Xdcam hd 350
 

I'm gearing up to shoot a short and the highest quality camera my school offers is the XDCAM HD 350. Having never used it I was extremely excited, however, I read some comments around the net, is it true this cam only produces a slightly better image than the HVX200? Anyone who has used the 350, please tell me about your experience and how to get the most out of this camera.

All lighting being equal I would like to go with the camera that produces the most film like image, would you use the XDCAM 350 or HVX200? Would your answer change if these cameras were equipped with a 35mm adapter?

Thanks

The F350 is superior to the HVX-200 in many aspects. the F350 is a pro camera with better image quality, very good ergonomics, a real lens (with a real focus ring....) and a 1/2" CCD which provides a shallower depth of field. Also, the F350 shoots on XDCAM discs which are an inexpensive archival medium thus eliminating the need to backup your footage to hard drive if you are using solid state recording such as P2 with the HVX-200. As far as using 35mm adaptors, that is a all different story. These allow for 35mm, filmlike, very shallow depth of field but they are quite cumbersome to use and will require a lot more attention to lenses selection, focus control. 35mm rigs are also very bulky and not that convenient for handheld work.

Thierry.

Joe - I think you will find this working review on the F350 and XDCAM HD useful - plenty pics and screen grabs.

http://studioscotland.com/SonyF350_review.htm

Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.com

There is no comparison between the HVX200 and F350. They are totally different cameras aimed at totally different markets. If there are opinions out there that say that the 350 isn't much better than a 200 then I think that simply those remarks should not be taken seriously in the slightest.

Stu, you kind of hit on it in your review, there is something about most of the 350 footage I've seen that I don't like. The image just looks too videoy (for lack of a better term). Even with the 350's extra resolution, bigger sensor and cleaner image, I find myself more attracted to the images produced by the HVX.

I wish I could find a more direct comparison under the same lighting and shot selection but check out:

XDcam 350
We're Closed HD on Vimeo - not sure if they shot 24p
Behind The Night on Vimeo - One of the more cinematic shorts I've seen with the 350

HVX
Homeland on Vimeo
Make Sure (A Dark Comedy Short) on Vimeo

You can't compare a camera using Vimeo. If you don't like the look of the 350 then it needs to be tuned. Sony always give their cameras a neutral colour, and also over sharpened look out of the box, but the 350 has so many settings available you should be able to get it looking as it needs to.

Turn the detail level down below -10 and frequency up to +40 to help reduce the electronic look of the F350.

Joe – since you have access to the F350 through your school, the best thing to do would be to take it for a test drive.

Filters:
If you are looking for that organic cinematic look then (lighting, camera style/angles etc aside), get a hold of some fine softening filters (beware even the slightest scratch or finger prints) and see what works best for you – it really does make a big difference to the look of the image. Just bear in mind that these filters are prone to various problems with flare and diffraction (looks great for certain subjects) so a decent matte box with flags all round will keep you right. Another note about filtration, if you are not experienced using filters you will definitely need a good monitor to make sure you have correct focus, and that there are no unwanted effects happening particularly from backlighting.

Contrast:
You really do want to try and shoot for as much depth of contrast you can get (by that I don’t mean sharpening detail), and the F350 will definitely do that and give you the latitude to be able to grade the footage the way you want it in post, rather than trying to get the “look” from the start.

Workflow:
As already mentioned, it’s not just about shooting, its workflow, ease of use, working with professional equipment that will enable you to concentrate on your project and the XDCAM HD workflow really is very easy to work with.

Personal Experience:
We have had a number of Doc & Theatrical trailers shot using the F350 shown at Cannes on a large screen and had many compliments on the visual look from professionals in the film industry. Be in no doubt, if you know what you’re doing you can produce beautiful imagery with this cam.

All the best with your project

Regards: Stu
www.studioscotland.com

I would recommend turning off DETAIL entirely when shooting HD with the F3xx cameras. Also, try some of the Cine Gamma curves, Cine 4 is my favorite.

And yes, the workflow was a big reason I went with the F3xx over other cameras.

Joe, I shot everything on the F350 you can see this over at my website. Everything the guys say here about settings and general advice is good, I shot all of my stuff on the stock HD lens a Fujinon XS 17x5, shoot on cine gamma2, but always have my Chrosziel matte box. It's a great camera over & under crank, timelapse, gives you a stunning footage. Not forgetting the XDCAM workflow.

Best wishes

It's so much better than the HVX200. I owned them both so I have experience.

Phil

Should I mention, that I have a complete F350 kit for sale, only € 9.800,-

See details here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/private-c...-kit-sale.html

Bjorn