150 Users - Anyone entering metadata?
 

It's nice that there is embedded data about the camera setting, but IMO the optional user data seems all but impossible to enter. It would be real nice if you could choose to hookup a keyboard via the USB port and use it for metadata entry.

Same issue exists with the smaller P2 cameras.

Basically what we've come to is that you will want to pre-load metadata files on your computer, using AVCCAM Viewer or P2 Viewer to create and edit those metadata files. Then you save them out to your SD card. In the field, you can swap what metadata file you're using with a simple "read" operation.

Some of the P2 cameras have actual software keyboards in them, which is nice, but still clumsy as compared to just pre-loading the card with appropriate metadata files.

For example, if you're shooting a dramatic narrative piece and you're shooting scenes 3, 9, and 14 today, you could put three metadata files on your card, and swap them when you swap scenes.

But, this of course doesn't have the same usability factor for someone who's shooting uncontrolled stuff like news or documentaries. You can load up stuff like the shoot name, shooter, and whatnot, but you can't pre-program individual user clip names for news in a way that makes a lot of sense (like you could for controlled scenarios such as narrative).

So yes, a keyboard would be nice, we've been asking for that since 2006 on the original HVX200...

I think it's fine and all for the camera to tag a clip with various settings, interesting to know what filter and other parameters were used, but that metadata form is a little much to ask of someone to fill out.

I'm glad the 150 doesn't have a built-in GPS for that stuff, I would be upset paying for such a useless function. I know where I've shot, I don't go on drunken benders with my camera then wake in the morning with footage of me and a tranny midget in a hotel room on an SDHC card, and wonder where the heck that happened at.

The metadata for the transcription is handy to a point though.