My business partner and I are heading to Ethiopia for a month to do a documentary – which we are really excited about.

We are shooting with two HVR-V1U camcorders, with a couple of HDR-HC1’s as b-roll cameras. Here are the questions:

1. Would you shoot progressive (24p or 30p) with the V1U?

2. Since the HC1 cams don’t have black stretch, LUT color, gamma tone, contrast enhancement etc,, would it make the most sense to shoot 60i with the V1U’s (without black streatch or contrast enhancement, etc. engaged) so that the HC1 footage will work best with that of the V1U footage?

3. When using both the V1U and HC1 cams on the same project, what settings would you go with?

4. The new Sony LED light (HVL-LBP) looks promising . . . any thoughts on this on-cam light? Better suggestion?

5. Mostly we will be shooting at 1/60th shutter, but we will likely be shooting at 1/30th indoors in poor light, etc. Perhaps on really bright days we'll go to higher shutter speeds for outside work. Will various shutter speeds cause any problems if we tranfer to film or output to progressive, etc.?

I’ve done tests shooting with different frame rates, etc. and much of what I’ve shot with the V1U’s seems good . . . BUT . . . we want to have success (fingers crossed) marketing the project. Any suggestions regarding what settings would be best would be most appreciated. At the end of the day we want to have chosen the right way to shoot when using both the VU1 and HC1 . . . and hopefully have the flexibility to output the project the way it will work best - be it progressive or interlaced. The odds of the doc going to film is almost nil, but don't want to rule this possibily out so using the best settings now will save us grief we hope.

Many thanks . . .

Ian Campbell

it all depends on final output.
If you're going to film, ever....avoid 30p
24p is easily converted to 60i. Can you manage a camera properly in 24p modes?
if you want the V1 as close as possible to the HC1, then shoot it straight, no LUT, no gamma control, etc.
Or, have them very different and shoot closeups with the HC1 only, and everything else with the V1, or....
Your NLE choice plays a role in all this too. What NLE are you using?

Thank you Douglas for the suggestions.

I will likely shoot the V1U "straight" to help match what is shot with the HC1 cams. If, however, this DRASTICALLY limits the overall look one can get with gamma, black stretch, etc. then I might do as you suggest use the HC1's for close up work etc. or not worry that a different look is present with two different cameras and settings on the same project.

If we shoot 24p with the V1U's, what problems are there in doing so? You ask if we can manage a cam properly in 24p . . . we have only done a couple of short tests. What is the pitfall for those new to using the 24p or 24ap modes? From what I've heard gain noise is more apparent when going 9db or greater in P modes. Should we shot 24ap with the V1U with 60i footage from the HC1's can one generally make something like this work in editing?

The NLE software we are using is Vegas 7e.

We bought your HVR-V1U DVD and have gotten tons from it . . . I'd be interested to know what settings you would suggest when using the two cams together.

Many thanks . . .

Ian

*If* you think you might want to shoot 24p, then practice, practice, practice.
Camera movement in 24p, regardless of shutterspeed, can be a problem if you don't know how to pan or tilt properly. Properly managed, it can be beautiful. Improperly managed, it's like a bad LDS experience.

if you're using Vegas7/8, you'll want to shoot straight P mode.