John Sharaf
Forum Replies Created
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Walter,
It’s true that I at first I was put off by the many menu settings in the 1200A; but over time (about a year and a half now) I’ve come to appreciate the versatility of the deck because of the many settings.
It should be fairly obvious, that in lieu of the more conventional Record Run/Free Run
hard switch which is found on many other VTR’s there is a need to somehow choose whether the TC should origionate in the deck, on the taPE, by a slave to the external TC IN connector or from the embedded signal in the HD-SDI. The same is true of other “confounding” settings which have to be made; eventually you will find the solution in the menu!Regards,
JS
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Walter,
It’s a 1200A menu setting; #507 “TC SOURCE” default (0000) is Internal, to latchup to embedded LTC use “0002” setting!
JS
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Judge,
The Lite Panel is a great light; being that it’s daylight color balance, yet easily gelled for tungsten and that it has a very handy dimmer control, but there are definately situations, mostly day exterior when it is not powerful enough. In those cases I prefer the AB Ultralite HMI. I must admit that I probably have four or five different on-camera lights which I use in different situations, but again the newest one (Lite Panel) is usually my first call!
JS
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Walter,
Actually the TC is also embedded in the HD-SDI signal; on my 1200A when we backup record, we get HD video, audio and tc on the one piece of coax. Also my Leader LD5700 waveform is able to dis-embed the TC and display it (or clock time) in the top right corner of its display.
JS
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Mike,
The Varicam is a very good choice for HD production for the very reasons of economics and workflow that you mention.
To be perfectly honest the 1080 Sony Cine Alta is slightly sharper by comparison, but the tradeoff is more money and a more complicated post production workflow, often requiring downconversions and outside on line editing. In addition the Varicam has variable speeds which allow both over and under cranking. The Panasonic VTRs all transcode 720 to 1080 and visa versa, so this is not really an issue. In fact I’m shooting tomorrow for CBS Sports which broadcasts in 1080i with the Varicam per their request, and many other Varicam 720p projects end up on Discovery and other 1080 outlets; just like “in the old days” when many Digibeta deliveries were shot on SP Beta or even DV.
The firewire workflow and storage is made possible by creating 24 fps projects in FCP by only digitizing the discrete frames that are otherwise repeated in the 2:3 pulldown that is written on the DVPRO100 tape. Even though its a 100 Mbs bandwidth the 24 fps is only 40% of the total (40% of 60 fps) so it results in a managable bandwidth and storage requirement. That its quality is as good as it is is amazing!
The Panasonic 1200A VTR with the accessory Firewire and SDI card completes the system, and yes you will need to use HD specific lenses to get the ultimate resolution and minimize chromatic aberations (although you will never eliminate them completely with a three chip imager design), both Canon and Fujinon make beautiful products. I believe there is a purchase program right now which offers a good sized refund when you purchase the camera and deck together.
If you’re really serious about the Varicam I suggest your company send several of you to attend the Varicamp; it’s offered in many places around the country and the instructors are very knowledgable about the camera and the workflow; much more so than the dealers from whom you’ll buy the gear. I think it’s only about $1250 per head for a three day session and well worth the money.
Regards,
JS
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David,
Yes, the HD-SDI output of the Varicam is the best quality possible; better than the recording!
The most common monitor used with this camera is the 8.4″ Panasonic HD LCD, because amoung its other features it also boasts built in Gamma Correction for correct viewing of the 500% Dynamic Range setting in Film Rec.
For a short time recently they were even giving the monitor away with each camera purchase!
JS
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I’ve encountered this dilemma several times in museums and libraries and it’s always worked out; sometimes you use the gain in the camera. other times you light very carefully to approved light levels (they read you lighting with a footcandle meter). Nowadays with slow shutter speeds and variable frame rate cameras (like the Varicam) you can shoots stills (or night exteriors for that matter) or any other non-moving subject at slow frame rates and shoot almost in the pitched black. Does your camera do that? If not beg, borrow or steal the appropraite unit.
JS
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n,
While I’m not sure about the Nitris’s capabilities (although it must take both 720p and 1080i/p) I can tell y7ou that the 1200A deck (with the SDI card) will output either!
Go to menu setting #632 (Video page) and change from the default setting to 0000 which will transcode the output to 1080.
No you do not need the 1700 deck, but you will need to be importing to a HD-SDI capable editing machine with enough storage to accomodate your project.
Good luck,
JS
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Atl,
I usually run the detail on but turned down all the way on the ECU. Sometimes the number reads -20 other times -19!
JS
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Bruce & Leo,
I have to correct Bruce in his statement that I have had success with the Varicam with “network” clients; although I expect that to be the case soon with the conversion of Good Morning America and then other ABC News programs to HD. Since I have had my Varicams, I’ve used them on commercials, industrials, standard def and HD cable programs, long form feature documentaries, a low budget feature film and on a series of pilots for cable. Many of these assignments could just have easily been done with the F900 except for the fact that the clients specified Varicam!
This was usually the case because they preferred the lower rental price, the less expensive tape stock and the firewire work flow that enabled them to edit in native HD codec on FCP. Another reason of course is the ability to shoot at variable frame rates, both over and under cranked.
Personally, I prefer the flicker-free viewfinder and monitoring vs. the F900, and the slightly smaller and less power intensive Varicam compared to the F900 which requires an on-board analog to HD-SDI converter for convenient monitoring and systems integration.
This is not to say that when compared in progressive (Varicam) vs. PsF (Sony) modes the F900 is slightly sharper when viewed on my 23″ eCinema monitor (Varicam scaled to fill the 1920×1080 raster).
As regards the Dynamic Range setting; I think Leo is very lucky that he works in a closed-loop environment and is able to color correct each shoot. This allows him to use a 500% setting even though he is not finishing to film and therefore take advantage of the maximum highlight compression the best mimics motion picture film. Bruce is correct in his understanding that such a setting is not always appropriate when delivering a WYSIWUG master tape for broadcast or finishing in an environment that does not include extensive color correction, or at the very least a Gamma Correction Box in the post production work flow; in these cases the 200 or 300% settings, and some slight black press (-1) create a very nice compromise setting that does offer many of the advantages of the “film look” or “film gamma settings” vs. what would otherwise be a “video look”. This is especially the case when combined with the 24p speed and 180 degree shutter.
None of this however obfiscates the 27F vs. 27H issues; especially for owners who have just recently purchased their camera, and as regards interoperability in a multicamera environment. I believe that Panasonic should at least offer recent purchasers a trade-in program, although I don’t think there would be many takers and I think they should have included a “dumbed down” matching mode in the new camera so it (and the old memory cards) could be used with existing 27F’s seamlessly. JMHO!
F900 owners will be facing this same issue soon enough as Sony discontinues the current model and replaces it with one which will have improvements along the line of those in the 27H; and ironicly for the very same environmental issues. Perhaps they’ll include SR recording and 1080 60p features but we’ll have to wait and see. I for one (as a F900 owner too) hope that the old camera and the new camera can continue to work together, and I would be greatly suprised if Sony offers any kind of trade-in program considering the length of time the f900 model has been in the marketplace.
It is true that the economics of both these cameras defy the conventional formulas, especially those of the Beta camcorders, because they were consideably less expensive and seem to have lasted much longer. Perhaps we were all spoiled by this calculation! Especially as competition and lower rental rates for the F900 and the Varicam become the norm, it will be harder and harder to justify their purchase at current prices.
The real problem is when the necessary lenses, monitors, decks and other infrastructure is added in. The networks and other clients/producers who are accustomed to Betacam prices will be reluctant to pay more than the current prices, so owner/operators will be squeezed. This part creates the great unknown. Furthermore current Betacam owners will be lumbered with their current cameras which they might have to keep for some lingering SD clients and could not sell for any significant coin even if they could.