what camera allows footage to be edited w/o transcoding

J

jrod81

Veteran
hey guys
looking around and trying to find a camera that will shoot in a codec that fcp 7 will be able to edit without having to transcode. i already have a dslr and always do the prores conversion before editing but i am about to take a job where turnaround needs to be very quick and i don't really need to be waiting on the footage to transcode while bosses look over my shoulder wondering why i am billing for just watching a progress bar move...
1. jvc hm100- mixed reviews... most people say it is very plasticy and no one seems that pleased with it
2. the new canon xf100- am i right that i can edit this footage
3. ex1 or ex3- just going to be too expensive
all the content will be for web based video so i would prefer 30p and 24p w/ 1080 (which is probably overkill I know)
thanks for the help
jared
 
Well, the question you asked in the title has a different answer than the one you asked in your message. Which camera lets you edit the footage files natively, immediately? All of them. Which ones will APPLE let you edit natively? None of them. Well, none but the JVC; the JVC records in direct quicktime files. The EX1/EX3 don't; they still need to run through a process to turn their files into quicktime files. Same thing with the Canon; it records in OP-1A MXF files, which Apple refuses to recognize in their native format. You will have to run a file conversion process on those files. Shouldn't mean a codec re-encode, I think Apple can handle at least the EX1/EX3 codec natively, if not the Canon (not sure on that one), but Apple will insist that the files be turned from MXF into Quicktime. (could be wrong on this, I quit paying attention to the Apple NLE around the turn of the year so if my info is out of date I'm sure someone will correct it).

If you have a NanoFlash, you can use it with any HDMI/HD-SDI camera to record Quicktime files that could be used immediately in the Apple NLE's. All the Windows NLE's, plus Premiere Pro CS5 on both platforms, and Avid for most formats, will allow you to natively edit immediately from any of the camcorders on the market. I think the only one with any restriction might be Avid's AVCHD implementation; I think Avid requires a transcode, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Point being -- if you want instant editing, it's available for every camera from every manufacturer in every NLE, except Apple's. Apple prevents native editing of any footage unless it's in Quicktime format. And the only camera I can think of that offers direct Quicktime recording, is the JVC.
 
Any Panasonic P2 camera will allow you to shoot in DVCPro HD. FCP will re-wrap the video from MXF to QT, but there is no transcoding.

The EX1 & EX3 cameras from Sony can be handled the same way.
 
On that note, with the DVCPRO-HD cameras (and perhaps the EX1/EX3/Canon?) Calibrated's MXF Importer module would let you drag the files directly to the timeline, even from the card.
 
thanks guys... our web designer has cs5 so i might start dabbing in premiere but for now, i really need to stick with fcp to be quicker on the turnaround. i have not read too mnay good things about the jvc so i am a bit nervous going that route, but i am sure, in the end, it will be just fine...
 
jrod81 said:
thanks guys... our web designer has cs5 so i might start dabbing in premiere but for now, i really need to stick with fcp to be quicker on the turnaround. i have not read too mnay good things about the jvc so i am a bit nervous going that route, but i am sure, in the end, it will be just fine...
Click to expand...

If the webdesigner is using the CS5 Master Collection it should have Premiere Pro CS5. It should be real easy for a FCP user to use PP CS5.
 
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so basically at this point, if i am wanting to buy a camera that will shoot footage that can be immediately dropped into an FCP timeline without transcoding it makes the JVC HM100u the only option?
 
jrod81 said:
so basically at this point, if i am wanting to buy a camera that will shoot footage that can be immediately dropped into an FCP timeline without transcoding it makes the JVC HM100u the only option?
Click to expand...
Pretty much, yes. Or the HM700. Or a Canon DSLR.

But if you were to use a different NLE, then you could buy any camera on the market, and drop its footage right into the timeline, and go.

Or, if you're willing to spend a tiny little bit of money for the Calibrated or Raylight plug-ins, you could do instantaneous drop-it-to-the-timeline editing from any of the Panasonic P2 products.

The problem is not with the cameras, it's with your particular NLE's refusal to acknowledge and work with the various filetypes that the various camcorders produce. Other NLEs are not so exclusive. If you want to stick with what you've got, the ONLY option is to buy something that records in a native Quicktime file format. And that pretty much means a couple of JVC models and the Canon DSLRs.
 
Or you simply hook up a Nano Flash or a KiPro Mini to the camera of your choice and shoot ProRes. If transcoding is your boogeyman- and I don't see why as it's pretty much a way of life for any editor- that's your solution.

Noah
 
i was tired of always shooting on the alexa so i got a t2i to save some money... smart a**
thanks for the help guys
 
jrod81 said:
hey guys
looking around and trying to find a camera that will shoot in a codec that fcp 7 will be able to edit without having to transcode. i already have a dslr and always do the prores conversion before editing but i am about to take a job where turnaround needs to be very quick and i don't really need to be waiting on the footage to transcode while bosses look over my shoulder wondering why i am billing for just watching a progress bar move...
1. jvc hm100- mixed reviews... most people say it is very plasticy and no one seems that pleased with it
2. the new canon xf100- am i right that i can edit this footage
3. ex1 or ex3- just going to be too expensive
all the content will be for web based video so i would prefer 30p and 24p w/ 1080 (which is probably overkill I know)
thanks for the help
jared
Click to expand...


You shoot and edit in the same day? With a fast computer transcoding wont take more than an hour or two max, this can easily be done overnight, before work or while you are setting up. There is a reason these files need to be transcoded, it pretty much is how things are done.
 
NoahK said:
Or you simply hook up a Nano Flash or a KiPro Mini to the camera of your choice and shoot ProRes. If transcoding is your boogeyman- and I don't see why as it's pretty much a way of life for any editor- that's your solution.

Noah
Click to expand...

Transcoding is not a way of life for any editor nor shoud it be a way of life for you. Most PC software can do this and has done this for a long time. I don't doubt the next version of FCP will allow you to edit the native codecs of 90% of the Cameras out on the market.
 
As I mentioned above, you can shoot with any P2 or XDCam camera and work in it's native DVCPro HD or XDCam codec. FCP will rewrap from MXF to QT but not transcode. Rewrapping takes no more time than a straight copy would.

As someone else mentioned, you can also buy Calibrated's MXF Import for FCP, for $180. FCP + MXF Import is less than $1200, which is half the price of Avid and about 1/3 less the price of CS5. So, it's cheaper to add native MXF editing to FCP than to buy software that edits MXF natively out of the box.

But don't let logic & math cloud your judgement.
 
arniepix said:
As I mentioned above, you can shoot with any P2 or XDCam camera and work in it's native DVCPro HD or XDCam codec. FCP will rewrap from MXF to QT but not transcode. Rewrapping takes no more time than a straight copy would.
Click to expand...
Nailed it right there. Importing XDCAM EX or XDCAM 422 takes exactly the same amount of time as copying from JVC HD100 or 700 cameras. You edit XDCAM native, render in ProRes, so you don't lose quality. XMF or MOV are just the containers for the files. As far as time it takes me maybe just a few seconds less to copy files from HM100 compared to L&T from the EX1. BTW- HM100/700 is exactly the same codec as EX1 and they show up as XDCAM EX 35Mbs VBR.
 
jrod81 said:
hey guys

1. jvc hm100- mixed reviews... most people say it is very plasticy and no one seems that pleased with it
2. the new canon xf100- am i right that i can edit this footage
3. ex1 or ex3- just going to be too expensive
all the content will be for web based video so i would prefer 30p and 24p w/ 1080 (which is probably overkill I know)
thanks for the help
jared
Click to expand...
I own HM100 and issues with this camera have nothing to do with being "plasticy", but with low quality LCD, shitty (impossible to use) zoom, recessed lens (inability to put polarized filter without a pair of tweezers), and shitty iris/shutter dial on the back of the camera. It's also not a good cold weather camera- starts acting up in about 25F. But it's plenty good for web and durable enough
EX1 is a frigging workhorse, we had ours dropped, filmed at -30F and keeps on ticking. Power switch is funky, but it is designed as normal ENG cam. Ergonomics suck, keeps rotating in your wrist, so mostly tripod shots with it. and it is a 1/2" chip with 1080 native, unlike lower end Panasonics. JVC 100/700 are 720 native, so 1080 is achieved through pixel shift technology, same with HVX 200 or HPX170.
 
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