Newbie Advice for 5DII and Sony Vegas 8.0
 

Okay, so I'm taking the plunge and getting my 5D MkII today. I'm ready to shoot HD video with this amazing little critter. I just sold my XHA1 to upgrade to this camera. I have used Sony Vegas for some time and feel pretty comfortable with it for basic editing.

Will the 5D .mov files import right into Sony Vegas 8.0 or do I need to be aware of a lot more software I will need?

The files can be edited on Vegas 8, but you will not have a very satisfactory playback.

I have been using Cineform's NeoScene to convert to an intermediate Codec. You can buy it for something like $ 99 to $ 129, Check out sponsor Video Guys who have it for $ 99.00

http://www.videoguys.com/Item/CineFo...435F454E4.aspx

If you had another Cineform product, upgrade has been around $ 69.00

So you cannot edit the raw .mov files out of the camera and then 'render as' a QuickTime video, or Windows Media Video and have good playback (better quality than the XHA1?)
I am about as basic a 'newbie' to this as you can find, so I'm needing some good advice starting out.

No... Playback of the native MOV files is (on my system) about 1-3fps. Using Cineform NeoScene, I get 29.97 or 23.976 depending on my timeline. Even with a bit of color correction, I'm still rockin' at full frame rate.
You CAN indeed edit with the native files, but you will expect to do a LOT of ram rendering. It's not much fun.
I suggest investing in NeoScene. I THINK you can try before you buy. Check it out at cineform.com
You'll be a happy editor.

He means the playback on the timeline won't be good. Once you render out, all will be fine. I use .mov files on the timeline in my normal workflow and just live with the poor playback performance or use online/offline workflow if it's a bigger project.

There is another reason to use Cineform... and that is it takes filters, correction, and multiple rerendering processes better.

Better than what?

Better than codecs with long GOP structures like what comes out of the camera.

Ah yes.. agreed!

Okayyyyy......... oddly enough, I can play back the raw .mov files off the camera just fine on my laptop. I just double click the file and it opens with QuickTime player and plays without a hiccup. No jerks, no slow frame rates, etc. - it's working fine playing back the files and the video looks INSANE (awesome) compared to the XHA1 quality-wise.

Ah ha... now I see what you mean by playing it back IN Vegas... slow frame rate (video appears strobed at best.) But again, just double clicking the raw .MOV files coming off of the camera, it plays back fine on my computer (laptop) playing in either QuickTime or VLC Media Player.

Now for the test just rendering what I have on the timeline, the raw file, into a more compressed .mov QuickTime file. Anxious to see how it plays back.
Will it strobe? Will it remain good quality?

Are you actually using a Windows laptop? Macs don't have a problem playing the .MOV files straight off the camera just Windows systems.

Yes, I'm using a Windows XP laptop. Dell M6400.

I've tested five video clips now, and all of them play back just fine. The raw files, original files transferred off the camera, show up as a .MOV file. I double click them, and they launch in QuickTime and play back just fine. Not a hiccup at all.

Playback in Sony Vegas is strobed. But... after rendering, the playback of whatever file I render to plays just perfect!

Right now, I'm VERY happy !!! :-)

So does the 5D II only do video in 30p?

Yes, which is it's significant limitation right now.

And yes, the .mov files should do just fine on the Dell. I have the same one. Did you get the NVidia Quadro card in yours also? Great laptop. (SDHC is a problem though)

Glad you're happy with how everything is working.

Just downloaded the Cineform Neoscene software trial. I see it converts my raw .mov files to .avi files. Is this a LOSSLESS codec transfer? In other words, does the quality remain uncompressed TRUE HD 1080p ??? I play it back and it looks great, but just curious.

I have A LOT of learning to do about this camera's video capabilities and I appreciate everyone's patience with the new guy. This is a great forum where people can share and no question seems to be a dumb one. Thanks everyone!

I do have another question....... so how are you guys monitoring your audio with no headphones jack?????