HPX250: AVC Long GOP in the HPX-250?

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Bassman2003

Veteran
I am guessing there is no way to know but I thought I would ask anyway. Is there any chance the new AVC Long GOP codec could be added to the HPX-250 through a firmware update? I am considering the HPX-250 and it would be grand to have a better long recording option.
 
Hi,

As far as I know this will not be possible. The first and currently only camera that will be able to make that upgrade is the AG-HPX600.

Best regards,

Jan
 
Well, also remember that 720/24pN in AVCI-50 actually has a lower data rate than AVC-LongG. 20mbps vs. 25mbps. So there already is a very-long-recording-time option in the HPX250, you just have to be okay with the 24p frame rate and AVCI-50 compression.
 
Hey Barry, thanks for your reply. I generally do not shoot in 24p. I was hoping to color match with Varicams for shooting longer events with a small camera and the HPX-250 is a perfect fit but P2 is just too expensive to buy 5 or 6 64gb cards! Right now I use an XF300 but am bending certain colors to match which makes for a lot of time in post. The HPX-250 has a bit better sensitivity, but the XF300 has better servo motors for rear zoom control...

My options are:

Stay with the XF300
Go with an HPX-250 with Nanoflash
Go with an AC-160

Do you think there would be much of a color difference between the HPX-250 & AC-160 when trying to match a Varicam "H" model? I have shot side by side with an HMC-150 and many colors were similar and some were dreadful like purple.

Thanks for your input!
 
You can match a Varicam to either an HPX250 or AC160. Going the other way is not so easy. The color matrices on the AG series aren't very extensive. You can definitely paint the Varicam infinitely more flexibly than you could the 160 or 250. But, if you paint them to match, yes you can get them absolutely exact.

I don't know that I'd go with the Nano on the HPX250, only because that gives up one of the big advantages of the HPX250, which is 10-bit. Nano would be fine on the 160 as it's 8-bit all the way through, but on the HPX250 it has 10-bit internal and external. Maybe a Samurai would be the better bet? But you're going to be dealing with much bigger files on the Samurai than you could on the Nano...
 
It is complicated. First, I have the varicams dialed in with scopes & charts and the color is just amazing. So accurate. So I would not want to change the Varicam. Staying within the same family of cameras was my thought but I did not know if the HPX-250 would give "better" color accuracy than the AC-160 since it was made by the broadcast division?

Regarding the Nanoflash, I have found that 50mbps is a sweet spot between quality and manageable file size. The other devices on the market gravitate to 100mbps like AVC-Intra, so I am in the same boat. I will be editing on an 8-bit timeline and the Varicam footage is 8-bit, so for these event jobs I can live with it.

I hate this situation as not all of my work needs to be matched to the Varicam but enough to make it a top priority. The XF300 is a nice camera.
 
The HPX250's color is probably slightly closer to Varicam color, but the palettes aren't that different. The only problem with your plan is that neither the AC160 or HPX250 (or, for that matter, any of the AG-series) offer 12-pole color matrix adjustments, so you're pretty much limited to choosing one of the four color matrices, then a slight amount of adjustment with the phase and color temp settings.
 
I know, it is not ideal. The long recording time & P2 pricing is what is keeping the XF300 as the best option.
 
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