Crash course needed

P

pdpardue

New member
Okay guys, so here is the deal... I've been camera browsing for like forever now, and it's getting crunch time. It looks like i'll be going in on the 200 as my choice.

I'm in the middle of filming a short and we are using a xl1s as our A camera and recently a gl2 as our b camera, problem is that the cameras and their operators are starting to not be able to be there as much (our whole crew is starting to wain, horrible project, and a long story)... Anyways.

Here is my dilemma. So, everybody is basically out of stock of this camera. Except for one store about 100 miles from me, but they are charging full 5995 for it. I was on the freeway, getting ready to go after running errands, when magically I get a call from a local store, that while they don't have any in stock right now, there are only three people on their waiting list, and they are only asking for 5200... Now, the very nice gentleman said that he will call his distributer tomorrow morning and see if anything can be done, but in the mean time he has offered to rent me a camera, and then, to my delight, take the cost of the rental towards the purchase...

But, here is the rub... Having never touched this camera (but knowing basic camera operations), I need a crash course in everything for this camera being that I might end up renting and shooting wednesday. I was going to go in today and get the full price one cause perhaps I am a fool, but it would have given me time to familiarize myself with the controls and stuff before shooting. That's were you all come in, I need to know everything there is to this, tips and tricks and everything.

For example, let's just start with settings and stuff. i am going for a filmish (or as close as humanly possible) look, shooting 24p, hd is not an issue right now as the rest is sd. matching to other footage is negligible as our scenes are independent of each other and in my mind the other camera ops aren't paying much attention to that anyways.

Please, give it all to me!

Thanks,
Paul
 
Dude, you have to be a bit more specific.. You cant expect us to type the manual..

Your best bet is just shoot 480 24p on DV tape, scene file 5 or 6 for the film look (thats the little nob on the back of the camera)

White balance for each different light setup (little button in the FRONT of camera, next to the ZOOM gear switch (to set to manual=your hand on the lens or via the zoom controls on the camera)

In the back of the camera, make sure its set to TAPE (little slide switch)

Learn the menu (top of the camera under the handle), look at all your options.

Make sure you get the book with the camera, and your a dope for not spending the extra cash and getting it before your shoot.. Its the best way for the the worst shoot to not know what your doing..

Hope that helps a bit.. If you have anymore "SPECIFIC" questions, feel free to ask..

- - Justin
 
5995 is too high a price, talk the guy down, make him an offer. I think you can download the manual from the panasonic site. good luck
 
Son . . .

Do a search -- or at least BROWSE THE TOPICS. There's a wealth of information here for curious souls.
 
Scrappy said:
5995 is too high a price, talk the guy down, make him an offer. I think you can download the manual from the panasonic site. good luck
Click to expand...
I agree, way to hi. $800 is a bit much for one extra day to learn it. There didn't seem to be any leverage on that price, wouldn't even thrown in any accessories, but, might be able to like help out on a case (as in maybe a few bucks).
 
Justin Marx said:
Dude, you have to be a bit more specific.. You cant expect us to type the manual..

Your best bet is just shoot 480 24p on DV tape, scene file 5 or 6 for the film look (thats the little nob on the back of the camera)

White balance for each different light setup (little button in the FRONT of camera, next to the ZOOM gear switch (to set to manual=your hand on the lens or via the zoom controls on the camera)

In the back of the camera, make sure its set to TAPE (little slide switch)

Learn the menu (top of the camera under the handle), look at all your options.

Make sure you get the book with the camera, and your a dope for not spending the extra cash and getting it before your shoot.. Its the best way for the the worst shoot to not know what your doing..

Hope that helps a bit.. If you have anymore "SPECIFIC" questions, feel free to ask..

- - Justin
Click to expand...
Sorry, I have the manual, that's I guess not what I am asking for. I need to be able to walk in, dial a few settings, and hit the little red button. I will be shooting to tape, nothing fancy. I can read the manual all day long, but it's only paper, and I am looking for experience.

I'd be a dope I think if I spent 800$ to learn the menu, cause that's what it would boil down to. I'm already going to get this camera on my own, just happens that our main camera won't be available for the shoot this wednesday. I think it is ridiculous to spend that much more money just for an extra day or two. We shoot wednesday night, so I'd have all day to play with the menu. 800 is almost enough for 2 4gb p2 cards, what do you think is better, an extra day, or p2 cards?

I would love to have some tips and tricks going into this, just your basic settings, so that I can feel confident that if I hit the button, everything will work okay. That's all I'm asking for.
 
David Jimerson said:
Son . . .

Do a search -- or at least BROWSE THE TOPICS. There's a wealth of information here for curious souls.
Click to expand...
I have, and let me tell you, there is a wealth of info out there. I'm just trying to get last minute tips and tricks from those with the camera in their hands.
 
if you are shooting to tape... the learning curve isn't bad at all... Justin gave you some great advice on the scene settings... Everything from there is subjective and about your eye and ability. I'd hold out for the cheaper cam.. 5200 is a great price. My dealer is selling them for 5300.. I was one of the lucky ones that got a cam and p2 card together back in March for 5600.. still the best deal to date...

Good luck and you won't be disappointed. I went from XL1s and canon to HVX..and won't be looking back...
 
CRASH COURSE: How to use the HVX200 like an SD miniDV tape camera

The HVX200 is the “Swiss Army Knife” of video cameras. It records in 13 formats. There is a pretty steep learning curve, but that’s because working with the P2 in HD will change the way you think about video. And once you see the results, you’ll not want to shoot in SD or to tape anymore. Nevertheless, some people need to get up to speed quickly just using the HVX in “compatibility” mode to do the same kinds of things they were able to do with the DVX100, the xl1s or the gl2.

[1] CAMERA SETUP

1. On the back of the HVX200, to the left of the battery, there is a switch labeled “MCR PC” on one side and “VCR DUB” on the other side. Move the switch to the right to the “VCR DUB” side. When the camera is turned on this will cause different software to load, and the camera will be a standard definition miniDV tape camera instead of a high definition P2 camera. Turn the power on.

2. Above the “VCR DUB” switch is a dial labeled “SCENE FILES”. Set the dial to “f6”. Each SCENE FILE records settings that control the look of the image recorded, such as gamma (brightness and contrast) and color controls.

3. Look at the left side of the camera in the area that is covered by the LCD panel when it is closed. On the far left, on the bottom row of buttons, there is one labeled “DISP/MODE CHK”. Press and hold this button while looking at the LCD and you will see information about the current camera settings. Check the lower left corner for “48K” and above that “24PA”. The 48K refers to the quality of sound being recorded. You want that on 48K, which is high quality 16-bit sound, not 32K, which is lower quality 12-bit sound. We will make adjustments through the menu system in a moment to correct this if it is not set to 48K. The “24PA” refers to the recording format. The HVX200 records in four different formats to miniDV tape. These are the same formats supported by the DVX100, but they are given names beginning with “480i” because this is how standard definition (SD) video is named in the High Definition standards.

Decide which recording format and aspect ratio you will be recording in. If the footage is to be intercut with video from the xl1s or the gl2, then you will probably want to match the format and aspect ratio of the other cameras you have been using.


4. Set the Recording Format

Recording Formats to miniDV tape:
480i/60i = This is standard video format. The 60i means 60 fields per second, interlaced. If you record in this mode the image will look like any other video camera image — very sharp and with a lot of contrast — and it will intercut on a 29.97 fps timeline with video from other cameras.

480i/30p = This format records in 30 frames per second (instead of fields) but in progressive mode. The image will be softer. It won’t look like film, but it won’t have the sharpness of video either. It is compatible with a 29.97 fps timeline. Use this if you want a softer filmic look, but need to keep compatibility to 60i video.

480i/24p = In this mode the camera records in 24 frames per second, which is film speed. However, to record the signal onto tape, the camera performs “pulldown” which means that it mixes fields from adjacent frames to create filler frames that bring it up to 30 frames per second. The filler frames makes smooth motion in the conversion from 24fps to 30fps. However, it is not easy to drop the pulldown frames, so you can’t return to the original 24 frames per second. The video produce looks much more like film, and it can be edited on a 29.97 fps timeline. However, the pulldown frames might create artifacts when intercut with 60i or 30p footage on the same timeline.

480i/24pA = The “A” stands for “advanced”. In this mode the camera records at 24 frames per second, film speed, and it adds filler frames to bring the video up to 30 frames per second to record it to tape, but it uses a trick to make the original 24 frames per second recoverable in post. The camera repeats frames to create the filler frames. When you bring this footage into your non-linear editing program (NLE) you have to remove the extra pulldown frames. The result is 24 fps footage that is the same format as if the footage had been shot on film and transferred to video using a Telecine machine. The footage is edited on a 23.98 fps timeline. And then pulldown occurs at the very end of editing.

Decide which recording format you will be using.

Press the MENU button on the top of the camera, beneath the handle. Use the navigation buttons and the SET button to navigate the menus.

On the menu, select “5. RECORDING SETUP”
Under “RECORDING FORMAT”
Choose the format you want to record in.

I suggest if you have not shot in 30p, 24p, or 24pA to run some tests with your NLE to make sure that you are able to get the results you want.


5. Set the Aspect Ratio


Aspect Ratio on the HVX200 in tape mode:

NORMAL = Records in 4:3 ratio, 720x480 pixels.
LETTERBOX = Records in 16:9 ratio by cropping the top and bottom of the 4:3 image.
The resulting image is about 320x480 pixels, with black bars on the top and bottom.
SQUEEZE = Records in 16:9 ratio. The image is distorted so that it uses all 720x480 pixels.
This makes the image tall and skinny. It must be stretched out to 16x9 (widescreen)
in post in your NLE. The benefit is that you will have 720x480 resolution to work with.

I believe that the DVX100 series camera accomplishes SQUEEZE by cropping the 4:3 image and then digitally stretching it. The result is that even though the image is 720x480, the information in the image is just a 320x480 image that has been stretched out horizontally. In the HVX200 camera, the Squeeze mode actually uses the 16:9 widescreen CCDs and provides true 720x480 resolution (its actually reducing from HD resolution). This is a key difference between the DVX and the HVX for SD shooting.

Use the MENU and navigation buttons.

On the menu, select “2. CAMERA SETUP”
Under “ASPECT CONV”
Choose the aspect ratio you want to record in.


6. Verify/Set the Audio Recording Rate

The camera can record in 16-bit 48K, which is slightly better than CD quality sound, or 12-bit 32K which is about like FM radio quality sound. You will almost always want to record in 48K.

On the menu, select “5. RECORDING SETUP”
Under “AUDIO REC”
Verify or set the audio recording mode to “48K”

7. Verify/Set “Auto” settings

If you have used the xl1s or the gl2 than you are probably familiar with white balance. On most consumer cameras, this is called AWB or “Auto White Balance”. The camera takes an average of all the pixels on the screen and adjusts the color assuming that the average represents “pure” gray. On the HVX200 this is called Auto Tracking White or ATW. The problem with auto white balance is that the colors are constantly changing. Although visually, the color is consistent, when you go to edit you might find, for example, that a red sweater isn’t the right hue. Maybe its too orange. If the white balance is fixed and doesn’t change during the shot, then the clip can be color corrected. However, if you have auto white balance enabled, then the definition of what is white will change during the shot, and the sweater might shift in hue from orange-ish to purple-ish during the shot. The shot is then not easily color corrected in post, because the color of things in the scene are constantly changing.

To disable the Auto Tracking White:
Use the MENU and navigation buttons.

On the menu, select “4. AUTO SW”
Under “ATW”
Set the ATW to OFF.

You will now have to manually set the white balance, which is covered in the section on Camera Operation below.


8. Set the GAMMA and MATRIX to control the “look” of the image.


The GAMMA setting effects the brightness and contrast of the image.
The HVX200 provides the following GAMMA settings:
HD NORM, LOW, SD NORM , HIGH, B.PRESS, CINELIKE D , CINELIKE V

The settings you will be most interested in are SD NORM, which gives the image a look similar to common SD video cameras, and the CINELIKE settings, which give a look that is more like film.

On the menu, select “1. SCENE FILE”
You will have to scroll down the settings past the first screen to the second screen of settings.
Under “GAMMA”
Set the GAMMA to “SD NORM” or “CINELIKE D” or “CINELIKE V”


The MATRIX setting effects the color representation of the image.
The HVX200 provides the following MATRIX settings:
NORM , ENRICHED, FLUO, CINE-LIKE

NORM provides a normal video coloring, ENRICHED makes the colors look saturated and richer,
FLUO compensates for the greenish cast of filming under flourescent lights, and
CINE-LIKE makes the coloring look like film.

On the menu, select “1. SCENE FILE”
You will have to scroll down the settings past the first screen to the second screen of settings.
Under “MATRIX”
Set the MATRIX to “NORM” for a video look, or “CINE LIKE” for a film look.


You are now ready to record.


[2] CAMERA OPERATION

1. Set the Manual mode.
On the left side of the camera, beneath the LCD, right-most bottom switch is labeled “AUTO ... MANUAL”. Place the switch in “AUTO” for the most “idiot-proof” mode of operation. The camera will operate almost like a camcorder, adjusting everything automatically. If you place the switch in “MANUAL” mode, then you will have more control over the camera.

2. Set the black balance.
Whenever you change the recording format on the HVX200, you need to set the black balance.
There is a button on the front left corner of the camera labeled AWB. Press and hold that button for three seconds and it will cause the camera to black balance.

3. Set the white balance.
On the side of the camera is a toggle switch labeled WHITE BAL. It has positions “A”, “B”, and “PRST”.
The button labeled AWB located in the front left part of the camera, close to the lens, is for manually setting the white balance. Put the WHITE BAL switch in position B. Press the AWB button for 1 second while focusing the camera and filling the frame with a white target. You can store white balance in “A” or “B”. If you move the switch to PRST, then then the AWB button toggles between a theoretical preset white balance set for daylight, and another one set for interior lighting. If you use the PRST setting, the colors will be off, but because the white balance is fixed, the color for the clip can be corrected in post. So normally you would set white balance in A or B, and only use PRST if you don’t have time or a target to set white balance.

4. There are several controls that you should read about in the manual:

1) GAIN = electronically boosts the signal for low light situations, but amplifies noise.
2) ND Filter = Optically cuts the light intensity so you can get a good exposure on a sunny day.
3) IRIS = The IRIS button toggles between Manual and Auto Iris mode. In Manual mode, you use the thumb dial located nearby to set the exposure level. Normally, you set the exposure using the Iris in auto mode, and then change it to manual mode to make adjustments, and then leave it in manual while shooting to ensure that the brightness doesn’t change during the shoot.
4) FOCUS = The Focus has a manual and an automatic setting. You will most often leave this on automatic, unless the shot requires movement or people are passing in front of the scene, which would requre the camera to refocus.

Now that you’ve set the black balance, white balance, and exposure, you are ready to press the little red button and record.


[3] POST

1. With the camera OFF, GENTLY insert the firewire into the computer port and into the camera port. The HVX200 has a lot of covers and doors. On the left side, at the very back of the camera, the last little covering above the battery has the firewire port in it.

2. Make sure that the “VCR DUB” switch is still in tape mode. Turn the power ON. The Camera come sup in “Record” mode. Press the button to the left of the “MCR PC / VCR DUB” switch one time to change the camera from record mode to VCR mode. Don’t hold this button for too long, because it will cause the camera to enter DUB mode, where it can copy files from the P2 Card to miniDV tape.

At this point you should be able to control the HVX200 and capture video the same as with any SD/DV video camera.

I suggest that you try these procedures. Capture the video format you intend to use, and see if it goes all the way to post and if you can work with it.

When you are done capturing video, remember to first shut down the video camera, and then remove the firewire from the port.

Summary

For the most compatibility and the most "video camera/camcorder" look:
RECORDING FORMAT 480i/60i, ASPECT CONV = NORMAL, GAMMA=SD NORM, MATRIX = NORM.

To imitate the look of the DVX100:
RECORDING FORMAT 480i/24P, ASPECT CONV = SQUEEZE, GAMMA=CINELIKE D, MATRIX= CINE_LIKE

To get 24 fps and the most "film look":
RECORDING FORMAT 480i/24PA, ASPECT CONV = SQUEEZE, GAMMA=CINELIKE V, MATRIX= CINE_LIKE


Hope this helps or at least provides some of the information you are looking for.

Andy
 
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Damn Andy.. You must have had a few cups of "STARBUCKS" to write that...... ;-)

Can you do this for the P2 method too ;-) J/K

NICE JOB!

Paul owes ya..

Good luck Paul..

- - Justin
 
andy_starbuck said:
To get 24 fps and the most "film look":
RECORDING FORMAT 480i/24PA, ASPECT CONV = SQUEEZE, GAMMA=CINELIKE V, MATRIX= CINE_LIKE
Click to expand...

Isn't Cinelike V more like Video? V = Video?
 
It's not video-like, but it's appropriate for making bright punchy pictures that look great on a video display.

Whereas cinelike-D is more appropriate for getting the maximum dynamic range, but doesn't necessarily produce the most pleasing pictures when shown on video. cine-D (D=Dynamic Range) gives the most range, but the flattest contrast. Cinelike-V (V=video) gives a filmlike response, but with enhanced contrast to make a sharper, punchier look on a video display.
 
Imagine my disbelief when I did a search for "flourescent" and came accross this post. (I think it had flourescent in it once) Disbelief because I just ordered my HVX and was going to ask a similar question in a new thread. Low and behold, Andy you oughta be a teacher! What a great intro to the quick and dirty way to grab the HVX and be shootin' shortly!! Just what I needed. I'm certainly going to spend some time with Barry's book when it comes, but we all want to play with our toys right away and this sure helps.

Thanks Andy!!

Bird:dankk2:
 
Barry_Green said:
It's not video-like, but it's appropriate for making bright punchy pictures that look great on a video display.

Whereas cinelike-D is more appropriate for getting the maximum dynamic range, but doesn't necessarily produce the most pleasing pictures when shown on video. cine-D (D=Dynamic Range) gives the most range, but the flattest contrast. Cinelike-V (V=video) gives a filmlike response, but with enhanced contrast to make a sharper, punchier look on a video display.
Click to expand...

Barry : wich one do you use to tranfer to 35mm, V or D?
 
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