What Do I Need for EX1 to EX3 Sync

[Steve Kalle]

I am renting an EX3 to use alongside my EX1 so I can keep both in sync. I read that I would use the composite out from the EX1 and connect to the Genlock on EX3.

Do I use the standard cable that came with the EX1 and use a RCA to BNC adapter, then use a HD-SDI coax cable to the EX3?

With the connection setup, how do I setup each camera?

On a side note: using this method, each camera records with the same timecode? I am wondering how easy it is to line up each video within Premiere Pro CS5 since I am paying an extra $100 for the EX3 vs an EX1r.


Thanks

[Alister Chapman]

Genlocking the cameras will NOT give the same timecode on both cameras. Genlock only synchronizes the cameras time base. There is no way straight forward to get the timecode on an EX1 (EX1R) and EX3 to match exactly, to do that you need 2x EX3's and connect the timecode out to the timecode in. However when the cameras are Genlocked and difference between the timecodes will remain constant while they are powered up and running in sync.

You can use the supplied composite cable or the Y (green) from the component output.

[Steve Kalle]

Thanks Alister. So what you are saying is that I still need some sort of visual or audio cue in order to sync them in post? If that is the case, then what is the benefit of genlock compared to the normal syncing by clap?

[Alister Chapman]

With Genlock the cameras will not drift out of sync. Genlock is normally used for ultra accurate sync when feeding a vision mixer or similar.