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Ok. This one is going to be a long one. I'm getting into the market for a new camera or two.
THE WAY IT IS
Currently, I'm shooting with 2 Sony FX-1's, and I use an HC7 for a capture deck that stays hooked to the computer. These are HDV, (1440x1080 60i 1.33 pixel aspect ratio) and use HDV miniDV cassettes which run about $15 per hour. The video image I am very pleased with, but the problem is in wanting a more filmlike appearance.
Currently I run Adobe CS3, and I generally de-interlace the video to make it less "video" in appearance. I have tried using Magic Bullet and several other 24p encoders, and have tried shooting test footage in a variety of means before putting it into Magic Bullet. None of those results or combinations has yielded any effect I am happy with, so I stick to my workflow as is: Import HDV premiere pro, Edit, export BD quality image with HDV settings, Import that footage into After Effects and use the magic bullet plugins to clean up and enhance image and resize to 1920x1080 1.0 Pixel aspect, THEN I reimport as a new premiere project, export audio to my sound guy, and we mix the score and sound in his studio, he bounces it 24/48 and then I import that into the project, and export finals from there.
THE WAY I WANT IT TO BE
1. 1920x1080 OR HIGHER resolution.
2. I want to get away from tape input altogether and from having to use a camera as a firewire capture device. This, to me, is unacceptable moving forward. I've been on normal DV with a Canon XL-1s and multiple others.
3. I want TRUE 24p, not algorithm jerkass BS like you get with "Frame mode" on Canon, "Cinemamode" on Sony, or even the panasonic algorithms, that essentially are just use field order encoding. To me, it's WAY too bad looking, even with the celebrated Panasonic 24PA, which I will readily admit, is far superior to the other companies.
4. Prefer having interchangeable lenses obviously, though this is not a deal-breaker.
THE ONLY OPTIONS I KNOW OF NOW:
1. Panasonic HVX200A. Uses P2 media, can shoot 1920x1080, but there seems to be a lot of disputation about whether this is actually the case... 720p is just not acceptable, and you must shoot in 720p to take advantage of multiple framerates I hear, though I've ever heard anyone with the definite answer on this. The 24p looks really really good, but if it's in 720p, I'm going to be moving backwards as far as image clarity. Not Good, but it's only $5k...
2. Red Scarlet. The Be-all end-all. CF cards for video, interchangeable lenses, 3K and up video, true 24p, by the time I outfit it, I'm looking at probably between $4000-$10000, which is ideal, considering I can use my Nikon lenses for my still camera. Here's the rub. Red released the Red One officially like 2 years before you could get one. Then they only filled 1000 orders (at $17,500 per cam), then you had to wait another year or two to get one. So the Scarlet is supposed to be out this summer, but I doubt I'd see one until 2011, if they fire up the ordering site tonight, meaning I'd have $6000 spent and gone and unavailable for 2 years. Not cool... They are NOTORIOUS for AWESOME cameras, and HORRIBLE delays.
HELP!
I want an upgrade... and the HDV tapes and using firewire (NOT a good format) really get under my skin, so if anyone knows of another camera solution... please let me know. Ideally, for a camera, I'd like to stay around $5K, but I care more about quality than money... but the advantages of a $65000 Panny Varicam or a $100K Sony F23 aren't in my reach. I realize I could rent for couple hundred per day, but I'm more into ownership and being able to control as many pre-production factors as possible. If anyone has any insight on any other camera coming out or currently existing that'd be awesome. Thanks guys!
THE WAY IT IS
Currently, I'm shooting with 2 Sony FX-1's, and I use an HC7 for a capture deck that stays hooked to the computer. These are HDV, (1440x1080 60i 1.33 pixel aspect ratio) and use HDV miniDV cassettes which run about $15 per hour. The video image I am very pleased with, but the problem is in wanting a more filmlike appearance.
Currently I run Adobe CS3, and I generally de-interlace the video to make it less "video" in appearance. I have tried using Magic Bullet and several other 24p encoders, and have tried shooting test footage in a variety of means before putting it into Magic Bullet. None of those results or combinations has yielded any effect I am happy with, so I stick to my workflow as is: Import HDV premiere pro, Edit, export BD quality image with HDV settings, Import that footage into After Effects and use the magic bullet plugins to clean up and enhance image and resize to 1920x1080 1.0 Pixel aspect, THEN I reimport as a new premiere project, export audio to my sound guy, and we mix the score and sound in his studio, he bounces it 24/48 and then I import that into the project, and export finals from there.
THE WAY I WANT IT TO BE
1. 1920x1080 OR HIGHER resolution.
2. I want to get away from tape input altogether and from having to use a camera as a firewire capture device. This, to me, is unacceptable moving forward. I've been on normal DV with a Canon XL-1s and multiple others.
3. I want TRUE 24p, not algorithm jerkass BS like you get with "Frame mode" on Canon, "Cinemamode" on Sony, or even the panasonic algorithms, that essentially are just use field order encoding. To me, it's WAY too bad looking, even with the celebrated Panasonic 24PA, which I will readily admit, is far superior to the other companies.
4. Prefer having interchangeable lenses obviously, though this is not a deal-breaker.
THE ONLY OPTIONS I KNOW OF NOW:
1. Panasonic HVX200A. Uses P2 media, can shoot 1920x1080, but there seems to be a lot of disputation about whether this is actually the case... 720p is just not acceptable, and you must shoot in 720p to take advantage of multiple framerates I hear, though I've ever heard anyone with the definite answer on this. The 24p looks really really good, but if it's in 720p, I'm going to be moving backwards as far as image clarity. Not Good, but it's only $5k...
2. Red Scarlet. The Be-all end-all. CF cards for video, interchangeable lenses, 3K and up video, true 24p, by the time I outfit it, I'm looking at probably between $4000-$10000, which is ideal, considering I can use my Nikon lenses for my still camera. Here's the rub. Red released the Red One officially like 2 years before you could get one. Then they only filled 1000 orders (at $17,500 per cam), then you had to wait another year or two to get one. So the Scarlet is supposed to be out this summer, but I doubt I'd see one until 2011, if they fire up the ordering site tonight, meaning I'd have $6000 spent and gone and unavailable for 2 years. Not cool... They are NOTORIOUS for AWESOME cameras, and HORRIBLE delays.
HELP!
I want an upgrade... and the HDV tapes and using firewire (NOT a good format) really get under my skin, so if anyone knows of another camera solution... please let me know. Ideally, for a camera, I'd like to stay around $5K, but I care more about quality than money... but the advantages of a $65000 Panny Varicam or a $100K Sony F23 aren't in my reach. I realize I could rent for couple hundred per day, but I'm more into ownership and being able to control as many pre-production factors as possible. If anyone has any insight on any other camera coming out or currently existing that'd be awesome. Thanks guys!
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