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What formats to use
Okay, so I am a bit new to this… have a general understanding, but a LONG way to go.
I currently work at a school. We have a Sony HDR-FX1 camera. It records 1080i footage. I have just been approved to purchase another prosumer camera, I have narrowed it down to the following two choices:
• Sony HVRA1U
OR
• Sony HDRFX7Which one of these would work better with my current setup (e.g. cause less hiccups in my workflow)? Is there another camera that I can purchase (around $2000) that would work well with my current HDR-FX1? I can’t afford to purchase another HDR-FX1, but want something that would work well with it. I will be combining the footage, so need cameras that work well together. I am using Final Cut Pro 6 to edit.
Last, but not least, I have also been approved to purchase $4000 worth of “consumer level” video cameras. I have been looking at the HDR-CX550V and want to make sure that these would work well in Final Cut Pro 6. Would the footage shot with these cameras, be able to be edited into the same sequence as the footage shot with my “higher level” Sony cameras? I know these shoot in AVCHD, does Final Cut Pro work well with this format?
Your help is GREATLY appreciated.
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7 Replies
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hi,
the camera you use is on its own a good camera. But what you should look for is a camera without tape. These cameras you look out for are all “out of date”.
The best cameras would be multiformat cameras recording on Harddisk, no tape any more. It simplifies your workflow, reduces costs etc.
Another thing is: Dont mix codecs. You end up with massive render problems.good luck
Rainer
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So what are your suggestions for a camera that would be “tapeless”, fit my workflow and be in the price range of the • Sony HVRA1U? Is there a central database of codecs that different cameras use? I just don’t want to make the wrong purchase.
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Since you have a small budget and are already using a Sony HDV camera, you should go ahead and keep things alike. FCP likes that and it will keep things simple. Not to mention that the color and things like that will match up better!
I have a Sony HVR 1000u that is around 1,300-1,500 and is a great workhorse! It also is shoulder mounted and looks impressive. Take it out and people start asking, “am I going to be on the news?”. It even has nightshot! I use it for ENG and run & gun (shoulder mount works great for that) stuff. I have more Pro cams for important stuff but I’ve even shot, posted and delivered for broadcast with it!
Something to consider anyway. You always wanna buy cameras that work well with what you have unless you can upgrade all of them or don’t mind extra work in post production to make them match up and be editable together!
Sorry for typ-o’s…posted from my iPhone.
Tony Brittan
Apple Certified Pro – FCP
YouTube.com/tonybvideo
islandshoreproductions.com -
Here’s a link for it on B&H:
Before everyone jumps all over, “it’s nothing but a consumer cam in a big body”…until you’ve used it, you have no idea! I’ve mixed it’s footage with stuff from Sony V1u and FX1000 and noone knows the difference! There’s stuff on my YouTube with footage. The mist current one…the tennis lesson…was shot entirely on that camera!
Tony Brittan
Apple Certified Pro – FCP
YouTube.com/tonybvideo
islandshoreproductions.com -
Just for a contrarian viewpoint, I would chime in with this:
Tape is not obsolete for a school situation, it may even be an advantage in some cases.
When you have a low or zero budget, you don’t have the luxury of buying a lot of digital media cards that have to be shared and re-cycled a lot. Same for hard drives and RAIDs; even though they are getting cheaper all the time, they have a finite capacity. To you guys here it may not be an issue, but to a school media department it could be a deal breaker.
With tape, you have in the cassette a self-standing archive, the tapes are cheap and you can either re-use them or let the students keep them at the end of the term. When a media card gets lost or stolen or is not returned, it is a hassle to replace; HDV tapes are like five bucks or less at the corner store, that’s BIC lighter money. They can be loaded on and off an editing system and thus extend the usefulness of your existing hard drives if you can’t expand right now, and tapes don’t need any work or procurememnt hassles from IT.
Meanwhile, while everybody else is rushing to get solid state media-based gear, you can save a lot of the remaining inventory of tape-driven cameras. When you get down to it, you’re teaching the kids how to shoot and edit, and the media flavor you use isn’t actually that relevant to those two tasks, so I would say feel free to pick the cheaper and more flexible media type that fits yout needs best, and don’t worry about what’s hot or trendy. If you’re going to shoot HDV, while teaching the kids how to tell a story, I think I would stay with tape based, then burn DVD-R’s for distribution, as long as the economics work.
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I agree with Mark, although myself a tapeless-flash card aficionado, sometimes and and in some situations the need to transfer material constantly, backup, burn copies (e.g on Blu-ray or DVD9),or use hard disk enclosures on the self so that it doesn’t get lost is too much. Tape does have its advantages…Let’s not forget, LTO is tape too and it’s being used for data archiving everywhere…
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still the question what camera?
I assume, that you can get another Z1 for around 2000 bucks. The camera is now out of date, so you can make a bargain.
Keep it the same workflow (tape, it has the advantage of tape stock keeping) and the same HDV codec.good luck
Rainer
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