[Craig Seeman]

[Courtney Whitman] “es, I am using Final Cut Pro 6.0.2”
That’s good.

[Courtney Whitman] “and the Sony XDCAM HD easy setup”
It won’t have any impact on import but you should be using one of the Sony XDCAM EX easy setups. The HD setups match the Disc, not SxS card sources.

[Courtney Whitman] “My colleague used Clip Browser on the (Intel) Mac, and all the files were wrapped as MP4s.”
That’s how they are from the BPAV folders. the Intel Mac Clip Browser does nothing to change or re-wrap the files. It’s simply an organized copy utility.

[Courtney Whitman] “I put the BPAV folder into another folder and chose “Add…” with the transfer tool. I got farther than ever before! The scanning box actually popped up!”
Good. You’ve gotten that far.

[Courtney Whitman] “The scanning box actually popped up! However, immediately after I got an error message reading “Error Scanning Device: Failed to execute query – unable to open database file.” Ugg. Do you, or anyone else out there in internet land have any thoughts about this?”

Uh Oh. Hopefully your friend didn’t “mess” with the folder structure after copying the BPAV. The XFER Tool needs to see the original folder structure because those XML, SMI, PPN, BIM files give the XFER Tool important info

There have been cases where people have shot using Clock Time at 24p and can’t import the files. If that’s the case the fix is to follow Mike Palmer’s post and download the new Sony Xfer tool. The camera came with version 2.1 but had bugs that 2.5.1 fixes. So give that a try and see if you can then import the files.

[Craig Seeman]

[David Jones] “I noticed that they’re having a “field day” over on the Panasonic board about the rolling shutter issues of the EX-1″

Because that’s more important to them then the EX1’s great lens with manual controls, 1/2″ chips that are 1920×1080, the ability to put over 50 minutes on a 16GB card EVEN at 1080p30 or 720p60, great low light performance, the ability to copy the card many times faster than real time.

Yes rolling shutter can be seen when a photographer’s flash goes off, when I accidently kick the tripod, do a whip pan for example. Sometimes when tracking a very fast moving object you can even catch it’s effect on background objects. You’ll just have to measure that against its advantages.

I did. When the HVX200 first came out it only took me a few minutes to decide the whole thing was impractical for me as well as too many issues with the image. When I played with the EX1 over the EX1 over the course of several trade shows as well as the first demo model my VAR got (I had over 3 hours of exclusive time with it) I kept finding MORE I liked about the EX1.

There are even a few folks who’ve sold their HVXs for EX1s.

. . .
You mean they’re not complaining that the EX1 can’t record to miniDV?

[Craig Seeman]

Do you have Final Cut Pro 6.0.2? You must have this.

Did he use the Clip Browser on a Windows computer to put them on the hard drive? That might wrap them to MXF depending how it was done. Otherwise Clip Browser on the (Intel) Mac is only a copy tool

You should be the BPAV folder into another folder and then use “Add” with the Transfer Tool. It will then see inside that folder to the BPAV folder. You can not Add the BPAV folder directly.

[Craig Seeman]

[Sverker Hahn] “So I cannot be certain to avoid focus drift, even with EX1?”

Best way to know for sure is to do a test. The lens is a very good one and might withstand changes in temperature.

[Craig Seeman]

I’ve certainly heard weather (temperature/humidity) can impact focus so heat build up may impact that too. Metal, Plastic, Glass are all affected. I’ve heard experienced DPs will note that the focus distance marks on the lens should really only be considered a guide because they will be slightly off based on the shooting conditions.

If your question is whether you’d use Auto Focus to compensate for the above I’d suspect the best answer is no. Another similar situation might be shooting a time lapse over several hours from day through twilight to night. In some areas, even here in NYC, there can be a significant drop in temperature. Even if the AF made such subtle adjustments you have to consider what would happen if a bird or insect moved through the focal path during that time.

My own guess is that if the camera and lens are really well designed being on one hour shouldn’t have a significant impact on focus (but who knows what “significant” is depending on how one is shooting).

[Craig Seeman]

Yes the EX1 is a complex camera. It offers many choices and options.

As a Pro my objective is to get the best looking footage. I rarely use auto anything but it can be a necessity in certain shooting circumstances.

Shutter Off means shutter equals frame rate basically. In PAL area that means shutter is 1/25.

I’d NEVER use auto shutter for anything.

Focus I use Manual (servo) or Full Manual (servo disabled – focus ring pulled towards me). That terminology confuses some though.

Auto Focus can be good for tracking an object in which focus in constantly changing. The EX1 seems to track moving objects very well. In other words if people move past (behind) trees as they walk, the camera will stay focused on the people. That’s why the EX1’s “slow” reaction is good. It does NOT jump from object to object as you track something. Auto Focus might also be good when tracking an object (that’s typically changing its focal point) at a sporting event for example too. Otherwise I don’t use auto focus.

Push Focus (pushing the little button under Focus switch) only works in servo Manual. This is something I’ve used in the past with other cameras. In some cases it’s faster to do this than fumble with the focus ring. What those cases and conditions are depends on the shooter and situation of course. In other cameras, Push Focus grabs the focus and holds when you let go of the button. It seems in the EX1, once you hit Push Focus it will continue to hunt even after you let go. This can be problematic for some since the camera, not your finger, is making the decision as to when the subject is in focus.

Manual Focus Assist. This works in Manual servo. It means after you focus camera may make fine adjustments. I don’t want camera to correct my judgement so I NEVER use this.

If you want to use Macro mode you must be in Manual servo. Macro does not work in Full Manual (servo disabled).

TLCS. I NEVER use it and have removed it from my LCD menu. I avoid auto anything except as noted above. It controls various auto functions.

[Craig Seeman]

Got camera. New serial number is 103861. Set zoom to 2. Smooth as silk.

[Craig Seeman]

100808. Other person in this forum mentioned something like 375. I’m not sure what the number was for the person in Finland.

[Craig Seeman]

[Aaron Cadieux] “We don’t have the luxury to capture stuff ‘straight from the head’,”

Short of shooting in studio or some fairly expensive outboard gear this isn’t practical for field work. That’s why I only mention it as an “ideal.”

Right now Final Cut Pro (Mac) and Vegas (Windows) seem to handle direct input from the cards the best. On Windows the Sony Clip Browser wraps MXF and on Mac Sony Transfer Tool wraps MOV.

At this point with Premiere Pro you’d probably need to use a software conversion tool such as Cineform or MainConcept. Some have used ffmpeg.

You’ll also need to consider how much graphic/compositing you’re going to be doing. If it’s significant you might want to go to a 4:2:2 codec.

Then you need to think about delivery as broadcast for Interlace Standard Def TV, vs DVD which might be abel to handle progressive vs web which is best left progressive, are factors. Then, for SD, you’ll want to consider letter box or center cut.

BTW you may even want to consider editing the HD material in an SD timeline if you’re only delivering SD. That’ll give you lots of flexibility to do “fake” dolly or tracking shots as well as shot reposition.

If you’re going back to a tape deck with SDI ins, they you should consider an SDI out card which may also help with monitoring too while you edit. It might actually be more affordable to simply save your edit master in a file format and take to a post/dub house that can play that back out to a deck. It may be cheaper than buying or renting deck and buying a card.

I just want to present the dizzying array of options available.

For me, the only broadcast work I do is local TV spots. I don’t use tape at all. I take final master file and encode to MPEG2 Program Stream and distribute that. I understand some broadcaster might be (or soon be) accepting Program or Transport stream in certain syndication situations. BTW if you’re doing VNR (Video News Releases) you can also do that without ever going to tape (again MPEG2 Program or Transport Stream).

One of the things I like about the EX1 (for me) is that between local cable spots and possibly VNRs I may be completely tape free.

I present all this because it can really impact your decision how and when to convert the file to SD and what you’re going to do with that SD file.

Right now I’d suggest the following without knowing more details about your situation:
Import from card. Convert to something Premiere can work with in software using Cineform or MainConcept, ffmpeg (or maybe someone can make another suggestion). Edit in SD if you’re absolutely sure you’re only delivering in SD for broadcast to give you shot movement flexibility. Output to a deck with SDI in using a good SDI card (which one I’m not sure yet maybe Matrox?) or look at the possibility of MPEG2 Program/Transport Stream delivery and you don’t have to worry about the deck.

[Craig Seeman]

If you’re talking about “best to worst” the best might be to start with 1080p in XDCAM rather than HDV at all.

Also an “ideal” best would be 1080p HD-SDI out at 10 bit Uncompressed 4:2:2 straight from the head (not SxS recorded).

Also it’s not clear what your target is, Broadcast?
Are going to tape, DVD, web, film? They all might involve different work flows.

My own hunch, regardless of the above, is that anybody looking for “best” is not using the EX1 in HDV compatible mode. That mode serves a purpose for sure but “best” isn’t one of them.