Clint Fleckenstein
1
COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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You really need to get the latest version of XDCAM Transfer, Antony! While the Clip Browser is nice for…well, browsing clips, its major strength is its ability to combine and split folders, copy clips from SxS cards with error correction, and that sort of thing. Think of it as step one.
XDCAM Transfer is a fantastic app that allows you to make and export subclips as well as simply rewrapping the raw footage to Quicktime for edit. It integrates with Final Cut Pro as well (make sure to download the Log and Transfer plugin from Sony).
XDCAM EX works fantastically with Final Cut Pro. There’s no transcoding needed. You just need to study the process. Good luck.
Cf
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I’d work in true 720P (1280×720, square pixels) and conform your Panasonic’s footage to it for multicam edit. No sense in wasting the Sony’s resolution. Silly non-square pixels…that’s so analog! 🙂
Cf
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We use a Merlin (with the dual-arm vest rig) with our EX-1. I will attest to the fact that it’s borderline as far as weight. The Merlin can handle it fine, and balances with the included weights. They updated the gimbal to a beefier metal design when we got ours. But to run that Merlin handheld for any extended amount of time and 7 pounds worth of camera on it? Forget about it. Short stints work fine for us but if we have the ability to use the vest, we use it.
Sadly, not under $1000 either.
Cf
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I just did a seven minute video comprised of blue screen shots from our EX-1. They were done in cramped quarters on the road, nature of the gig, without optimal lighting. They still worked great. It was a “coverflow” animation type of thing, the effect you get when flipping through album covers in iTunes. I had two shots where people wore a turquoise or blue that confused the keyer, but they were easily solved with mattes.
I came from DV so keying XDCAM footage is a dream come true.
Cf
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Well, I have one and two year old boys. I can attest to the back thing. OW!
Cf
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We use a MacBook Pro with FCP for our in-the-field backups, but if I wanted a cheap solution it’d be neat to try one of those minis with Flash storage instead of a hard drive. I imagine the speed, heat, and battery consumption of a mini would be preferable, and I’d be using it to put the footage on an external HDD anyway.
Cf
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My concerns about the ruggedness of construction and delicateness of connectors go WAY down when it’s just me running the gear, since I’m clinically insane when it comes to taking care of equipment. But when there are a bunch of fresh college grads handling the gear and I’m just the fix-it guy in the aftermath, that’s when I crave the heavy-duty stuff.
Cf
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A friend of mine has been shooting news on an EX-1, as the TV network I used to work for is pondering that same question.
Most of his concerns are related to weather, either indirectly or directly:
1- fragile compared to the big cam, and connectors not always in the best location (since there isn’t much real estate to begin with);
2- lens fogging, and you can’t remove it to air it out;
3- tiny controls which are hard to maneuver when shooting on the fly, especially with gloves.
I’d never risk subjecting an EX camera (or any other “prosumer” cam) to the abuse I saw our “big” cameras take at the hands of journalism school graduates (ahem) on a daily basis.
Cf
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“BTW I also see XDCAM Disc as something that will start to wane soon (or have to undergo a major change).”
Yeah…nanoseconds after they finally get the PDW-U1 working as promised 🙂
(Not meaning to be snarky, I just couldn’t resist)
Cf
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Last week I found my Kingston USB drive in the bottom of my washing machine while changing loads. Not a bit of data loss. I’d never try that with a videotape.
We shot DV before going tapeless. What a nightmare…dropouts galore! I can’t imagine HDV. It seems that as soon as the manufacturers changed their tape formulation for HDV, we started getting plagued by dropouts. No amount of head cleanings protects us for long. The JVC decks we have in several stations are a sure culprit, but even long-dependable Sony DVCAM decks have had issues playing back tapes now. If we use an older DV tape (we reuse footage often) and a recent one in the same machine, we can expect issues.
Cf