Trouble with picture quality

[Michael Sacci]

With the HPX170 or the HVX200 I would shoot in 720p mode unless I was matching other camera at 1080p, these chips are 720p chips. Also never use gain unless you obsolutely have too. Bring the lights in closer before going to 6dB.

But If you are talking about the shallow dof of the second you are just using the wrong type of camera if you need to be that far away from the subject. You need to be shooting on something like the new AF100, a DSLR or Red camera with very fast lens. All his shallow dof is with the camera right up against the focused subject. It also looks like he spent some time with color correcting.

I don’t think your stuff looks bad, it looks like something that was shoot in a expo room with very flat lighting. If you want something more dramatic you have to light and shoot it differently. Also it doesn’t look like the focus was spot on, that maybe the compression.

my 2 cents.

[Ed Ng]

Hello Michael,

Thank you so much for the reply. I am not concerned with the DOF but do know the limitations without an adaptor so I have the Brevis MP.2 with some Canon glass.

I come from the photography world and understand lighting but with video I am very novice. I have tried to look around for the ISO of the HPX 170 because I like to meter my subjects.

Yes, this was an interview at the Las Vegas Convention Center at SEMA. The lighting was not the best but I did not think it was unbearable. As for the focus, I can not remember if it were manual. I only use manual for photography but video work is new to me.

I will set up the camera for 720 but Pn,P 24, 30? Are there any other things I should watch for?

Thank you so much again!

Cheers

Ed

[Kevin Randall]

Be aware that deciding whether to record to 1080 or 720 on the HVX200 or HPX170 has absolutely nothing to do with the pixel size of the CCDs. ALL image capture on these cameras is at 1080p, no matter what format/resolution you are recording to. Repeat–ALL image capture on these cameras is at 1080p. If you are recording at 720, the original image is actually being DOWNSAMPLED to 720. I have heard on some discussion boards that some people have even had better results recording at 1080 in camera, then downrezzing to 720 in their NLE, vs. recording at 720 in camera.

[Michael Sacci]

Sorry, I’m pretty sure it is the other way around. The camera up-samples to 1080, but it does a good job at that. But if you are doing to distribute as 720p it makes no sense to me.

[Michael Sacci]

In 720p I would always shoot pN for 24 or 30, 24p is most like film, but you can also shoot 60p with just gives you a smoother action. There is no right or wrong here is it what you like. You have to play with the settings and develop your style.

On these cameras there is no ISO, it is gain and for the most post you are locked into a single setting. You can gain up but because of the small chip you get noise right away, you don’t have the latitude that a DSLR has.

You would want to use manual focus on a shot like that, to make sure you are the sharpest you zoom in all the way, focus and then reframe the shoot. Always recheck focus in between shoots. And I don’t think your focus was bad, just it may not have been spot on. The flatness of the lighting will alway take away from the dramatics of the scene.

If you do not have Barry Greens book on the camera get it. It a users manual with the why behind every aspect of the camera. Best thing you can get. He gives you settings that are better in low light and have less noise to mention a few.

[Ed Ng]

Hello and thank you all so much for the support and assistance.

From what I have gathered from Panasonic and another member, the ISO is set at 500. This helps me use my meter. I use my meter a lot in the field for photo work but very new to video work so I am trying to adapt the same flow from photography.

Panasonic states it is 1080p to the chip and then converts down into all formats. I have dual 64 gig cards so should I just use 1080/30P or just use 720/24Pn?

I will be testing out some shots this week so I will compare. My only question now is about exporting from FCP. Does everyone use H264 for Apple Pro Res!

Thank you everyone again and cheers

Ed

[Michael Sacci]

[Ed Ng] “Panasonic states it is 1080p to the chip”
I think this is where the confusion is (and the confusion maybe on my part) The Chip is not a 1080p, it is a 720p chip (1.1 mill pixel) but it scans this at 1080p and then converts it to whatever the settings are.

So I will rephrase my statement. Most people that I know and have read consider 720p @ 60p or 24pN to be the sweet spot for the HVX200 and HPX170. One advantage to shooting at 720p24pN is the record time is increased 2.5x.

[Ed Ng] “Does everyone use H264 for Apple Pro Res!”
Not sure what you are asking here.

[Kevin Randall]

Michael: The “chip” is not a 720p chip. The CHIPS each have about 520,000 photosites (960×540), with the green chip slightly offset from the red and blue. The image is taken from the CCD block as a 1920×1080 image. It is recorded at either 1280×1080, 960×720, or 720×480, depending on the recording format chosen. There is no “uprezzing” done to record a 1080p image. ALL images start out as 1080p, then are processed according to the recording format chosen (1080i, 1080p, 720p, 480i or 480p).

[Ed Ng]

May I ask your thoughts on shooting 1080/30p? I have enough memory so would it be the best quality to use.

I hear so many people say that 720/24Pn is the best but why?

Sorry but still new and need some advice and yes I am buying Barry Greens book!

Cheers

Ed

[Michael Sacci]

Call it what ever you like, pixel shifting instead of up-rezing but one thing the chip is not is a 1080p chip. I’m a fan of these cameras so I’m not knocking them.

I will restate my claim – “Most people that I know and have read consider 720p @ 60p or 24pN to be the sweet spot for the HVX200 and HPX170”

If I’m “technically” wrong about my description of the chip and camera record fine I can live with that but I would always shoot these camera as 720p in either 60p or 24p UNLESS I was using footage with another cameras that shooting 1080p.

Ed, in the end you need to do the testing, shoot the same thing at 1080 and 720 which do you like better. Shoot 30p and 24p which do you like better. The only other people that should matter to you is your clients.