My new NX70, time to start shooting...

[Eric Kruis]

Hello Group,

I have finally graduated into the world of HD with the arrival of my new NX70 this past week. This camera will replace a Canon GL2 which I still have a fondness for but of course HD is the future.

My hobby is shooting trains (lots of motion), and I am looking on advice on what shooting mode would be best. 1080i, 1080p? Eventually the footage will be imported into Sony Vegas Pro 9 and authored to DVD and Blu-Ray. I understand that shutter speed is an important consideration in HD video too. I just want the footage to appear as fluid and natural as possible.

Coming from SD, the HD environment is a bit confusing but I Iook forward to learning. I have already gathered much useful information from this forum.

Thanks,

Eric

[Mike Beckett]

Hiya Eric,

Welcome to my world!

mikebeckettvids's Channel - YouTube

I shot a lot at 1080 50p (60p to you). Lovely footage, but Vimeo and Youtube don't support 50p or 60p yet, and it makes the playback a stuttery, particularly on faster pans. Next time I'm out I'll be shooting 50i (60i for you). Give both these settings a go, see what you think.

A lot depends on your target audience, whether it's online, on Blu-ray disc etc.

For trains, the stock mic with the NX70 is pretty good. Just add a wind protector (I prefer a Ryctore miniscreen) and you're good to go.

Have a rummage through the forum, I've posted lots of samples, and photos of the set-up as well. And ask questions!

[Eric Kruis]

Thanks Mike,

I am afraid I am going to be spending the rest of my day enjoying your railway footage, excellent stuff!

I'll take your advice and try the 1080i and 1080p and compare. That leads to another question though...

If I shoot with 2 different schemes (1080i and 1080p) does it create a problem in my editor (SVP 9) when i import and mix the different types?

My guess is that most of my target audience will be DVD.

Eric

[Mike Beckett]

Eric,

Don't be afraid! By the way, the 2011 videos were shot with the NX70, the other footage was with older cameras.

I'm not familiar with your editor, but you could just have two separate projects, one at 1080i and one at 1080p, do exports from each of them and compare the results.

If your destination is DVD or Blu-ray, you could burn a test disc for each output type, if it's online then you could do a Youtube or Vimeo upload to see what each of them look like. There's no right and wrong answer for which format to use, it's down to what you think looks best.

In theory, 1080i is better for fast-moving subjects, and should convert easier to 30p/25p than 60p/50p source. If you can go with the 60p source, it's well worthwhile, because it's beautiful.

A firmware update is due next March to give us 720p options, as well as fixing the zoom rocker sensitivity.

[Bill Hollinger]

Mike, these are great! I love the opening shot with the new and old trains beside each other. My wife heard the sound and came over to watch your video. The trains reminded her of what she says were similar trains in her town in rural Virginia when she was a child (60 plus years ago). When were these trains in service? Also, your smooth zooms were impressive! Have you mastered the zoom control, or has there been some change in firmware?

Thanks!

Bill

[Mike Beckett]

Hey Bill,

I'm glad you liked the videos. I just wish I had more of them! I will private-message you with the train details, it's a bit off-topic here.

The smooth zooms are achieved using the Libec ZC-3DV lanc control, and a Vinten Vision Blue tripod. I've always used a zoom control like this to get the best from any camera, I just can't do it with the rocker. My usual poise is the zoom/pan/tilt with my right hand, and focus or adjust other controls with my left, it seems to work well.

A bit of practice/practise helps too!

[Bill Hollinger]

Thanks Mike,

I use that zoom controller with my EX1R, but always on a tripod. I’d love to be able to zoom smoothly using the camera controls when the camera is hand held. Sometimes I’m successful, but it is not something I can count on, so I tend not to try it.

[Eric Kruis]

"For trains, the stock mic with the NX70 is pretty good. Just add a wind protector (I prefer a Ryctore miniscreen) and you're good to go."


hi Mike,

I assume you take off the foam windscreen and the Rycote miniscreen fits over? Is it made specifically for the Sony ECM-XM1?

I was also looking at windcutter.com. They seem to have a model which is made for the Sony mic.

Anybody else using a "dead cat" for their NX70's?

-Eric

[Mike Beckett]

Hi Eric,

Yep, the foam comes off, and you put the Rycote over it. Other deadcats might be OK, but the wideness of the lens on the NX70 means that there's a risk of the fur hanging down into the top of the picture.

With the NX70 you need to use an ultra-short mic or get the mic offset on a bracket (which is cumbersome). Even my short shotgun AT875R is too long when used in the camera's own shockmount.

You can see my setup here: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxc...-nx70-mic.html

Edit: as an aside, I mentioned my audio settings elsewhere. The NX70 lets you feed the mono mic into both channels. You can set one channel to auto (so you hopefully never have clipping or audio level problems) and manually control the other channel. You can then choose the best channel in your editor.

See: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-nxc...udio-info.html

You can fake a stereo effect of a passing train in the editor too by using panning effects, or you can find a stereo mic somewhere and use that instead.

[Eric Kruis]

Mike,

Thanks for the audio tips. That leads to another question. (And I am finding I already have dozens of them!)

Here on this side of the pond diesel locomotives have super loud horns that can easily leave the audio distorted as the horn is blasted. On my Canon GL2 I set the properties to mic ATT and that got rid of it. With the NX70 I see there are multiple ATT settings.

Which setting would help reduce the distortion created by loud horns using the supplied Sony shot-gun microphone? I left mine at 10db and I plan on shooting some trains sometimes this week. Would that be the correct setting?

-Eric

[Mike Beckett]

Eric,

Our GMs only have one horn. I recall yours have up to three, and everything is bigger and better over there!

It's trial and error. I'd probably put one channel on auto and one on manual with Mic att set to -20db, you should get something usable from that.

I can't remember if setting the attentuation affects the auto settings. You could try one at -20 and one at -10, and make "airhorn" signs at the driver to see which is best!

As usual, trial and error counts for a lot here.

I've attached a screengrab from Premiere Pro of a bit of "horn" on one of my videos. You can see the two waveforms, one from the mic on auto (L) and manual, with -10db (R). In this case, I opted to choose "Fill right" and use the manual channel, because it sounded better to me.