shoot 16 x 9 or 4×3 and use Vegas crop?

[Terry Esslinger]

Does that mean that your camera does not have real 16:9 sensors and is essentially cropping off pixels to maske that aspect (for example the PD 150/170)

[Sheldon Hull]

I’d heard that its better for traditional home cameras to use the 4:3 and then use letterbox…. since the 16:9 is just a digitally streched image… Can someone more experinced correct/clarify this?

Please someone correct me if i’m wrong?

On a camera like the xl2 which has sensors made for the 16:9 format, using widescreen is best….

I would think it would depend on the type of sensor in the camera

Sheldon Hull

[Larry Watts]

Yes, I’m talking about a Sony TRV 900 (consumer/prosumer) as well as
JVC professional studio cameras that do not have 16:9 chips, but have an electronic function to
mask and put out a 16 x 9 image.

larry

[Rick Wise]

I did side-by-side comparisons with a Panasonic GS400 and a PD. The better result was to shoot 4:5 and mask later. (On the Panasonic, there is an option to mask the top and bottom to emulate 16:9.) Unless the camera is “native” 16:9, masking in post seems to produce the best results.

But try for yourself. Shoot both, and look at in post.

Rick Wise
director of photography
Oakland, CA
http://www.RickWiseDP.com
email: Rick@RickWiseDP.com