Don Greening
Forum Replies Created
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Not all auto focus features are created equal. Traditionally, Sonys take longer to achieve A/F but they also take longer to lose it. This means that if someone or something momentarily moves in front or behind what you have in focus you won’t lose that focus because the A/F has jumped to something else. That’s good.
Canon cameras take less time to achieve A/F but also lose it more quickly. Canons are “hunters” meaning it’s easy to confuse the A/F with something else moving in the frame. In those cases the auto focus will pulse back and forth, shifting focus on more than one object in the span of a half second. That’s bad.
These are the only 2 types of cameras I’ve had experience with. Since cameras with A/F generally work on differences in contrast, the bigger the contrast difference between what you’re focusing on and what you don’t want in focus the better. No camera’s A/F works well unless your subject is in the middle of your viewfinder, and no A/F works well in low light because of the low contrast.
The moral of the story is, don’t use A/F at all unless it’s unavoidable. If you do use it then be aware of the pitfalls I’ve described above.
If you want a deeper depth of field on manual focus then use a camera with small imagers. Close down the iris (if lighting permits) go to the lowest safe shutter speed to get more light on the imagers. Zoom out to the farthest point you think your action will be, set focus and the pull back to what you want in focus now. Everything from that furthest point back to you should stay in focus (as long as you don’t change anything else such as your iris). A test for this is to zoom out, set focus, pull back full wide then zoom back in again to that same point. if it’s still in focus then you’re golden. Go for coffee.
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
[Robin Probyn] “But actually XDCAM footage from a Sony camera seems drag and drop doesnt work.. and has to be imported via the explorer window..”
I didn’t realize you had asked another question, but I don’t have an answer for your last because I’ve never imported files straight from a disc-based XDCAM HD camera into Clip Browser. Sorry.
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
Joseph,
The how-to video at the link below will help you decide which gamma setting is right for the type of shooting you’re doing, especially ice hockey because there’s so much brightness in a shot like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-9aaK2gefg&feature=player_embedded
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
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[Robin Probyn] “Do you know why it is that some clips.. eg from my nanoflash can be just drag and dropped.. where as clips from Sony cam,s have to be imported through the explorer window..”
Sure. It’s because the XDCAM format is different that what you’ve been able to drag and drop into your NLE up ’til now. XDCAM media (depending on what you’re editing on) has to be re-wrapped with a format that your editor can use or understand e.g. with Final Cut Pro XDCAM EX footage has to be wrapped in the .mov wrapper whereas with Premiere Pro and a Windows machine it will be an MXF wrapper.
On the Mac you can edit an h.264 media file natively in FCP but not an MPEG2 file, etc. Hope that helps.
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
You never want to work with the original clips unless you’ve made at a least one more copy somewhere else and have first checked that copy for continuity/integrity. That means it’s a copy without errors. In other words, don’t play with your clip if it’s the only one you have. If you modify it and aren’t able to return the clip to its “as shot” state and you don’t have another unmodified copy, well…….
-Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
[Robin Probyn] “if i import a clip into explorer window.. (to view on the preview window) has that clip been actually physically taken off the source ..(card or HDD) ..? “
No. it still resides on the source card or hard drive. Only way to stop that is to work with a copy (which is recommended).
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
Unless you manually make another physical copy of the video files and fiddle with those then you’re still using/manipulating the original external hard drive files.
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
[Andrew Wilson] “Other than those, how does the picture compare?”
Where does one start? There are many differences:
70% less picture noise than the EX1/EX3. With the optional S-Log gamma curves you’ll get 12 stops of latitude, previously unheard of at this price. I think the EX1/EX3 gets you about 7 stops, almost one more if you shoot at minus 3 gain and adjust the picture profile to take advantage of the extra latitude available.
For more info on the F3 in real world applications go to Alister Chapman’s web site:
https://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
Not only that, but unpressurized means a big condensation issue going from the ground temp to minus 60 F at 40,000 ft. and back down again. Certainly not good for the delicate workings of the camera. You’d have to wait until the camera is completely back to normal temp and no condensation.
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
I don’t think Clip Browser 2.6 is cleared for takeoff with Lion. You might want to look for any white papers from Sony that will bear this out. Other than this I can’t help you because I’m still using Snow Leopard where Clip Browser works fine.
I think the newest version of Sony’s XDCAM Browser works in Lion. It will transfer clips just like Clip Browser does.
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com