How important is 24p?
 

I was thinking about putting the NEX on my Christmas list. I already have a 7D, but it's bulky and not built for the video I like to do - run & gun documentaries.

The only reason I really need 24p is simply because I started with the HV20, which offered a choice between 24p and 60i; in order to get the progressive image, I shot 24p. And I have the HG20 to match any footage I have archived from the HV20.

I don't plan on outputting to film and if I'm filmmaking to the quality that I can afford and require a filmprint, I'm sure that a 30p-24p for film conversion will suffice. I'm really shooting for YouTube and 30p is better quality anyway.

What do you guys think? Is 24p a deal-killer?

24p is a look, its up to you if you want your footage to look like the big screen. Why not the gh2?

If you are making a film that's going to end up on film- might be good to shoot 24p.
Otherwise, IMO, the whole thing is wildly over-rated.
Even the "film look" is mostly about DOF, framing, lighting, etc. 24p is probably the least of it.
Certainly, if you are doing mostly documentary type programming, 24p is something you could do without.
This is a bit like Mac vs. P.C. & I'm sure there will be 24p afficianados who will be outraged when they read this, but I'm definitely not alone in this point of view :)

Why do 24p shooters prefer it:

1. There is a temporal feel associated 24p that to many is noticeable. In video cameras, users believe it takes away the more electronic feel of 60 fps video.

2 Second, if you want frame for frame in your film out, a program render or reinterpolate new frames, then 24p is your answer to that too.

3. 24p with any pulldown removed (such as you have with the HV20) actually is easier on the editing sytem, since it only has to deal with 24 frames per second.

To answer your question, 24p is as important as 25, 30 or whatever. If you don't need 24p, you don't need it.

Chris pegged it with his answer. I don't think any inexpensive camcorder records anything that looks like film.

And, frankly todays grainless film stocks don't look the film look I LIKE. I love grain!

So, the best one can do is send a signal that the image is NOT video.