Recently purchased the HF 200 - first use will be filming several performances of my new musical that debuts in 2 weeks. I have a MacPro - 16GB RAM, tons of HD space, etc.

My question: I will be creating a "making of" DVD set with the show plus interviews of me (composer), script writer, director and cast. If I shoot in one of the 2 HD modes, I know that the footage will need to be converted in order to fit on a DVD.

Would I just be just as well off to shoot in the highest non HD mode, then import that into iMovie or FC Express - thereby avoiding the conversion step?

Thanks for any input.

Charles

Hi Charles, all of the modes are HD modes. This camcorder doesn't do anything but HD.

OK, I did not understand that but that is fine.
So . . . the XP+ mode is still quite good quality yes?
Will it transfer into my Mac faster I assume than the two higher modes?

With a 16GB card - class 6 - in XP+ mode I can fit the whole 2-act show on one card.
It will be typical stage lighting - a lot of spotlights most of the time.
What setting would be best for me?

Thanks!

Charles

I would recommend shooting some test video in the XP+ mode and playing it back on your living room HDTV set. If it looks good there, then it should be fine. The XP+ mode is recording at 1440 x 1080 anamorphic, which is still HD even though it isn't full 1920 x 1080. All that matters is how it looks to your eye upon playback on an HDTV.