Buying GH1 - PAL or NTSC? (not so obvious)

R

RandyQ

Well-known member
No sirs, its not that obvious a decision. This is not a "you live in an NTSC country so buy an NTSC cam" thingy. Please consider my situation:

1. I shoot CORPORATE VIDEOS on location - Marshall Islands, United States, China, Hongkong. Thats a mix of PAL and NTSC right there, so with any standard I purchase (PAL or NTSC) I will encounter flicker from fluorescent bulbs due to difference in frame rate and power frequency. I shoot with both tungsten and fluoro lighting.

2. I edit in an NTSC country (probably irrelevant), and distribute in BOTH China and US.

3. SHOWING THE WORK: Much of my work is shown on laptops (probably about 80-90% of the time), and DVD for the rest. Once in a while my work will be shown via project, via DVD or LAPTOP source.

MY INCLINATION RIGHT NOW - PURCHASE PAL MODEL:

1. if my clients in China and US watch via laptop most of the time, the standard wont matter (or will it?)

2. PAL at 25 fps is close to film at 24fps - close enough for government work, so no need to do this pulldown stuff if I get the inclination to the great indy film I was always saying I will do...

3. PAL at 25 fps also give me a cheap "film framerate" with no extra effort. I dont want to deal with any of this pulldown at all because my clients arent' paying for it.


ONE MORE QUESTION: If I go ahead and purchase the PAL model, will the footage look like crap if I am forced to transcode/convert to NTSC down the road?
 
I'm a big fan of the GH1, but you sound like a perfect customer for a Canon 7D. The 7D can record in either NTSC or PAL modes. As you know, the GH1 is available in only PAL or NTSC models; it can't record both standards.

Each cam has advantages & disadvantages compared to the other. For your application, the 7D seems like a better fit, and its "disadvantages" are relatively minor given your need for both PAL & NTSC recording capability.
 
The 7D's 12-min. HD clip length limit is something to be aware of, but may only be a deal-killer if he's recording long "events" that his client requires to be shown with as few breaks as possible.

But for many corporate videos (most interviews, marketing, training, etc.) the 7D's 12-min. HD clip length limit isn't a problem.

He might buy 2 GH1 camera bodies (e.g.: GH1 body-only configs are available in Asia) -- 1 PAL + 1 NTSC GH1 body and share lens(es) & accessories -- or buy one 7D that can record both PAL & NTSC.

Also, converting footage between PAL/NTSC in post can be a pain (or easy but expensive) and you can lose image quality.

Another option: Buy a convention HD camcorder that can record to both PAL/NTSC. There's some related info here:
http://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/54/858115
 
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Well the problem is that Randy says he's going to shoot projects that are intended for both markets and it doesn't sound like shooting double takes in both PAL and NTSC will be feasible. As I said before here, if the programme length isn't set in stone a very common method to convert PAL productions is to slow them down to 24 fps and then add pulldown while converting to 29.97 which yields the same frame cadence as movies shown in NTSC.
 
Hi fellows,
Thanks for the replies. Martti is correct in that I cannot shoot both PAL and NTSC, and it is also correct that the corporate shoots I do dont require long clips. "Corporate Films" is a better description of what i do, and it is simpler for me to choose a format and stick to it.

BTW, I have come to a conclusion that its better for me to purchase the NTSC model. The reason for this is that US, Japan, Philippine market does not support PAL very well. But the main PAL market I show my work in (China), doesn't seem to care what video standard I shoot in. In fact I've been producing videos in China for years and nobody seems to have noticed that I'm using an NTSC camera.

Thanks for all our replies!
 
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