[John Sharaf]

Jamie,

Then the next question that would logically be asked is whether they edit with FCP. If that’s the case, then the best workflow would be to capture in a 24p DVPRO100 codec and edit in native HD. All you need to do this a 1200A VTR with firewire card or alternately any DVPRO100 deck and a capture card like a Kona in the FCP.

The logic of this is that you complete the project just once, in HD and downconvert on the way out of FCP. Two birds in one stone.

Now I know that many folks are committed to finishing on an Avid system and this often necessitates downconversion and subsequent on-line, which is both more expensive and time consuming. This is the workflow necessiated also in HDCAM which makes it a much more cumbersome system.

Then the next series of questions revolves around the plans for post-production color correction. The answers to these questions determine how extreme you set the dynamic range (200-500%) in the FILM REC gamma menu. If the producer does not want to spend the extra time and money for extensive color correction (such as in a Da Vinci) then I’d recommend you limit the dynamic range setting and achieve a more WYSIWUG look. The higher you set the dynamic range the more the whites are crushed and the blacks are pressed.

There are many settings in the Varicam menus and there is no “one size fits all” preset. To really take advantage of the camera and it’s capabilities you should customize the look to the requirements of the particular shoot; sometimes the dynamic range is best controlled with the lighting, other times this is not possible. You are correct in seeking the participation of someone familiar with the process, but your SDX900 experience should serve you well in learning the Varicam quickly.

[John Sharaf]

Jamie,

I think you need to know why you’re shooting with a Varicam; are you seeking an HD product, are you shooting with variable framerates? If not, your SDX900’s are just as good fopr a standard def product at 24p. If you really want to make them better, just use HD glass!

BTW, the Varicam records to tape just like your SDX900 also, at 29.97 fps. The distinct 24 frames are “flagged” so that FCP can pull them out into a 24p project. The main advantage to this is that it saves a tremendous amount of storage; 24fps is 40% of 60fps and the storage savings is the same.

Unless you are downconverting through a very sophisticated (read expensive) high quality box, the SDX900 will produce a better SD picture. If I’m missing something that motivates the use of the Varicam in this production please enlighten me.

thanks,

JS

[John Sharaf]

I’m going to venture a guess that this new P2 HD camera will not have variable speeds nor 24p; I think it will be positioned to compete with the HD entry level cameras like HD-XDCAM and Infinity in the television news market. That may be why we do not see a “Varicam” nameplate on the body.

The full-on P2 Varicam will come later, when the card-media costs come down and the per card capacity goes up (to at least 16Gb) and will include (still my guess) D5 recording in addition to DVPRO100.

In any event, I think that the tape-based current model Varicam still has legs for all who do not need tapeless ingest and who might prefer to archive their master on cheap tape. This would include low budget filmmakers and documentarians.

Finally, a portable P2 recorder could effectively extend the use of the current Varicam (as long as it will take an HD-SDI input) and provide the best of both worlds, namely simultaneous archive on tape and instant ingest on P2 card. It will really be determined by the form factor of the P2 card recorder. Hint, hint, hint!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Berry,

You’ve basically answered your own question; either you’re capturing or playing out from the Nitris. attach only the appropriate in or out to do the task at hand; if capturing connect HD-SDI out of the deck. If exporting attach HD-SDI in to the deck. This should solve your problem; think “feedback loop”.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Berry,

Could be clogged head from dirty tape or if you’re digitizing by firewire and also have capture card connected to HD-SDI in this can sometimes cause a feedback loop.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Gary,

Actually I use the Miranda DVC800 on my Cine Alta, which uses the propriatary 50 pin connector on the camera to route the analog hd signal, so it just wouldn’t be appropriate. The issue then becomes the ergonomics; how many cables and little adapters and power supplies must you cobble together to get a servicable operation?

JS

[John Sharaf]

I have to say that my dealer, Birns and Sawyer in Hollywood has agreed to “protect” me and the one other customer who had just received 8 Gb cards in the week before the price drop! It’s still a matter of hassleing out whether it will be an actual “refund” (which I’d prefer) or “credit”. But it is a matter of $1200 in my case, which puts the whole transaction in a much better light.

Neither they (the dealer) nor I however, can reason Panasonic’s action; surely they knew one month earlier that they would be lowering the price. Furthermore it seems rather moot in that the supply of the 8Gb cards is slim. One thing for sure, we’ll never know what they think!

I’m still a little pieved that you can’t view the HD-SDI signal from the camera, through firewire into the 1200A; what’s the deal? It must be the same phenominon that FCP users report trying to use the 1200A deck connected to an HD_SDI monitor for viewing. I have a Kona card in mine which provides this capability. Perhaps AJA or someone else is listening and will provide an HD_SDI monitoring solution, but I would appreciate some explaination from Panasonic. I did bring it to their attention!

[John Sharaf]

Dane,

Yes, there seems to have been a good sized shipment made on the 28th, so dealers got quite a few units yesterday; I saw the UPS truck unload five of them at Birns and sawyer in Hollywood, but don’t bother, they’re probably all gone by now!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Ray,

This dark compression feature became available with the much heralded software upgrade from this past summer. Unfortuneately, until this recent fix announced by Steve Mahrer here just yesterday the use of the feature was quite limited operationally because it would revert to the “normal” default on power cycle, thus making it something of a booby trap for inconsistant application.

You’ll find it, if you have the upgrade, in the VTR/FUNCTION menu.

It postdates the Goodman book, but I’m sure he’ll add it to any “revisions” he makes in the future.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Steve,

Thanks for all that good intel!

Am I to conclude then that based on my discovery of the working dark compression feature (that it stays on through power cycle) that the new SW ends with the suffix “B” rather than “C”? Please state the version name of this newest revised software, and could you elucidate to us what else is in it other than the dark compress “fix”.

JS