XL1 / XL1S various posts

Martin Munthe · July 30th, 2002, 05:04 PM

There is a slight vignetting on the Optex. But it's way out of the TV safe area. AND the Optex attachment adds 33% wide to you original lens wich is a great bonus. You are however limited in the tele range. The last third of the zoom is lost in vertical smear...

Kai Leibrandt · July 31st, 2002, 06:52 PM

Hi all,

I am just wondering if anyone here has any experience with generating CG animations and compositing them over field-mode (i.e. interlaced) DV footage from a PAL XL1.
We have some live footage that needs, erm, augmenting, and I now am wondering whether to render the fields with odd fields first or even fields first - Premiere tells me PAL DV is even (lower) fields first, but Avid Xpress DV 3.5 tells me it's odd (upper) field first. Or should we save some time and render progressive anyway?

Anyone have an answer to this particular q?

Many thanks,

Kailee.

K. Forman · July 31st, 2002, 08:47 PM

Go to DV.com. They have had several articals on CG, fields, and the like. I'm working on the same type of project, only real actors in a CG world. I hope your programs work quicker than my Infini-D!
Best wishes,
Keith

Rob Lohman · August 1st, 2002, 02:08 AM

DV is lower field first (100% sure for PAL). Now the question is
whether this is even or odd.... That I do not know. A simple test
might be in order? You can also do progressive I think, which
should lower render times as well. Just do a 30 second test
or something first to make sure everything looks okay. Please
let us know how your results go.

Chris Hurd · August 2nd, 2002, 12:42 PM

Strongly recommend you go with NTSC for now. Unless you feel like rendering everything from PAL to NTSC by software, which is going to cramp your lifestyle a bit. You can always sell your camera later and buy a PAL unit when you're ready to shoot that movie. Hope this helps,

James Emory · August 6th, 2002, 03:59 PM

Hello. I had never done this before and was a bit apprehensive of what the image would look like. But the XL's, with their 525 lines, did very well providing a 20'x25' IMAG LCD screen with a clean signal through 200 ft of cable. Both myself and the screen provider were pleasantly surprised. If possible though, try to feed it with a high quality Y/C component signal and MANUALLY white balance the camera(s). This was achieved by splitting the Y/C carriers with a Y/C to 2-BNC y-adapter through two separate true 75 ohm BNC cables and rejoining them at the truck with another y-adapter maintaining the cleanest signal possible, short of Firewire, from the XL. I didn't try it with a single composite BNC return but it may very well have worked. So anyone with a possible job with an XL for IMAG, no problem.

Derrick Begin · August 7th, 2002, 11:03 AM

Is there a sound/editing guru amongst us?

Here is the situation: I am editing together some sound and video. The sounds are recorded at various levels, some public domain, and some orginally recorded at the site. Some are also yet to be recorded, which is what I am going to do.

My question(s) is/are, at what level should one record at? I want to level the audio before I start manipulating it to taste (editing).

Is this a taste question? Record at whatever level...

Anyways, I hope I phrased my dilemma correctly.

This is new!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers!

Derrick

Don Palomaki · August 7th, 2002, 07:48 PM

I do not claim to be a guru, but I will offer a couple thoughts. In part it depends on what you plan to do with the edited video, and what kind of material you have (rock music, classical, voice, etc.)

A general guide is to set the average record level to about -12 dB on the XL1, and to avoid clipping on transients (level reaching 0 dB). With wide dynamic range material you may want to use a lower average level to keep some headroom for transients.

However, if you are matching existing material you may want to try match you new recording those average levels (if they sound OK to you). Be aware that audio form most consumer camcorders will be crap, with tons of AGC-induced compression to the point of having no dynamic range. Essentially useless for quality sound.

Derrick Begin · August 8th, 2002, 09:51 AM

Don,

Thanks for the information. I'm a neophyte to recording sounds. I will be recording some dialogue too, and your post is pointing me towards someone that has their own equipment.

I am trying to do everything on my short dv, so I can learn and know. However, I do want it to sound superb! Some of the recording I can do myself. The dialogue may be best done by someone who knows and can impart their knowledge to me on the fly. Obstacles, you gotta hate/love and overcome them!

Adobe Premiere and Avid XPress have some sound level minipulators that I can adjust.

Thanks for taking time to provide me with some valuable feedback.

I'll be back...

Cheers!

Derrick

MrGranger · August 9th, 2002, 04:05 PM

I'd like to rent something like the mini35 or similar adapter for the XL1-s plus a prime lens set. Anyone know of any packages in the LA area? Haven't found anyone local with the adapter for rent yet. Thanks.

Jeff Donald · August 9th, 2002, 04:22 PM

I believe Birns & Sawyer rent it. Give them a try http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/index.asp if not they may know who does.

Jeff

August 10th, 2002, 01:39 PM

Hi all,
I am new to this, and was wondring if there was a battery belt pack that used batteries w/no memeory effect?

Thanks

Al Osmond · August 10th, 2002, 02:09 PM

Hi,

There seemed to be no shortage of manufacturers making belts in this country when I was shopping for a belt a few months ago, so no doubt you'll find a choice of sources in your part of the world.

Prices vary widely, depending on the type of battery. I went for NiCd for a budget solution on the grounds that today's NiCds are far less affected by memory effect than they used to be. You just need a complete discharge/charge cycle now and again.

The question of whether to store your batteries fully or partly charged has been discussed here before, without a conclusion being reached. :)

Al

B. Moore · August 10th, 2002, 03:42 PM

LiIon would be my choice. Try to find a wholesaler, they may sell to you. Sometimes you can save $60.00 on a 3 hr. batt. The last one I bought was a Lenmar 5550mAh for $59.99( for my XL-1). Very happy with it.

Keep looking

Phil French · August 14th, 2002, 08:31 PM

Has any one out there had experience with the SP7 shoulder brace. I do mostly outdoor shooting and I use the 1.6X extender quite a bit to bring me in closer on wildlife subjects. A recent trip to the rocky mountain high country reminded me of how windy it can get on top of a mountain. The body of the XL1s acts like a sail in wind gusts making steady video impossible (especially with the extender on full zoom). Will the SP7 help? Is it heavy? How much can I expect to pay?

July 30th, 2002, 05:04 PM	#466
Martin Munthe Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 331	There is a slight vignetting on the Optex. But it's way out of the TV safe area. AND the Optex attachment adds 33% wide to you original lens wich is a great bonus. You are however limited in the tele range. The last third of the zoom is lost in vertical smear... __________________ Martin Munthe VFX Supervisor/DP/Director

July 31st, 2002, 06:52 PM	#467
Kai Leibrandt Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Munich, Germany Posts: 70	How to render CG Material Hi all, I am just wondering if anyone here has any experience with generating CG animations and compositing them over field-mode (i.e. interlaced) DV footage from a PAL XL1. We have some live footage that needs, erm, augmenting, and I now am wondering whether to render the fields with odd fields first or even fields first - Premiere tells me PAL DV is even (lower) fields first, but Avid Xpress DV 3.5 tells me it's odd (upper) field first. Or should we save some time and render progressive anyway? Anyone have an answer to this particular q? Many thanks, Kailee.

August 1st, 2002, 02:08 AM	#469
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	DV is lower field first (100% sure for PAL). Now the question is whether this is even or odd.... That I do not know. A simple test might be in order? You can also do progressive I think, which should lower render times as well. Just do a 30 second test or something first to make sure everything looks okay. Please let us know how your results go. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

August 2nd, 2002, 12:42 PM	#470
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Strongly recommend you go with NTSC for now. Unless you feel like rendering everything from PAL to NTSC by software, which is going to cramp your lifestyle a bit. You can always sell your camera later and buy a PAL unit when you're ready to shoot that movie. Hope this helps, __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

August 6th, 2002, 03:59 PM	#471
James Emory Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,892	XL-1 used for IMAG at concert series Hello. I had never done this before and was a bit apprehensive of what the image would look like. But the XL's, with their 525 lines, did very well providing a 20'x25' IMAG LCD screen with a clean signal through 200 ft of cable. Both myself and the screen provider were pleasantly surprised. If possible though, try to feed it with a high quality Y/C component signal and MANUALLY white balance the camera(s). This was achieved by splitting the Y/C carriers with a Y/C to 2-BNC y-adapter through two separate true 75 ohm BNC cables and rejoining them at the truck with another y-adapter maintaining the cleanest signal possible, short of Firewire, from the XL. I didn't try it with a single composite BNC return but it may very well have worked. So anyone with a possible job with an XL for IMAG, no problem.

July 31st, 2002, 08:47 PM	#468
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	Go to DV.com. They have had several articals on CG, fields, and the like. I'm working on the same type of project, only real actors in a CG world. I hope your programs work quicker than my Infini-D! Best wishes, Keith

August 7th, 2002, 11:03 AM	#472
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	Sound Level Is there a sound/editing guru amongst us? Here is the situation: I am editing together some sound and video. The sounds are recorded at various levels, some public domain, and some orginally recorded at the site. Some are also yet to be recorded, which is what I am going to do. My question(s) is/are, at what level should one record at? I want to level the audio before I start manipulating it to taste (editing). Is this a taste question? Record at whatever level... Anyways, I hope I phrased my dilemma correctly. This is new! Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers! Derrick

August 7th, 2002, 07:48 PM	#473
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,488	I do not claim to be a guru, but I will offer a couple thoughts. In part it depends on what you plan to do with the edited video, and what kind of material you have (rock music, classical, voice, etc.) A general guide is to set the average record level to about -12 dB on the XL1, and to avoid clipping on transients (level reaching 0 dB). With wide dynamic range material you may want to use a lower average level to keep some headroom for transients. However, if you are matching existing material you may want to try match you new recording those average levels (if they sound OK to you). Be aware that audio form most consumer camcorders will be crap, with tons of AGC-induced compression to the point of having no dynamic range. Essentially useless for quality sound.

August 8th, 2002, 09:51 AM	#474
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	*** * THANKS * *** Don, Thanks for the information. I'm a neophyte to recording sounds. I will be recording some dialogue too, and your post is pointing me towards someone that has their own equipment. I am trying to do everything on my short dv, so I can learn and know. However, I do want it to sound superb! Some of the recording I can do myself. The dialogue may be best done by someone who knows and can impart their knowledge to me on the fly. Obstacles, you gotta hate/love and overcome them! Adobe Premiere and Avid XPress have some sound level minipulators that I can adjust. Thanks for taking time to provide me with some valuable feedback. I'll be back... Cheers! Derrick

August 9th, 2002, 04:05 PM	#475
MrGranger New Boot Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 22	Any idea where in LA rents film lens/adapter for xl1s? I'd like to rent something like the mini35 or similar adapter for the XL1-s plus a prime lens set. Anyone know of any packages in the LA area? Haven't found anyone local with the adapter for rent yet. Thanks.

August 9th, 2002, 04:22 PM	#476
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I believe Birns & Sawyer rent it. Give them a try http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/index.asp if not they may know who does. Jeff

August 10th, 2002, 01:39 PM	#477
cremagine Posts: n/a	Battery Belt Pack-NiMiH or Li-ion? Hi all, I am new to this, and was wondring if there was a battery belt pack that used batteries w/no memeory effect? Thanks

August 10th, 2002, 02:09 PM	#478
Al Osmond Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Thame, United Kingdom Posts: 42	Hi, There seemed to be no shortage of manufacturers making belts in this country when I was shopping for a belt a few months ago, so no doubt you'll find a choice of sources in your part of the world. Prices vary widely, depending on the type of battery. I went for NiCd for a budget solution on the grounds that today's NiCds are far less affected by memory effect than they used to be. You just need a complete discharge/charge cycle now and again. The question of whether to store your batteries fully or partly charged has been discussed here before, without a conclusion being reached. :) Al

August 10th, 2002, 03:42 PM	#479
B. Moore Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 181	LiIon would be my choice. Try to find a wholesaler, they may sell to you. Sometimes you can save $60.00 on a 3 hr. batt. The last one I bought was a Lenmar 5550mAh for $59.99( for my XL-1). Very happy with it. Keep looking

August 14th, 2002, 08:31 PM	#480
Phil French Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Lousana, Alberta, Canada Posts: 146	SP7 experiences Has any one out there had experience with the SP7 shoulder brace. I do mostly outdoor shooting and I use the 1.6X extender quite a bit to bring me in closer on wildlife subjects. A recent trip to the rocky mountain high country reminded me of how windy it can get on top of a mountain. The body of the XL1s acts like a sail in wind gusts making steady video impossible (especially with the extender on full zoom). Will the SP7 help? Is it heavy? How much can I expect to pay? __________________ Nature Boy