HDV & excess luma
 

I currently shoot with a VX2000 & a PD170 and use FCP to edit. No matter how much I try to control it in camera - after capture I'll almost always have excess luma which I then correct in the timeline. I've read that this has a lot to do with Apple's DV codec which was originally designed with "output to Apple monitors" in mind.

My question is this... I'm wondering if anyone in this forum has experienced this same issue with HDV in FCP? Has this excess luma issue been fixed with the new HDV codecs? I'd love to hear from someone that edits HDV in FCP. Thanks.

I don't think it has anything to do with Apple monitors.

What a lot of cameras do is record extra information above the legal luma level ("superwhites"). This gives you at least another 0.3 stops of exposure latitude. If you want, you can have a 3-way CC preset that brings the superwhites down into the legal range.