hdx900 edit system

[John Sharaf]

Hi John,

The HVX900 uses the DVCPRO100 codec just as the Varicam does. At 24p it only consumes 40Mb so is only a bit bigger than standard def DVCAM. As a result it is not that demanding on processing power or storage space. You’ll probably find that your current system and software are fine; if anything you might want to upgrade to FCP6. Of course if you want to spend money, nock yourself out, the newest Intel G5 and FCP7 ar4e very robust and certainly worth the money. I notice them to be much more stable than previous hardware and software. You’ll have the choice of staying in DVCPRO100 or using one of the many flavors of ProRes.

JS

[John Rosson]

john,
i also bought the fs 100 in the deal — and have shot a few times with it.
in trying to use the 720 – 24p — i’ve erred. what i end up with is the 720 – 60 somehow.
anyway — i’ll figure that out. good to know it’s a space saver.
i’ll likely buy a new computer anyway — need a second work station — and want to buy a powerful-enough setup — but also would like to save where i can.
re: dvc pro 100 — if it’s native, what would be the advantage of using pro res?
thanks for quick response,
jr

[John Sharaf]

John,

The main advantage is that ProRes is a 10-bit on-line quality codec and it will survive color correction better than DVCPRO100 does because it’s 8 bit.

Of course it uses more storage space. Alternately, if you have a project with many, many source tapes and need to conserve space, you can use ProRes Proxy and essentially double your capacity without much loss of quality. Of course in this case you’ll need/want to go back at the end and do an on-line.

JS

[Noah Kadner]

[john sharaf] “the newest Intel G5 and FCP7 ar4e very robust and certainly worth the money”

Watch those terms. 🙂 G5 and Intel are mutually exclusive.

Noah

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[Ernie Santella]

I would stick with Intel over anything older. With the new OS being Intel only, everything else is fading fast. Stay safe with an Intel machine.

Ernie Santella
Santella Productions Inc.
http://www.santellaproductions.com

[John Rosson]

Ernie —
That’s what i’m thinking regarding Intel as well.
Thank you all for your posts.
Has anyone noticed odd audio levels on the 900?
My shotgun mic seems low — I’ve turned up the Front audio level wheel all the way to 10 — and searched inside the menus for any other controls — but see none.
And on the contrary, the wireless I’ve attached is extraordinarily hot.
Is this the way of the 900 — or am I missing some obvious adjustment?
Thank you,
JR

[Ernie Santella]

JR,
There are settings in the VTR menu area that let you adjust input levels. They are: Main Menu – VTR – Mic/Audio 1 & 2. Inside both of those are settings for limiter as well as dB pads for mics and line inputs.

Hope that helps.

Ernie Santella
Santella Productions Inc.
http://www.santellaproductions.com

[John Rosson]

Hi Ernie —

Thank you for that — I’ve seen the levels inside and have been experimenting.

As well, I just read all the owner’s manual had to say about boosting audio levels (which wasn’t a great deal).

Then I tested a corded mic, wireless mic, and the shotgun.

My conclusion: my shotgun’s a piece of junk.

It’s actually cobbled onto the camera via an XLR 3 pin adapter — which is all well and good — except that the mic seems below par.

The reason I suspect this is because swapping around the two other mics gives good levels and performance, changing channels, levels etc.
When this particular mic is directed to channel one it gives a low audio level. When swapped to ch 2 it does the same. Each of the others does the job — produces a higher level, etc.

Anyway, I’m looking for a good shotgun. Recommendations?

Thanks again,
JR

[Ernie Santella]

The industry standard is the Sennheiser 416. But, I actually have a fairly inexpensive Azden for my small HDV camera that sounds darn good. The Azden SGM1x. It’s very reasonable, but I actually use it a lot for interviews with great results. It lacks a little bottom end, but that sometimes helps in noisy enviroments. And it’s $200 vs. $1K.

https://www.videomaker.com/article/8744/

Ernie Santella
Santella Productions Inc.
http://www.santellaproductions.com

[John Rosson]

Ernie —
Thank you for your help.
Also read the above posts with Robyn and found them clarifying.
I’m in the first stages of working with the 900 — and really like the 720 24p.
However, I’ve a sports shoot coming up (football game) — and space issues aside — am wondering if there would be a discernable difference in the picture between shooting 720 60p and 720 24p? (I’d planned to shoot a half in each mode).
Also, and I’m almost embarrassed to ask this question — but it’s never stopped me before, so … when shooting games in the past, I’ve always used a lower end camera on auto-focus. With the 900, would it be best to set the focus at the farthest point (for instance opposite sideline) to assure a clear picture even when the action gets close? Or is focusing a constant issue as the action ranges near and far?
Thank you,
JR