Hello,

Is there a way to shoot 1280x720 with the Canon HF M40? Or do I have to shoot in 1920x1080 and convert to 720 in the editor? Also, what's the best setting for shooting a stage show (i.e. fashion show)? The stage will be well lit with colorful stage lights. By the way, this cam will be stationary shooting wide.

Thanks,
Troy

I don't have your camera. I suggest, since on one has jumped in, to check your manual. It should list available shooting modes clearly.

Looking beyond the manual, in general, shoot and edit in the higest res mode, and down-convert to the delivery format as the last step.

With respect to lighting, anything we say is speculation. Try get the the venue early, if not a day or two before, and run advance tests with the actual lighting you will have to determine what works best. Using a good monitor at the venue, with manual exposure and white balance works well in most situations.
If the liughting is changing durign the show you will probably need to man the camera to keep the exposure in an acceptable range.

Thanks guys. I looked in the manual, but didn't see anything about shooting in 720. However, I saw something on the web about using FXP mode to get 720. I tried fxp and it was still shooting at a higher resolution, so it looks like Don is correct. I shot the event this weekend and the footage looked great!
I used a single tripod with a dual attachment (pretty neat) to have both cams (hmc150) side by side.
The Canon was used on a separate tripod shooting wide stationary on the stage. The only thing I had
to make adjustments to during the shoot was the aperture due to the models going in and out of light
on occasion. Other than that I'm happy with the footage. The HMC150's with the right scene files are
flawless.