Casio EX-F1 720p30 video- impressive!

Steve Mullen · February 22nd, 2009, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Smith

Hi Jay
I was browsing around and saw your comment on having both the F1 and the D90. I've been using the F1 quite a bit and trying to get the hi-speed down for weapon testing at 300-600 fps (had the fh20 but video was too small). Is there any definitive info in one place on using the F1? Also what is the prefered editing program, as the video is making some viewers dizzy even when played back in the camera. I have a D90 but havn't used it since I picked up the F1, I can return the D90 to Costco in the next 60 days. What are your thoughts on the F1 compared to the D90 for video? I have a HVX200 but am in the process of learning how to use it.

There is about ZERO info on the F1. I'm still exploring it.

I really like iMovie 09 because I can edit it natively (no conversion to something else) in REAL-TIME.

If there were tons more buyers I'd do a book. But, we are a tiny minority cause everyone thinks the Nikon simply must be better. It ain't, as we know, but Nikon sells anyway.

Hans Brauer · February 25th, 2009, 07:00 PM

I have the F1 and use Vegas9 platinum for editing, everything besides the 1080i mode (doesn't look better than 720P but grinds my computer to a halt.).
No conversion, and in real-time as far as I can tell.
Works like a charm and is very user friendly for me as a beginner.
Se my testmovie at vimeo:

Slomo test in the snow and a bird in the end on Vimeo

I love my F1, just waiting for some decent weather. The F1 was the only option for me, I used to have two analogue cameras, one Nikon F65 and a 8mm camcorder and the problems was that I usually took the wrong equipment with me. It's a decent still-image camera and an amazing camcorder if used properly. Thanks again Steve for all you hard work investigating this camera!

Janne Miettinen · March 4th, 2009, 01:30 AM

I just ordered the Casio ex-f1, and I probably will get the SteadyTracker UltraLite with it. Is it an ok combination? Will do some wedding shooting with them (not the whole wedding, just some footage). SteadyTracker is cheap and really lightweight, and probably will do the trick.

One other thing. I was considering of getting the Raynox HD-7062PRO (Raynox HD-7062PRO, HD-7000PRO 0.7X High-Quality Wideangle Conversion Lens for Digital Video Camcorder). It is an 0,7x wide-angle converter. It should fit the ex-f1 straight with the 62mm threads. Have I understood correctly, that when shooting 720p the ex-f1 has an agle of view of approx. 45mm? And when shooting 300fps it is 36mm? Therefore those numbers would be 31,5mm (720p) and 25,2mm (300fps) with the Raynox converter. Am I correct here?

edit: The Raynox website claims that the 52mm threaded 0,7x wide-angle converter DCR-730 would work too without vignetting (of course I need an 52-62 adaptor). It would be half the price: about 75€ vs. 160€. But will it vignette using 300fps video or taking 6mpix pictures? 720p should be fine, as it is approx. 45mm from what I've read.

http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/digi...ASIO_EX_F1.pdf
http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/dcr/dcr730/index.htm

Steve Mullen · March 4th, 2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janne Miettinen

I just ordered the Casio ex-f1, and I probably will get the SteadyTracker UltraLite with it. Is it an ok combination? Will do some wedding shooting with them (not the whole wedding, just some footage). SteadyTracker is cheap and really lightweight, and probably will do the trick.

One other thing. I was considering of getting the Raynox HD-7062PRO (Raynox HD-7062PRO, HD-7000PRO 0.7X High-Quality Wideangle Conversion Lens for Digital Video Camcorder). It is an 0,7x wide-angle converter. It should fit the ex-f1 straight with the 62mm threads. Have I understood correctly, that when shooting 720p the ex-f1 has an agle of view of approx. 45mm? And when shooting 300fps it is 36mm? Therefore those numbers would be 31,5mm (720p) and 25,2mm (300fps) with the Raynox converter. Am I correct here?

I'm not familiar with the SteadyTracker UltraLite, but please let us know how it works for you.

I'd go with the direct mount just cause it seems simpler. Your numbers seem correct and the 32mm would really be a big help.

Janne Miettinen · March 4th, 2009, 04:32 PM

The SteadyTracker UltraLite is really light and the EX-F1 isn't too heavy either. It should be a light-enough-combo to use for 20 minutes per hour. Or at least I hope so. :) I've read that SteadyTracker isn't optimal for panning, but I'll still try to use it for that. The next options are much more expensive, so I'll just have to see what kind of results I'll get with that combo.

EX-F1 will be my first video camera. It's time to see how a photographer can use his experience in the world of motion. :)
Here is a link to my website: Valokuvaaja Janne Miettinen - Häävalokuvaus, hääkuvaaja

Steve Mullen · March 4th, 2009, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janne Miettinen

The SteadyTracker UltraLite is really light and the EX-F1 isn't too heavy either. It should be a light-enough-combo to use for 20 minutes per hour. Or at least I hope so. :) I've read that SteadyTracker isn't optimal for panning, but I'll still try to use it for that. The next options are much more expensive, so I'll just have to see what kind of results I'll get with that combo.

Nice work. But what's Trash the Dress?

PS: I found out when I though the F1 was broken because it wouldn't focus -- that even left turned off for weak, it holds the Manual Focus mode!

Janne Miettinen · March 9th, 2009, 02:35 AM

What good and easy editing program should I use with h.264 video? I think Avids and Sonys programs are too complicated for me, because I'm a beginner in video editing. I would use Proshow Producer, but it doesn't support h.264. One solution would be to convert the h.264 into something the Proshow Producer understands, but I would rather use some other program.

Steve Mullen · March 9th, 2009, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janne Miettinen

What good and easy editing program should I use with h.264 video? I think Avids and Sonys programs are too complicated for me, because I'm a beginner in video editing. I would use Proshow Producer, but it doesn't support h.264. One solution would be to convert the h.264 into something the Proshow Producer understands, but I would rather use some other program.

Vegas Movie Studio and iMovie 09.

Janne Miettinen · March 15th, 2009, 09:03 AM

I've done some experimenting with this camera, and I think that the Dynamic Range adjustment doesn't affect the videos at all. I too like the look that Contrast +2 and Saturation +1 gives to the videos.

Steve Mullen · March 16th, 2009, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janne Miettinen

I've done some experimenting with this camera, and I think that the Dynamic Range adjustment doesn't affect the videos at all. I too like the look that Contrast +2 and Saturation +1 gives to the videos.

It does. It raises the upper IRE from 100IRE to 108IRE which you can see via HDMI, but likely not after editing which limits peak to 100IRE.

Janne Miettinen · March 20th, 2009, 04:34 AM

My EX-F1 doesn't seem to offer much better noise reduction in Portrait-mode than in other BS-modes (or when not using BS at all). Only solution to suppress low light noise seems to be to increase the contrast. Or am I missing something here?

Laurentiu Todie · April 10th, 2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

There is about ZERO info on the F1. I'm still exploring it.

I really like iMovie 09 because I can edit it natively (no conversion to something else) in REAL-TIME.

If there were tons more buyers I'd do a book. But, we are a tiny minority cause everyone thinks the Nikon simply must be better. It ain't, as we know, but Nikon sells anyway.

Could you ask Casio if they'd buy the book from you to promote the camera?
(the book would come not only as a manual, but an endorsement from the community of users IMO)

Janne Miettinen · June 18th, 2009, 05:55 AM

New controller software is available!

EX-F1 Controller 1.000 Software Download: Casio Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Steve Paterson · September 13th, 2009, 07:15 PM

I recently bought an EX-F1, largely for the high speed functions. But, I like to record HD movies. I do this in manual focus mode because this avoids the slight pulsing that you get when autofocus goes back & forth slightly around the desired focus setting.

The unfortunate thing about manual focus during video recording is that you cannot change the focus during shooting. So, if I'm shooting a video & I zoom in on something, I cannot adjust the focus. If you use autofocus, it will adjust focus when zooming, but the slight pulsing is undesirable.

Does anyone know if there is a way to manually change the focus during video recording?

Steve Mullen · September 19th, 2009, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Paterson

If you use autofocus, it will adjust focus when zooming, but the slight pulsing is undesirable.

Pulsing of exposure or focus?

March 4th, 2009, 01:30 AM	#93
Janne Miettinen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Espoo, Finland Posts: 12	I just ordered the Casio ex-f1, and I probably will get the SteadyTracker UltraLite with it. Is it an ok combination? Will do some wedding shooting with them (not the whole wedding, just some footage). SteadyTracker is cheap and really lightweight, and probably will do the trick. One other thing. I was considering of getting the Raynox HD-7062PRO (Raynox HD-7062PRO, HD-7000PRO 0.7X High-Quality Wideangle Conversion Lens for Digital Video Camcorder). It is an 0,7x wide-angle converter. It should fit the ex-f1 straight with the 62mm threads. Have I understood correctly, that when shooting 720p the ex-f1 has an agle of view of approx. 45mm? And when shooting 300fps it is 36mm? Therefore those numbers would be 31,5mm (720p) and 25,2mm (300fps) with the Raynox converter. Am I correct here? edit: The Raynox website claims that the 52mm threaded 0,7x wide-angle converter DCR-730 would work too without vignetting (of course I need an 52-62 adaptor). It would be half the price: about 75€ vs. 160€. But will it vignette using 300fps video or taking 6mpix pictures? 720p should be fine, as it is approx. 45mm from what I've read. http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/digi...ASIO_EX_F1.pdf http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/dcr/dcr730/index.htm Last edited by Janne Miettinen; March 4th, 2009 at 05:39 AM.

February 25th, 2009, 07:00 PM	#92
Hans Brauer New Boot Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lomma, Sweden Posts: 6	I have the F1 and use Vegas9 platinum for editing, everything besides the 1080i mode (doesn't look better than 720P but grinds my computer to a halt.). No conversion, and in real-time as far as I can tell. Works like a charm and is very user friendly for me as a beginner. Se my testmovie at vimeo: Slomo test in the snow and a bird in the end on Vimeo I love my F1, just waiting for some decent weather. The F1 was the only option for me, I used to have two analogue cameras, one Nikon F65 and a 8mm camcorder and the problems was that I usually took the wrong equipment with me. It's a decent still-image camera and an amazing camcorder if used properly. Thanks again Steve for all you hard work investigating this camera!

March 4th, 2009, 04:32 PM	#95
Janne Miettinen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Espoo, Finland Posts: 12	The SteadyTracker UltraLite is really light and the EX-F1 isn't too heavy either. It should be a light-enough-combo to use for 20 minutes per hour. Or at least I hope so. :) I've read that SteadyTracker isn't optimal for panning, but I'll still try to use it for that. The next options are much more expensive, so I'll just have to see what kind of results I'll get with that combo. EX-F1 will be my first video camera. It's time to see how a photographer can use his experience in the world of motion. :) Here is a link to my website: Valokuvaaja Janne Miettinen - Häävalokuvaus, hääkuvaaja

March 9th, 2009, 02:35 AM	#97
Janne Miettinen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Espoo, Finland Posts: 12	What good and easy editing program should I use with h.264 video? I think Avids and Sonys programs are too complicated for me, because I'm a beginner in video editing. I would use Proshow Producer, but it doesn't support h.264. One solution would be to convert the h.264 into something the Proshow Producer understands, but I would rather use some other program.

March 15th, 2009, 09:03 AM	#99
Janne Miettinen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Espoo, Finland Posts: 12	I've done some experimenting with this camera, and I think that the Dynamic Range adjustment doesn't affect the videos at all. I too like the look that Contrast +2 and Saturation +1 gives to the videos.

March 20th, 2009, 04:34 AM	#101
Janne Miettinen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Espoo, Finland Posts: 12	My EX-F1 doesn't seem to offer much better noise reduction in Portrait-mode than in other BS-modes (or when not using BS at all). Only solution to suppress low light noise seems to be to increase the contrast. Or am I missing something here?

June 18th, 2009, 05:55 AM	#103
Janne Miettinen New Boot Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Espoo, Finland Posts: 12	New controller software is available! EX-F1 Controller 1.000 Software Download: Casio Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

September 13th, 2009, 07:15 PM	#104
Steve Paterson Tourist Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 1	I recently bought an EX-F1, largely for the high speed functions. But, I like to record HD movies. I do this in manual focus mode because this avoids the slight pulsing that you get when autofocus goes back & forth slightly around the desired focus setting. The unfortunate thing about manual focus during video recording is that you cannot change the focus during shooting. So, if I'm shooting a video & I zoom in on something, I cannot adjust the focus. If you use autofocus, it will adjust focus when zooming, but the slight pulsing is undesirable. Does anyone know if there is a way to manually change the focus during video recording?