Camera suggestions for after effects use

[Steve Roberts]

We have to separate fields when doing any moving, rotating, blurring or distorting of the image. So starting with no fields (i.e. progressive) is great. Also, web video has to be progressive. Finally, a lot of people (myself included) like the progressive look because it looks more like film, and we prefer that look.

So. Personally, I wouldn’t buy anything that doesn’t shoot progressive. And I wouldn’t go out of my way to find something that had interlaced as well, since I generally don’t need a “live, newsy” look.

But that’s just me. 🙂

For specific camera info, you should check out the Cinematography COW or search the web for reviews on cameras that offer progressive.

[Brendan Coots]

This depends entirely on your budget, because the sky is the limit. As mentioned by SR, your ideal camera will shoot progressive. Another key issue is the quality of the footage being shot, which can be distilled into two basic categories – format, and sampling.

With regards to format, the ideal would be a camera that offers better options than just straight DV. DV is okay for some things, but the DV format is only 25Mbps. In simple terms this just means there isn’t a whole lot of data there, resulting in less color, less vivid images and ultimately less sharpness of detail. Other formats like DVCPRO 50 offer much higher datarates and thus better detail, etc.

On the issue of sampling, it’s complicated but all digital cameras “sample” the brightness and the colors of the image separately, combining them to form a complete image. A ratio is used to describe how any given camera performs.

As an example, consumer-grade DV cameras shoot 4:1:1. This means that for every four brightness samples (the first number), the camera only records 1 sample for color (the 2nd and 3rd number both represent color). The result is that DV doesn’t yield great color results, making it tough to do color correction, greenscreen or other color-sensitive operations. Some of the higher level cameras shoot 4:2:2, which as you can guess samples color twice for every 4 brightness samples. High-end HD cameras and film sample at 4:4:4, meaning a complete image with no data left out.

So, while that’s a lot of info to consider, just focus on your needs. If you want good crisp imagery, or plan to do greenscreen work, you want a camera capable of shooting 4:2:2, and ideally offering more format choices than just DV. Personally, I would not recommend purchasing an HDV camera. The footage is difficult to work with and is 4:2:0, which is just as bad as DV in terms of color rendition. Many people report the footage plays back dog-slow in Final Cut Pro and After Effects, and isn’t friendly to work with.

Panasonic’s HVX200 is an excellent camera, but it costs around $5k. It offers 4:2:2 sampling, progressive shooting, and can shoot in DV, DVCPRO50, High-definition in the form of DVCPRO HD (not the inferior HDV) and more. It also does slow motion and a slew of other neat tricks. My studio owns one and use it regularly on professional-grade shoots.

If you need something cheaper, the little brother to the above camera, the Panasonic DVX100, is a nice DV camera with more pro features than most in its price class. We also own one of these and for DV it’s pretty great.

[Curious Editor]

Can you name some consumer, pro-sumer and semi and professional cameras that shoot progressive?

I was looking at the Canon HV20 since it’s the least expensive and I’m not sure if it’s 1080p or i but it says it can shoot 24P.

[Curious Editor]

Can you name some consumer, pro-sumer and semi and professional cameras that shoot progressive?

I was looking at the Canon HV20 since it’s the least expensive and I’m not sure if it’s 1080p or i but it says it can shoot 24P.

I’ll look up the Panasonic HVX 100. There’s 2 versions though A and B.

[Brendan Coots]

For the record you’re thinking of the Panasonic DVX series, not HVX. DVX100B was released a year or so after the original (DVX100A), and just has a few minor updates. The primary differences are that the body is a slightly different material to better comply with environmental law, and it has a stronger baseplate. People were complaining about bottom of the DVX100A body cracking when it was attached to a tripod and receiving stress.