Mixing 4K and HD? at DVinfo.net

Peter Lowe · March 7th, 2017, 03:27 PM

Hi there, after migrating from an EX1 to X70 and miraculously managing (thanks to BrainDead) to upgrade from version 2.0 to 3.1 firmware without bricking the camera, and popping in Paul´s picture profile suggestion (thanks very much since no way I could have figured out how to adjust this by myself),

... now I am struggling to get to a decision about recording format: 4K, HD, or both?

Looks like 4K 100mbps as expected absolutely slaughters HD when it comes to resolution, and this difference is still quite noticeable when 4K is downsized 50% to fit a HD sequence timeline.

But S&Q is only available in HD.
Plus 4K in active steadicam mode looks so jittery that it is unusable, whereas HD active steadicam looks fine,
and 4K 100 mbps gobbles up SD card space about twice as fast as HD,
right?

If this is correct, then it seems like one viable workflow option - though not the most convenient - may be to record tripod shots with minimal movement like interview head shots and landscapes in 4K, and S&Q and hand held active steadicam shots in HD format?

But diving into the menu to change recording format from 4K to HD and vice versa in the field is a POA. So I am thinking about using 2 SD cards like Batman and Robin with A slot set up for 4K and B slot for HD (S&Q, steadicam), so instead of diving into the menu I can just flip slots, then hit whichever button I assign to S&Q or Steadicam (active, standard, off)

Then import both the 4K and HD clips into my editing program and downsize the 4K to HD for standard HD export - hope this explanation is not too confusing - though not sure if this is a good idea or there is a better way to do this?

What do you do?

Peter Lowe · March 9th, 2017, 07:56 PM

Well, short answer to my own question - nope )-:

Just got my 2nd SDXC card in the mail, popped it into the B slot and tried what I asked about doing ie setting recording format on card A to 4K and card B to HD... but X70 didn´t like it ie each time I changed the recording format on one card the other card changed to that format too...

... unless I am doing something wrong?

to make matters worse is (i think but maybe wrong about this too) that it does not seem possible to assign "recording format" to an assign button, so every time I want to change from 4K to HD for S&Q or good stabilization I have to dive into the menu, but at least once I´ve done that the change from 4K to HD can be done in two taps of the menu button,

so life could be worse :-)

Peter Lowe · March 10th, 2017, 11:10 AM

another surprise -: the "digital extender" option in the X70 menu is greyed out when 4K is selected as the recording mode, though works fine in HD.

March 7th, 2017, 03:27 PM	#1
Peter Lowe Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Tepetlaoxtoc MX Posts: 37	X70: Mixing 4K and HD Hi there, after migrating from an EX1 to X70 and miraculously managing (thanks to BrainDead) to upgrade from version 2.0 to 3.1 firmware without bricking the camera, and popping in Paul´s picture profile suggestion (thanks very much since no way I could have figured out how to adjust this by myself), ... now I am struggling to get to a decision about recording format: 4K, HD, or both? Looks like 4K 100mbps as expected absolutely slaughters HD when it comes to resolution, and this difference is still quite noticeable when 4K is downsized 50% to fit a HD sequence timeline. But S&Q is only available in HD. Plus 4K in active steadicam mode looks so jittery that it is unusable, whereas HD active steadicam looks fine, and 4K 100 mbps gobbles up SD card space about twice as fast as HD, right? If this is correct, then it seems like one viable workflow option - though not the most convenient - may be to record tripod shots with minimal movement like interview head shots and landscapes in 4K, and S&Q and hand held active steadicam shots in HD format? But diving into the menu to change recording format from 4K to HD and vice versa in the field is a POA. So I am thinking about using 2 SD cards like Batman and Robin with A slot set up for 4K and B slot for HD (S&Q, steadicam), so instead of diving into the menu I can just flip slots, then hit whichever button I assign to S&Q or Steadicam (active, standard, off) Then import both the 4K and HD clips into my editing program and downsize the 4K to HD for standard HD export - hope this explanation is not too confusing - though not sure if this is a good idea or there is a better way to do this? What do you do? Last edited by Peter Lowe; March 7th, 2017 at 04:17 PM.

March 9th, 2017, 07:56 PM	#2
Peter Lowe Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Tepetlaoxtoc MX Posts: 37	Mixing 4K and HD? Looks like... nope! Well, short answer to my own question - nope )-: Just got my 2nd SDXC card in the mail, popped it into the B slot and tried what I asked about doing ie setting recording format on card A to 4K and card B to HD... but X70 didn´t like it ie each time I changed the recording format on one card the other card changed to that format too... ... unless I am doing something wrong? to make matters worse is (i think but maybe wrong about this too) that it does not seem possible to assign "recording format" to an assign button, so every time I want to change from 4K to HD for S&Q or good stabilization I have to dive into the menu, but at least once I´ve done that the change from 4K to HD can be done in two taps of the menu button, so life could be worse :-)

March 10th, 2017, 11:10 AM	#3
Peter Lowe Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Tepetlaoxtoc MX Posts: 37	Re: Mixing 4K and HD? another surprise -: the "digital extender" option in the X70 menu is greyed out when 4K is selected as the recording mode, though works fine in HD.