www.homepage.mac.com/mrbarlowelton

Comments?

Mac only files Barlow?

These are quick time files. How would I bring them into Final Cut Pro so that I can view on my HDTV? I mean, I know how to import the files, but what sequence settings should I use?
Thanks!

Mac only files Barlow?

Sorry, I just threw up the raw files last night as I was heading to bed. It takes quite awhile to upload those files.

h.264's coming soon.

These are quick time files. How would I bring them into Final Cut Pro so that I can view on my HDTV? I mean, I know how to import the files, but what sequence settings should I use?
Thanks!

Jay,

You'll need at least FCP 4.5 with the DVCPROHD codec installed. You just need to throw the clips onto a DVCPROHD timeline, which you can accomplish by going to "easy setup" and choosing DVCPRHO HD 1080i.
Import the clips into your bin and then drop them on the timeline. You can play them full screen using the desktop cinema function under View/External Video/All Frames

You can also just play the QT's onto your HD screen if it's hooked up to your Mac.

Mac only files Barlow?

h.264's are up

www.homepage.mac.com/mrbarlowelton

Looks great! Noisy, but great!

The original HDV is a little cleaner. The CarlosParadox clip was slightly pushed in color correction, and then made h.264 so it's lost a bit, but overall it's still a strong image.

Yea Barlow, it looks real sharp, yet not overly sharp, has a real film like finish to it.

I'd really love to see some dramatic lighting schemes from an H1.

I had to work with it a bit to get it to jive on my Edius system - noticed noise in the coat area, figured it was from all of the transcoding.

Very compelling footage though. I'm very close to ordering...

Thanks for this footage very much. Please let us know if you have anything else. I'm making a number of critical decisions today.

BTW - do you have the ability to upload the source .m2t? That'd be great - on any/all of these clips.

Thanks again,
Shawn

Possibly a few today or tomorrow. I have to go back to the original tapes.

Shawn, what are the critical questions you still have about the H1?

Thanks very much.

I have the Z1 & the HD100 - both of which I like - and sometimes dislike, based on capabilities in certain environments. It appears that the H1 can fill in gaps between, and maybe facilitate a tool for more event work, hopefully in environements that aren't as 'controlled'. All footage so far suggests this can be the case.

I would miss a more manual lens (like on the HD100 or bigger cams), by which I can really ride the iris, quickly rack focus, etc. I think I've come to terms with the reality that I'll probably have to buy a bigger camera later this year - probably the Grass Valley Infinity - to do everything I want. The H1 is to fill in that gap in time, and be an awesome tool in the inventory as well.

I also want to use it with the P&S mini35.

So - was really looking for what people said about how the H1 reacts in quicker change environments (ie: can you roll the iris open/closed quickly and smoothly, or is it a blocky effect (it adjusts by 1/4 stops) - overall image in low light using 6-12db gain - where the lens really falls off at tele f/3.5, and how dark that is in the focal range, etc. Would love to hear what people said about it's run/gun capability - are adjustments to iris smooth - can you put a little gain on it and the image won't suffer much (like the Z1 at 6-9db), etc. Just questions about function and threshold I guess.

Turns out I'm going against my initial intentions and buying 1 or 2 of each of these smaller guys, rather than save for one big one that would fill every need (other than portability and affordability).

Just looking for last second hand-holding before dumping another $10K into something, where I could have saved it to aply to a $40K something 4-5 months later.

Hard to say. Thanks for all the info and footage though. It is the sole reason I'm even looking at the cam in the first place.

Many thanks as always,

Shawn

So - was really looking for what people said about how the H1 reacts in quicker change environments (ie: can you roll the iris open/closed quickly and smoothly, or is it a blocky effect (it adjusts by 1/4 stops) - overall image in low light using 6-12db gain - where the lens really falls off at tele f/3.5, and how dark that is in the focal range, etc. Would love to hear what people said about it's run/gun capability - are adjustments to iris smooth - can you put a little gain on it and the image won't suffer much (like the Z1 at 6-9db), etc. Just questions about function and threshold I guess.

It appears to be less blocky when rolling the iris, at least when compared to how I remember the old XL1. Never used an XL2. Still, it's not quite like a good manual lens.

Gain: VERY GOOD. I've found the noise to be quite reasonable all the way to +12db.

On one of my Sundance shoots, the 20x telephoto and optical stabilization REALLY came in handy. I was shooting the Q&A of a director after her screening in a HUGE auditorium, where I was near the back of the floor seating.(it also had a balcony) I was able to get an amazing wide to CU as she said some poignant things about her film. The image was unbelievably steady for a handheld. Yes, the iris closed down a little at full tele, but it was still decent exposure.

Not too much to worry about overall, I think.

Thanks Barlow - as always.

Your replies are very helpful. I'm crunching numbers tonight. Might be getting another HD100/deck as well. I've gotta settle down!

Very glad to hear that it's even good at 12db. That's way more than I'd ever like to use, but it's good to know it's there. Wish they had a 9db setting - not sure why not, as I figured that would be the highest I'd want to go, if 6db wasn't cutting it...

Biggest concern was the iris control. Was hoping it was a very smooth emulation of a manual iris ring. After researching and finding it was in 1/4 stops, I got worried.

Would you say that the iris is a dial with 'detents', or is it free rolling? Also, if you make a change up or down, is it instant and abrupt on the picture, or does it slowly roll to the next step electronically, so that there's no jump in the picture. What I don't want is to be doing an event, and having to iris up or down and having there be abrupt jumps in the exposure (click, click, click), rather than a smooth opening/closing that you could do on a manual ring.

Any final clarification would be awesome.

Thanks again so much,

Shawn

It's definitely not as smooth as a manual, it steps slightly, but I don't think it's all that abrupt.

btw, here are a few more m2t's for you, Shawn. One is to show eyeball focusing where I was in manual mode and did nothing auto. The peaking function is how I was able to achieve critical focus with the supposedly terrible EVF.

www.homepage.mac.com/mrbarlowelton

Hey.. nice footage. it was nice to see focus snap in on that shot. I really like the quality of the image. I have a HD100 that i love but more and more I am digging whats coming out of the canon..

How much CC was done to those clips?

Thanks very much Barlow. These are great clips...

I've gotta assume that they're 1440x1080 24F?

I tried to order one today for a Friday delivery, but they sold out yesterday. Was going to pick up another HD100 as well - this is giving me pause.

There are logistical things I don't care for on the Canon, but the images really seem to hold their own. I'm very anxious to stick this on the mini35 as well... I got decent results with a Z1 on the mini, so I'm just assuming that the H1 will rock on it...

Do you have any 60i .m2t's to look at (again, assuming these are 24F).

Any details to share on the camera settings as well (iris open, sharp settings, etc)?

Thanks again so much - I think I'm sold... ;)

No color correction in post at all, just straight from the camera m2t's. -3db, 24F, Cinegamma2

I have the Z1 & the HD100 - both of which I like - and sometimes dislike, based on capabilities in certain environments. It appears that the H1 can fill in gaps between, and maybe facilitate a tool for more event work, hopefully in environements that aren't as 'controlled'. All footage so far suggests this can be the case.

I think I've come to terms with the reality that I'll probably have to buy a bigger camera later this year - probably the Grass Valley Infinity - to do everything I want. The H1 is to fill in that gap in time, and be an awesome tool in the inventory as well.I'm prepping my HD investment and a Infinity 1080i shooting -> 24p at post it is a possibility over other two that I have: HD100 or Z1 (despite another HVX one).

Being you, Shawn, the owner of two of these cams and thinking to a Infinity purchase too, what's your thoughts about these different ways concerning to 35mm film-out?

A 2/3" CCD camera even interlaced it will be quite different than a 1/3" camcorder?

Considering also JPEG2000 10-bit & 110 megabits codec rather 8-bit 25 or 19 megabits HDV codec?

Even if the progressive is only possible to get at post? (and there with resolution losses or not?)

Thanks!

Shawn,

It was pretty bright inside the Sundance Resort lodge, and I'm fairly sure I was stopped down quite a bit w/ND32.

I've shot very little 60i thus far. Have you seen my SLC nightime shots? I've got a few that are 60i. I'll see if I can locate one.

Leuname,

I'm right in the middle with you brother... I'm kind of buying these things to figure out what my final HD workflow and path are going to be - at least to start... Expensive testing, but I've always been that way.

Can't answer much about the Infinity, but from what I've seen on paper, and in talking to the rep, it sounds pretty darn good. Only thing missing is 24p, but it may be addressed based on demand. I was most attracted to the true manual HD lens, and 2/3" structure, assuming/anticipating that there would/could be decent light sensitivity for events - plus all of the USB/Firewire outs for transfer, live HD recording, etc. I've got $20K into a hog of an Edius SP machine as well - so their purchase of Canopus may suggest a nice integration. Don't know much about the JPEG2000 format, other than the toted 4:2:2 HD capability. NAB is only months away - lots of questions...

Sorry - no film outs for me - I do event work and corporate rentals - and anything else that pays for this stuff.

I'm starting to think that the ideal toolkit by end of year for event work is going 1080 - with an Infinity (or big 1080i cam), an H1 and a Z1... It's like the story of the three bears...

We'll just have to see...

Thanks again Barlow for the clips. I had some bad experiences with my XL1 & service way back and haven't looked at Canon since - wouldn't even stop at the booth. Can't believe I'm looking again - you should work for them...

Gave all my money to JVC instead - bought 12 cameras actually. They have been wonderful to deal with.

Exciting times...

Exciting times, indeed! I've said this before, but I believe this "affordable" HD realm is an embarrassment of riches. It's hard to go wrong with any of these cameras, particularly if you know what you're doing.

>>>Do you have any 60i .m2t's to look at (again, assuming these are 24F).<<<

In a way, there is no such thing as 60i 24F. It's a progressive encoding within a 60i stream, a lot like the XL2 and DVX trick with NTSC. 24F is a flagged 24p stream within 60i. If you'd like to look at a regular 60i clip, I'll see what I can do.

I'm not out to convince anyone that the Canon XL-H1 is the only choice, just trying to help by showing some decent examples of what it's capable of.

It's funny, the more I see from the JVC, the more I dig it too. It'll be a tough choice between it and the HVX when I'm ready for another camera.

Sorry, accidental double post

Dude - I literally change my mind every night now!

These are all incredible tools.

The HD100 is great - it was recently used on a national insurance campaign as B-roll to a Varicam - client really liked it. The ROI is already there, 3 months...

The Z1 is just a cool little pocket knife - you can whittle with it, and you can full-on stab - amazing.

I'm floored by the H1 - looks incredible, and will probably have one within days.

I have two mini35's with a set of Zeiss super lenses as well - anxious to test the H1 on that, so that I can offer that as additional production and rental as well.

All incredible tools, but I'm running out of money too...

Would love to have a couple dozen beers with you guys at NAB if you're going. Funny - I used to look forward to Christmas - now it's NAB!

PS - I downloaded the 60i city clips before - I've been testing with those too brother - thanks!

BTW - we got caught in internet lingo on the previous post.

I should have said, do you have any clips of the same venue in 60i setting, as I was assuming the current were 24F (which you confirmed).

The day the specs came out, a friend and I were laughing about the 24F spec - thinking it was going to be along the lines of the Z1's 24 emulation.

It's pretty cool. Still have to play with it and test, as I expect I'll be using a 60i timeline a lot, trying to drop 24F clips in there as well. So far, Edius chunks right through them. Will have to see more clips with faster pans, etc (or create them myself soon).

Shawn, I have a 60i clip online called "Toobin'1". It's faster action. Sorry, no 60i in the same venue, but 60i is definitely more sensitive and it's very clean too.

www.homepage.mac.com/mrbarlowelton

Thanks again Barlow - I remember this little cutie from the 'fountain' footage. Those are my favorite clips - and she's adorable...

This is a great clip as well. Powerful cam - that's for sure.

Thanks again as always - you've been of tremendous help.

Thanks Shawn,

There are two others up. Toobin3 has a whip pan.

Awesome - I'm downloading them now - you're the king...

Meanwhile, I'm playing around with some of the Carlos .m2t's on the timeline, applying YUV curves, some color, contrast, etc, just to play around - very compelling clips and capabilities.

I'm also putting these clips in various editor projects/frame rates (1440x1080 24p, 30p, 60i projects, and 1280x720 24p, 30p, 60p projects), just to see how they look, react in realtime in Edius, etc. Might have to combine HD100 24p/30p clips with H1 24F/60i clips some day on the same timeline, so I'm trying to learn what would be the best global timeline to combine, or find transcoding options to scale certain clips up/down to match certain timelines, etc.

Thanks again,
Shawn

Cool. I would be interested to see what your findings are. How well do the two cameras intercut and what format, etc.

Keep us posted on your progress and your decision.

Meanwhile, I'm playing around with some of the Carlos .m2t's on the timeline, applying YUV curves, some color, contrast, etc, just to play around - very compelling clips and capabilities.

I'm also putting these clips in various editor projects/frame rates (1440x1080 24p, 30p, 60i projects, and 1280x720 24p, 30p, 60p projects), just to see how they look, react in realtime in Edius, etc. Might have to combine HD100 24p/30p clips with H1 24F/60i clips some day on the same timeline, so I'm trying to learn what would be the best global timeline to combine, or find transcoding options to scale certain clips up/down to match certain timelines, etc.

So tell me more about your Edius system. It sounds like it's a pretty powerful system to work with HDV. You have realtime component monitoring, right? What kind of realtime performance do you get, and do you work in that NX HD codec they have too? I've found the Kona card does indeed accelerate HDV with FCP, but I'm still not all that enamored of HDV as an editing format. It's ok, but it feels like a slight step backwards performance wise, so I prefer converting to DVCPROHD, and I will soon look at other formats such as AIC and PhotoJPEG.

Happy tweaking...

Just got the last two tube clips - thanks again.

I've been very happy with the Edius system. Exactly 53 weeks ago (to the day), my DVstorm system blew up - literally - on a tech's bench. He arc'ed across the power supply, fried the board, sparks, everything - it was a small trajedy and took me months to get back up.

So - I said heck with it, I'm going to get ready for HD and put some horsepower into the next machine, hopefully to get me through a couple years of whatever comes and however I expand.

Had Guy Graphics build this thing, and it turned into a monster - that's what they called it two. Dual Xeon 3.6, with a system drive, and 3 internal RAIDs - (13) 400 gig drives - 5.2TB, around the Canopus Edius SP card & breakout.

The new Edius 3.61 unlocked everything for the HD100 and other cameras with 24p, 30p, etc, and lets you view in realtime component for the HD settings, and both component and composite/S-Vid for the SD settings.

Seems to chunk through things very nicely - sometimes I need to hit Shift-Space to pre-buffer the playback, especially if there are filters/transitions, etc. The only time I've seen it choke are with tons of filters/streams, or if you're putting filters on clips that are outside the native project size (ie: putting a realtime filter on a 1440 60i clip inside a 1280 30p timeline). Sometimes it works hard to make that happen, but it'll do it!

I've just been dropping in the .m2t's that you've been putting on the net. If I ever want to create clips from the timeline, I export using the Canopus HQ codec, which I think is great. It captures to that too.

If you've got clips in the HQ codec, the system moves right along - it's optimized I guess. It seems like you can drop just about any clip/format you find directly on the timeline. Lastly, it has got to be the fastest SD machine I've ever seen. Took a couple of weeks to get used to it - can't do without it now...

Looking forward to the collaboration with Thomson/Grass Valley. I'm excited by the camera they are slated to come out with - could be a good thing from both side...

Thanks again for everything - pretty sure I'm going to grab one of these cams...

Wow, sounds like a kick arse system! I actually have a DVStorm2 card with a Dell that I bought over 3 years ago. Never used it as much as I thought I would, but I did enjoy the amazing real-time filters and transitions it offered.

Do they still have the "Old Movie" RT effect in the Edius HD system? I thought that was a pretty damn good effect, and amazingly you could put more filters on top of that one if you had a fairly fast P4.

Ahh, but I've learned that sometimes less is more.

Yep - that filter and all the others seem to have made it over. I like the real-time curves and color-correction as well. Hip system.

Barlow, is it just me or am I seeing lines all over the place when playing your clips? (clear lines that distort the image)

I'm viewing off a pc from wmp and vlc same thing on both.

Not sure what your problem is. Others haven't mentioned the issue.

I haven't noticed any problems... You may want to check your project settings so that they're 1440x1080. I've placed them in 24p, 30p and 60i projects - they look good. Put them in a regular SD DV 4x3 timeline as well and it downconverts nicely - no probs...

Oh wait - are you trying the .m2t's? I had to work a little bit with the previous .264 clips, and then noticed noise in them - but I think that was because of all of the transcoding involved. The .m2t's should be clean.

K all better, opened the clips up in Avid and all is good now. Seems the problem was windows media player and vlc, maybe i'm lacking a certain codec hmm who knows.

Beautiful clips by the way Barlow!

I'm grateful for your clips, Barlow.

Is there cinegamma -- 1, 2 in these clips or not?

And about the sound, do you think 4-channel 16-bit 192kbps enough for 35mm film-out work to big screen?

It was Cinegamma 2. That's the gamma curve that I like the best, but everything else was pretty much neutral. -3db 24F.

I wouldn't go with the 4 channel sound in the camera, unless it was somehow desperately needed. I haven't actually recorded to nor listened to the 4 channel 192 kbps sound, but if it's anywhere near the same quality of mp3 at that bit rate, it might be ok for dialog and the odd nat sounds you might need from a location.

If I'm making a movie with the H1, I would definitley do double-system sound. However, I have no qualms about acquiring in the H1's HDV 384 kbps sound. I've used it for broadcast TV and it's fine.

Stupid question.

Why can't I import the mt2 files into Final Cut Pro 5.0.x?

You can't. You have to demux them in MPEG streamclip, but even then I'm not sure FCP will handle 24p Mpeg2.

You might try converting them in said program to DVCPROHD and then importing into a DVCPROHD timeline to play around with them. You can also convert to AIC and other codecs.