record internally or externally

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dolph2000

Well-known member
Hi,

About to rent a AF100. Internally records 4:2:0 and via nanoflash 4:2:2. Now I'm on a budget here so want to see some comparison footage from both. Is that available by someone who did this test already? Would be very appreciated. Finished product will go to big screen.

Thanks
 
You dont need see comparison footage really and what you might see on line..wont show you anything between the two.

10 bit 4:2:2 wins in the post suite without doubt. (billions of colors vs millions of colors)

Best way for you... is to check it out as part of your pre shoot (at the rental house) and post workflow testing
 
Hopefully some one can advise on this (and correct me if necessary).

The massive 10bit uncompressed files recorded to my BM Hyperdeck Shuttle may have mislead me to think they were recording an actual 10 bit signal instead of getting padded in the QT codec.

Whatever. they are 4:2:2 which is advantageousas well.
 
Shooter,

The AF's SDI output is 8 bit only.

I'm still interested in a recorder, but am waiting to see the Samurai before committing. The Pix 240 seems excellent, & may be the way I go, but it's heavy.

Best,
Bern
 
The camera only outputs 8 bit and the NanoFlash only records 8 bit (a perfect match)
If you are going to the big screen then every bit of quality advantage you can get will help. It's hard to see the difference between the two at first but as you do more post and colour correction the difference between the two become more apparent - I usually have the NanoFlash set to between 140 & 220mbps.
The other advantage is that you have a back up copy in AVCHD in case something goes wrong - a big plus in my mind.
 
Thanx guys for the info.

I am hoping to have my ordered Samurai this week but must say...the SD pix240 is probably the Rolls Royce of recorders.

I made a $$$ based call when I decided onthe Atomos, but I do know the Samurai will do what I want. ( excepting VFR ...grrrrr!)

The other advantage is that you have a back up copy in AVCHD in case something goes wrong - a big plus in my mind.
Click to expand...

Mine too.
 
Thanks Shooter, thing here is that I live in a remote area (caribbean) not rental house here. As I read is the cam only 8-bit out also via SDI-out. So only advantage would be the double color resolution SDI out. I understand the post production value there indeed.
 
Thanks Rowy, that helps. If you don't see it immediate then I don't rent the nanoflash. I will do the post internally with the cam menu.
 
My understanding ( and somebody can shoot me down).. SDI is 10 bit - - so when we say a camera has an 8 bit output, those 8 bits occupy the 8 most significant bits of that 10 bit word leaving the remaining two bits which may be set a default 00 or some fixed value, hence banding becomes noticeable, so an 8 bit output you loose the really fine detail..but its still at 10 bit word giving you 1024 levels just the accuracy is 1021 levels as opposed to 1024
 
The HD-SDI output is 8-bit 4:2:2 and the Samurai records it to 10-bit ProRes422. You don't get additional data, but if you post in 10-bit, the ProRes footage will allow you to make prettier calculations, and push the footage more before it starts banding and getting crunchy. Same reason Magic Bullet looks so good on 8-bit. They do all their math in float, then dither back down to 8-bit for the final result.
 
Shooter said:
Thanx guys for the info.

I am hoping to have my ordered Samurai this week but must say...the SD pix240 is probably the Rolls Royce of recorders.

I made a $$$ based call when I decided onthe Atomos, but I do know the Samurai will do what I want. ( excepting VFR ...grrrrr!)



Mine too.
Click to expand...

So does this mean you are through with the BM hyperdeck shuttle?

My experience with the SD audio recorders and mixers really draws me to the pix240, especially if there was an AVID DNxHD option.
 
Hey guys, in your opinion do you think the af100 really does truly need a good external recorder to make it useable for feature films? Just wondering as I want the best possible tools for it and if you all think getting a recorder is essential I may have to make a tough decision! Thanks
 
taras4444 said:
Hey guys, in your opinion do you think the af100 really does truly need a good external recorder to make it useable for feature films? Just wondering as I want the best possible tools for it and if you all think getting a recorder is essential I may have to make a tough decision! Thanks
Click to expand...

Not essential at all... meaning you can do without it...but I would not shoot a million dollar production onto an SD Card alone. The cost for the device is very cheap "insurance" against data failure / loss
 
External recorders are pretty cheap. I have the Kipromini and when i record with it I get the piece of mind that I'm also backing up on SD card while getting a nice 422 copy in the KiMini. ALthough I'm considering selling the Kipromini as for most things, the internal copies do the job just fine.
 
I certainly don't think an external recorder is essential, and I think that for the fiscally challenged there are a lot better ways to spend that money that will result in a better-looking (and sounding) end product than an external recorder would! But if you've already got good sound, good lighting, good production design, good lenses, good actors, a good script, etc., and have a little bit of money left over, an external recorder can make for slightly better looking images (especially when green-screening) and as Shooter said, it gives you a great degree of insurance for your footage by giving you two copies of it.
 
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