Don Greening
Forum Replies Created
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[Tore Jonssen] “Does this have something to do with the XDCAM progressive footage becoming interlaced in the sequence?”
Perhaps. I know that by default a DV NTSC sequence will be interlaced. Probably the same thing happens to DV PAL and DV50 PAL. Go to the browser and check the field order for your sequence and all your XDCAM progressive footage. Make sure everything is set to “none”.
– Don
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You may want to put it into perspective for your client and advise that a still image from EX 1080 footage is the same as shooting with a 2.1 megapixel still camera. Not a lot of resolution compared to today’s pro still cameras.
There is another way to get a still image from video in Final Cut Pro by using the Command: Export Using Quicktime Conversion>Still Image. From the next menu you can choose your image format (TIFF – PNG – JPEG, etc.) This may or may not improve the quality of your exported image over the “freeze frame” method. Choose an uncompressed picture format such as TIFF. I can’t remember if you have the same kind of export choices when making a “freeze frame” within FCP.
– Don
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Nobody’s mentioned it yet but the minimum software requirements for viewing/editing XDCAM EX files with FCP are:
- Final Cut Pro v.6.0.2 or better
- Quicktime v.7.3.1 or better
- Mac OS v.10.4.11 or better
- Sony Transfer tool v.2.5.1 or better
The Sony transfer tool app. (free) is to re-wrap the EX .mp4 files to MOV format otherwise FCP will not see the files. As was mentioned each BPAV folder should reside within another uniquely named folder, otherwise the Transfer tool will not see the files. The BPAV folder should not be named anything other than “BPAV”.
– Don
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Okay. I wasn’t sure. I think in XDCAM Prefs you can choose to have the name of the folder become part of the clip name. The work around might be to transfer your clips off the disk to a uniquely named folder. That way you’d get your clips named something other than Untitled.
– Don
EDIT: Wayne’s way sounds a lot better 🙂
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Once your XDCAM disk shows up on the desktop can you not rename the disk in the Finder just like any other attached device and then start XDCAM transfer and navigate to your disk? Just curious.
– Don
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Joseph,
In order to edit your current multicam project you obviously need to convert the video of one camera to match the other. Compressor is the way to go for this task. You can do it two ways:
- Transcode the XDCAM EX footage to DVCProHD 720p to match the HVX200 footage.
- Transcode both cameras’ video to the Pro Res codec 1280×720 square pixels.
For future compatibility between formats you either transcode the footage after the fact in post or buy something like the new Ki Pro from AJA that will record to Pro Res while you shoot. But of course you would need 2 of them for your 2 cameras.
https://www.aja.com/products/acquire/
Hope this helps.
– Don
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A zoom speed of 1 is jerky on my EX3 but 2 or faster is smooth.
– Don
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A new SDHC class 10 card from Panasonic just announed:
https://www.dpreview.com/news/0905/09052102panasonicclass10sdhc.asp
– Don
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You’re welcome. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you.
– Don
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[Nate Hanson] “The camera arrives today and I’ve pretty much got to OK it tonight. “
In your first post you said that you had 2 days to check it out once it arrived. I guess that’s changed now? If the camera’s only had an hour of use there won’t be anything wrong with it unless it’s been dropped or something. I don’t recall there being any glaring design problems or inherent weaknesses other than a tape transport system that is, shall we say, less than robust. On my GL2 the tape transport had to be repaired after about 3 years of commercial use. Your mileage will vary depending on how you intend to use it. The tape transport design was shared by many Canon cameras back then, including the bigger brother XL1s. Subsequent models such as the XL2 had a redesigned tape transport that was much more robust. I don’t even know if they still are actually making the GL2. If they are then they may well have upgraded the tape transport mechanism. See if you can find out when the one you’re considering was made.
To increase the life expectancy of the GL2’s tape transport don’t use it as a capture deck when it’s time to transfer your footage to the computer for editing. Get a cheap Mini-DV palmcorder with a firewire connection and use that instead. I never used mine for tape transfer and rarely use the fast forward-rewind function, either. As I said, I got about 3 years out of it with fairly heavy use before the transport failed.
– Don