Is the lens on 350 going to be more tele (10?) in SD 4/3 DV mode with the optional board?

No, it will be the same.

Are you sure? I thought there is some cropping involved.

No cropping in SD 16:9 and just the usual edge crop in 4:3, so focal length is the same. The full sensor is used in both HD and SD.

May be same focal length, but due to the cropping the angle of view will be less, will appear to be not as wide as in 16:9.

So, as I suspected, 8 is not wide at all. Closer to 40mm on 35stills. But, hey what can we
do, it's only physics right? This means I need to get a 2/3 wide SD lens. Something around 6 will do I suppose.
What about pool feed, does anybody know if there is an option to record from a pool feed/dsng van?

What about pool feed, does anybody know if there is an option to record from a pool feed/dsng van?
Assuming you're still talking about 4:3 SD, I think it will, but only via Firewire. Obviously, you can get SDI-Firewire convertors, and I assume you can get analogue PAL-Firewire as well.

Specs here - http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowProduct.action?product=PMW-350K&site=biz_en_GB&pageType=TechnicalSpecs&imageType=Main&category=XDCAMCamcorders

There is a menu option to select the record source as firewire or camera. Firewire operates in both HDV and SD modes so it is reasonable to assume that the firewire in will work in SD. I have not tested this though. There are no other inputs at the moment. The camera has a 50 pin expansion slot so who knows what might get added in the future.

The FOV with the kit lens is pretty much the same as an EX1R or EX3 so you would have the same edge crop in 4:3 with them as well. It's completely normal for 16:9 cameras.

Is the SD mode now standard? I'd be pretty annoyed having to pay for it as it is standard on the EX1R!

No, SD is not standard, you have to buy a hardware dongle.

I have been informed by those in the know that the i-link input cannot be recorded in SD mode. You can use it to preview incoming i-link SD in the viewfinder but the camera cannot record the signal in SD. So if you are using an external recording device such as a deck or MRC1K you can watch SD clips back, but not record them internally.

If you are going to be doing a lot of news work in SD and need to record pool feeds this is a bit of a pain and will mean a separate recorder would be needed. One possible option would be a NanoFlash as this can record SD via HDMI or SDi at very high quality using the IMX codec, which is quite a bit better than DV. Then when your shooting you would have the option to shoot HD in the camera as well as either HD or SD with the NanoFlash by down converting in camera over SDi. If you need firewire then you could use an MRC1K.

No, SD is not standard, you have to buy a hardware dongle.

Thanks Alister, Any idea on price?

I have been informed by those in the know that the i-link input cannot be recorded in SD mode. You can use it to preview incoming i-link SD in the viewfinder but the camera cannot record the signal in SD.
Which does make their literature very misleading, IMO. It lists "HDV (HDV 1080i)/DVCAM stream input/output" under i-link, and the obvious assumption is that it means it can record it. Is it a case of having been disabled for taxation reasons, and if so is it possible it may vary from country to country?

HI David. Yes the literature is a little unclear. HDV can be recorded but SD cannot. I don't think it's a tax issue.
I believe the SD option has a street price of around £500.

No, SD is not standard, you have to buy a hardware dongle.

Hi Alistair,

I'm a little confused. Can you clear something up for me? If I buy a PMW-350 and want to record SD in the camera (for UK news programmes - major clients for me) exactly what do I need to buy in addition to the camera, and will it be able to record SD internally onto the SxS cards?

Many thanks

Steve

To enable SD you must by the SD option which is a hardware dongle. Without the dongle the camera does not do SD.

Another question...
Does the sdi output sound as well or only video? THX.

SDI contains sound and timecode.

So, I can run simple BNC from camera to an uplink unit that will contain
video and sound, right? No need for xlrs? What length can I run? Is it safe to say 60 meters
without quality loss?

Yes, but this is very dependant of the HD/SDI cable quality you will use. With proper cabling, you can safely do 50 meters and quite more.

Here is a bit more background info on this:

Extron Electronics - Distributing High Definition, High Performance Imagery for InfoComm's Large Venue Display Gallery ? How We Do It (http://www.extron.com/company/article.aspx?id=lvdg_ts)
http://www.whirlwindusa.com/ftp/tech/beldtb65.pdf

Thierry.

To enable SD you must by the SD option which is a hardware dongle. Without the dongle the camera does not do SD.

Thanks for that. Okay, I've got a PMW-350 and I've got a hardware dongle. Can I still record SD in the camera onto the SxS cards, or does the dongle mean that I have to record the SD externally, say onto a Nanoflash or similar?

Sorry to be a pain.

Steve

With the optional dongle you can record sd dv to sxs media as avi files.

Thierry Humeau thank you so much for those links. It is exactly what I needed.

Just to clarify the SD situation once more.

With the dongle you can record the cameras output as AVI files on the SxS cards or other internal media. The camera will output SD over SDi, component, firewire, composite or HDMI. It will not record SD or DV from external sources including firewire.

HD in is possible using the 1440x1080 SP mode and inputing HDV over firewire.