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1920 or 1440
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[Alan Smith] “Check out Sony EX-3. It is a nice camera that shoots 1920×1080 with the larger 2/3 inch chip. It is in the higher end of the prosumer camera range.
“XDCAM is 1440×1080. We’re using the EX-3 right now for a series. It’s still XDCAM.
It might feed out a full raster 1920×1080 image via SDI, but XDCAM is an anamorphic format to disc.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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I believe that the EX-1 and EX-3 shoot and record full 1920×1080 in the HQ mode, unlike the disc-based XDCAM cameras. Also, doesn’t the EX3 have 1/2″ chips, just like the EX1?
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[Chris Babbitt] “I believe that the EX-1 and EX-3 shoot and record full 1920×1080 in the HQ mode, unlike the disc-based XDCAM cameras.”
All the tech specs I can find on the Sony pages just say that it has 1920×1080 pixels, but nothing states the actual recording frame size. Could be 1920×1080. I’ll look at some of the raw digital media tomorrow to see what frame size it is.
The FCP Sequence Presets show XDCAM 1080i 60 at 1440×1080
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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[Chris Babbitt] “I believe that the EX-1 and EX-3 shoot and record full 1920×1080 in the HQ mode, unlike the disc-based XDCAM cameras. Also, doesn’t the EX3 have 1/2″ chips, just like the EX1?”
Yes!!!
Sony’s decription says: “The PMW-EX3 compact camcorder with an interchangeable lens system incorporates three ½-inch type Exmor™ Full HD CMOS sensors, each with an effective pixel count of 1920 x 1080, delivering stunning-quality HD images in 1080P, 720P, and 1080i HD resolutions.”
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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[walter biscardi] “XDCAM is 1440×1080. We’re using the EX-3 right now for a series. It’s still XDCAM. “
Well, just to take a step back for a moment, XDCAM is a recoding format not a codec. XDCAM cameras and decks can record in many codecs from DVCAM through to MPEG HD 422 … and included amongst them there certainly are some 1440 x 1080 codecs, but there are also full raster 1920 x 1080 codecs (and both are possible with the EX1 and EX3 cameras depending on which setting you choose when you record).
My guess Walter, is that you’re both right. You may very well be using an XDCAM 1440×1080 codec, but the posters who are recommending the EX1 or EX3 as full raster 1080 HD cameras are actually right too.
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I think the confusion here is that the EX1 and EX3 are are “XDCAM EX”, which (in HQ mode) is full raster 1920×1080 at 35Mbit/s. I’ve found the EX cameras blow away anything I’ve been able to do with HDV (to be fair, my HDV experience is limited to the Z1).
Bob Pierce
Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1 -
Just to throw another wrench into the mix… if you’re shooting for broadcast, check with your network of choice what cameras they accept as qualifying to shoot HD. For example PBS specs say that a camera with a 1/2″ chip qualifies as an A Camera, but the Nat Geo Channel requires a camera with a 2/3″ chip for an A Camera. Also HDV does not qualify as HD regardless of how it was shot (again my experience with Nat Geo Channel and PBS) it falls into the 10 to 30 percent of SD allowed in an HD program.
Jamie
OX 10.5.5
2×3.2GHz Quad-Core
8GB Ram
XRaid
Kona3
FCP 6.0.4 -
[Jamie Pickell] “Also HDV does not qualify as HD regardless of how it was shot (again my experience with Nat Geo Channel and PBS) it falls into the 10 to 30 percent of SD allowed in an HD program.
“We’re doing a 1/2 hour HD series on PBS now and HDV was used for three of the episodes. The PBS Red Book does not say anything about acquisition that I’ve seen. All the specs deal with the delivery which specify HDCAM and DigiBeta. Our entire 26:54 was shot with HDV on those episodes and we were not flagged or given any issues whatsoever with our shows. We’re continuing to shoot with HDV cameras due to the locations the show is traveling to.
Discovery obviously uses HDV to great effect with Deadliest Catch, Dirty Jobs, and some sections of Mythbusters, Storm Chasers among others.
One of our clients is discussing bringing another show to Nat Geo and that show will be shot primarily with the Sony Z1U on HDV.
So yes, HDV does qualify as HD, at least to the networks we’re delivering content to.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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In FCP there are two presets. One for XDCAM HD which is 1440 x 1080 and the EXDCAM EX which is 1920 x 1080. We have both the EX3 and the XDCAM HD 330. I have shot for about a month with the EX3 and it is native 1920 x 1080 and looks great!
Dajen Productions
Santa Barbara, CA
Mac Pro 2.8 Octo – AJA Kona LHe
Huge 1.2 Raid
FCP 6.0.2-OS X 10.5.2-QT 7.4 -
I’m working internally inside Nat Geo and have been told that HDV does not qualify as HD. We were told the same thing by PBS. My show first delivers to PBS and then is repackaged for Nat Geo Channel. Nat Geo Channel has a list of cameras that qualify as A Cameras and they all have 2/3″ chips. Even the EX3 that has a 2/3″ chip has to get special permission to be used as an A Camera and even then it has to be shot at 50MB/sec.
I’m in agreement with everyone that HDV when shot correctly looks great and I when I get it, I digitize it at 1080iProRes HQ. But if you are asked to put down on your deliverables what camera(s) your show was acquired in, don’t be surprised if HDV cameras get nixed. We had an outside producer shoot an incredible adventure story all in HDV and we tried to pitch it to the Nat Geo Channel, but they wouldn’t accept it because it was shot entirely on HDV.
If you’re delivering material acquired in HDV to broadcasters and they are not balking, that’s good to hear. I’m just relating my experiences in the hopes that no one gets caught flat-footed when they go to deliver or sell their show.
Jamie
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