Would P-spotlight have helped 60i mode on the left?

Here's how the HF10 looks like with a Cokin Series A filter holder and an AT Pro24 stereo microphone.

Here ya go:

60i:
http://www.vimeo.com/960647

30p:
http://www.vimeo.com/960652

24p:
http://www.vimeo.com/960659

The clips are very short, so better loop them. Note that they are 1280x720 resolution. When I try to create full resolution 1920x1080, the rendered files stutter.

Workflow:
HF10 in AE mode -> export of files to iMovie 08 -> added title in iMovie -> "Share" -> "Export using Quicktime" (Compression full quality, frame time either 60, 30, or 24)

Stan, you got me pointed in the right direction. I increased the size of the pagefile and that got rid of the error warning. Then I rendered the same test clips that wouldn't render previously to an AVCHD file and then to a hi def MPEG4 file.

Both played great. So I thank you for your analysis and suggestions. I'll reset the cam to 1920x1080 and run more tests. This is just in time as I'll be spending most of the weekend at Ft. Chadbourne (an old Texas fort that the Chadbourne Ranch landowner is restoring) doing video of the annual event held there. Period re-enactors including cavalry, buffalo hunters, traders, minstrel show and more.

Thanks again.

OK, here's a nice trick on the HF10...

Try using Night mode combined with the black/white digital effect and manually reduce the exposure a few steps... very nice for certain applications. The chroma noise from the gain up turns to a lower level luma noise, which gets reduced even more by reducing the exposure, you end up with a really nice looking monochrome night shot for that "covert video" look... I think this is more useful to me than just the straight Night mode. I'll try and post something on Vimeo.

Michael

Awesome, I'm glad that it worked! I look forward to seeing some of those Ft. Chadbourne videos! :)

Stefan, your rig look CUTE, seriously! I like it. Well done.

On page files; I have been told to set page files at double my RAM, so if you have 1 Gig of RAM the page file would be set at 2048 MB (2 gigs) up to the maximum (windows XP) of 4096 MB (4 gigs) I have done this but it does not seem to make much difference. Also to set both minimum and maximum at the same value.

My HF100 arrived yesterday from B&H (you wouldn't believe the price!).

One thing I'd like to mention is that it's not as silver looking as the pics on Canon's website. It's more of a smokey grey -- looks classy.

I haven't had a chance to do any outdoor shooting yet since I woke up to 5 inches of snow on the ground, and it's still coming down.

Congrats, Paul! Looking forward to your clips!

totally diverging here: Does anyone know the full story of B&H and their 'holidays'?

to close up for 2-3 weeks in APril???waz up with that?!

They are Jewish orthodox, so they close for all of the major holidays on the Hebrew calendar. Their recent closing was for Passover, which traditionally lasts 8 days. Most years, Passover occurs closer to Easter, so it seemed out of place this year. They also don't accept orders on Saturday (Sabbath) since you're not supposed to earn money during that time.

Thanks for the explanation! that fills in the blanks.

Done lots of business there with my Canon lenses shopping and HG10 accessories...

Yeah - a little off topic, but I've been buying stuff from them for close to 20 years and although they've never had the absolute lowest prices, they've always had great customer service. I've only received a few defective items over the years, but I've never had any problems exchanging them, even when the defect was sort of nebulous like "the image sharpness isn't quite as good as it should be in the lower left corner of the image". I'll pay a few extra $ for the better customer service.

Can any 37mm lens hood, fit the HF-10? I found some on the internet (both squared and round shaped).

I don't see any other hood brand that is available for this camera, except for Stefan's Cokin Series A filter holder + hood.

Can anyone share, with pictures?

HF100 color rendition...
 

Spent some time shooting some family events this weekend. While at it, I shot some colorful objects. I used some of the white balance presets (not AWB) and manual WB. With the exception of some mixed-lighting situations, color was spot on -- including red.

I was testing the HF10 under "real world" conditions yesterday and tried to shoot some footage of drummers in a park. Below is a link to the clip. I am toying with the idea of making a documentary about the roots of jazz and thought that this could be a good start.

Everything was shot with a 24p frame rate and in 'cinema' mode and automatic controls. Audio is from the camera-mounted AT Pro24 stereo mic, which I think does a pretty good job. Anyway, just have a look and let me know what you think. Please keep in mind that VIMEO substantially degraded the quality of the footage, so the actual shots look WAY better. Unfortunately, the 3-min clip occupies more than 1 GB of disk space in full resolution, so clearly, I cannot upload the high resolution version.

http://www.vimeo.com/980003

Does the camera have f-stops on the LCD? Does the camera have zebra pattern?

The camera can display the f-number, and that can be manually controlled. I don't remember if it's shown all the time or not.

I can't find any information on zebra striping.

No zebras. When shooting in Tv (shutter priority) mode, you can view which f/stop the camera chooses by pressing the photo button halfway. You can lock that exposure (and adjust it up or down a couple of stops) by pressing the Exposure Lock option with the joystick.

Another observation: In addition to not having zebra stripes, the LCD display is very high contrast (at least to me) and there's no adjustment for it other than the brightness of the backlight - highlights look clipped on the LCD even when they're not really clipped in the video. I think they do that so that the LCD is more visible in bright lighting (outdoors), but it means that without zebra stripes, the usefulness of manual exposure might be somewhat limited unless you happen to be using an external monitor while shooting (assuming the camera outputs video during record mode, which I don't know if it does).

I made some changes to my setup:

I added an Azden SGM-X shotgun mic. I picked that mic because it is one of the smallest shot gun mics and has the right connector (mini plug, no XLR). Also, the shock mount fits into the mini-shoe by filing off a tiny amount (about 1mm on each side) of the plastic holder. Since the shock mount has a rubber suspension, handling noise from touching/operating the camcorder is not an issue anymore as the rubber suspension absorbs these vibrations very effectively. I still use the AT Pro24 stereo mic when I need a stereo signal. Both mics give excellent audio.

I also added a Hoodman HD-300 16x9 LCD hood which is fantastic! Shooting in bright day light is finally not a problem anymore. I highly recommend the Hoodman.

A kept the Cokin Series A filter holder (poor man's matte box) and added a few filters. I think the size of the Cokin Series A is perfect for the cam, so I'll def keep it. I might add a second modular hood.

Overall, I am very happy with the setup.

Chris,

When I push the photo button halfway in Tv mode all I get is a flashing red icon indicating that it's not in photo recording mode. I don't see any indication of the f/stop setting. Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks,
Paul

Nevermind....
 

I had to enable the still photo capability while in movie mode. Thanks for the great tip!!

Wouldn't the gun mic be blocking your zoom controls? How do you get around using the zoom then, via the remote?

I can still access the zoom controls, no problems, but I am thinking about mounting the remote on the fluid head's pan bar.

That'll be a perfect choice. However, the infrared LED on the remote, has to be aligned with the LCD (sensor) for it to work properly. I remember someone has "hacked" an infra-red to work on a small tubing (or is it?) and work flawlessly, no matter where the infrared LED is facing. But that was another camera!

I'm still rigging up my RODE VideoMic onto my HF-10. Oh by the way, mine's the 25p version.

The problem with the remote is that the zoom has only one (fixed) speed, so I prefer the control on the camcorder.

"Hacking" the remote so it works no matter if there is a line of sight to the lcd screen where the sensor is located is a great idea! Do you know where I can find that thread? I think it would be simple to attach a fiber optics cable to the remote and connect it to the sensor.

Look in the HV20 threads, there should be some pictures and ideas for a remote hack in there! Basically a short digital optical cable, one end on remote, other on camera... bingo!

So I'm ready to shoot my documentary :-)

Would you recommend that I shoot in 1920x1080 or in 1440x1080 if the documentary is intended for film festivals? My editing suite is Final Cut Express 4, which I believe doesn't support full 1920, or am I missing something? It seems that the 1920 mode of the HF10 is interpolating between pixel (so it's not native 1920), so the native resolution isn't any better than 1440. So my question, I guess, is:

Is 1440x1080 a high enough resolution for film festivals?

Thanks!

Anyone notice screen lag on HF10/100 LCD Viewfinder?
 

I've had my HF100 for about a week and am generally very happy with it. But my camera has a very noticeable screen lag - probably .1-.2 seconds. At 1st, I thought it was the image stabilizer. But it persisted with the IS turned off. For handheld shooting it wasn't much of a problem, but when shooting telephoto on a tripod, it was impossible to make tiny movements b/c I wouldn't get any feedback until after I started the move. Is this just my camera or is this some sort of processing latency effecting the LCD?

FCE 4 has not given me any problems at 1920x1080 / FXP mode at any frame rate. It seems to be truly native 1920, but if you look too closely, then you're probably going to see some of the encoding losses.

I don't know. But if they accept HDV sourced videos, then they already do accept it.

My HF10 has the same annoying time lag. I first thought it is the image stabilization, but as you pointed out, it's now.

Here's what I use. 37-52mm stepup ring, 52mm UV filter, and Hama hood for 52mm (clamps over 52mm filter ring. Ordered from B&H photo). If I can successfully attach a photo, that is what is shown.

It does block the Instant Autofocus sensor but regular autofocus works, just be aware it may take a second or so.

I find this to be a very effective hood for the lens built into the camera. Any wide angle or telephoto aux lenses will likely require their own hoods. And with this cam I consider a hood absolutely necessary.

Bruce -- that's a sexy looking camcorder you have there! ;-)

What lcd hood is that? I have the Hoodman 16:9, but this one seems to be different.

Cinetactics screen hoodie 30. From www.cinetactics.com

More solid than the hoodman product and I can push it far enough towards the cam body to use the joystick, and when necessary I can shove part of it up just enough so I can press the function button to get menus.

shoots 29.97 in 24P mode?!!?

Terrible. This is my biggest gripe with this camera.

Huh? Name one single consumer AVCHD camcorder that doesn't do it that way.

question regarding included software
 

does the software included with the canon HF10/100 allow you to transcode or export the video files to usable formats for the PC ..... FCP works like a charm I've found but on the PC side I'm having trouble .... I'm using a loaner that did not come with software so I have no way of checking my self and cannot find a definitive answer on the web ...


thank you in advance

Chris, if you're referring to 24P in 60i, the Panasonic SD consumer cams (SD9 for sure, and probably SD5 as well) don't do it that way. The 24P files are true 24P and don't require inverse pulldown.