quality prints from video frames
 

for the past 8 years i have been using the original optura and the sony900 to film local surfing - i use progressice scan settings and about 500 shutter speed, and usually use a 1.5 or 2X telephoto lens adaptor (needing 50-100 yard range) - then we study the frame by frame moments , and grab the best frames via the floppy disk adaptors - then print 3 x 5 inch pictures, i think they are only 480/640 - and the 3 x 5 is the size limit for a barely decent quality print. - obviously-- this is all an ancient procedure , so i was waiting for the new HD cameras to get into the $1500 price range - -- when the sony HC1/3 came out - i have tried to study the specs , and they dont seem ? to have progressive scan settings --- so even though the record/playback video quality might be two or three ( ? ) times sharper than my sony 900 - i am asking if anyone can advise -- if the actual frame stills for print grabs from these new HD sony models will truly be a high quality improvement over the pro-scan video frame grabs from my sony900 ?? i was guessing that the HD resolution might be so sharp - that it doesnt even need pro-scan ?? much thanks

Highest HD frame is like 1900X1280 or something around there and thats at 72dpi.......where a camera is like up to 8-16 times that if it where only 72 dpi(not sure on the secs but it is a big difference video and photo)....to answer your question about cameras with proscan any of them that shoot 30p or 24p is prgressive scan...Your better off have some photographers there while your shooting video....so you can get printable pictures from those still cameras. A digital rebel will produce a better print and its under 1000 bucks.

Ira, wait about 3 - 4 years and then you'll find small consumer HDV cams that will be 4 mega-pixel or so for stills. It's bound to happan since this was the direction of consumer miniDV cams. Okay, okay. This is only speculation.

video and NOT stills is the only choice
 

- the reasons that surfing shots are best from video grabs -- is that these rides and their great moments are very unpredictable --- often we shoot an entire 60 minute dv tape - just to get a few great frame grabs -- so, our first choice will ALWAYS be frames from a sharp video rather than a super sharp still shot -- with that in mind --- do you think that the one chip sony HC1 or HC3 would output much sharper VIDEO frame grabs // than a sony900 on proscan ?? also - do these HD sonys have proscan -- thanks alot again

Ira, I am the wrong person to ask. I try not to think about HDV.

needing advise
 

ok , thanks alot frank - hoping then that some other member might respond to this question -

hdv uses a gop compression scheme, so what if the frame that you wanted isn't a keyframe? would it have enuf picture data to be printable?

i shoot a lot of surfing myself, and based on that, i would not try to print from video, regardless of the format... maybe for web use?

these days you can get digital slr's that will shoot 8 fps or more, for not too much money... couple that with the right lense, and your knowledge of surfing, and i bet that you can get some killer shots.

Modern Digital SLR cams can take multiple pics per second and they usuallly have a decent capacity for number of pictures. I work for a company that does ski and surf films and they always have a still photographer at every shoot to capture stuff. They also shoot on film and HDV, but their stills just don't come close to comparing with those of a digi slr.

surprised
 

thanks for these responses - but disappointed - because i had hoped that stills from video grabs of HD camcorders could be two or three times as sharp as stills from SD video

Getting good still frames from SD video is possible, but not straightforward. In FCP you can export the frame (export>using Quicktime conversion. Choose still image, then photoshop format. Open the image in photoshop and deinterlace if necessary, then resize it to 266dpi, using bicubic interpolation, keeping proportion, and resampling. You should end up with a decent 4x6 or even 6x9 image. Print it centered on an 81/2 by 11 sheet of glossy paper. If you know photoshop you can also sharpen (use smart sharpen, 2 pixel radius, about 50%), and add a little blur where necessary.

prints from video frames
 

Getting good still frames from SD video is possible, but not straightforward. In FCP you can export the frame (export>using Quicktime conversion. Choose still image, then photoshop format. Open the image in photoshop and deinterlace if necessary, then resize it to 266dpi, using bicubic interpolation, keeping proportion, and resampling. You should end up with a decent 4x6 or even 6x9 image. Print it centered on an 81/2 by 11 sheet of glossy paper. If you know photoshop you can also sharpen (use smart sharpen, 2 pixel radius, about 50%), and add a little blur where necessary.

I agree........... there will be a hybrid semi-pro level camera/corder sometime in the next couple of years.

JohnG

You could use HC1/3 and "cinema mode"
 

I have an HDR-HC1 and am very pleased with it. If you can spring for either Vegas or PremierePro and use the Cineform AspectHD plugin you can get your progressive capture. It encodes the 24p capture over the 30i tape format. One downside is that you have to set the mode every time you turn the camera on. I have taken still grabs from this HDV output and the output is quite adequate up to 8x10. I personally much prefer the HC1s swiveling viewfinder while on a tripod over the fixed HC3 one. Needless to say the flip out LCD would be of limited usefulness at the beach!

720p
 

thanks for the reply don - asking you or anyone - if the results might be much better if shooting fast action in the 720p from a jvc - jyhd10u - than the sony hc1 - since there may be less processing -- in order to get frame grabs off the video - thanks