A testing update on this anomaly
 

Here's a post today I made to the VX2k Yahoo forum where a fellow has exactly same video defects, but with totally different setup.

Have used 3 different s-video cables with exact same results! Weird...

--------
Jim,

Amazing coincidence here, but completely different conditions. I have the exact same 'jerking', 'smearing', tearing kind of defect in some DV footage of a local park. I was doing a camera test, and panning about 75 degrees in 8 seconds or so. I felt very sick when I saw the defects, but am currently totally confused as to what the problem is. Like a vertical rippling effect across the picture with the 'smears/tears' occuring in top part of picture only.

I was testing my new Z1 camera by recording to HDV tape. To save running the Z1 over and over to check footage (lots of different settings tested) I downconverted to DV SP. The video went from Z1 HDV tape - through Z1 downconvert - to Sony GVD900 minDV recorder at DV SP setting. (NOT LP). Here is what I found: (Hence the sick feeling at first thinking the Z1 downconvert was duff.)

1. 'Anomolies' appear ONLY on my home widescreen Panasonic 28" TV.
2. 'Anomolies' appear ONLY when using s-video playback to TV. Ok on composite.
3. Playback is perfect on studio Sony 14" monitor (widescreen or 4:3). s-video or composite.
4. Playback perfect on studio Panasonic 4:3 22" TV (although stretched vertically of course). s-video or comp.
5. Playback perfect direct from Z1 via s-video or composite to anything.
6. Playback 'anomolies' via s-video occur using the GVD900, a GVD300, or my old TRV900 camcorder!!

So. Where do we go from here??? My only conclusion so far is that 'something' on the recorded DV tape is upsetting my widescreen TV picture. But what??? And will it reappear elsewhere?

Hope that helps. It isn't your LP setting. And with different cameras in use, it seems the only common thing is the DV format, and maybe you have an old Panasonic widescreen TV too??? Model TC28WG12G. (??)

Richard
Hong Kong


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Subject: [vx2k] Anomolies when using LP on VX2K?


Is it "normal" to see "anomolies" when recording in LP mode on the VX2K?

I don't know what the right term for "anomolies" would be, but I'm seeing mall areas of the picture do a slight jerking or smearing when recording in LP mode.

It seems to occur usually when the camcorder is doing quick pans or being quickly moved about setting up for the next shot in a live music concert environment.

Is using TDK 60 minute tapes and have Super Steadyshot turned on.

A set segment sometimes goes as long as 1.5 hours, so I'd like to use LP so I don't have to change tapes in the middle of the action.

So, is what I'm seeing "normal", i.e. I should not use LP and use SP?

Thanks!
Jim M

Etymotic earplugs - question for spot
 

Spot,

I know that you have both a Z1 and Etymotics ER6 earplugs, so I guess that you are the best person to ask this.

Do the ER6's give enough output for good quality monitoring on the Z1? I want to go down the earplug route for many reasons when I travel light - and had toyed with the idea of getting the less accurate, but higher output ER6i's if the 6's were not loud enough with the Z1.

Thanks for any advice.

Graeme

HDR-FX1 Minimum light spec. is 3 lux, F1.6
 

My Sony TRV900 has same spec. yet is 4 times faster than my FX1. Am wondering if FX1 needs servicing.

Z1U used in movie "Fever Pitch"
 

Hey, I got my latest issue of "HighDef" magazine...

DP Greg Le Duc used the Sony Z1U for the ending credits in "Fever Pitch"!

Check out Greg Le Duc's site:
http://home.earthlink.net/~leducdesign/index2.html

I'm going to Netflix the DVD and check it out..

If you don't subscribe to HighDef - I'd do it.

www.highdef.com

FX1 Help shutter speed
 

Hi

Please could someone tell me when you would need to use a shutter speed of 10000? And the same goes for 25 when would you use this kind of slow shutter speed for?

Anything less than 60 you will get motion blur if you have moving objects
on the footage. For slow motion in post, it would be best to up this to 125 or higher. Slower shutter speeds also are used when working with lower lighting, but then again my first statement would come into play.

The higher shutter speeds would be used for high motion shots, eg fast moving vehicles, action shots in sports etc. I verseldom go

I would really suggest some testing so that you can ascertain for yourself which setting would suit your shot.

Most shooters tend to find shutter speed settings for certain types of shots and use these as a marker for adjustment

Cheers

Sony HDR-FX1 video.... wmvHD compression
 

Do not stream... download the video and watch!

161+ megabytes wmvHD 1080 compression



http://www.lifeinneworleans.com/vide...er-singers.wmv


Thanks

Nice. But I recommend deinterlacing it, as you get heavy horizontal lines when watched on a PC Monitor. Even in 1080 but mainly in 720 downscaling.

Greetings

Peter

best quality
 

In regards to watching videos off the fx1/z1, which will give me the best output for visual and audio quality..using component out or the IEEE 1394 thing. Cause I hear mixed answers when I ask local sales reps.

Thanks

If it's already recorded on tape, then the 1394 firewire output will be the best quality you can possibly get.

If you're not recording to tape, and just using the camera as a live-feed head, then the analog component outputs would be your best bet.

Z1u or FX1 footage in Mexico
 

Hi,

Is there anyone in the Mexico City area with a Z1U or FX1 that is available for camera work? If so, please conact me ASAP.

Regards,
Garius Hill
Producer
NYC
MuseCycle Media

Garius- I'm in San Miguel Allende , which is 3 hours north- drop me a note at kurthbousman@hotmail.com- thanks- Kurth-ps I've got a z1 w/pmac running finalcut studio

Sony's TV commercial
 

Sony has just started to advertise HDV.
Ever since Sony officially anounced the release of HDR-FX1, they had advertised the whole corporate effort on development of high definition video products (including the product images of Cinealta, HDCAM, HDR-FX1 and HVR-Z1J), the next one was an independent product advertisement of already well accepted HDR-HC1. Now the latest commertial is a high qualitiy looking advertisement of general ideas about HDV but stricktly using some product image cuts of HDR-FX1.

I see HC1 all over my town (Shibuya), oftenly held by young girls shooting themselves (this could be some kind of campaign effort).

They are flooding the market with HDV before Panasonic is releasing AG-HVX200.

Good price on Z1--dealer repuatable?
 

http://fhvideo.com/item.php?id=318
Is anyone familiar with FHVideo? They seem reputable...

I went to Sony's Broadcast and Business website, and it doesn't turn this company up as an authorized dealer. Of course that doesn't mean they are not. Why do you think they "seem reputable?" Are they located near you? If not, then why do you want to purchase from them?

That link doesn't show a price for the z1. Last time I checked at B&H they were selling the Z1 for $4,800 and that's pretty close to the price I've seen at other reputable companies. If someone advertises anything substantially below that it's a red flag.

Here at DVinfo we urge you to support our sponsors since they make this site possible, and they have all been screened for value, integrity and service. You'll find a complete list here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/sponsors/

I need five (5) ZI cams in Dublin for early Sept
 

We have a simple five (5) cam shoot in Dublin for a single day between Mon 12th to Sat 17th.

We need SonyHDV--- HDV-Z1 or HDR-FX1 with experienced operators. We prefer NTSC. Several will be on sticks. Audio will be separate from the sound board.

Please email me directly with rate and availability.

douglas@concertshooters.com

Besides Connect HD from Cineform...
 

What can capture m2t files from the Sony HDR-FX1 for use in Vegas6?


Kind regards...

Vegas can capture m2t's on it's own, if you're using Vegas 6. There is also CapDVHS. Visit the HDV portal on the VASST site to download it (free) or you can also Google for it.

FX1 Indy Movie Help
 

I am planning to make a film with my HDR-FX1, and I was just in to see if anyone can help me out as to how good I can get it look. I could have bought the 100A if I wanted, but I thought the HDR was the next wave, and if I did proper editing and got good tutorials on how to make an FX1 film actually look like film, was to ask some of you guys.

My current editing solutions are as followed:

Adobe Primiere 1.5
SONY Vegas 6.0 w/ DVD Architect 3

PC Specs:

Pentium 4 CPU 2.66 GHz
1 GB RAM DDR
nVidia Geforce FX 5700LE 256MB
180 GB Hard Drive Space

Hi Jesse,

The topic of how to get a "film look" from a video camcorder has been so popular around here that we devoted an entire forum to it. Take a look through all of the discussions there and you'll find loads of helpful information. The link is:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=34

HDR-FX1 for stock video projects?
 

I've recently come across some opportunities to sell stock video, and although I can get some great images with my Canon GL2, the HDR-FX1's HD would obviously be an advantage. I'm considering pulling out the plastic and getting the HDR-FX1, but before I do, I'd appreciate some feedback from current owners.

One question I have is regarding the FX1's audio. I've read varying reports about whether it's all that easy to manually set recording levels -- something I've come to rely upon with the GL2. Is this manual feature well implemented?

The HDR-FX1's lack of XLR inputs isn't necessarily a problem for me at this point, I've managed to work around it with the GL2. How do you FX1 owners deal with external microphones?

I hadn't considered making the jump to HD just yet, but I just upgraded to Final Cut Pro, which has the capavility, and being able to offer native 16:9 footage in HD to the stock market strikes me as being good business.

Does this thinking make sense?

Leigh

Shooting HDV for film transfer
 

I just finished the DV Film class in Austin on shooting video for transfer to film. The two day class was worth the money but if you can't get to the class I highly recommend their book "Shooting Digital" by Marcus Van Bavel - about $25. This guy taught the class has made two feature length films, been in festivals plus transferred many video projects to film. He covers all aspects of filmwork from a good understanding on the HDV compression process and what a good program does with it (like Vegas), creating DOF and what processes you can and can't do for good transfer. I was looking for the best workflow for editing that could produce a good DVD and a good film later. I got what I was looking for.

Fast and easy rough cut of m2t files
 

I've used Womble for a couple of years to cut mpg2 files and splice together without reencoding (as in recording TV shows and cutting out commercials without losing quality). After trying several things to play back m2t files (MPEG-2 Transport ) quickly, I dropped one in Womble and was surprised to see I could not only play it but cut it quickly, splice a couple of shots together and almost instantly have a rough cut to show talent or a client. (It wouldn't be good for a final version because it could cut on a reduced information frame whereas a program like Vegas would fill all the infomation in. But was it still HDV?)

So I wrote Womble tech, "When Womble cuts an m2t file and saves it, does it save as m2t or something else? And if something else, what?" The reply was intersting:
1. The "Automatic" setting will save the edited project as MPEG-2 Transport, if the main content of video is MPEG-2 Transport.
2. Otherwise, you will need to explicitly select the output format as MPEG-2 Transport from the "General" page of the Export window, after selecting "Custom" for the export template which is the same as "Automatic" except that the export job will not start right away.
3. "m2t" is not in the list of export file name xtension, but you can change it by hand, also in the "General" page. We will need to do a better job in terms of preserving the file name extension for the export file.
You can expect this change in the next upate.

Some of you might find this useful. If you want to try it, you can download a free trial at www.womble.com
Both their programs handle m2t.

Is there a good low cost wide-angle lens available?
 

How much should I expect to pay? Where do I buy it?

Thanks

skintone detail type 1, 2 & 3
 

what kind of results can i expect from using the skintone detail settings?

should i use them?

my subject is always complaining about how much detail the camera shows. so i was wondering if using skintone detail would reduce facial wrinkles and blemishes by reducing contrast?

or how does it work?

thanks

joel

Bogen 523PRO Lanc
 

I have a HVR-Z1U, thinking about buying this controller, anyone used one? good, bad points, or should I get a Varizoom?

Thanks

Z1 playback
 

Had a field producer I work with last night call and during playback in VCR mode looking at LCD screen of camera he said when he presses play to review video he shot that only a blue screen with time code rolling shows on LCD screen. When he presses play and holds down the fast forward or rewind the picture shows up on the LCD screen, but when he presses play by itself he only gets a blue screen with time code rolling. He was shooting in HDV mode and using sony digital master tape. There is video on the tape but only shows up when fast forward or rewinding in play mode. Any suggestions on whats going on would be greatly appreciated.

Check the playback mode in the menu (sorry, my camera isn't here right now). There are options to play back as DV, HDV or auto. If it's set to DV and you recorded HDV you would have a problem, however an error message should appear on the screen telling you the format is wrong.

Other than that, I can't think of anything. Is he sure that the camera is set to VCR mode and not camera mode? That would be a problem also....

best case for the FX1?
 

Hello

Can someone advise me of what is the best carry case to get for the FX1? iv looked at the LCS-VCB but a bit over priced in my opinion for what it is, so if anyone can make some suggestions for a different case that would be great.

Thanks

This topic has been discussed at great length already. Please see the following:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=39573

I'm wondering about this too. I tried different skintone setting but couldn't see any visible differences?

Is anyone here going to the USA sometime soon?
 

Hi

Is anyone here going to the USA sometime soon? iv been trying all day to get hold of the LCS-VA60 bag for my FX1 and Sony told me they don’t sell it in the UK. if anyone is taking a trip out to the USA and could bring back this bag for me I would be very grateful indeed and I could easily send a cheque to you and you could send me the bag its only around $44.

Thanks

What exactly about cinetone
 

Hi :)

Reading through the setting thread I wonder what the cinetone does. Is is simply a S-shaped curve with a less and a more extreme shape ?

Or is there a bigger secret ? :)

Thanks!

Peter

Data Stream- error/breaks (FX1) ?
 

I'm, getting an unusally high amount of "data stream" errors/brakes (something like this ??) while trying to batch capture using FCP5. I can't seem to get the footage into the Mac because of these errors or breaks. The tape shows consistent timecode and the numbers roll along well- but FCP5 warns of these "breaks" and aborts the capture of the clips in question (and I have FCP set to capture even if t/c breaks are present and warn later.)

I know I can always use the "capture now" button but it's not a convenient way to capture as I'll have to manually sit and capture each clip seperately as well as name them after each capture- this is most bothersome.

I'm using Sony DVM60ME tapes and have cleaned the heads with a head cleaner.....I'm stumped!

Are you guys experiencing this as well? Any workarounds?
Why does this happen?

( Can't wait to get the FS-4 and do away with tapes )

AC-VQ850 Charger questions
 

Quick question on the included Sony AC-VQ850. There is a display button there. When pressed, it shows me two options with two different times. One option is Normal, the other Full. The Full setting adds an hour to whatever time is present for charge.

Since there's no supplied instructions for the charger itself, can someone explain to me the significance of these charging options?

Thank you,

James

Noticed this MB kit today
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chrosziel-MatteB...QQcmdZViewItem

All this stuff together would sell for over $3330, with the Mattebox, FF and side wings. Seemed like a good deal. At $2500, Even the 'buy it now' price is pretty good.

I already have this setup without the FF, but I thought someone here might be interested.

Minimum and maximum impedance rating for Z1 XLR inputs?
 

Just wondering what the max load the xlr preamps can take... 25, 50 ohm?

If it came with a 35mm lens adapter system I would be very interested...

Just Shot a Short film on the Sony Z1P
 

Hi there
Ive just shot a short film for film School on a Z1 And have to say this camera is a gem favorite one ive ever used. The footage is jaw dropping. Im wandering if anybody here is interested in seeing some samples of some of the stuff I have done especially the stuff from the Blue mountains just out of Sydney Australia. If theres interest could someone sugest a way and play to get it uploaded for everyones enjoyment. Few things I liked most about the Camera low light amazing, we shot a lot of stuff with shadows and it came up a treat something I bet wouldnt of worked on dv also all the out door stuff was shot without lights using natural light again wonderfull results...

hvr-z1 in lauderdale area?
 

Anyone have a z1 in the fort lauderdale that they wouldn't mind renting out for a day or 2? I would pay 300 for 2 days, i will be down there tomorrow shooting thursday and friday. I own one myself but could really use a second as well for the shoot.
Please call at 347-245-5721