smooth slow rec.
 

the previews of the hvr-z1u mention something called "smooth slow rec. " mode which allows up to 240 fields to be recorded a second?? can this then be stretched out over 5 seconds or something to create super slow-mo?? does it require the HD accessory?? anyone know whats up?
thnx,
e

No it doesn't require the HDD DR-60 accessory.

you can record a segment of any length, up to a maximum of 6seconds at once.
On playback a 6second segment will take 24seconds to playback.

As its 240fields-pe-second, the frame-rate in this mode is 120frames-per-second. Resolution won't be a high as in normal operation though.

1/4 slow motion! that sounds really nice.

Anyone have any idea what the resolution loss might be?

How is smooth slow capture initiated? Is there a button? Also, is sound captured during the 6 seconds?

Audio is not part of the superslo capture. it's a menu item, and is selectable via the menu/execute button.
I'll have approx 30 seconds of super slomo available on our website sometime today.

http://www.vasst.com/resource.aspx?i...a-7a9431fe3407
has slo mo footage.

yikes! that looks like crap :(

its not the resolution reduction that is the problem. its the horrible, horrible compression... looks like a cellphone camera ;(

hmmm... well.. that's disappointing.

..

After you record 6 seconds of slow motion, I guess the camera cannot be used for 24 seconds while it flushes the buffer to tape? This feature is great for narrative storytelling, but not so much for live events. Say for a wedding, if you want to get the bride walking down the aisle in slowmo, you can't really afford to miss the next 24 seconds after!

I wonder if the situation is different when recording to the HDD DR-60.

What kind of display are you viewing it on? I'm viewing it on a 2k projector, a 234b LCD monitor, and an SD broadcast display. On the 2k, I can clearly see some artifacts relevant to being blown up/softness, not terribly different than my HVX200 in 1080 mode. On the 234, it's only soft. On the SD/SDI monitor, it looks terrific.

Sorry, but on my 1920x1200 LCD, on which all HDV (1440x1080i) files look stunning, this one is of unacceptable quality. Is it representative of this V1 mode, or may there be another reason for this?

Read my post above.
The Superslo mode is great for SD. You lose resolution in SuperSlo mode, Sony has indicated it has a resolution of 512 x 240 in 12 second mode, which is what the uploaded clip is. In other words, it's fine for SD, but for HD output, it's not optimal. As mentioned in my above post, watch this footage on an SD monitor, it looks great.

Procoder 2.0 says the clip is 1440x1080!

Spot,
The V1recompress file is the slomo file? Looks exactly like the file before.
Or am I missing something?
Piotr, what spot is trying to say is that the actual resolution is 512x240 then uprezzed back to 1440x1080. Which is why it looks bad on your LCD monitor. If you play back on a SD monitor, even a TV, it'll look fine. The same for the HC3 smooth motion function.
Thanks

Ok Got it. 12 sec mode really does look like SD, with interlacing artifacts and all. Thanks spot.

Yes its much lower resolution than HDV res. But that is nothing new - the HC3 was the same (except it had half the fast-RAM buffer so it would limit it to 3seconds rather than V1's 6secs).

At 240fields per second, i think resolution HAD to be sacrificed to get that frame rate...

.... there's no such thing as a free lunch.

As I mentioned in another thread, I had forgotten that Sony gave us a DVD in the press kit the other day so I just watched it now. It's a standard definition DVD which I watched on an ED (854x480) 39" plasma screen. They have example footage of a soccer game showing the 6 sec and 3 sec slow modes.

I thought they looked pretty good actually, although a little soft. But I'm guessing if I slowed down regular footage with software, it would look much worse. I don't know anything about the different slow motion modes. But from my quick watch it appeared the 3 second mode was sharper.

At least the camcorder has this feature, unlike the competition.

Agreed. It's a nice bonus feature... something else I wish my Z1 could do :-) Only you can make the judgement as to whether it meets your needs. I would certainly give it a try if I was working in standard definition.

Yes, the CLIP is 1440 x 1080i. But the resolution used to CREATE the stream is significantly lower. Just like there are camcorders with 960 x 540 chips spitting out 1920 x 1080, this is beginning with a lower resolution in slo motion mode as well.