Which is better,frame or normal?

[Bruce Pelley]

My experience with the photo mode has been dissapointing with mediocre results to say the least and the next option is to extract single frames captured from footage and save then as TIFFs or jpegs.

My question is this:Is either mode,in any way more favorable in obtaining better quality "stills" over the other,and if so why?

Are there any things I should know in order to get the best quality captures that are possible?

Thanks.

Bruce

[Ken Tanaka]

Frame mode will generally produce the best still frames from footage, particularly if there is any movement in the frame. Reason: it deinterlaces the footage, minimizing interlacing jaggies.

Nothing special to know. Just expose carefully and accurately, compose your frame well, and keep movement controlled and moderate.

[Bruce Pelley]

To be honest,to date I've always shot in normal mode.

What are the pros and cons to shooting in frame mode otherwise than it produces better source material for capturing stills?

Always appreciate your input.

Bruce

[Ken Tanaka]

Hello Bruce,
You'll find reams of opinions and info on frame mode in this section as well as in the XL1S sections. You can also get a bit more technical perspective at Adam Wilt's site.

In brief, Canon's "frame mode", or "movie" mode, is a sort of synthetic version of progressive scan. That is, it produces a very good simulation of capturing both video fields simultaneously in each frame. (In NTSC video standards, this would be comparable to "30P" recording; 30 full frames per second.) Note that Frame mode is not a true progressive recording format, since the camera uses one field to somewhat synthetically produce the second. True progressive recording records both "real" fields simultaneously. But Canon's frame mode is close enough for most buyers' needs and still presents a very pleasing image.

In contrast, "Normal" mode is the conventional "60i" recording where one video field is captured in one frame, the second field in the next frame. (That is, capturing 60 fields per second, again in NTSC terms.) During playback each frame displays one field.

Most keen eyes see frame mode as a more "film-like" recording format. But you should be mindful and careful of camera movement since, as with any progressive format (including film), you can induce jarring stutter if you carelessly swing the camera around. (Fun fact: Our Charles Papert primarily used Frame mode on his XL1S to shoot this promo series for American Express. Take a peek.)

I encourage you to rub some tape and experiment. It's fun!

[Peter Moore]

FYI, if you want to convert to 24p though, you're better off with 60i and magic bullet, than with frame mode. If your footage starts at 60i, you can convert to 24p like so:

1 - 1A+1B
2 - 2A+2B [drop 3A]
3 - 3B+4A
4 - 4B+5A [drop 5B]

Not so bad, right? All you've got is a 1/60th of a second jolt every two frames.

Now try 30p->24p

1 - 1
2 - 2
3 - 3
4 - 4 [drop 5]

There's no solution other than to drop every fifth frame, resulting in a single 1/30th of a second time jolt every 4 frames. That's a lot more noticeable than above. On the up side, those frames that don't get dropped are nice progressive frames.

There's new technology that does interpolative motion to fix this problem, but it's extremely expensive and I don't know how well it works.

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

These threads are worth looking at.

Thread 1
Thread 2