So I have the HVR-A1U. I read the thread about the "cineframe 24" being a gimmick and I'm wondering if the "Cineframe 30" is also a gimmick. Should I shoot 60i and get the film effect from FCE or should I shoot in 24? Any input?

cineframe 24 is TERRIBLE really you dont want to use it, however i really dont mind cineframe 30 its look pretty much just like 30p but i would prefer to you 60i and convert later. btw i have the a1u.

jack,

how is 30f for slow pans compared to 60i? also, how is lowlight capability if shooting in interior of home during the day w/ homeowners yungsten/flourescent lighting? thanks.

Setting Cineform to extact 3:2 pull down during capture, CF24 look OKish. It does lose about 40% resolution however.

(If you don't extact the pulldown it looks awful).

how about 30f? i'm not interested in 24f. thanks.

The same resolution drop - 35-40%. Apart from that it's fine.

I've been shooting with no in-camera effects, color to lowest setting. Shooting at 1080i60.

As noted above, the cineframe effect in particular add unacceptable amounts of noise and resolution loss and should be avoided.

To achieve a nice filmic effect, I convert to final timeline to 30fps de-interlaced/progressive with the Nattress G-Film plug-in in FCP 5.1.

The result is low chroma noise, 30p... a filmic cadence and image quality which I think looks spectacular - very close to film overall.