Hello everybody,

I need some advice on a purchse I will make in the next week.

I live in the USA so it is a NTSC country.

However, I am currently in Europe and will be here for the next 6 months or more.

If I can buy a PAL MX 500 for around the same price as a PV-DV953 (NTSC), are there any advantages in buying the MX 500 ?

In the future, I plan to transfer all my DV tapes to my notebok computer and burn DVDs. Can I do this with a PAL MX500 and then watch the DVDs on a NTSC DVD player and NTSC television ?

Or would I have to use a NTSC/PAL DVD player and NTSC/DVD television ?

Any advice is appreciated....

Mistake made on the second to last line.

I meant to say:

Or would I have to use a NTSC/PAL DVD player and NTSC/PAL television ?

Hopefully someone will address your concerns. If not, I'll post late this evening. I've got 6 VCRs working on over-time right now. I just popped in to see what's up.

That's a tough question(s). Are you planning to keep this PAL DVD footage for yourself? If that is the case, and you start with PAL, then all you would need is a DVD player that reads the different regional codes and/or PAL/NTSC. This way your NTSC television will be able to view the PAL DVDs created.

Once you move back to the USA with your PAL MX500, you will other issues, such as lighting created flickering, and incompatibility with some eqiupment (monitors, some lower-end software).

Some people have expressed that they prefer shooting PAL and in frame mode for their DVDs, even though they live in an NTSC region.

On the other hand, NTSC is usually not an issue in Europe since many TVS, VCRs etc are multi-system.

I don't know what else to suggest in your case other than if it were me, I would buy a PAL cam while I lived in Europe (but planned to eventually come back to N.A.).

Frank,

The DVD footage would be for my own personal use here in Europe and then when I return to the USA.

I am probably going to buy a PANASONIC portable DVD player (LX9). This is a PAL/NTSC all-region DVD player.

Something I don't quite understand is, if I transfer PAL DV footage (from the MX500) to a computer and burn a DVD, is that DVD created in a PAL format or NTSC format ?

I have bought DVDs here in Europe, then played them back in the USA on my NTSC DVD player and NTSC TV and had no problem. The DVDs however were all region DVDs. They would have to be to play in North America (region 1). I don't understand if these DVDs would be PAL format or NTSC format. They were actually made in Germany so my guess is PAL.

If my DV footage was created in PAL format and played on a multi system all-region DVD player, or played directly from the MX500 into the TV, wouldn't my TV (back in the USA) also need to support both PAL and NTSC ?

I don't quite understand what you meant with "you will other issues, such as lighting created flickering, and incompatibility with some eqiupment (monitors, some lower-end software)".

Do you mean I could have these problems on a NTSC only TV back in the USA ?

Thanks for the response.


Adam

Adam,
If you capture the footage in PAL, you will create a PAL DVD unless you convert it to NTSC. PAL captures video at 25 frames per second (FPS) (50 fields/second interlaced) while NTSC captures video at 30 FPS (60 fields/second interlaced). It takes some special software to make the conversion. You might want to check here (http://www.dvdrhelp.com) for more information on how to convert using a PC and freeware.

I'm not sure how you got a PAL DVD to play on an NTSC TV unless you used a DVD player that could output PAL and your TV was a PC monitor.

You won't need a PAL TV to view PAL DVDs with a multi-ststem DVD player. It does the conversion for you as the DVD is played.

Some lower end software only edits PAL or NTSC and not both.

Shooting PAL indoors with house-hold lighting in NTSC land will cause flicking or pulses in your video; and it looks awful.

Check out this thread discussing the International DVD distribution:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17029

If you purchased Region 1 DVD it should be originally NTSC for USA - nothing written on the case?

After research on the net it seems there are much more DVDs even in Japan that can play both NTSC and PAL (on NTSC TV) including the brand names. Other can be made region free or even macro free (free of Macrovision or other protection). I found good page explaining all the possibilities but it's in Japanese for Japanese market players.

I can always give you a list of good makes/models of multi-system/region free DVD players, if you want. There is a shop not too far from where I live that sells them, so I can easily find out.

Thanks guys.

Frank,

"Some lower end software only edits PAL or NTSC and not both "
and especially "Shooting PAL indoors with house-hold lighting in NTSC land will cause flicking or pulses in your video; and it looks awful."

Sounds like more trouble than it is worth to buy a PAL camcorder if I live in NTSC land over the long-term....

What Bogdan said about DVDs playing on both PAL and NTSC is true from my expierence.

How can this be done ? I would have tended to agree with what Guy said ("If you capture the footage in PAL, you will create a PAL DVD unless you convert it to NTSC").

The DVDs I bought in Europe on the plastic case say "All Regions" but do not specify specifically PAL or NTSC.

Frank, if you happen to have handy a list of Multi System, Multi Region DVD players (or know of a link where I could find more info) that would help me out.

Thanks.

Adam

Adam, I'll post tomorrow with some recommended models. I have to call the local specialist on this one.

Adam,
If you record your footage in PAL, then the DVD will be in PAL format (25 FPS). Since PAL is close to film (24 FPS), it is possible to do 3:2 pulldown with the right DVD player and play the video on NTSC TVs. I suspect this is what is happening.

BTW, the Region codes are only applicable to commercial DVDs. What you produce at home can be played anywhere.

<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski :
Shooting PAL indoors with house-hold lighting in NTSC land will cause flicking or pulses in your video; and it looks awful. -->>>

That will only happen if the house-hold lights are fluorescent. Regular incandescents, which I think are the most used ones, are no problem whatever the country frequency.

There are also some high frequency fluorescents that cause no flicker.


Carlos

A good multi-system/regional free DVD player is the Phillips model #616 - international version. This unit comes with a 1-year international warranty. It can be used with any NTSC and PAL TV (it does not require a multi-system TV, like with many other players). The price is also very good. It costs $200 Canadian at the dealer here in Vancouver. IN USA Dollars, that would be about $150. This dealer ships internationally as well. Here is the info:

Foreign Electronics
Vancouver, BC
Ph: 604.879.1189
E-mail: foreign@telus.net - for full details and/or concerns.

PS: I've bought from them before. They are an excellent dealer. They also sell PAL cams with international warranties (and with English menus)

Thanks for the info Frank.

I decided to purchase the NTSC PV-DV953.

By the way, if anybody is interested, B & H just dropped their price $100 yesterday on the DV953. It is now at $1099.

Thanks to everybody on this forum who have been helpful.

$1099 - that's cheap!

(In Canadian that would be around $1380! The going price in Canada is $2450, a difference of over $1000.)

Now is the time to buy it Frank !!

By the way, onecall.com, will match any price from a legitimate Pana dealer.

I tried to get onecall.com to match a price from Abe's of Maine or Beach Camera but they said those businesses are "slime bucket shops" and won't match the price (at Abes it was about $1020 including shipping - but who knows if and when you would ever receive the 953 from those guys !!).

So I bought it 15 hours ago from onecall.com (out of Spokane, Washington) and it has already shipped out and will arrive in Ohio on Friday, December 5. Also I have a 30 day defective return policy with onecall.com.

Now, I am looking into wide angle adaptors.

I am looking at the Raynoxs HD 6600 PRO and HD 5000 PRO.

Do you have any first hand expierence regarding these ? Do you think I would see any problems when using the enclosed adaptor ring to fit the HD 5000 onto a 43mm DV953 ?

Thanks.

Adam

January might be even a better time to buy. :-)

Onecall does not ship to Canada. Personally, I'd go with B&H---not only because they are a great dealer, but because they are one of our sponsors.

I have never seen these 2 Raynox models, but I've read from members that they are very good. Tom Hardwick tested the HD5000, as I recall. There are some threads on this forum about wides for MX cams.

(Yes, you got a great deal. I'm happy for you.)

Tom has given me some good advice on the Wide Angle adaptors via email.

On my other camera, I was using a Tiffen .7x (or .75x ?) and it was really good, however that one is heavy and not going to be wide enough for me anymore.

I agree , B & H is very good, a "flower" among the "crap" that comes out of NYC (especially BROKLYN !!).

The Tiffen 43mm's are good, but Tiffen's 37mm's are better---not suited for 43mm threads, though. I would go with what Tom and Allan suggest. Okay, I'm out of here. Tomorrow's another day (hopefully.)

Hey Adam, the raynox 5000 is a beauty, comes with the adapter ring u need.

I second Emmet's post. I ordered the HD 5000 Pro with the DV-953 and it is awesome. Outstanding resolution edge to edge, a bare minimum of distortion, fully zoom-through and negligible light loss. Also no vignetting, even with a standard B+W 62 mm UV filter. However, go with a Tiffen 43 to 37 step down adapter, metal vs. the plastic Raynox and with a slimmer profile.

Robert wrote:...However, go with a Tiffen 43 to 37 step down adapter, metal vs. the plastic Raynox and with a slimmer profile.Huh? Why would you get a 37mm threaded Tiffen wide? The Tiffen 37mm is better than the Tiffen 43mm, but I don't think it's a good idea to use the 37mm on the 43mm threaded Pana. By the way, plastic construction does not effect lens quality.

Robert and Emmet,

Thanks for the advice.

I am trying to decide whether to buy the RAYNOX HD 5000 or HD 6600.

The advantage of the 6600 is the 43mm thread matches the DV953 thread. But if you guys say that the adapter ring causes no problems, then I should go with the HD 5000.

Regarding the UV filter, you used a regular thread UV filter ? You did not need a slim-line UV filter ?

I don't exactly understand your comment " However, go with a Tiffen 43 to 37 step down adapter, metal vs. the plastic Raynox and with a slimmer profile".

Do you recomend buying a Tiffen 43 to 37 adaptor because it is better than the adaptor RAYNOX provides with the HD 5000 ?

So you find that the HD 5000 stays in foucus through all 10x of the the DV953 zoom ? That is really good. The more I think about it, the better the HD 5000 sounds.

Thanks.

Adam and Frank,

When I spoke of the Tiffen adapter, I was referring to the adapter mounted between the 43 mm Pana lens and the 37 mm Raynox lens (you got this point Adam). IMO, a metal adapter ring is preferable to a plastic one, especially when it provides a slimmer profile. I have no issues with the quality of the Raynox lens, which I find to be excellent (okay, coating could be better, but you can't have everything for $140). Given that, as I mentioned, there is absolutely no vignetting, even with the standard UV filter, the fact that the Raynox has a 37 mm lens mount is of no concern. I had my fingers crossed when ordering the standard filter, given the extra expense of the B+W slim-line, but, again, it works perfectly.

Adam,

FYI, I purcahsed my DV-953 from B&H last week. I have dealt with B&H on several occasions and have always found their service and support to be top notch. If you have not dealt with them in the past you can rest assured they are a completely trustworthy and reliable source.

N.B. They dropped the price the day I received mine and with one call they immediately credited my card the $95 difference.

I understand, Robert.

By the way, did you buy any type of lens hood for the HD 5000 ?

If I put a Multi-Coated UV filter on the HD 5000, do you think a lens hood would be necessary to cut down on flare ?

Thanks for the info.

Adam,

A lens hood will probably be my next purchase. The B+W UV filter on my cam is the MRC model, but I still caught some glare when shooting under a bright sun on Wednesday. The glare was minor and my own fault in positioning myself in the shot.

Robert,

If you happen to find a good Lens Hood that works well with the HD 5000, let me know. Thanks.