Can i shoot in progressive scan with Sony FX1 and if yes, how does it look?
Have to shoot some hotel rooms, no fast movement. Heard from somewhere, that its not possible to record progressive image on mini dv tape, is it true?
btw, should i get special HDV tapes for filming HDV or it would be same result if i was filming on regular mini dv tape?

thanks

1. Any tape okay. Try not to mix, keep with one brand, if possible.

2. FX1 does not have progressive. It does have Cineframe30, and Cineframe24 ( in the US version ), which gives similar results... There hasn't been a lot good said about it. Test both out yourself. Select in the profile menus.

I wouldnt discount the Cineframe all too easily. I've seen a lot of indie films and the quality side by side with an XL2 was pretty decent and even at reasonable movements were hard to tell apart.

The only downside to the Cineframe is just the loss of some vertical resolution. Which can be a pain for some who aim for that crisp picture. But personally, if you can get away with Cineframe, its all the better - the picture is still acceptable and often, hardly recognisable.

I like the Cineframe 30 on the FX1. I thought it looked excellent, and even downcoverted to SD, the footage looked good. I usually shoot frame mode on most of my short films, including on the GS400, and the FX1 smoked it.

I don't like the Cineframe 24 on the FX1. It really does cause a weird stutter. However, if you use a Cineform product to convert the Sony Cineframe 24, it looks nice. To the discerning eye, it's not as nice as say the HVX200, but it's still pretty sweet. For the price point, it's excellent.

I've got two short films on my website that show both effects. The 48 Hour film "Unnatural Disaster" was shot Cineframe 30, and downconverted to SD for editing. The DV Challenge film "The Autumn Queen" was shot Cineframe 24, converted over with Connect HD to a Cineform format, and edited in Vegas. It was my first experiment with greenscreening as well.

I wouldnt discount the Cineframe all too easily. I've seen a lot of indie films and the quality side by side with an XL2 was pretty decent and even at reasonable movements were hard to tell apart.

The only downside to the Cineframe is just the loss of some vertical resolution. Which can be a pain for some who aim for that crisp picture. But personally, if you can get away with Cineframe, its all the better - the picture is still acceptable and often, hardly recognisable.

Okay, Leo and Robert, now you are going to get me to fool around with it a bit :)

i have to second the opinions on cineframe 30. it's a nice tool to have cineframe 24 is kind of a bust, more of an odd special effect than a frame option. but cineframe 30 can be a nice, softer signature look that maintains the superior HDV colorspace.

one other nice option is, if you don't want progressive necessarily, but a softer, more pleasing image from your FX-1, is the schneider black frost filter...

The word I got with FX1 months ago about shooting for 24p, was to shoot in 60i, at 1/60, and then convert in post to 24p, using a commercially available program... Haven't had a need for it to follow up, but there is that option... Someone here will remember name of program...

The word I got with FX1 months ago about shooting for 24p, was to shoot in 60i, at 1/60, and then convert in post to 24p, using a commercially available program... Haven't had a need for it to follow up, but there is that option... Someone here will remember name of program...Nattress (a plug-in for FCP) or Dvfilmmaker. I think Vegas does a good conversion as well. The method you listed is considered the best method, but I haven't had time to test it out. I just prefer Connect HD, because I don't like adding any more to the final render. I'm weird that way.

Say I have the FX1 and shoot in 24F, can I import that into Premiere Pro on a 23.976 timeline or does it have to be 29.97?

I would be interested if anyone knew a Premire Pro 2.0 converter plug-in (Like Magic Bullet) that is made for the PP2 program.

On the main topic at hand, I'm in a PAL zone, so I've never seen Cineframe 30 before as here Down Under, we ONLY have Cineframe 25. I doubt this would be as bad as people say Cineframe 24 is, but since its the only option avaliable for us, I'm assuming its probably closer to the Cine30 mode as although I notice a judder, Its not something that I find strange (as is the complaint for cine24.)

I would like to know if anyone has compared or seen the 24, 25 and 30 modes of the FX1 and confirm for me thats always bugged me - Bow big a difference is there between the modes.

we were shooting today with fx1(pal) and i couldn't find the cineframe option. So i went without it. But where is it located?

Press the picture profile button on the rear of the camera, select a profile, then choose SETTING. You will then have to scroll way down the list of options until you find CINEFRAME. Since you have a PAL FX1, I believe the only choice will be Cineframe 25.

btw, if i have shot in the regular way, i mean without cineframe settings. What could i do in post to make it better? Just put it into progressive? Any other possibilities?

There are a number of software solutions, depending on the computer you're using. DVfilm Maker is one of them which works on both Macs and PC's: http://www.dvfilm.com/maker/

Nattress Film Effects is one of the Mac solutions: http://www.nattress.com/Products/filmeffects/filmeffects.htm

I have the HVR-Z1U and I have questions about Premiere Pro 2.0 Capture. I shot in CF24 on the camera in HD Mode. When capturing in Premiere, I downconverted from within the camera to SD. The preset that I used to capture with in Premiere was the 24P setting. The video was really choppy and had a really bad ghosting effect with any kind of movement. A second attempt, I did the same settings in the camera using PP4 which uses Cineframe24 and downcoverted to SD as well. The only difference was the Premiere Pro Capture preset. This time I used the standard capture setting of DV NTSC Widescreen just as if I had shot with standard video settings, not using the PP4 Cineframe24. The video came out PERFECT. It looked identicle to a video shot in 24P. Is that how you are actually supposed to capture it in Premiere when you shoot in Cineframe mode? It seems like it is since the outcome was so perfect. Keep in mind that I am pretty much a novice to all of this. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated.

HDV and MiniDV are vastly different...

Check out WikiPedia...

Thats All i wanted to comment on.


G. Hayes

Greg,

I do the same thing. I shoot at CF25 (I'm in PAL land) and when I capture, I put it in a basic 50i project. It comes out fantastic.

Just keep in mind, you are still shooting the basic 50, or 60 interlaced feilds a second, the difference is just swome fancy shmancy effect added (or subtracted to be more accurate.)