Real Newbie Question
 

I have an AC90 (the pal version)

I cannot shoot 24p? Is this because it is PAL and when I shoot 25p on the screen it looks jerky?

I can't take my shutter speed below 1/50 either?

Am I just being stupid?

Re: Real Newbie Question
 

Get Barry Green's book on the AC90:

The AC90 Book: Barry W. Green: 0713757892711: Amazon.com: Books

Its not cheap but it will be very useful.

You have to order it from Amazon USA not UK and select Fiercely Independent as the seller. It may take a few weeks to arrive.

Meanwhile, it shoots 25 rather than 24 as it is indeed PAL if purchased in the UK. And yes it may appear jerky in some circumstances.

To get your shutter speed below 1/50th switch it to manual mode then touch the Shutter icon on the screen and step the shutter speed down to 1/25th. It will also shoot 1/25th in auto if you let it and if it thinks 1/25th is called for n.b. trying to make the best of very low light; its a function you have to select in the preferences but I can't recall which one.

Pete

Re: Real Newbie Question
 

I only had AC-130's not 90's and they had a 24P mode and were PAL cameras so check what modes you have on the 90 .. looking at the specs it doesn't seems to have a 24P mode.

Unless you are doing static or slow moving objects then yes, 25P will be jerky and stuttery You really need to avoid any fast camera movements and fast pans or zooms too as they will be jerky at 25P ..Sadly it is slow on PAL cameras ... far better to shoot in PS mode which is 50P ..you will have no issue with a double frame rate!! I still shoot everything at 50i ...it's almost a fail-safe mode and shooting at 24P/25P doesn't automatically mean your movie will have film like qualities!!

Chris

Re: Real Newbie Question
 

I would shoot 50p for sheer beauty... the footage is ultra-real.

25p is OK if you want to try and make things look filmic, but there's so much more to film look than just 24p or 25p. Lighting, framing, camera movements, all sorts of things that I don't understand!

As Chris says, with 25p you need to be careful. Very slow camera moves, or static camera. If something moves quickly through your frame it will stutter; you need to pan with the object, at the same speed as the object.

In PAL land, I would shoot 50p if I had it, otherwise 50i. My AC130 only does 1080 50i, so I use that normally, or sometimes 720 50p. 25p is more trouble than it's worth for me.

+1 for the BarryBook. It should be bundled with every sale.

Re: Real Newbie Question
 

Hi Mike

I just don't use it!! I shoot almost everything at 50i and yes, even slomo is OK once you de-interlace. But if slomo is your thing then I agree 100% shoot at 50P and you will have stunning footage.

I wonder why people have this obsession with 24P?? It's such a tiny part of making a video look more filmic ... in fact get all the other bits right and film at 50i and you will still get a filmic look without the stutter. I have seen demo wedding DVD's done in 24P and the blur and stutter makes it unwatchable (bride that booked me didn't like it either)

Chris

Re: Real Newbie Question
 

Agreed, Chris. 1080 50i is my normal shooting mode. Perfect for DVD transfer, or Blu-ray if I ever go there, or de-interlace to 1080 25p for Youtube.

50p was nice to have, and sort of future-proof, but one of my criteria for AC130 over AC160 was "none of my audiences need 1080 50p" (and it was cheaper!).