1st time with FX1

[Rodrigo Gil Medina]

Hi!

I'll be shooting a music video on thursday with an FX1 for the first time. I've never used this camera and I won't be able of getting my hands on it before the actual shoot. I'm used to workin with XL1's and DVCPRO cameras. Any kind of tips will be greatly appreciated. I'm plannig on shooting with a 20% faster speed on the music, so I can apply a slow camera effect in post and still be in sync with the music, I haven't had any problems doing this with DV, should I expect the same from HDV? Another question I have is, How much can I tweak the image on camera?

I'll be posting my impressions from all the stages of this project.

Regards.

[Robert M Wright]

I'd suggest reading the FX1 manual back-to-back a couple times between now and Thursday (if you haven't already).

[Mark Utley]

I'm not exactly sure of what image alteration options there are for the FX1 as I have the Z1. I've always done my image effects in post, anyway.

HDV tends to not be able to handle motion as well as other formats, so if you're slowing the footage down 20%, you should be careful about quick movements as they could end up being somewhat distracting.

One very handy feature is Shot Transition. You get to save camera data (zoom %, focal length, iris, shutter speed, gain, ND filter and I think white balance) to 2 different presets and have the camera automatically transition between the two (or at least between the point you have the camera at and whichever saved shot you transition to). You can select a length anywhere between 2 and 15 seconds for the transition to last. This can allow you to do very slow zooms, focus racks or a multitude of other adjustments that would otherwise be difficult to make manually.

Try a search of the forums. I know people have posted their favourite Z1/FX1 features before. It's out there somewhere.

Good luck!

[Pierre Barberis]

If Anyone Starting To Tape With A New Cam Initiates A Thread This Forum Is Dead ! ;-)

[Boyd Ostroff]

Pierre: I'm sure that was supposed to be funny, but I don't get it :-)

Rodrigo: have you used other Sony prosumer cameras before? Many of the features are similar on the FX1/Z1, although there are a lot more menu options and better manual controls. I would suggest reading up as much as possible - here's a good starting place: http://hdvinfo.net/articles/index.php#sonyhdrfx1

One "gotcha" is to be sure that you're really in full manual control mode. You have put the auto lock switch in the center position and push the shutter speed and iris buttons for this to happen. Make sure that you see both the iris and shutter speed numbers displayed in the viewfinder as you shoot.

There are some timesavers which you may want to configure before starting, like the assign buttons which are alternatives to digging through the menus. You can also setup the gain and white balance switches. Like Mark, I have a Z1 so there may be a few differences with the FX1. The Z1 has the color correction/removal function which can be useful but the FX1 doesn't. But you might want to play with the white balance shift and the other items in the picture profiles (which you can save) to get different looks. Here are some ideas: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=42973

Not so sure about the slow motion thing.... are you in a PAL country (also: please enter your city/state/country in your DVinfo profile so we will know this - click on the "controls" link above)? If so, would you be better off shooting at 60i with a Z1?

Good luck on the shoot! Let us know how it works out

[Rodrigo Gil Medina]

First of all thanks a lot for replying to my post, all your commentaries have been very valuable to me. Following Mr. Wright's advice, I'll be spending my night studying the manual.

I'll start posting my results this weekend.

Thanks!