dazed and confused...

Macfionn

Macfionn

Active member
Good evening, folks.
Im macfionn, and came to you way of google while searching for HMC40 reviews.
Ive been reading so much about this camera here, as well as other locations.
I have a few questions, that im incredibly embarrassed to ask, do to the absolute newbie nature of them. But if you'll accept that im sincere in my desire to catch on to the nomenclature and that this was new to all of us at one point or another, then maybe this wont be so painful. :)

1. I'm curious about solidstate media vs. tape. with my Nikon SLR, i absolutely love being able to take my SD card from the camera and immediately access my raw files for editing.
However, based on what Ive been reading, its appears that most people still prefere tape for editing puroses and NOT SD cards.
Q: Can ya'll share with me pros and cons from an established veterans viewpoint which medium is preferred by you and why?

2. Im trying to wrap my head around all these bleeding numbers. 24p. 60i. etc etc. there is so much knowledge on the internet regarding this, and so many viewpoints written in various ways, that it has become a glut of info that has left me totally confused.
Q: Which of these numbers represent High Def, and is High Def "The New Black"? Meaning, if you buy a camera today for the purpose of documentaries and sports video, would you be foolish to not buy one HD capable? Is standard def all but out the door as the norm? And once and for all, what does "interlaced" & "progressive" mean, and how does this influence camera buying? (Opinions as WELL as facts are absolutely welcomed.)

3. And finally, I am starting from a very low budget. Therefore I am looking at models from the older panasonic ag-dvc30 to the newer ag-hmc40.
seeing a general purpose camera. One where if i wanted to shoot sports out doors, I could. Indoors with nominal lighting, i could. etc.
Q: Knowing every camera has a certain amount of give and take, from media used to noise in low light, is there a general consensus on a well rounded camera that can be purchased new or used (ebay, most likely) for under $2000?

Thank you VERY VERY much for reading, and even more for all responses. :)
Mac

Edit - Found some good info at this link, but not enough to bury my questions here. :)
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=194844
 
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Solid state media vs. tape:

Before I get into this, let me say that no media is 100% foolproof and all are subject to possible failure.

Tape has a feeling of security because people have worked with it in the past and feel comfortable with it. Flash memory can be reasonably secure, BUT some care is required not to buy the cheap memory. There's another thread, I think in the HMC150 section as to which memory cards to buy and which to avoid. Before using any memory card, FORMAT IT IN THE CAMERA AND TEST IT A FEW TIMES.

The more the cards are used, the less the chance of failure. Unlike tape, Memory Cards are reused and the files should be copied to more than one location.

My own personal feeling and experience is that solid state recording is reliable.


720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p, 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p:

The first number represents the number of vertical pixels in our image. 720 = a resolution of 1280h x 720v. 1080 = a resolution of 1920h x 1080v. BOTH 720 and 1080 are considered HD. You may hear something like, "720 isn't true HD!!!" Not true, 720 is HD, but about 1/2 the number of pixels of 1080.

P = Progressive, that is ALL the lines are covered in one pass. When it comes to slow motion, freeze frames, and general video, this is the better choice.

I = Interlaced, in the first pass all the even lines are scanned, in the second pass all the odd numbered lines are scanned. Notice that in any pass, only 1/2 the lines are scanned (covered).

IMHO: Interlaced video is a poor choice. Progressive video is the better choice.

60, 30, 24: This represents the number of passes per second. In the case of progressive, one pass = one frame. So for progressive video 60p = 60 FPS (Frames Per Second), 30p = 30 FPS, and 24p = 24 frames per second.

60i is a special case, because it takes 2 passes to get a full frame. We say that with 60i, it's 60 fields per second.

Now the higher the FPS, the higher the temporal (time) resolution. Fast movement looks better with a higher temporal resolution. So why would we want something other than 60? Well, there is no 1080/60p on any of the Panasonic Cameras like the HMC150 or the HMC40. Either we use 1080/60i and live with interlaced video OR we use 1080/30p OR we chose 720/60p. Now 30p isn't bad for normal action.

OK, why 24P? Movie film uses 24 FPS and some like the movie look of 24p.


A very low budget:

For under $2,000 the Panasonic HMC40 takes GREAT video. That's the give, but the take is that under poor lighting, the camera sucks. If your video in NOT in poorly lit rooms, the HMC40 will work very well. Just remember, for the best audio, the XLR adapter $300 will be needed and good XLR mikes.



Bob Diaz
 
Awesome info there, Bob, and thanks a great deal! It was more than kind of you to spend that kind of time providing a very quality answer... A quick down and dirty tutorial on the frame rates... AND I UNDERSTOOD! :D

about the fps... let's say we were filming a batter at the plate. For the sake of argument, its a clear spring day with the sun providing ample light.
As the batter swung, we wanted to drastically slow down the footage to evaluate the full swing and hip rotation (in post production, of course.)
Which of these frame rates would be best suited for this, and would you believe that the HMC40 is still "our guy" for such a need? Would we still be able to keep our high def quality?
 
Macfionn said:
Awesome info there, Bob, and thanks a great deal! It was more than kind of you to spend that kind of time providing a very quality answer... A quick down and dirty tutorial on the frame rates... AND I UNDERSTOOD! :D

about the fps... let's say we were filming a batter at the plate. For the sake of argument, its a clear spring day with the sun providing ample light.
As the batter swung, we wanted to drastically slow down the footage to evaluate the full swing and hip rotation (in post production, of course.)
Which of these frame rates would be best suited for this, and would you believe that the HMC40 is still "our guy" for such a need? Would we still be able to keep our high def quality?
Click to expand...

basically, if we wanted to achieve a crisp slo mo, we want to use the most possible frame rate then slow it down in post. in the case of hmc40, you can use 720/60p or 1080/60i. the former is better since it is progressive.
 
Thank you, as well, Judas.
Thats good to know that the HMC40 is capable of a crisp slo-mo.
This camera is just sounding better and better.
Thanks a again. :)
 
Macfionn said:
This camera is just sounding better and better.
Click to expand...

With adequate lighting, currently, you simply won't find another camcorder that yields better recorded image quality, and is capable of shooting all of the common HD formats, at anywhere near the price of an HMC40.
 
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