Going for the 150?

PaPa

PaPa

Major Contributor
I am coming to the point where I desperately want to move away from a tape work flow. I love my XH A1 to pieces and it has been working great, but I would feel much more comfortable going towards a tapeless work flow.

I have searched the forums for a while, and while most of my questions were answered, i feel i just want to double verify, so please be patient with me :)

1) It seems as though the best way to edit footage is to convert the AVCHD to dvcprohd using cineform's program. Does this seem to be the common way of going about editing? I would be using Premier Pro cs3.

2) Besides the variable frame rates, what hardware/software features differ between the HPX170 and the HMC150 besides the p2/SD cards? As far as i see they both have histograms and vector scopes in camera. They both use the same chipset? Is the noise level reduced compared to the HVX200? ( from what i read it seems so, just double checking )

3) with the new chipset, has anyone been able to check for ISO ratings of the naked cam? How does the Gain look on the camera? And at what point is the extra noise from the gain a distraction? I.e. my XH A1, i will never go passed 0db gain with my adapter. But some articles based on the 170 suggest that you can gain up to gain some stops while still having very clean footage.

4) any other things someone should know about the differences between this cam and the 170 before making their decision? Right now the SD card is mighty attractive to me since it's very cheap.

Thanks for your time guys.

-Jon
 
This is based on my understanding and from my own experience, feel free to correct me I got some incorrect facts.

1) Cineform will convert your AVCHD footage into Cineform's own format. If you want DVCPRO use Mainconcept AVCHD to DVCPRO or the AVCHD Transcoder (AVCHD to P2 DVCPRO HD). You can also convert AVCHD into ProRes if you're using FinalCut. If you are using CS3 then you're limited to the Cineform method or AVCHD Transcoder to DVCPRO HD.

2) HMC150 is only 4:2:0 color space because of the AVCHD format while HPX170 is 4:2:2 because of the DVCPRO HD format. Same chip and lense just different format codecs. Noise is definitely reduced compared to the old HVX200.

3) Based on my first test footage, I have seen I have not seen any distracting noise but its definitely visible when using the Cine-D setting. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=161632

4) I dont have access to HPX170 so I wont be able to confirm. SD cards are indeed attractive, so cheap! :)

Cheers,
 
1 or convert to dvprohd with the free mainconcept converter, some resolution loss,
but if you finish in SD you wont see it at all. Update to CS 3.2.


2 yes and its better then the XHA1 once you get the hang of it .

3 Dont know about the adapter but the gain is very clean no chroma noise .It actually can be used as a tool or look for your shot !

4 Dont know but I wished it had the lens the XHA1 has.

Just some samples :
http://www.vimeo.com/3147674
 
Fast answer Retro, thank you for that.

For question 1 - I just wanted to confirm the best way about working with the AVCHD footage to be able to convert it to a none lossy format so that you can actually edit it nicely, and have a smooth workflow in post. Which was the best option? ( i read somewhere you would spend 130$) but in my opinion it would be worth it

2) im not worried about 4:2:0 color space, its the same with HDV and im happy with it for now. I just don't want to wait for the second generation scarlets to come out.

Your footage looks great. I miss the old DVX look. I loved moving to HDV when the xh a1 came out, but i could never get quite the same image. Don't get me wrong, the XH A1 has a beauty of it's own, i just prefer the pana look.
 
PaPa said:
Fast answer Retro, thank you for that.

For question 1 - I just wanted to confirm the best way about working with the AVCHD footage to be able to convert it to a none lossy format so that you can actually edit it nicely, and have a smooth workflow in post. Which was the best option? ( i read somewhere you would spend 130$) but in my opinion it would be worth it

2) im not worried about 4:2:0 color space, its the same with HDV and im happy with it for now. I just don't want to wait for the second generation scarlets to come out.

Your footage looks great. I miss the old DVX look. I loved moving to HDV when the xh a1 came out, but i could never get quite the same image. Don't get me wrong, the XH A1 has a beauty of it's own, i just prefer the pana look.
Click to expand...
No problem! Your best bet would be Cineform's Neo HD or Neo Scene for real time AVCHD editing! :)
 
Great footage you guys. really nice stuff. Again it reminds me of my old DVX, what a cam.

It's hard to tell with the compression, but it doesn't look noisy to me. I wonder how it holds up with gain?
 
ah, neo HD is an editor and scene is a pluggin to convert footage. Would definitely go for that. Wow, guess my questiosn are answered. Would just like to see now some uncompressed low light footage with variable gain options. Anyone know where to find that? lol
 
for adobe CS3

3 Dont know about the adapter but the gain is very clean no chroma noise .It actually can be used as a tool or look for your shot !

The orignals are a lot cleaner and I believe the one from retro to be very clean .
 
looks good to me. I will be interested to see the added sensitivity using an adapter and actually being able to toggle some gain to adjust for light loss.
 
What are some things to be wary of when shooting AVCHD? Fast pans? Flashing lights?

Also, how is the lcd screen?
 
I havent noticed anything yet but to make it sing you got to feed it some light.

Warning :
Format your card in the camera before recording.( at least after every offload)

And you can set the zebras to 105 maybe a bit overexposing but you can bring it down in post .

And the ND filters are great

Some users were experciencing some problems with noisy footage so did I .
These tips help out alot.


If your going to vieuw your footy through the hdmi , you better bring down the sharpness of the HD monitor . Its got some funky noisr patterns.This is not in the footage.
 
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That was a great demonstration Everts, very nice video too, thank you!

My question about the lcd was more directed towards adapter usage. right now, i can suffice using the lcd screen, the magnification button and the peak to get pretty damn accurate focus. How does the 150 LCD hold up?
 
Yes they ( focus asst. and peaking )are great but the tools are slow in 24p and 30p ,I can live with it though !

very fast in 60i and 60p
 
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