PDW-350 Love Affair

[Steve Wargo]

You can start here: https://www.sony.ca/xdcamex/tips.htm

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

[Alan Lacey]

That seems to be for the EX1 Steve.

I too bought an early 350 and think the world of it. It’s nearly out of warrenty now. It has always produced wonderful pictures and a great workflow.

Sorry I know nothing about suggested matrix settings, I always seem to get brialliant pictures with very little effort or knowledge on my behalf.

Alan in PALland

[Simon Page]

Many thanks. A good start indeed. For the EX1 but handy info for the whole range. Thank you.

[Steve Wargo]

[Alan Lacey] “That seems to be for the EX1 Steve. “

#2 Discusses Gamma

#4 is about Matrix settings.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

[Steve Wargo]

You are welcome Simon.

The Matrix is very complex and needs to be approached a little at a time with hands on the controls but once you understand how the Matrix works, it’s a wonderful thing.

One of the things that makes footage look filmlike is the GAMMA.

I don’t know the 350 at all but if you need more info, I’ll look a little deeper for you.

As a side note, we bought our HD cameras from BandPro in Burbank and they e-mail Matrix settings to us when they run across something nice. You don’t get that type of service from box houses.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

[Chris Young]

Simon ~

We did a lot of work on the 1/2″ XDCam HDs when they came out because we didn’t much like what we were getting out of them. I came up with the settings listed below after much testing to make sure that they were objectivly correct from a broadcast technical POV and that subjectivly the camera output looked good. After originally posting these settings on the xdcam.com.au group we got heaps of emails back from all over the globe from shooters who liked the changes. These settings were developed for for 50i but I know 60i shooters who use them so who knows they might work for you!

To save typing for ages the following list has the menu heading and the setting values only and should be easy enough to follow. I am only listing the menus that have a bearing on the final results. Before you start SAVE ANY SCENE FILE YOU HAVE LOADED, as you will lose it. Start with Menu A51 and recall a STANDARD SCENE FILE as a starting point. Now follow the rest. Remember these settings are for use with the DCC in the ‘ON’ position.

Menu A42 Paint
0
0
0
STD
0 (Going + or – on this can yield subtle results, try –15 and +15 and see!)
0
STD

Menu A43 Status
ON
ON
ON
ON
ON

Menu A45 Knee (These settings are good for most shooting conditions)
95.0
0
140 (130 to 150, try it out, 140 works best here!)
104.0

Menu A46 Detail
0
0
0
0
164
STD (Can be set to HI for Std Def, personal choice thing)
ON

Menu A48 Matrix 1
ON
ON (User)
0
0
OFF (Preset) Want more chroma? Turn ON along with (User) 2nd item down
STD (Can be set to HI SAT if you want more chroma, some producers love it!)

Menu A49 Matrix 2 (This is a big one, it changes the entire look of the camera!)
11
9
5
15
11
11

Menu A50 Low Key Sat (again changes the look)
10 (Can be set up to 20 for more colour in low light but be careful going too high, can look unnatural!)

If you like what you see use it, if you don’t, loose it 🙂

If you do use it give it a name and remember to save it under Menu A63 or A64 (depending on software/firmware version), ALL FILE, NOT A62/A63, USER FILE. THIS IS IMPORTANT, AS ‘ALL FILE’ WILL SAVE EVERY CHANGE MADE.

Happy shooting!

Chris Young, SMPTE, GTC
CYV Productions
Sydney