C500: Urgent help please

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Paul Walker

Active member
Hi All. Am on a shoot and have no idea how to set the time in the metadata. Specifically, I am using a C500 with an Odyssey 7Q+ and just can't figure it out!

How do I add some kind of time code so FCPX can read it please? I'm absolutely stumped.

It's urgent as I need to sort it out for a shoot in just 11 hours. I set the time on the C500, it's just that it doesn't appeared to have transferred to the C500.

Thanks in advance.
 
Not many people owned a C500 so unless the process is the same as with a C300 Mark II (or one of Canon's other similar systems), you may not receive a response quickly enough.

I briefly owned the camera but I'm not really sure what you're asking (I also never used timecode much so that probably doesn't help).

I would call Canon in your morning (if possible) if you don't receive help here or anywhere else (like another forum or the manual).
 
Paul Walker said:
Hi All. Am on a shoot and have no idea how to set the time in the metadata. Specifically, I am using a C500 with an Odyssey 7Q+ and just can't figure it out!

How do I add some kind of time code so FCPX can read it please? I'm absolutely stumped.

It's urgent as I need to sort it out for a shoot in just 11 hours. I set the time on the C500, it's just that it doesn't appeared to have transferred to the C500.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Hey there Paul. I have used all of Canon's cinema line with the exception of the C700. Not totally clear on what your workflow is, but I'm assuming you're shooting either RAW or Prores and the timecode isn't being passed from the camera to the recorder.

-The first thing I'd do is a factory reset on both the Canon and the Odyssey.
-If a factory reset doesn't help, I'd first ask if you see TC counting up on the camera?
-If you do, then I'd ask what type of TC you're using and if you've tried switching it?
-Have you tried sending TC over HDMI?
-Is your firmware up to date on both devices?
-Have you swapped cabling?

If none of the above does the trick, it'd be helpful if you could let us know exactly what the workflow is and what steps you've already taken.

You also may want to contact Dan at CD as they'd probably be more help than Canon would be:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...unning&p=1986686863&viewfull=1#post1986686863
 
Ok. Latest bit of insanity. Have tried a few things (and thanks for the advice, really appreciate the help). The image is beautiful but the time code is insane.

Firstly, the time (date and time) being recorded internally to the CF card is a few minutes different from the time code exported to the 7Q+. In addition, the time on the Odyssey has absolutely no relation with the time on the 7Q+ and the C500. So if the time on the clock on both yh7Q+ and the C500 is correct, the time that FCPX reads is completely different. It is hours different and generally consistent except occasionally when it is completely different.

But we have a temporary solution. There is a creation time in the metadata in FCPX which we can use which is correct.

It's completely nuts...
 
For clarification, are you talking about the internal time clocks on devices(date and time like in your phone or computer) or actual Time Code that is used for editing, which have nothing to do with one another?
 
I had that same combo of equipment , still have the O7Q but not the C500. THe 500 will send its internal code down the SDI stream to the O7Q and the odyssey will record that faithfully. Are you sure you are not confusing camera internal clock which is used for creation date and timecode, which are 2 different things? I don’t think that the O7Q is even capable of creating its own TC, it just takes what comes in on the stream- I’ve used one for years and have never seen a different behavior than just that.
I just got my Odyssey out . Under setup up menu inputs tab. There is a slecetion for TC input SDI/HDMI is top of the list , then LTC, time of day , Seed record run. The best selection for you is SDI/ HDMI that way the TC is always what the camera is putting out . If this setting is correct then you should be good to go.
A second option would be to use the LTC setting on the O7Q, and a couple of synced tentacles , one feeding the camera and the other feeding the LTC port on the odyssey. THis really shouldn’t be necessary however if you have the correct TC menu setting on the O7Q. YOu should also set the O7Q to record on camera trigger, with that setting the TC on CF card clips should exactly match your Odyssey recording and it makes the recording process that much easier as the Odyseey totally follows the camera on record start- stop
 
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Paul Walker said:
Ok. Latest bit of insanity. Have tried a few things (and thanks for the advice, really appreciate the help). The image is beautiful but the time code is insane.

Firstly, the time (date and time) being recorded internally to the CF card is a few minutes different from the time code exported to the 7Q+. In addition, the time on the Odyssey has absolutely no relation with the time on the 7Q+ and the C500. So if the time on the clock on both yh7Q+ and the C500 is correct, the time that FCPX reads is completely different. It is hours different and generally consistent except occasionally when it is completely different.

But we have a temporary solution. There is a creation time in the metadata in FCPX which we can use which is correct.

It's completely nuts...
Click to expand...

Hi Paul,
This is probably too late, but I'll try anyways. I've used this combo and it worked well for me. The trick might be that you need to make sure that you set O7Q to accept timecode over SDI. The O7Q can get TC from various inputs, but you want it to be the SDI input. I am presuming you are sending RAW over SDI, and that you are sending TC out from the C500. You also need to set the clock on the O7Q and the C500 to roughly the same time. That is the actual clock time, NOT the TimeCode!!!! I have made this work by just setting the time manually on both devices. It's good enough to last the day, or at least it has always been for me. If you need to synchronize with audio, do that through TC in on the C500 and let the Odyssey7Q+ slave to the C500. Oh, and you have to make sure O7Q is set to Canon and not another camera type. If you are trying to record a baseband HD video signal from the C500, I'm not sure how well that works. I've never tried it as the C500 is a camera designed to output 4K RAW.
 
Run&Gun said:
For clarification, are you talking about the internal time clocks on devices(date and time like in your phone or computer) or actual Time Code that is used for editing, which have nothing to do with one another?
Click to expand...

Sorry everyone and thanks for the help. You've been fantastic so far. To keep you aware, I was in the middle of filming some stuff so the last text was inaccurate! Too many shoots in too little time and trying to text in the rain in between shots is tricky at 2am on the side of a hillside. Someone also broke a few bones last night and ambulance time. It's been one of those 3 hours sleep per night gigs but at least the shoots, so far, have been really good. Really happy although have an incredibly tricky one this pm.

Soooo....

This stuff is really useful so thanks everyone. What we have is as follows: I'm at a live event where they are requesting date / time so they can match it all up with the date / time of the stuff that's going on. So here are the slightly strange facts:

- The clocks and dates on the 7Q+ and C500 are both set to the same time.
- When I record on the C500 internally, I get a different production time (not date, the date is the same) to when I record on the 7Q+. The same clips are also of different lengths.
- The start time difference is a few minutes out.
- The duration of the clips is out by, say 5 - 8 seconds. It varies on different clips.
- The Odyssey is set to faithfully record the output of the C500.

So already, I have a slightly different time (not date) in the metadata and different recording lengths internally and externally. Will test what is going on here.

- The report back from the editor (who I trust) is there is another 'time' being delivered by the camera. Specifically, this is about 7 hours different from the 7Q+ and C500. Except for some rushes which is around 15 hours out! However, there is a 'creation' date / time which is close enough that it is usable so that is a solution.

Sorry about writing 'TC' as wrote the entry too quickly at night in the rain etc...
 
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Paul Walker said:
Sorry everyone and thanks for the help. You've been fantastic so far. To keep you aware, I was in the middle of filming some stuff so the last text was inaccurate! Too many shoots in too little time and trying to text in the rain in between shots is tricky at 2am on the side of a hillside. Someone also broke a few bones last night and ambulance time. It's been one of those 3 hours sleep per night gigs but at least the shoots, so far, have been really good. Really happy although have an incredibly tricky one this pm.

Soooo....

This stuff is really useful so thanks everyone. What we have is as follows: I'm at a live event where they are requesting date / time so they can match it all up with the date / time of the stuff that's going on. So here are the slightly strange facts:

- The clocks and dates on the 7Q+ and C500 are both set to the same time.
- When I record on the C500 internally, I get a different production time (not date, the date is the same) to when I record on the 7Q+. The same clips are also of different lengths.
- The start time difference is a few minutes out.
- The duration of the clips is out by, say 5 - 8 seconds. It varies on different clips.
- The Odyssey is set to faithfully record the output of the C500.

So already, I have a slightly different time (not date) in the metadata and different recording lengths internally and externally. Will test what is going on here.

- The report back from the editor (who I trust) is there is another 'time' being delivered by the camera. Specifically, this is about 7 hours different from the 7Q+ and C500. Except for some rushes which is around 15 hours out! However, there is a 'creation' date / time which is close enough that it is usable so that is a solution.

Sorry about writing 'TC' as wrote the entry too quickly at night in the rain etc...
Click to expand...

Are both devices on identical time zone and daylight saving settings?
 
If the creation dates are similar enough and Assuming you have the same TC on camera internal and externally recorded clips then what is the problem exactly ? Your O7Q clips should have the same tc as camera CF clips and the editor will know what date they were recorded so matching them up shouldn’t be an issue.
Are you shooting 23.98 or 29.97 and is the odyssey set to follow camera input for recording format? Just wondering if this might have an impact on why clip lengths are reported as different?
I no longer have C500 but I don’t think there is a way for the camera to output a different internal day/date/time in metadata other than what you set it for...
 
Mark Smith said:
Are you shooting 23.98 or 29.97 and is the odyssey set to follow camera input for recording format?
Click to expand...
That was my thought too, that frame rate on O7Q could be set to something that's not the same. Even when I have deliberately mismatched frame rate on O7Q and C500/C300mk2 to create instant slowmo Quicktimes in O7Q, I have not gotten that much difference in clip length. A few frames, but not seconds. Since you list London I presume you are shooting 25fps?
 
I have the C500 and Odyssey 7Q+ My files from the internal CF and the files on the Odyssey 7Q match. You can only set the Camera to Free Run time of day then the Odyssey will record the same TC as the camera ( In 24p NDF ) It may be slightly different for 25p. I have included a manual. You can go to page 84 and on for time code information. Good luck, my internal MXF files match the Odyssey files without problems.

Link bellow for PDF

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300010558/06/eosc500-500pl-im8b-en.pdf
 
B.Berry said:
I have the C500 and Odyssey 7Q+ My files from the internal CF and the files on the Odyssey 7Q match. You can only set the Camera to Free Run time of day then the Odyssey will record the same TC as the camera ( In 24p NDF ) It may be slightly different for 25p. I have included a manual. You can go to page 84 and on for time code information. Good luck, my internal MXF files match the Odyssey files without problems.

Link bellow for PDF

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300010558/06/eosc500-500pl-im8b-en.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks! It's helpful because the camera is doing something it shouldn't be doing. No idea why so it's a factory reset and some firmware updating for both the Odyssey and C500.

I love this camera but this an incredibly strange bug.
 
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