Moving to XDCAM HD at DVinfo.net

Derek Heeps · February 16th, 2023, 08:59 PM

Having shot various formats down the years , both at work and at home , I was latterly using HDV ( both Sony and JVC ) at home , and XDCAM at work .

I recently noticed how affordable some of the XDCAM kit was becoming on the used market , so just picked up a PDW-F350 , and a PDW-F70 for bargain prices . I'm already familiar with both since we have had the same units at work since new - when they were far from cheap .

I got the deck through the post yesterday , and other than the exchg batt ! warning , which isn't a big deal - I have the service manual and have ordered a battery for it - until then I can't save system settings , but it already works in FAM mode and discs appear nicely on the desktop of my Mac ; then I use Edit Ready to convert MXF to ProRes for ingesting into FCP7 .

I'm going down to London next week and will collect the camcorder then ; alas I couldn't afford to buy the lens as well , but for now I bought a throwaway Canon 1/2" lens until I can get a lens adaptor for my 'good' Canon 2/3" lens which I will then use with it .

I'll report back once I get it and get set up , but looking forward to having a 'proper' camera again .

Andrew Smith · February 18th, 2023, 02:08 AM

You're going to love the upgrade to XDCAM for home use. To save yourself converting to ProRes, you can download (for free) a copy of Davinci Resolve and edit direct with the files from the camera.

Andrew

Derek Heeps · April 10th, 2023, 03:20 PM

Yes , the camera is great for my purposes - I shoot a fair bit of motorsport and both real and miniature railway stuff ; also do odd jobs when they come my way but don't go looking .

I'm very familiar with XDCAM , having used it at work , where we paid £28K for the same camera about 15 years ago .

The camera i collected works great , although I had a mishap the other day when I tripped over a cable in my living room and landed on top of the camera , knocking the LCD screen out of place . The screen still works , but the backlight is now dead . The camera viewfinder is still fine and recordings are OK ; I also have a separate LCD monitor I can use n the meantime . I've had the LCD panel out of the side of the camera ; no obvious fault , so I guess I'll be looking for a replacement part ....

My own stupid fault , so I can't complain .

Gary Nattrass · April 18th, 2023, 01:59 AM

As you say this older kit can be had for bargain prices and it still shoots full HD so is still perfect for most jobs.

I personally still use my trusty Panasonic HPX-371 P2 cameras and picked up a second one for £1500 and a Fujinon TH13 wide angle lens for just £200.

Also use Edit Ready too and the cards and USB adaptors are also cheap as chips these days.

Derek Heeps · May 19th, 2023, 11:56 AM

I just did my first biggish job with the camera , which was recording a three day conference ( well just parts of it as requested by the organisers ) still , I now have 14 discs , mostly with close to an hour of material , always recorded in a single clip .

What I am finding is that , whenever I put a new disc in , the filename is C0001 . This is a nuisance since , when ingesting , I end up with lots of files with the same name , which I have to subsequently change .

Is there a setting in the camera somewhere , that I can alter so that the filenames continue in a sequence , even after I've swapped discs ? I had a cursory look in the user manual , but there was no obvious answer .

It was never a problem in the past , when I was always recording short clips and often one disc was enough for a given job .

Doug Jensen · May 19th, 2023, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Nattrass

As you say this older kit can be had for bargain prices and it still shoots full HD so is still perfect for most jobs.

Sorry, the F350 is not full HD. The best resolution the camera can do is 1440x1080.

Doug Jensen · May 19th, 2023, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek Heeps

Is there a setting in the camera somewhere , that I can alter so that the filenames continue in a sequence , even after I've swapped discs ? I had a cursory look in the user manual , but there was no obvious answer

It's been a long time since I looked at the menus of the F350, but I think you want to go to Operation Page 5: CLIP TITLE.

February 16th, 2023, 08:59 PM	#1
Derek Heeps Major Player Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Glasgow , Scotland Posts: 224	Moving to XDCAM HD Having shot various formats down the years , both at work and at home , I was latterly using HDV ( both Sony and JVC ) at home , and XDCAM at work . I recently noticed how affordable some of the XDCAM kit was becoming on the used market , so just picked up a PDW-F350 , and a PDW-F70 for bargain prices . I'm already familiar with both since we have had the same units at work since new - when they were far from cheap . I got the deck through the post yesterday , and other than the exchg batt ! warning , which isn't a big deal - I have the service manual and have ordered a battery for it - until then I can't save system settings , but it already works in FAM mode and discs appear nicely on the desktop of my Mac ; then I use Edit Ready to convert MXF to ProRes for ingesting into FCP7 . I'm going down to London next week and will collect the camcorder then ; alas I couldn't afford to buy the lens as well , but for now I bought a throwaway Canon 1/2" lens until I can get a lens adaptor for my 'good' Canon 2/3" lens which I will then use with it . I'll report back once I get it and get set up , but looking forward to having a 'proper' camera again .

February 18th, 2023, 02:08 AM	#2
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,061	Re: Moving to XDCAM HD You're going to love the upgrade to XDCAM for home use. To save yourself converting to ProRes, you can download (for free) a copy of Davinci Resolve and edit direct with the files from the camera. Andrew

April 10th, 2023, 03:20 PM	#3
Derek Heeps Major Player Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Glasgow , Scotland Posts: 224	Re: Moving to XDCAM HD Yes , the camera is great for my purposes - I shoot a fair bit of motorsport and both real and miniature railway stuff ; also do odd jobs when they come my way but don't go looking . I'm very familiar with XDCAM , having used it at work , where we paid £28K for the same camera about 15 years ago . The camera i collected works great , although I had a mishap the other day when I tripped over a cable in my living room and landed on top of the camera , knocking the LCD screen out of place . The screen still works , but the backlight is now dead . The camera viewfinder is still fine and recordings are OK ; I also have a separate LCD monitor I can use n the meantime . I've had the LCD panel out of the side of the camera ; no obvious fault , so I guess I'll be looking for a replacement part .... My own stupid fault , so I can't complain .

April 18th, 2023, 01:59 AM	#4
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	Re: Moving to XDCAM HD As you say this older kit can be had for bargain prices and it still shoots full HD so is still perfect for most jobs. I personally still use my trusty Panasonic HPX-371 P2 cameras and picked up a second one for £1500 and a Fujinon TH13 wide angle lens for just £200. Also use Edit Ready too and the cards and USB adaptors are also cheap as chips these days. __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/

May 19th, 2023, 11:56 AM	#5
Derek Heeps Major Player Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Glasgow , Scotland Posts: 224	Re: Moving to XDCAM HD I just did my first biggish job with the camera , which was recording a three day conference ( well just parts of it as requested by the organisers ) still , I now have 14 discs , mostly with close to an hour of material , always recorded in a single clip . What I am finding is that , whenever I put a new disc in , the filename is C0001 . This is a nuisance since , when ingesting , I end up with lots of files with the same name , which I have to subsequently change . Is there a setting in the camera somewhere , that I can alter so that the filenames continue in a sequence , even after I've swapped discs ? I had a cursory look in the user manual , but there was no obvious answer . It was never a problem in the past , when I was always recording short clips and often one disc was enough for a given job .