[Tony]

Ethan,

What is the brand and model number of the monitor you are using when the problem occurs.

Is it an LCD or CRT monitor? Have you compared another monitor with the one which displays the problem? Part of your testing should be comparing and contrasting two different units against each other to verify if one or both display the same problem.

I have had a similar issue with major noise in the blacks but the problem turned out not to be with the camera but the monitor instead. Rather than speculate let me know the info on the monitor.

Are you subrenting the gear? If so have you spoken to the engineering department at the rental house or the owner of the gear?

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Opps,

I meant to say “Jiri” not “Jim” on my last post.

I apologize for the mistake.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Jim,

I loved working with the BTS LDK 91,92 and 93 series cameras. One of the greatest looking analog camera heads ever made. However the design of the body itself left much to be desired as well as the size and weight when in camcorder mode.

For a 1/2 professional high end camera it had all the accessories and support gear I required for high end shoots. But the world of 1/2 BTS cameras are a world away from any prosumer 1/2 cameras today as we both know.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

David Mullen is an extremely talented DP in his own right. It was a pleasure to hear that he is now a member of ASC.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Michael,

Proper financing would be a budget where you do not have to beg, borrow, and steal the resources, crew and equipment necessary for a professional shoot.

It is also a shoot in where the crew will actually be feed a meal which does not consist of crackers and soup.

Regarding your question will the audience see the perceived quality difference on screen. Well the answer is NO!!! assuming they are color blind, deaf, stupid, retarded and cannot read or write. If they can tell the difference is there actually a ticket dollar value to attach to the difference? Would this mean that low end movies shot on the 200 should only charge $1.50 and a Varicam movie should charge $9.00 for tickets so the audience would know in advance they will be seeing a significant quality difference which merits the increase in ticket prices?

Two days ago I viewed a 2K projection test of the Dalsa Origin camera. Could I tell a difference in the ability for the Origin to capture a huge amount of dynamic range (advertised as 13 stops), incredible resolution and color space? No!!! I could see absolutely nothing in fact because I was so distracted by the sexy female model and the beautiful scenics. So much so that I had to go up to the front of the screen and reach out with my hand because the images were so “life-like” I felt I could reach in and touch the scenes.

Would I have reacted the same had the images been shot on a Varicam or 200. Most likely yes because that sexy model would have been in the scenes again.

Ok no honestly of course I am joking about not being able to see a image quality difference. It was in fact some of the most impressive digital cinematography images I have seen which demonstrates significant improvements in dynamic range, colorimetry and spacial resolution. Would a pay $9.00 to see productions shot on this camera? Yes.

This overall tone of this thread is starting to sound more like a discussion about “the have’s and the have not’s”. For those who cannot or will not accept there is or may be a quality difference between a 2/3″ CCD camera versus a 1/2 or 1/3″ CCD then it will never matter what format or camera you shoot your project with. For those who can then it does matter given they can afford or will budget properly to acheive the quality and content results they desire to complete.

My best recommendation for those who are in the “have not” category of never having been exposed or worked on a “high end/big budget” digital cinematography shoot is to make it a priority to get on the set and watch and learn how the equipment and crew interact with each other to create the imagery. For those who are in the “have” category then I recommend doing the opposite and visit a “low to no budget” set and see how the crew and equipment interact to create their images. Prehaps between the two some newly found knowledge and techniques can be cross applied to future jobs. I personally have done both and can appreciate how both applications maximize the tools sets, crew experience and equipment made available for the project.

Just one final word of warning when visiting the “low to no budget” shoot bring your own lunch because there are only so many crackers and fritos to go around for the crew.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Dan,

FYI I shoot DVCPRO 50 as well as digi beta so I understand the merits of both systems.

What I was referring to was not origination but the ideal post production codec when dealing with color correction, lots of layered efx etc.
Issues such as severe banding have nothing to do with bad directing just bad technical information.

No one needs to view a waveform to see the negative implications of using an 8 bit system for an application that can benefit from 10 bit.

However not all projects need to go 10 bit if 8 bit when mini dv will do. In these cases a decision must be made regarding budget versus quality to decide which route is best.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Dan,

I have to disagree with you regarding your average person statement because anyone understands the importance of 8 bit versus 10 bit especially especially when it comes to color correction will indeed see a difference on air, on tape or even on vhs. Banding is a major issue which distracts visually and is one of the major reason to work in 10 bit instead of 8 bit.

It is not just about disk space but the level of compression, color space,resolution etc which are of concern to the client, editorial house etc.

Can the average person tell the difference between 35mm film and HD or mini DV? Some can and some can’ but so what? If none of this really matters then why not just shoot in VHS to start with?

Can the average person tell the difference between a stock VW bug and a high performance Formula one race car. Some can and some cannot both vehicles serve a purpose to get the driver from point A to B. Except that one will actually cross the finish line in first place.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Walter,

Where the heck did you find the dual 533 G5? No wonder you are not having problems like the rest of us. You got machines that no one else ever had.
All joking aside I assume you actually meant to say dual 533 G4.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Ange,

I discovered that the problems are not limited to the FCP forum. I appears to be random on other forums also (digital photography) .

Ron is there anyway to return back to the same Cow functionality and features prior to the upgrade or in this case downgrade?

Thanks,

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Michael,

Well one item the viewers are not going to see but the crew and producer will is the workflow and operational procedures between both cameras.

For example on a large scale multicamera production involving the need for jam syncing timecode, a VC to shade the cameras, maybe the use of fibre, cameras on jibs, switchable lenses, etc then using a higher end production camera is the proper tool for the job.

A production has much more to do than the final image on screen. If a tools requires ten times more workarounds to acheive a simple task then why anyone would put themeselves through the pain of it escapes me.

The end users currently using F900’s and Varicam as their principal source of cameras are not going to overnight switch to the 200 just because it is smaller, cooler and cost alot cheaper. It will be a supplemental camera. Those who cannot afford to work in the big leagues will find the 200 as a camera which will serve their needs.

The two products are not meant to replace each other rather supplement.

Tony Salgado

PS- I Just heard about some exciting disk recording technology another company is releasing soon which will blow away P2 (especially the price point) for high end work.