Here is a question about 60i/30P.


I have read numerous times that you lose resolution using 30P.


I would love that actually explained. 60 i is actually 60 1/2 frames, right???

the sensor is 1440x1080 or 1980x1080. If you are capturing full 30 frames a second, how can 60i actually give you more resolution????



I have asked this on this forum numerous times and no one has ever come back with a definitive answer??

It seems like someone once said it, someone quoted it, therefore it became fact.


I would like to know the facts mam, just the facts!!!



Dale Guthormsen

I'm not sure either, and I'm not an expert, but I don't think they're talking about when you shoot 30p, but rather when you convert and deinterlace 60i to 30p.

Some have claimed that when you try to force "fake" 30p on a non-prog cam by shooting at 1/30th, you lose resolution, but I'm not sure that's been definitively verified either.

Some good discussion of this topic in this current thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/general-hd-720-1080-acquisition/475974-23-976-fps.html

It's a good thread and very educational but is about frame rates and fields vs frames, not resolution, which is what Dale is asking about here.

There is spatial resolution and there is temporal resolution.

30P has more spatial resolution (more detail), 60i has more temporal resolution. While the first one gives sharper images, the second yields smooth movement.

It's a tradeoff - opinions are devided when you ask 'which one looks better'. Personally I like both, it depends on content.

Right... my assumption, possibly incorrect, was that Dale is talking only about spatial resolution for the purposes of this discussion.

What it boils down to is that your choice on shooting 60i or 30p should be based on the type of application your are going to capture.

60i will do a better job all around for all applications but the problem is that 30p just plain LOOKs better as long as you don't push it too far. For action shooting such as sporting events you will be happier with the results you get from 60i. Use 30p for shooting not heavily endowed with action such as weddings.

Another limitation of 30p relative to 60i is slo-mo. If you want to slow down your footage in post then 60i original footage will give you better results than 30p.

...and don't forget that 30p isn't supported by either of the common disc formats, DVD or Blu-Ray.

On the other hand, for web distribution it seems 30p would be better.

But none of this goes to the original question...

Ok,



Please explain spatial versus temporal resolution!!!!

I shoot 60 i and I shoot 30 P, never 24 P as I do not like the look on any reasonalbe movement, just a personal thing.

When I shoot bird flight, 30 P gives a more realistic appearance to how we actually see wing movement. 60i has to be slowed way to far down to get rid of the wing flicker!!! (unless you interpolate it to 60P and then adjust the frame rate).

60 P would be best but I just can't justify the price of a camera that can do that.


Dale