Z5 & MRC1K timecode when only using CF

[Brendan Pyatt]

Hi,

I would like to know what the best settings are for when you are only recording to CF and no tape.

I find the manual a bit confusing.

thanks.

[Ken Ross]

Brendan, I just got my CF Recorder today and have been having fun with it. It's really neat being able to use this cam as a digital-only camera.

As far as settings go, the Z5 should be set to 'synchronous', record mode on the CF Recorder as 'normal', CF Recorder I-Link Mode to "Auto" and under 'settings' for the CF Recorder, set the Cam Link to 'synchro'. At that point you're good to go and the CF Recorder will operate just as if you had tape in the camera.

This feature alone is reason enough to spring for the Z5 over the FX1000...assuming that you intend to use the CF Recorder. It's also great having instant access to clips. Of course I'd prefer if there was some way to see thumbnails of all the clips you've recorded instead of just file #s...but hey, it's still a unique accessory in the world of HDV.

[Stelios Christofides]

Ken this is fantastic because I have set the MRC1 to record during tape replacement, now with only one setting change in the Z5 (change the EXT.REC.CTRL.from RELAY to SYNCHRO) you can record on the flash card with no tape in the Z5. The more I discover Z5 the more I love this camera.

Stelios

[Ken Ross]

Stelios, it is a fabulous camera and truly unique in the HD world. Where else do you have a hybrid camera of this quality that can be a digital, tapeless camera?

[Stelios Christofides]

Originally Posted by Ken Ross

Stelios, it is a fabulous camera and truly unique in the HD world. Where else do you have a hybrid camera of this quality that can be a digital, tapeless camera?

Ken, Can you record HDV on tape and DV on the MRC1 or vice versa? The manual is not very clear to me about that. If you don't mind can you list the settings for me?

Stelios

[Ken Ross]

Yes Stelios, that's one of the beauties of this device. You can record to tape in HDV and downconvert (very nicely) to the CF card on the fly. To do this all you need to do is set your ILink conversion to 'on' and, if you want 4:3 SD, set your downconversion to 'crop'.

This is a superb setup in that you can retain an HD copy of any project while still having a nice, easy to edit, SD version.

[Brendan Pyatt]

thanks.

I am interested in the different timecode options. I am used to the timecode being reset with each new tape but now I am recording to CF I was wondering if I could use the time of day...

[Stelios Christofides]

Originally Posted by Ken Ross

Yes Stelios, that's one of the beauties of this device. You can record to tape in HDV and downconvert (very nicely) to the CF card on the fly. To do this all you need to do is set your ILink conversion to 'on' and, if you want 4:3 SD, set your downconversion to 'crop'.

This is a superb setup in that you can retain an HD copy of any project while still having a nice, easy to edit, SD version.

Thanks Ken. I have been shooting so far only in SD widescreen mode (because none of my clients wanted HDV yet) but with this option now perhaps it's time to start.

Stelios

[Martin Duffy]

I am using a FX1000 and looking at getting the CF unit.

I film alot of dance concerts and sports events where I am in record for long periods and don't always need to hit pause.

The FX1000/CF unit combo whilst not as perfect as using it with a Z5 will be fine for now until I buy a Z5 which will then become my main camera.

Q. Any tips on set up for FX1000/CF unit combination?
Q. Is it simply a case of wirewire out in the CF unit, hit record on the unit and bingo.
Q. How much is the CF unit & 32 gig cards?
Q. Any good websites about the unit?
Q. Does it record .AVI files?
Q. How long does it take to transfer 60 mins to a PC?

Thanks


Martin.

[Ken Ross]

Martin, I'll try to answer a few of your questions:

1) You'd want to set the FX1000 to 'synchronous' and the ILink mode on the CF to "Auto" and under "Settings", cam link mode should be set to 'synchro'. You should be good to go.

2) I haven't used the CF Recorder with the FX1000, but I believe you just connect the firewire to both cam & CF Recorder using the above settings. Check the manual to be sure.

3) CF Unit through Full Compass where I bought it was $789 USD. Card prices are all over the place, but you can get a 16gig card for $35 USD. Not sure about 32gigs.

4) Websites on the CF Unit? Not sure.

5) For DV recording you have a choice of either AVI files or "Raw DV"

6) Martin, I haven't actually tried transferring files to the computer...I'm still just playing with the unit. But I think to some degree your computer's speed comes in to play.

[Martin Duffy]

Thanks Ken.

Hey I forgot to make a comeback comment last week relating to comparing the TRV900 to the Z5/fx1000.

I find it really depends on light and/or what you are actually filming. To my eyes for the Cricket I filmed last week which meant zooming in to big green field from 80m's away there is virtually zip difference in quality from the 900 to a Z5/FX.

For a dance shoot there would be a big difference especially as the light gets low. The 900 as you know was fairly noisy.

Still a great old camera though.

Hey I am beginning to like the FX1000 a bit more & are willing to accept that some things are never perfect.

It really is good in low light. I filmed a speech night last Friday in what was pretty low light and it handled it very well.

One great feature is that if you do a fade to black and turn off the camera, the camera does not turn off until the fade has finished. Pretty cool.

[Wayne Nakamura]

Martin:

I filled my adata Speedy 16 GB CF card with 12.29 GB/67 min of HDV.

The transfer time was 17 min. I think this is pretty good!

These cards are very cheap. I'm sure there are faster cards.

The reader was just a cheap multi format usb 2.0 reader. You could probably half the time using FW800.

cheers

[Ken Ross]

Originally Posted by Martin Duffy

Hey I am beginning to like the FX1000 a bit more & are willing to accept that some things are never perfect.

Hey Martin, only members of DViinfo are 'perfect'...you know that. ;)

[Boudewijn de Kemp]

Originally Posted by Ken Ross

Brendan, I just got my CF Recorder today and have been having fun with it. It's really neat being able to use this cam as a digital-only camera.

As far as settings go, the Z5 should be set to 'synchronous', record mode on the CF Recorder as 'normal', CF Recorder I-Link Mode to "Auto" and under 'settings' for the CF Recorder, set the Cam Link to 'synchro'. At that point you're good to go and the CF Recorder will operate just as if you had tape in the camera.

For some reason I can't seem to get this to work.
What I really like about tape is that I can set the timecode.
So for instance tape 1 starts at 01:00:00:00 and tape 2 starts at 02:00:00:00 etc.
Then when I press record while I have tape 1 in my cam and film for 5 minutes I would have 01:05:00:00 as end timecode.
If I now would press record again to record a 3 minute clip my timecode would be 01:05:00:01 till 01:08:00:00. and so forth.
When I then capture my tape in my NLE, this timecode comes with it. I also have total freedom to name every take different. I do my edit, and when I am done I make an EDL and give the tapes and EDL to a post production company for the online. They assemble my edit for the EDL and different tapes and off we go.
Now when I shoot on my MRC1k only everytime I hit the rec button to stop a take, my timecode resets.
So If I record a five minute take I have 00:00:00:00 till 00:05:00:00, but then when I record my next take for 3 minutes it will start again at 00:00:00:00 and would run till 00:03:00:00. this really sucks IMHO.
But it gets worse, when I import the clips in FCP they get unuseable names which refer to the time and date I hit record for that take.
Every single take I made is starting from 00:00:00:00 till whenever I pressed stop.

Is there anyway that I can treat my CF card the same as an tape. So that I can have contious timecode on it for the whole 73 minutes?
I really get frustrated by it, and it seriously upsets my current workflow.

[Paul Zetter]

This is my first ever post to DVinfo!

As a newbie I have been tracking various recent threads about the MRC1 CF card recording unit but can't seem to find any definitive answers to the following. I suspect it's because this functionality is not built into both the Unit or the Z5 software which for me is a pity.

1 Can the on-board Z5 camera controls control the MRC1 for playback of clips? No, it seems not so you have to hold the camera facing down to use the Unit's much smaller controls and screen - not so convenient. (Would it also have been so difficult for Sony to have built in a thumbnail review feature for each clip- I had this on my old TRV950!

2 Can you get proper timecode to show on the camera's own screen/viewfinder when recording to Cf? No, it just shows each minute passing and you can't even clear blank timecode indicators to free up some screen real estate.

3 Will Sony bring out an updated version of the FCP plugin to allow for clip review in log and transfer? - again not too much to ask.

Don't get me wrong I love the Unit and recording to CF but it just seems these basic requirements might dropped off the to do list in a rush to release the product.

If my answers above are wrong and I'm missing some menu item please let me know.

Paul