Matthew Romanis
Forum Replies Created
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Does it seem odd that in the bundled configuration 1/2 the storage is 1/4 the price? One would think that there is an over supply of 4g cards and until they are gone we won’t see price breaks on the 8g cards. Anyone doing only SD 25/50mbps could pick up a great bargain at the moment.
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Are you asking about the HVX 200 and the SDX 800?
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Gary sorry about the Typo in the above post. I copied some text from TEXT EDIT app and didn’t look at what was hanging on the end.
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[Steven Rushworth] “Also another point to clarify FCP will happily edit 720/25 p just not over firewire. Whether this is an Apple or Panasonic issue is not
clear , as both companies ,in conversations I have had have suggested the other is at fault. Maybe Jeff can answer the question .
Is it true that AJ-HD1200A isn’t capable of 60hz over firewire? And until it is Apple can’t support 720/25p over firewire?”Good question. Any time I have asked this of our region Panasonic reps they can’t give an answer, or say “I can’t see why not, but we have not been told.”
And yes, 720p@25 HD100 is possible through my BM card, just not FW. FCP offers 25pfps as a sequence option in 720p HD100.
Matt. -
Hi Gary,
No one thinks of film as NTSC only though. Film can be shot at 25fps for straight telecine to PAL TV standards, or 24fps, or 48fps, or whatever is required. Varicam should be thought of in the same way as non standard dependHi Gary,
No one thinks of film as NTSC only though. Film can be shot at 25fps for straight telecine to PAL TV standards, or 24fps, or 48fps, or whatever is required. Varicam should be thought of in the same way, as non standards dependant capture. The argument that until it is supported over firewire in PAL that it’s NTSC only is counter productive, the Kona 2 and BM cards make life easier and open a lot of options. I would dearly love to see FW support for 25fps soon (maybe a pipe dream), but because there is none at the moment doesn’t mean that PAL Varicam can’t be done.
VIVA LA 25fps (HD or SD)!!!! -
Hi Robert,
The Camera can definitely be used in both PAL and NTSC modes. While it is correct to say that there is not a PAL version as such, it may be misleading to say this to the point that people may not think it can be used with a PAL outcome in mind.
The camera can be configured to operate at PAL frame rates and frequency’s, therefore for all intents and purposes it’s a PAL camera too.
90% of my work is for PAL 25fps HD and SD.Matthew.
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Hi Robert,
The Varicam is perfect for this. I have recently been shooting BTS for TNT Movies on the set of “Stephen Kings Nightmares and Dreamscapes” here in Melbourne, Australia.
Australia is a PAL 50hz oriented region but we had to provide TNT with an NTSC original for post in Atlanta. I switched the Varicam from its PAL 60hz frequency to NTSC 59.94hz and shot at 30-fps. When the footage is played back through the Black Magic card into FCP, it is flagged as 29.97fps NTSC.
For your shoot make the same frequency change in the Varicam (in Europe it will be 60hz by default, make sure this is changed to 59.94 or all bets are off), and set the camera frame rate to 24-fps, which will be recognised as 23.98fps when used in post.
The usual country frequency differences will still be evident, such as flickering fluorescent lights and monitors, but use a shutter angle of 216 degrees and this problem is resolved in almost all situations.
In the viewfinder menu you can dim or blank out the extra 16×9 region outside the 4×3 protect area making shooting for this aspect ratio easier.Regarding the issue of standards conversion if you shoot PAL SD, do the standards conversion in Europe with a good converter. PAL to NTSC conversion has always been a better process than NTSC to PAL, especially when the conversion is performed form a 50hz supply. Until Varicam this was how we did NTSC in PAL regions. You do need to mindful of over chroma areas especially green. Because you are going to NTSC 24-fps rather than NTSC 30-fps, you won’t have the temporal problems that arise in taking 25fps to 30-fps, you will however have an almost imperceptible speed up.
If you take your own lights you will need to replace all the elements in favour of 240v bubbles rather than the 110v you are probably using at he moment. If you take Diva lights or such, make sure the ballast can handle the differences.
Make sure that chargers and monitors can operate on both voltage and frequency systems.I hope this helps.
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I totally agree with this sentiment. One of the wonderful things about the Varicam is how it can totally unite the NTSC and PAL regions, however it seems to favour NTSC in workflow (ie, firewire and FCP FRC plugin.)
It is extremely frustrating having made the investment in the format to see this particular bump in the road still here after two and a half years.
We experience difficulty in marketing ourselves as shooters when most conversations come to this point and we have to explain that firewire is not an option, and furthermore that an investment of at least $2000.00 AUD is required to enable a workflow.
It is really unfortunate that PANSONIC chooses to be deaf to this issue.
I would be really pissed off if I didn’t love the camera so much. -
??Chad,
I have had a similar problem, though not exactly the same. I ran the activity monitor app (in utilities) to determine if FCP was hogging RAM for some reason. I discovered that playing around with the RAM sticks in the G5 resolved the play head issues. I have tested the RAM individually, but they all seem OK, placing them back in a different arrangement has helped. Not a scientific or definitive approach, but it worked. -
Check the specs on your MAC drive, a lot of them don’t play DVD+.
I have read that this is because APPLE is not a technology partner in +media, though I know if that is for real.