aspect ratio (Normal - Letterbox - Squeeze) ... my question is.... the squeeze mode is the correct 16:9 mode for the hvx right? Because how it's worded in the manual it is a bit confusing for me, it says: Normal (Recorded in the regular 4:3 aspect ratio). Squeeze (Recorded images are squeezed horizontally so they are shown on a compatible 16:9 tv.. etc..). It sounds like the "squeeze" mode is some digitally enhanced way to achieve a 16:9 image and the "normal" mode is well... the normal mode. From what I have noticed the "squeeze" mode is the highest quality true 16:9 frame.. its just im confused how they say it in the manual.

4) Final question.. when i adjust the shutter opening angle in the scene file.. does this differ from the shutter speed? In other words can i have a different shutter opening angle with a different shutterspeed at the same time? Or is the shutter opening angle the same as the shutterspeed.... sort of a symantics question i guess.


thanks!!
 
1) Is there a difference between 25p & 25pn? First up get Barry's book, it'll answer these questions and tell you why. But yes, 25p records regular NTSC or PAL to tape with the original 25 frames "flagged" to be stripped away by the NLE. 25pn records ONLY the original 25 frames, which is a non-standard stream, so it doesn't work on DV tape. Again, Barry's book explains this SO much better than I can. Get that book, TODAY!

2) I don't know, I'd have to consult Barry's book. Get it, please, it really is worth it!

3) To get true 16:9, yes, use squeeze mode. Again, Barry's book explains it much better and in much more detail. It's stuff you'll eventually want/have to know.

4) Final question.. when i adjust the shutter opening angle in the scene file.. does this differ from the shutter speed? I learned this from Barry's book, not the manual. Again, GET BARRY'S BOOK ASAP! They are both the same thing, sort of. In Cam Mode, you set the shutter as a speed, a mesurment of time, as digital video is like that. In Film Mode, you set the shutter speed as an angle, as this is how film cameras work. It has to do with film cameras having a wheel with a section cut out that times how much light hits each film frame. So then, as it spins with the film reel, faster the film reel spins, faster the wheel spins. The "angle" refers to the angle of the notch cut out of the wheel that lets light hit the film. So they are differnt, but the same, but in different ways, but in the same way. Again, get Barry's book, it is a real MUST HAVE for any HVX200 user. And he just explains everything way better than I can. Not to mention he knows so much more about this subject than I.
 
Hey, thanks BenB. I will definately get Barry's book at some point.. thanks again for the help!!
 
BenB said:
3) To get true 16:9, yes, use squeeze mode.
Click to expand...

So when shooting miniDV with the HVX and setting to squeeze mode, this isn't actually distorting the image going to tape? It's showing the camera's true 16:9 apect view?

- John
 
It records using non-square pixels, the only way that MiniDV knows how to shoot 16:9. The image is squeezed horizontally to still fit into the 720x480 resolution of NTSC DV25/MiniDV, and on playback, it is unsqueezed.
 
In DV mode, 4:3 is normal, so when recording to Mini-DV in Normal mode, you get 4:3. So you use the Squeeze mode to get 16:9 out of it. It isn't really like the DVX method, cause the HVX has true 16:9 CCDs.

I refer all to page 143 of Barry's HVX book, that yes, when shooting SD, the 16:9/Squeeze mode is how you do it.

Third choice, Letterbox, just puts black bands on top and bottom of a regular 4:3 image.

Get Barry's book, I sleep with my copy, not really, but it is that good.
 
After some brief testing of all 3 modes, I definitely notice in squeeze mode the image is slightly stretched vertically, makes people look slightly taller & thinner - this mind you looking back at the footage hooked into a standard 32" NTSC television via the HVX analogue outs.

- John
 
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