It's the same optical block and CCDs as the HDC-1500. As far as I know the CCDs are capable of both native progressive and native Interlace.

A friend of mine just got a F335, and he has a few questions/issues that I haven't encountered with mine, so I was hoping some here might have the answers.

1) He's running Anton Bauer batteries, is there a way to get a voltage display like he is used to in his other cameras instead of the percentage display that the F335 is currently giving him? I couldn't find a way in the menus to do that.

2) He was trying out the new camera outdoors, and he had a problem getting it to do a white balance in the shade a few times. The image wasn't overexposed, he was pointing at a white card, and the camera came back with "too high" or "White Balance NG". I'm not sure the exact wording, but he said it was something like that. He then changed ND filters, got a WB, then went back to the original clear filter, and got a valid WB that time. Have any of you encountered this?

3) Should one do a Quick Format when reusing a Pro Disc that had previously been recorded with different resolution or frame rate clips? My friend found that if you simply delete all clips, even if they were in a different resolution or frame rate, the camera was happy to start from the empty disc recording new clips in any format.

4) Since focus is extra critical in HD, do the rest of you have the VF peaking set as linked with the VF H/V detail or not? My friend finds the default, with it linked, to be a very different look from his last camera's peaking with that linkage turned off. Is the peaking and VF H/V detail an actual different function?

5) What do the rest of you have your automatic audio AGC set for? The default is -6dB, but that seems a lot higher than what the DSR-300A did under automatic.

Thanks.

Hi Eugene,

To answer your question 4, this is what I use for peaking:

A31 VF Setting
Peaking VOL. LINK OFF
H DETAIL LEVEL 50
V DETAIL LEVEL 50
DETAIL FREQ HIGH

I'm using a Detail setting in the Paint menu of -10, and find this setting combined with the above peaking settings comfortable for me.

With the defaults (VOL. LINK ON) I find the peaking to high, and the image in the viewfinder much to "busy". Also it's very hard to use peaking this way to get critical focus.
With the H and V detail at my setting and VOL.LINK OFF I use the peaking knob on the viewfinder to "fine-tune" the peaking based on the scene I'm shooting.

Richard

I thought I read somewhere the suggestion that when the PDW700 gets its 720 mode it would do it by de-interlacing the 1080i (cutting it to 540 lines) and then up-rezzing that to 720. I hope and assume that's not the case. Anyone know for sure what the situation is?
Steve

What's the best way to get high quality Flash video from Sony HD MXF?

Can On2's Flix Pro input directly from a MXF file?

Any other suggestion on the best way to go from MXF to Flash on a PC?

Thanks.

I always do it using Sorenson Squeeze compression suite and the VP6 codec - but I go via a Matrox AVI file (from my Axio system). Not sure that Squeeze will read MXF file - but worth a go as there's a free trial version available.

Hi,

I need some printable 300dpi or 600dpi beauty shots of a XDCAM HD camcorder (nice front shot , or nice side shots).

Has anybody a download or can send me an email?

Thanks!!

ULI

It seems that the MPEG compression scheme in the PDW700 is capable of I frame compression (it's the same as that used in the Flash XDR and that can do it so it must be capable of it). Any possibility that Sony will introduce it for the PDW700?
It seems to me one of those strange situations that crop up these days where you can get a third party item that'll do a better job with the camera than the camera can do itself an you end up wondering why the camera maker didn't do it like that in the first place.
Steve

I very much doubt you'll see it on the 700. To get the same quality using just I frames as opposed to 50Mbps long gop would take a bit rate around 150Mbps and the optical discs just aren't fast enough for that. Besides which who would only want record times less than 15 mins on a 23Gb disk and less than 30 mins on a 50Gb disc. One of the key advantages of XDCAM is the relatively small file sizes that makes throwing footage across networks or the internet easy. XDCAM allows the use of simple, common interfaces such as USB 2 or firewire and you don't need fast raid arrays for editing. Push the bit rate up to 150 Mbps and you won't be able to do real-time or faster work using USB and you will need raid arrays for editing. The 50Mb codec offers excellent quality yet can easily be edited on laptops which is hugely important for many users.

Upon upgrading my firmware for my 350 to AT 1.70 and Package 1.95, i read where i should also upgrade to 2.1 of the FAM driver (for OS X). Anyone know where I might find that? The Sony website is no help at all, I really hate it.

Nevermind.

Hi there.
I'm looking to hire or buy a used Fujinon XS13x3.3 in the UK. Haven't had much luck finding rental companies that stock it, or used ones for sale. I'd like it for a forthcoming shoot with my F350L.
Any ideas? Do you have one for sale!?

Thanks, Sparky

VER - Video Equipment Rentals - Video Equipment Rentals ? Locations (http://www.verrents.com/locations/index.php?country=Eur) this is the closest rental company that I could think of off the top of my head near England. Hope this helps.

Hello talented panel, hope you're all well.
Has anyone used / could recommend a fisheye adaptor or good wide angle adaptor for my Fujinon xs17x5.5 (believe it is a 82mm lens), on my F350. One that produces a decent picture.

I have to shoot some stuff in Shanghai in a couple of weeks and I know there will be a couple of tight locations. I'll be filming the tallest building in the world (the SWFC) and a really wide shot will be so useful. At the moment I can't afford to buy a 1/2" wide angle HD lens. Your collective thoughts as always would be more than welcome! I'd be more than happy to pay someone to hire their wide angle lens (leaving a deposit etc if they're London based, I am based out in Essex) but I'd need it for 10 days.

Thanks
Sparky
www.sparkymedia.net

Here are the settings that are used on the PDW-700 by the BBC. Setup is from Alan Roberts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/production/docs/hd_sony_pdw700.pdf

Enjoy!

I've been using a stereo shotgun, both on and off camera, fed to the 5-pin stereo XLR front input on my F335, and this has worked fine.

I'm now looking to feed a pair of PCC-160s to this port as a stereo pair.

I currently feed the PCCs to the back of the camera, but I'm looking at some different options since I want to make full use of my 4-channels of audio.

The front port has always-on phantom power, so I figure this should work fine with the PCCs.

Has anyone done this or anything similar?

Thanks.

MacVideo.tv takes a look at Sony's XDCAM HD422 technology and talks to Mark Bainbridge, General Manager, Media Sales, Sony, UK.

Movie of the week (http://www.macvideo.tv/camera-technology/features/index.cfm?articleId=106403)

Interview of the week (http://www.macvideo.tv/camera-technology/interviews/index.cfm?articleId=106374)

Source : MacVideo - The ultimate resource for video on the Mac (http://www.macvideo.tv)

Any idea what an alarm status of 02-F37 with the error/alarm light flashing 4 times per second means?

That's not a code in the help section of the U1 Utility software, which is where the manual said to find the alarm codes.

Thanks.

OK, talked to Sony this morning.

Error 02-F37: No movement detected in ND filter internal operation check.

Yup, the laser actually has an ND filter in the optical block.

So, off to Sony Service it goes, and they hadn't heard of anyone else having this problem yet. It's a warranty repair. He said they probably need to replace the entire laser/optical block.

I am curious if anybody has tried to emulate the skin tone colour of a Panasonic on a 350? I shoot for a station that uses P2 cameras, and to my eye skin tones seem to have a bit of brownish quality, while sony's seem to have a rosey/orangy sort of look.

I notice this when watching my clients news cast. I haven't received any complaints, and I don't really think one is better than the other, but I would like to move a little closer to the look if possible.

Unfortunately I don't know much about this sort ofthing, and don't have the charts or measuring equipment to do it on my own.

Any help appreciated.

I tried switching to the user matrix, and adjusted the hue control to the green side a bit. It accomplished what I was looking for, and reduced the reddishness a bit.

Anyone willing to post the button combo that will allow me access to the Engineering Menu of the V1 deck? I had to reset the deck and now i dont have access to a full menu, including 215 - FAM/AC

I really need to get the deck back into FAM but i cant without enabling the extended menu.. agh

Please someone help.

Dont worry, found the dip switch settings and the button combo deep in the manual... should have looked in there further.

Also discovered you can reset the hours meters of the deck.. nice work sony! not.

Is the HDVF20A and HDVF200 the only compatible viewfinder for PDW 700? I have a Sony BVF-20W wherein the connector fits but I'm not getting a display. The VF from the F350 does not fit.

Also the CF35 colour viewfinder.
I think it has to be an HD viewfinder (the one from the F350 is SD), and think they are all compatible with all current 2/3" HD cameras (F900, 790, PDW700 etc.)
Steve

How do these cameras perform with regards to noise?

I have not worked with the PDW700 yet and I am afraid of buying one and being disappointed by the result when compared to the F900R.

The chip in the 700 seems better than the 900, the recording mechanism seems better--especially when using the XDR at 100mbps, but are the other factors I should be considering?

thanks,

jim

The PDW-700 front end has a little less noise than the 900R, but it's a tiny difference. However the XDCAM codec introduces a bit of mosquito noise so if you are recording to disk noise amounts appear similar. If you were using an XDR at 100Mbps I would guess that would give you a cleaner image. More noticeable is the PDW-700's extra resolution. If you are doing your own productions then the XDCAM workflow offers some big cost savings as you don't need a deck to import the footage with accurate timecode etc. As the PDW-700 deck requires no maintenance there are savings to be had there too. Plus you don't get drop-outs!

When I shoot in 1080 24 frame HQ the timecode shows as free run and will not set to record run. When I shoot in 30 frame it works fine and I can easily set the timecode. Is this due to the 24 frame calculation being too difficult for the timecode circuitry to be set manually. Incidentily, when I click to clock time it picks up that timecode number and doesn't miss a beat. Not a big deal but I do like to code the discs with reel numbers that match with timecode hour.

Dan

Why is there component out on the EX3 but not on big brother PDW700? Be very useful for monitoring on HDTV.
Steve

Why is there component out on the EX3 but not on big brother PDW700? Be very useful for monitoring on HDTV.
Steve

I would guess, no professional wants to deal with a 3-wire component + audio cables these days. The single HD-SDI cable for video/audio is a much more practicle and elegant solution. Plus, this camera is already loaded with feaures and anything you add cost money and consumes power.

Thierry.

Ok, I probably should post this in the FCP forum, but it relates so much to the PDW700, I am posting it here.

I did some tests using the EX1 with individual frame advance and when footage is recorded at 1080p25, and dropped into a 1080p23.98 ProresHQ sequence, it drops frame 13 to achieve this. There is no frame blending.

If you choose conform 25p to 24p in the tools menu, it will change the media and turn frame 25 to frame 1 of the next second, making your footage that much longer. To do this, first you have to convert the footage to ProResHQ.

We have tested this and with the PDW700 also and so far we don't miss frame 13. It will be nice when the new firmware is out, but this is such a fantastic deal of a camera now that it was not worth waiting for 24p when 25 is nearly equivalent.

The audio will change pitch slightly IIRC. But the change is small enough that it's well within the capabilities of modern audio editing software to re-time and maintain pitch.

But that is a handy workaround to the lack of 24P.

-gb-

When I shoot in the HD 420 35 mbs mode, do I get a 1440 x 1080 on file or a 1920?

1440x1080 for backwards compatibility with with the 1/2" disc based cameras.

Does the use of 60 cycle Diva bulbs cause a flicker when recording on the PDW-700 in 25p mode?

thanks,

Jim

The Diva's have a high frequency ballast so you shouldn't have any problems.

Wait, wait... I am not sure what the issue is here. AVID's new software versions (Media Composer 3.5, NewsCutter 3.5, ...) do a terrific job handling proxy/hires clips whether you are logging, importing or batch importing. You can log/rename your clips on one system and batch import to hi-res on another one. The only file that needs to be carried accross the process is the sequence, that is it. This process is now flowless and very fast

In order for relink to work, proxies need to be imported directly from a XDCAM disc. If proxies are copied on a hard drive, DVD or other storage device you need to duplicate the folder/XML files structure of the XD disc at the root level of the storage device. Note that clips can be renamed any way you want in the AVID bins and clip names can be different from one system to another. AVID completely ignores the clip names in bins and instead, tracks and reads clips and disc metadata. Write back works equally well. No complicated sequence or export settings to figure out. Just choose "Export to XDCAM Device" and select your bit rate and sequence tracks to be exported. There is also an option to only export a section of a sequence based on the selected area. One very useful feature with the tightly integrated files and metadata management is that it is very easy to rebuilt and old XDCAM sequence which mediafiles have been deleted. Select the sequence, choose "batch import" and the system will call up for the proper disc names to be inserted. Note that since the software is actually reading the disc metadata (its social security number sort of speak...), if the wrong disc is inserted, it will be rejected.

Thierry.

By the way, there is an excellent white paper on XDCAM HD and EX workflow available from AVID at http://www.avid.com/xdcam/Sony_XDCAM_Workflow_Guide.pdf. This dates from 3.0 versions but the XDCAM HD stuff is almost 100% good. The EX part needs to be updated and the memo does not talk about the new AMA (Avid Media Access) feature which permits editing directly from SxS memory card, XDCAM HD discs or virtual XDCAM volume bypassing the need to import footage in AVID's media folder.

Thierry.