Camera Settings

Chris Harding · October 21st, 2013, 12:16 AM

Hi Randy

It hard to compare one wedding to another. I have seen footage shot at 35mbps that looks like garbage and also much lower footage that looks brilliant. Exposure and lighting play a huge part as well. Even at 1080P a bad light situation will look crappy compared to a brilliantly lit scene shot at a lower rate. Look at GoPro footage shot at a low bitrate, it can look absolutely stunning if the light is right.

1080P is great for slomo and a higher bit rate means more digital information is collected so it correct to use it if it's practical but it's not going to make any difference in a bad scenario.

I think the bottom line here is if you have enough card space and want the best resolution then use the PS mode on the camera ... as already mentioned I use FH mode for some Realty shoots cos space is a more important issue than pristine footage. That's why the camera has different modes so use the mode that suits your shoot.

Chris

Randy Johnson · October 21st, 2013, 11:36 AM

Well the 2 things that make me want to shoot in "i" are 1. I can get about 20 min more on a 32 gig card so I dont need to change cards mid wedding which is kinda big deal because im always afraid i'll lose or damage one in the field 2. My editing software "Edius" edits much smoother with 1080i than 1080p.

Chris Harding · October 21st, 2013, 06:12 PM

Hi Randy

That's my main reason too... For Realty shoots (I'm doing another this morning) I will change the camera to FH mode so instead of 80 minutes on a 16GB card I will get 128 minutes which makes sure all will fit on a single card. As said before, these are low budget shoots so I need to be fast!

You might have to ask Noa about Edius ..I only use Sony Vegas and to me it seems the same regardless of whether I shoot 50i or 50P (except with 50i I set Project properties to de-interlace the footage)

Chris

John Mitchell · October 27th, 2013, 09:24 PM

If you pan or zoom a lot live (which I don't for most subjects) then 50 or 60i is smoother than the 24/25/30P - of course the EA50 can shoot at 50 and 60P but should you?
I wouldn't unless I knew it was going to end up on an interlaced DVD - these days I prefer to shoot 24P and make progressive DVD's - most players handle this well.
I don't shoot weddings so I have no idea of the requirements...but I think the best quality would be just to use that zoom to reframe and follow subjects with panning to avoid judder.
If you must zoom and pan quickly then 50 or 60P is the go, provided you can match all your cameras :)

October 21st, 2013, 12:16 AM	#16
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Camera Settings Hi Randy It hard to compare one wedding to another. I have seen footage shot at 35mbps that looks like garbage and also much lower footage that looks brilliant. Exposure and lighting play a huge part as well. Even at 1080P a bad light situation will look crappy compared to a brilliantly lit scene shot at a lower rate. Look at GoPro footage shot at a low bitrate, it can look absolutely stunning if the light is right. 1080P is great for slomo and a higher bit rate means more digital information is collected so it correct to use it if it's practical but it's not going to make any difference in a bad scenario. I think the bottom line here is if you have enough card space and want the best resolution then use the PS mode on the camera ... as already mentioned I use FH mode for some Realty shoots cos space is a more important issue than pristine footage. That's why the camera has different modes so use the mode that suits your shoot. Chris

October 21st, 2013, 11:36 AM	#17
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: Camera Settings Well the 2 things that make me want to shoot in "i" are 1. I can get about 20 min more on a 32 gig card so I dont need to change cards mid wedding which is kinda big deal because im always afraid i'll lose or damage one in the field 2. My editing software "Edius" edits much smoother with 1080i than 1080p.

October 21st, 2013, 06:12 PM	#18
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Camera Settings Hi Randy That's my main reason too... For Realty shoots (I'm doing another this morning) I will change the camera to FH mode so instead of 80 minutes on a 16GB card I will get 128 minutes which makes sure all will fit on a single card. As said before, these are low budget shoots so I need to be fast! You might have to ask Noa about Edius ..I only use Sony Vegas and to me it seems the same regardless of whether I shoot 50i or 50P (except with 50i I set Project properties to de-interlace the footage) Chris

October 27th, 2013, 09:24 PM	#19
John Mitchell Contributor Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 873	Re: Camera Settings If you pan or zoom a lot live (which I don't for most subjects) then 50 or 60i is smoother than the 24/25/30P - of course the EA50 can shoot at 50 and 60P but should you? I wouldn't unless I knew it was going to end up on an interlaced DVD - these days I prefer to shoot 24P and make progressive DVD's - most players handle this well. I don't shoot weddings so I have no idea of the requirements...but I think the best quality would be just to use that zoom to reframe and follow subjects with panning to avoid judder. If you must zoom and pan quickly then 50 or 60P is the go, provided you can match all your cameras :)

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