On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

HDR-AX2000 / HXR-NX5 (2010).
acgold7
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by acgold7 »

AVCHD is compressed differently than SD DV, so they take the same space (roughly). But the twist with the AX2000 is that SD isn't DV-AVI, as with tape based cams; it's mpeg-2 PS format, which isn't any easier to edit than mpeg-4, the HD format from your cam.

So there's no advantage to shooting in SD because it won't be any easier for your PC to handle, as far as I know. Even if you have neither an HDTV nor a BD player, you should still acquire and edit in HD so as to have a nice HD master of your finished project, which can be played in HD on a PC screen via a USB stick or media player or even an online service that supports HD, like YouTube or Vimeo.

But your memory is very low for video editing. At the very least you should consider doubling it. Better still would be to update to a 64bit OS (assuming your chip is 64-bit capable) and go up to 8 megs of RAM.

If while editing you experience slow performance, bad playback or frequent crashes, you just need a better PC.
Adam
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Stephan
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by Stephan »

EDIUS is nice editing software for older PCs, because it lets you transcode AVCHD or MPEG2 into their own codec (Canopus HQ) which is much less intensive on CPU. Once transcoded to Canopus HQ, I can for instance edit HDV real-time with a 4 year-old Pentium D (the earliest, least powerful dual-core) with 2GB RAM.

The downside is, Canopus HQ has fairly larger requirements in disk space and disk bandwidth (because the video is transcoded) - you would probably need a RAID0 and here your 250GB single drive might not be enough. Or maybe it might - there's a free trial available for download, I'd give it a try. Be aware that the more affordable version (EDIUS Neo) is more expensive than your Pinnacle however (although a fraction of what your AX2000 already cost you!)

Hope this helps with some alternative ideas for your situation.
robhart
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by robhart »

Thanks Guys

Appreciate the advice.

cheers. Good weekend I hope
robhart
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by robhart »

Hi Guys, Please help.
My son will be performing a one act play in the school hall. I hope to use my new HDR-AX2000 for the first time.

Adam I will shoot in HD, however my camera as you know offers various formats.

The question is... in your opinion which format should it be HD 1080/60i FX, 1080/60i FH, 1080/60i HQ, 1080/60i LP, 1080/30p FX, 1080/30p FH, 1080/24p FX, 1080/24p FH

The final production will be put onto a DVD.

Are there any other settings on the camera that I should use on the evening.

Any advice is always welcome!!
cheers
Robert
robhart
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by robhart »

Correction to the formats available to me. The ones I quoted above are for NTSC, however we use the PAL system in South Africa.

The available recording formats for the camera are

Recording Options*
The AVCHD (MPEG4-AVC/H.264) recording options are:

•FX (24 Mbps) 1920×1080/50i, 25P
•FH (17 Mbps) 1920×1080/50i, 25P
•HQ (9 Mbps) 1440×1080/50i
•LP (5 Mbps) 1440×1080/50i
The Standard Definition (MPEG2) recording options are:

•HQ (9 Mbps) 720×576/50i
•HQ (9 Mbps) 720×576/50i (25P scan)

Thanks
Robert
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Stephan
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by Stephan »

Choose 50i, not 25p - using 25p would bring you more difficulties than anything else at this point.

Which setting you choose depends on how long you will be shooting, and how much memory you have. 24 Mbps = 10 GB/hour. If you have unlimited storage space, FX (24 Mbps) 1920×1080/50i is best. If you can't afford such volumes, downgrade to lower bitrates but you're losing picture quality every step of the way.

But most importantly... Is anybody else counting on this session, or will you be shooting for yourself ('for fun')? If anybody else is counting on it in the short term, I wouldn't do anything I haven't tested thoroughly beforehand, beginning to end, shooting all the way to DVD. Working out an HD editing / authoring workflow, esp. with these new AVCHD cams, isn't piece of cake and can take some time to get used to. If this is only for yourself, have fun then... and expect a few bumps along the road.

BTW, is that a stage show, in the evening with lights? I'll leave it to others maybe, giving you recommendations for shooting a stage show.
robhart
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by robhart »

Stephan thank you for taking time out to help me.

I filmed the same show last year with my Sony HDR-SR11 in full auto mode. The camera did struggle a bit in the low lighting.

This year there will be four acts of about 20 minutes each, totalling I guess about 1 and half hours of filming.

The actors will have wireless microphones with basic lighting on stage I guess.

I have 2 x 32gig memory cards.

No people are counting on me to film this. I cannot mess this up!!!

what do you recommend? do not say hire a professional..

cheers
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Doughie
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by Doughie »

robhart wrote:Stephan thank you for taking time out to help me.

I filmed the same show last year with my Sony HDR-SR11 in full auto mode. The camera did struggle a bit in the low lighting.

This year there will be four acts of about 20 minutes each, totalling I guess about 1 and half hours of filming.

The actors will have wireless microphones with basic lighting on stage I guess.

I have 2 x 32gig memory cards.

No people are counting on me to film this. I cannot mess this up!!!

what do you recommend? do not say hire a professional..

cheers
I would strongly consider using your camera's "SPOTLIGHT" exposure mode. Pretty sure the SR11 will have that. That should be a good mode for stage use. I know my fellow moderator acgold7 does really a lot of indoor stuff like this - stage filming etc - so i am sure if you wait a little while Adam (acgold7) will be along shortly.....
acgold7
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Re: On the way from FX7 to AX2000E

Post by acgold7 »

Yes, I agree with Stephan and Doughie.

Shoot the highest possible quality, 50i, Manual Indoor White Balance, Spotlight mode, AGC LIMIT at 12dB. You should be good to go.

Will you still be using the SR11? Use that as a backup cam if you can.

First time? No. Never. Go to a rehearsal and practice.
Adam
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