any help for a newbie?
 

Was wondering since i'm new to this if anyone could help? I work for a railraod and used the xl-2 first time today the first setting i used was on automataic and shot at 24fps i noticed the cars on the roadway next to the tracks looked normal speed but the train was slow not slow motion but didn't seem right, then tried easy recording mode at 24fps and the train seemed to look like real time . I read the manual but can anyone explain this in a easier way? didn't try any other speeds do to lack of train traffic.

Last question is what made the difference would it be the difference of 24p 2:3 versus 24p 2:33:2 ? I believe that 's what the ratio was 24p 2:3 3:2. Thanks in advance.

The first question is, why are you shooting in 24p? Is there a specific reason, or is that where you just had the camera set?

I usually keep mine set to 30p at 16:9, and shoot mostly on manual. If you're not familiar with the camera, check out the zebra bar function, which helps you gage the exposure settings quickly by showing you what's overexposed. I've never used the Easy mode, and go to Auto only when I'm chasing something under rapidly varying conditions.

In manual, I try to keep the shutter speed around 1/60th of a second or higher, and work to the highest aperature I can get for better DOF. That's because I usually go manual focus most of the time, and dragonflies moving back and forth tend to confuse the autofocus.

Martin

Don't use 24p for this. Choose 30p or 60i.

We were at a Canon demostration earlier in the summer at the local video shop, and this was covered. The guy confirmed your suggestion saying that the 60i setting is always going to give you the best image quality. The other settings, like 30p, 24p are more for artistict choices. I think the manual talks about one of the 24p modes being specifically for if you are looking to transfer from video to film later on.

well after re reading the manual, i saw about the 24p for transfer to film which now i remember from college (frame rate) the camera was set on that and did write down what i did a hit and miss since the canon manual isn't that deep into this subject and me being new. I want to use with the adobe premiere 1.5 with the video from the xl-2 so does it matter for the adobe if you use the 30fps or the 60fps. Thanks for the help also and xl-2 books for dummies? or any other user guide. Thanks

Thomas, check this video out...