Notes On Video

I just bought a Sony HDR-XR500V (which is the same as the HDR-XR520V, but with a smaller hard drive.) I’ve been looking to replace a Sony HDR-HC1 (which is an HDV) camera, and this looked like an interesting option. I often shoot multiple camera events, and I’m constantly trying to improve the image quality (without busting the budget!) The HC1 is a good performer, but in lower light situations, it tends to produce a lot of noise and color is poor.   I also recently bought a Canon HF100 as a third camera, and it was really starting to show up the HC1.   A few notes about the XR500: As a semi-pro (by that I mean I’m not shooting holiday snapshots, but I’m not shooting professionally) this camera is not what I’d call a semi-pro camera. In particular, it’s lack of an audio input for using external mics, and manual audio gain control, mean that, as a primary or sole camera it won’t be good for many users. Documentary makers should probably skip it. Those looking for better audio options sh...

Just about as soon as it was released, people started complaining about the limitations of the video capabilities in the 5D Mk II. There’s two notable problems: • the lack of manual controls when recording video • no 24/25p recording The latter is a big problem for those in Europe, and those wanting to use this camera for content to be distributed on film, while the former is a problem for almost everyone. Now there’s some unconvincing rumors that there will be a firmware update in April that will “add a feature.” What is that feature? Who knows? But if they did add manual controls of some kind, I might be tempted to buy one of these beasts (at the moment I’m content to save my money figuring that the next camera will add those manual controls, and will be the better buy.)

First there was the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II, and now here comes the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1, the third DSLR to arrive with HD video. You can read the announcement here. The GH1 is a Micro Four Thirds system camera; it has interchangeable lenses, but because it’s designed around a smaller sensor the body and lens are smaller than the SLRs from Canon and Nikon. On the video side of things, the camera supports: full HD (1920 x 1080) video at 24 fps or 720P HD video (1280 x 720) movie at 60 fps using the AVCHD format (MPEG-4/H.264). You can see some sample videos on Panasonic’s site (though not at full resolution.) More importantly, auto-focus will work while recording movies, and you can manually set aperture and shutter, a feature lacking on the 5D Mk II that’s driving some users mad. Unlike the D90 and 5D Mk II, this camera also has a swivel LCD screen on the back, which could be really useful when using it as a video camera. On the other hand, the camera has a video viewfind...

I’ve recently started moving from tape based recording to flash based, first purchasing a Panasonic AVCHD camcorder, and now a Canon HF-100. I’ll admit to being nervous; tape is a great archive medium, and - it turns out - much easier to transfer and deal with than AVCHD files. WHAT IS AVCHD? When the first consumer HD tape-based camcorders appeared on the market, most of them used the DV tape format, but used a different compressor (MPEG2) to get the video onto the tape (the tape actually records a digital file.) This format was called HDV. As manufacturers have moved away from tape towards hard drive and flash based cameras, they’ve adopted a new compressor that is much more efficient, and can handle higher resolutions. This compressor is called AVCHD. It takes advantage of more horsepower available, producing files that are much smaller than HDV. The downside is that it’s not a great compressor for online editing. CONVERTING AVCHD ON A MAC Turns out that it’s a little more complicat...

Happy New Year! And if you didn’t get what you wanted at – insert holiday here – then maybe uncle CES and aunty MacWorld have something for you… But first, Canon has released firmware that it says fixes – or mitigates – the “black dot problem” in the 5D Mark II. First reports are encouraging. The firmware update doesn’t add any features – like the ability to manually set aperture and ISO while recording video…a feature people using the 5D MkII for video capture would just love to have. Unfortunately, I think they are wasting their time waiting…they will have to wait for the Mk III or the 60D for new features. iMovie 09 Apple didn’t announce much at MacWorld, but they did roll out iMovie 09 . While perhaps not a serious editing tool, it can be useful for quick editing, and they added one exciting addition; image stabilization New video stabilization in iMovie ’09 analyzes how much your camera was moving while you were recording, then automatically reduces camera shake. Stabilize on a ...

DVinfo continues to be a good source of information for those playing with their new Canon 5D Mark II’s Josh Dahlberg notes issues with aliasing and the rolling shutter : …with the default settings, aliasing and moire patterns can be nasty (you don't need to hunt for artifacts, they pop out when complex geometric patterns or horizontal lines are in focus). However, after turning sharpness down a few notches, I didn't notice any problems at all with today's footage (shot in a variety of contexts) […] I shot using a monopod and lenses ranging from 24mm to 135mm […] Anything over 50mm IMHO requires a tripod or steadycam as rolling shutter bites hard with even the slightest jerk. Having said that, rolling shutter is not an issue with smooth, controlled movements. John Fairhurst offers these tips for managing rolling shutter : Pan the camera only one direction per cut. No back and fourths. Use wider lenses for faster moves. The skew will blend with the lens distortion, which pe...

I wish they'd up the length of clip you can upload (still limited to 10 minutes) but it's cool that they are YouTube is now supporting HD: YouTube pushes HD video, new landing pages They have a page with details on optimizing video . Resolution Recommended: 1290 x 720 (16x9 HD) and 640 x 480 (4:3 SD) Bit rate: No recommended or minimum value Frame rate: The frame rate of the original video should be maintained without re-sampling. Pulldown and other frame rate re-sampling techniques are strongly discouraged. Codec: H.264, MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 preferred. Audio Codec: MP3 or AAC preferred Sampling rate: 44.1kHz Channels 2: Stereo

Canon has announced that they are looking into the black spot issue on the new Canon 5D Mark II. We have learned that some users of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera have identified two types of image quality phenomena that appear under certain shooting conditions. * “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black) * Vertical banding noise We are currently investigating and analysing the causes, and examining measures to reduce or eliminate these phenomena by providing correction firmware. An announcement will be made on www.canon-europe.com as soon as measures have been determined. A solution for the banding problem found on Northlight Images site: Vertical banding noise If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and background. The following camera settings can reduce the phenomenon. Set the recording format to RAW or JPEG. Set C.Fn II-3: Highlight tone priority ...

...I don't mean their prices are in free fall.. If you’re planning on using a harddrive based camcorder in free fall situations, you might want to reconsider it; seems that the hard drive parks the heads when it thinks it’s falling, and the camcorder won’t work. That’s what Matt Harding found when he tried to use the Sony SR-1 in a zero-g plane. New York Time , Pogue: The Perils of Zero-Gravity Videography 17 million watch a guy doing a gig? Jessh, I'm in the wrong business. Even more on the wireless microphone/spectrum issue can be found here: Spectrum Talk: Wireless Mics are a Legitimate Use of Spectrum and Wireless Microphone Update: The Twisted Logic of NAB and MSTV - Now Locked in Conflict with APCO and CTIA I particularly like his use of the term " criminal spectrum squatting ."

I’ve been following the DTV transition with mild disinterest. I thought I sort-of knew what was going on, but one thing I had completely missed is that the shuffle around of spectrum impacts the users of wireless mics. Previous generations (i.e. the one I bought two years ago) use part of the television spectrum (698-806 MHz: referred to as the 700 MHz band) to transmit. But with the DTV transition, things have gotten moved about, and parts of that spectrum will soon be allocated to emergency services and other parts were sold off to AT&T and friends. So, in theory, those wireless mic systems are illegal after February 2009. Now, it’s not clear what that really means in the short term. Manufacturers have brought out new systems. Your existing systems will continue to work; though it’s possible you’ll start experiencing more interference. A friend who works at a broadcast station says they just went through all their gear, identifying equipment that they wouldn’t be able to use afte...

The cameras are slowly arriving in peoples hands, and more reports and sample images and clips are appearing. Phil Holland has put up a review of the Canon 5D Mark II . He’s generally happy about it, noting that the image quality compares very favorably with his 1Ds Mark III. He finds the low light capabilities impressive and he's included some sample images and video. He notes the problems with adjusting and setting exposure settings in video mode, and suggests getting Nikon AI-s lenses and a lens adapter so that you can at least manually set the aperture! Or, perhaps Canon will let you set things in a future upgrade. Or maybe we should just wait for the next camera? There’s whispers of a “Black spot” issue that seems to occur in some cases when shooting bright highlights. Reportedly Canon is looking into it. DVInfo has created a dedicated forum for the 5D Mk II , suggesting that this camera is really popular with video freaks (and I mean that in a nice way.) And Charles Wu has...

Christopher Witz got hold of a Canon 5D Mark II and seems happy with it [ My 5DM2 opinions.... ]. As a still camera he felt the resolution and noise levels were as good as his Canon 1Ds Mark III. In fact, the only advantage of the 1Ds III he feels is in frames per second and the buffer transfer. He also noted that the LCD of the 5D II is much better than the 1Ds III. But it’s the video that he’s most excited by: The video quality is "Oh my god" the 1st time you see it play back on a 1080p screen.... blacks are crushed a bit ( picture style fixable ) but that's ok.... Very little noise.... this thing practically sees in the dark. On the other hand, he bemoans the inability to lock settings, suggesting that if you’re doing multiple takes and want to keep the settings identical, your best bet will be to leave the camera running between takes! A little more troubling: If you're planning on smoothing out your shaky footage with "smoothcam" or any other post stab...

Dan Carr is expecting his Canon 5D Mark II any day now, and in anticipation he's just posted an informative blog about the options for attaching external audio devices to the camera: Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 1 - Microphones . Initial tests from various photographers indicate that the video quality is excellent, but the sound quality from the on board microphone is poor, not only that but it also picks up noise from the camera mechanisms such as the IS, aperture and just simply touching the camera body. He covers some inexpensive external mics - like the Sennheiser MKE 400 - as well as XLR to 3.5mm converter boxes like those from BrachTek . I actually have an earlier model BeachTek, and can attest to their usefulness for using different professional mics with consumer video cameras.

I know, I'm obsessed. But here's a test drive of the Canon 5D Mark II by Dan Chung for The Guardian . Even better, he comments on his experiences at the DVInfo site . Some interesting comments about the limitations he encountered, particularly a problem using the HDMI output to drive an external monitor while shooting. (Note that another poster asked about using the standard video out instead, which he hasn't - yet - responded to.) 1. In Movie mode the HDMI outputs 1080i when you are framing up and sorting focus and exposure. […] the moment you hit record it changes the output to 480p, worse the resolution change forces both HDMI displays I've tested to take about a second to adjust in which time you see nothing! 2. The image quality is stunning in low light, even at its maximum 3200asa it is still usable. […] 8. The rear screen is actually very good and can be zoomed up twice to check focus on specific spot. However when you start to record you can no longer zoom to ...

Reports are that the Canon 5D Mark II started leaving the Canon distribution centers today , though Amazon and B&H Photo still list it as unavailable or available in December. The big question (after "when will they appear in stores?") is how many do they have and how many back orders are there? If you didn't pre-order, you might not see one until January... Adobe , meanwhile, has updated their Camera RAW plug-in to support the Canon 5D Mark II . RED , fresh from their announcement of the DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera) System back on November 13th, now say there's going to be another big announcement on December 3rd . Everything has changed... says the post. Finally, YouTube now supports widescreen video! You can upload video that are 960 pixels wide . They also now allow you to upload a maximum of 1GB (up from 250MB) but the length of the video is still limited to 10 minutes. I recently created a Vimeo account precisely because YouTube didn't s...

Anything you can do... It seems that Nikon might have a new full-frame sensor camera up it's sleeve - the Nikon D400 - that might get announced next week (or it might not.) While there's speculation about the resolution, release date, and other features , the biggest question of all is; will it support video like the D90 does, and might it support 1080p like the Canon 5D Mark II does. It will be interesting to see if Nikon does announce this camera next week, given that it's just about the time that the 5D MkII is expected to start showing up in stores. YouTube Project: Direct Anyone see The Onions joke announcement of a competition run by YouTube to produce a video " that is somewhat watachable or provide even a shred of enjoyment for people other than those that made the video " ? All good fun. Well I missed the fact that there is a competition on YouTube called Project: Direct , where you could win a trip to the Sundance Film Festival. The film must include a...

YouTube is all about making money these days. Umm…well, aren’t we all? They are now selling search terms , and movies are coming too, though one “respected Hollywood researcher” seems to think that iTunes will win out over YouTube and Hulu . "The issue comes down to ad-supported versus the paid model," Adams said. "For ad supported, the question is how many ads can you run and how much money can you generate per viewing? That has to be compared with the money made from rental or movie purchases. The content companies have all their content on iTunes and have shown complete support for the site despite their worries about Apple dominating the market. The studios aren't making the same content available for ad-supported services." Meanwhile, MySpace has a searchable video widget . Canon 5D Mark II Everyone's waiting for these to ship, so there' not a whole lot of news, though one forum post adds some information about how exposure is handled while shoo...

I’ve been waiting on the RED announcement, because I was a little concerned that it would confuse my interest in the Canon 5D Mark II. Finally, RED has announced their new plans for the DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera) System . What they have done is designed a new product line that consists of different sensor blocks that work with interchangeable pieces. In theory, you will be able to buy the 5K model now, and upgrade to the 6K model next year. There’s some limitations (for example, the 3K uses a different lens mount to the 5K and 6K models.) If the marketing materials are to be believed , and from what I can see, the “cheapest” Scarlet - the 3K ($2,500) - features a C-Mount, not a Canon or Nikon mount, and isn’t expected until the Summer/Fall. If you want to use Canon or Nikon lenses, you have to get the 5K, which is $7,000. And that’s body only. You will need several other bits and pieces to get going. The other thing is that assembled together (see picture) it looks like q...

It’s a quiet news day, but the week could shape up to be more interesting. RED is supposed to make a big announcement on Thursday . Of course, they won’t actually be shipping anything; they’ll just be announcing new products that probably won’t turn up until sometime in the middle of next year, if that. The image – that shows what look like XLR audio inputs – is kind of interesting. But the really interesting thing is the ship date and the price. Meanwhile, MGM will be posting full-length movies on YouTube . I’m not sure I want to watch a whole movie at current YouTube resolution; maybe they’ll improve it for the movies. The other question; will we want to watch the ads? The only obstacles to Google and YouTube getting more studios to post full-lengt movies is Google's insistence on a particular ad format, say the sources. They declined to say which ad unit Google prefers. The other hurdle is that some studios are skeptical that users will accept all the ads that need to accompany ...

I wrote before that I haven’t been using Premiere Pro for some time, despite having a soft spot for it back in the day. The lack of a Mac version for a while really put the kibosh on that, but I was interested to see the CS4 update, and to read the review of it in MacWorld . It’s an academic interest only – I’m in no hurry to switch from Final Cut unless Premiere is totally awesome - so I just read the Pros and Cons list (it’s a long article!) Something leapt out at me right away: “no preview of HDV during capture.” Say what? It took a little while, but I found the passage: On Windows, Premiere Pro’s Scene Detect feature identifies points on the tape where the camera stopped between shots and captures the shots as separate master clips, each linked to a corresponding media file. But on the Mac, Premiere Pro captures a single master clip and creates a subclip for each shot. Both master clips and subclips work fine when it comes to editing. But because the subclips are linked to a singl...