I had to shoot in dv mode with an xh-a1 a few weeks ago because my firwireport didn't work anymore and I didn't have another hdv camera to capture it, so I choose the dv mode which enabled me to capture my footage on an older dv cam. Because I had a deadline that was the most sensible thing to do at that time.
I was really surprised about the quality. It was sharper then what my dvx100 or vx2100 ever could have delivered.
If I work with premiere with hdv I normally output as an dv-avi and then let Encore handle the transcoding automatically. Now with the dv footage it was the same approach and with the same quality results on a dvd.
I think that as long as hd is not a request the dv mode is just as good, but filming in hdv does give you a big advantage to transfer your footage in the future to a blu-ray disk so you have to think ahead when making this decission.
I only did this because I had no other choice at that time, otherwise I would never do this but hdv camera are capable to give great results on dvd if your in hdv mode (and using the right transcode settings) or dv mode.

Hey guys, I was of the understanding that quality is better if shooting HD, edit HD, then render DV. Is this not the case?

I think I'll go do a search.

That's what some say. I've ordered my Z5 and that's one of the tests I'll do to get a handle on this when it comes.

Thanks William. Unitl I get a definitive answer I'll plan on shooting in SD for this weekend. At least the files will be easier to handle in post.

I can't imagine the image quality is significantly different in the end.

From what I've seen with my xh-a1 there was no difference in quality between transcoding hdv or dv to a dvd.

Guys, the only thing about shooting in HDV (aside from any possible quality issues) and then transcoding to SD, is the letterboxing that occurs and that might bother some clients with 4:3 displays. If the client has an HDTV, then this would not be an issue. It might not be an issue even if they have 4:3 displays, but many folks still don't like 'those ugly bars'.

Best to know in advance if the client is OK with it.

Walk into an electronics store, do you see any non widescreen tv for sale? so why shoot standard? if they don't have widescreen tv they will soon when their current tv stop working.

Khoi, I'm just saying it's prudent to ask. I agree essentially with what you're saying, but you'd be surprised how many legacy 4:3 TVs are still out there. If the client is fine then you're good to go, but what harm is there in asking? It's better than a ticked off client. ;)

For a lot of corporate work, 4:3 still rules.

Strange how many differences there can be between Countries, here 4:3 tv's are not sold anymore and 9 out of 10 of my clients have widescreen tv's, about 50% crt and the other part lcd/plasmas.
The prizes of big widescreen lcd's are so low now almost everybody is buying one and prizes continue to drop.
Also for corporate work they start asking widescreen recordings, 4:3 is definitely retired in Europe.

what I meant is that many large companies still employ 4:3 TVs for viewing rooms when training employees. Assuming it's not CBT (computer based training), it's more common to find 4:3 displays than it is 16:9. I've found that if you're dealing with CRTs in the U.S., you're generally still looking at 4:3 and not 16:9. 16:9 took off with flat panels, but never was too prolific with CRTs.

But as Noa said, even here is the U.S., 4:3 is pretty much dead in terms of new sales. The analog plug is being pulled in February, so over-the-air broadcasting will be all digital. It's just that Corporate America is slow to catch up to consumer tech.

Believe it or not, I still get occasional requests for a finished product on VHS!!!

FX1000 settings & L bracket
 

I am lending my FX1000 to a friend who films weddings and he still uses a VX2000.

He's keen on the FX and as I have a few weeks off its a great opp for him to try it out.

I have taken him through the basic functions which are straight forward and similar to the VX but what about presets such as sharpness or "Contrast enhancer"

Just wondering what settings to go for as far as little tweaks here and there. Any tips welcomed.

I am also going to source an L bracket for the camera as hand held footage will become a bit more strenuous on this cam than the VX.

What about this one. It has 2X hot shoe slots. Smith Victor Side-Mount Accessory Bracket - SV1150 - 701520

I used an L bracket with the TRV900 and it was great for all day hand-held shooting.

Jeff, how are you finding the weight of the FX for weddings.

Martin -
That bracket will probably be too small for something in the FX class - it's the generic import Sima bracket... My personal prference for a larger cam is something like the old Vivitar ergo style grip (left hand), although there are some smaller lighter brackets than that one that could work OK. I might have some possibilities laying about if you're interested, PM me - I've got some brackets that I no longer use...

L bracket
 

I might have some possibilities laying about if you're interested, PM me - I've got some brackets that I no longer use...[/QUOTE]



Dave that sounds good and thanks for the tip. I am happy to pay postage to Australia for something that works well.


Martin

At last weekends wedding I ran the 1000 with SHARPNESS at +5, CONTRAST ENHANCER on, COLOR DEPTH +1, COLOR LEVEL +1. I also set the AE SHIFT to -2 and AWB SENS to high just in case I had to go auto in a pinch (which I did). The footage turned out great.

I'm no expert by no means, but I did play around alot with the 1000 before it's first use, and that's what I came up with. Hope it helps.

set up of FX
 

Thanks Tim, -2 AE sounds good and most likely spot on

Very true--much of corporate will be SD 4:3 for a long time to come.

I do a medical cable TV show that is broadcast to the Middle East, and they want SD 4:3.
I would never assume that a customer will be OK with 16:9. Always ask first how the end product will be viewed, see what they want, and taylor your finished product accordingly. Otherwise you put yourself at risk of upsetting a customer.

How is the AWB affected by the various settings Tim?

Jeff, the AWB SENS has 4 settings, INTELLIGENT-HIGH-MIDDLE-LOW. HIGH seams seems to produce the best results. You know how auto WB seems to produce ovesaturated reds, has kinda of an orange glow, HIGH seems to lower that to more useable levels. IMO

that is important info Tim. I will check that setting today!

sounds interesting that the Z5 and FX1000 has the same AWB options. The Intelligence mode worked ok for me but i didnt have the chance to test it enuf thou

I'm right with you on this one Jeff. WHY, Sony? The VX/PD was a much better operational idea whereby you could instantly switch between two presets, indoor and outdoor. All this delving into the deep menuy system just to change the preset's value is laughable.

Has anyone come up with a good reason why this is so? I could live with 2 presets and one manually set w/b thank you Sony.

tom.

Guys, why can't you use memory A & B positions to store an outdoor & indoor WB respectively (A for indoor and B for outdoor)?

Ken, we can do that of course. But why should we have to?

Tom: Thank you, I thought I was the only one. It is the most non-sensical thing I can imagine. I look at this feature, the menu scroll wheel, and the placement of the hot shoe that doesn't allow for opening and closing the LCD when anything is mounted and I imagine they must have made these decision with the idea that it would be wrong to give us a camera that is near-perfect for the money.

Jeff, I'm not sure I'm understanding the difference between having an outdoor WB stored in "A" and an indoor WB stored in "B" as opposed to having a dedicated outdoor/indoor switch. A simple switch between A & B accomplishes the same thing, no?

Is it that you feel you're losing two potential memory slots that you could use for other WB adjustments?

Because the 'manually set' A & B positions are potentially unreliable. Did I change these on the last shoot? Is it 'nearly indoors', or 'warm outdoors'? I like to see the bulb and sun, and work fromn there.

My Z1 is excellent in that it allows me to set the outdoor preset and then fine-tune this setting (warmer or cooler) with the assign buttons. 5 clicks on button 5 and I'm in the artificial mode setting. I presume the Z5 has this very useful feature too.

tom.

Tom, the 1000 does have a WB shift feature that allows you to adjust in an 18 point scale, warmer or cooler (9 point warmer, 9 point cooler) from the cam's decision.

Plus, you loose those two presets that could be set for something else. For me, I would like to toggle between indoor/outdoor and set the A&B preset for something like the bridal room and the sanctuary. Like it is I had to set B for outdoor, A for sanctuary and set the preset to indoor.

Well said Tom.

As Tom said, give me the light bulb and the sun thingy and we can take it from there. Since we have to use one of the custom settings as an outdoor or indoor preset we lose a preset anyway which makes the whole affair of this new "Feature" an excercise in futility on their part and a waste of time for us. It just doesn't make sense to have "fixed" something that worked.

That's what I thought would be the biggest negative.

Ken, where is that? I haven't found that.

Tim, page 40 of the 1000 manual. You can download it from Sony if you don't have it handy.

Awe man, I thought I was done testing.

You haven't even begun Tim, you haven't even begun. :)

The perfect camera will never happen!
 

[QUOTE=Jeff Harper a camera that is near-perfect for the money.[/QUOTE]


Well gents the inventers always need something to seemingly invent on the next one.

I mean getting all of us and them (Sony) in a room and nailing the perfect bang for buck camera would be too logical and put them out of work!

Good point Martin.

I don't know why they felt the need to change the WB scheme but Sony might have gone to the Preset/"A"/"B"/ white balance scheme because that is the way it has been done on the professional broadcast cameras for many many years.

The FX1 is the same so it isn't really a change.

Ron Evans

FX1000 feedback
 

Well I am about to edit some footage taken with my new FX1000. Here are some issues that I have on my mind that I need to cover:

1. LCD screen set up: I am an LCD screen man and not a Viewfinder person. The only time I use the viewfinder is under extreme sunlight. The viewfinder on the 1000 is "milky" and not that great" The LCD on the other hand the best I have ever seen on any camera. My past experience with using the LCD screen on a camera is that if the brightness is set to the middle or normal setting the picture you see on the LCD is very close to how it will look on a TV monitor. I have found the default setting on the 1000 camera to be too low meaning the pictures I record are actually coming out "hotter" or more exposed than what I saw in the LCD. I have now increased the brightness on LCD to match what is being recorded. I will take the camera out the front of my studio and do some tests and report back on this.

2. ZEBRA: I am not a zebra fan but it can be handy when one is unsure of hot spots. Going to play around with Zebra settings and I need to get a better understanding of how it works on the 1000/z5. I have found the zebra pattern does not show through a hot spot such when filming with a window say to the side of the frame. My past experience was that if the spot was really hot then the zebra would cover the bright or white area and it was easy to tell that that section was hot. On the 1000 the zebra seems to create a square around the area and its not until you bring the exposure down that you can see the zebra. Is this what others are seeing as well?

2. Backlight: I have briefly seen footage with back light such as a long shot of a bride walking through the door to the church and are questioning the 1000's ability to handle backlight. I am only going on a few scenes maybe its fine but it looks a bit "blotchy" or struggling to handle backlight. Maybe the shots in question were too overexposed? I will do some tests and report back on this.

3. Rolling Shutter: I am about to edit a dance concert that had a Z1 on the wide and FX1000 on the close up and will report back on this. There was exteme light from the back of the stage coming at the camera so this will be a great test for the Z5/1000.

4. Weight of camera: It has an awesome feel on the tripod but heavy for all day hand held such as a wedding. Need an L bracket.

5. SD Recording: Quality of HD recording has exceeded my expectations. I have however found that in SD the quality is maybe not as good as a VX2000. I am going to do a side by side test to see if this is true.

6. CF Recording unit: This is a big one for me. DOes the Compact Flash unit work easily with the FX1000. How much is it? How much are the 32 and 64 gig cards? Can you record in SD and HD on it as well as to tape at the same time? Does it connect via the wire port? Any info on this unit welcomed.

Martin, I've very surprised you found the viewfinder 'milky'. This seems to be contrary to other's experiences with this.

I'm not surprised by the backlighting issue since I've never seen any consumer/prosumer camcorder that could handle dramatic areas of dynamic range.

I am a bit surprised by your finding on the SD side. I would have thought that it would be at least as good as the 2000 with SD.

Test on!

Martin, the compact flash unit does work with the FX1000. I mounts on the shoe and connects through the firewire port. It is $845 at B & H if I remember correctly. I am not sure but I think you can record either SD or HD. I know that 32 gig cards are available that are fast enough. I don't know about 64's.