HD Forum: Why every HD camera crew, video production company and anyone on a video crew or from a crewing agency should own or know about the Sony HDW- F900.

A word on the Sony F900 High Definition Video Camera.
The Sony HDW-F900 is a ground-breaking digital HDCAM camcorder that extends Sony’s unique digital heritage and its unrivalled experience in the art of imaging. Because of its outstanding picture quality and operational flexibility, this camera offers an important alternative to 24-frame film origination for major television productions and commercials. The HDW-F900 is already accepted as the Digital Movie Camera, ideal for exploring new horizons in digital movie-making. What distinguishes the HDW-F900 from any contemporary camcorder is its ability to capture 24 progressive frames per second – just like a conventional film camera. Moving pictures are digitally imaged in accordance with the CIF (Common Image Format) standard, which specifies a sampling structure of 1920 active pixels horizontally by 1080 active pixels vertically. What makes the HDW-F900 so universally exciting is that, as well as recording at 24P, it is switchable to record at 25P, 30P progressive scan, and also at either 50 or 60 Hz interlaced. that extends Sony’s unique digital heritage and its unrivaled experience in the art of imaging. This camera is ideal for any HD camera crew worldwide and is universally accepted as the HD standard. Anyone throwing around the words HD, High Def or High Definition should own the HDW-F900. If a crewing company does not know the camera models or formats, find a company that does. Almost all video production is going HD. When you think of a camera crew you should be thinking of an HD camera crew. From LA, Las Vegas to Denver and Eastward all video is heading to HD. Why not make it HDCAM.

-Greg Verspohl
President of HD Worldwide Video

HD Forum: Let’s look at Panasonic’s Varicam

Tech Talk: How does the Varicam compare? See why HD camera crews or a production company should look into the High Definition Panasonic models. There are really two camps, Sony or Panasonic. Every HD camera crew has one or the other. Really the client may influence the choice but let’s take a look:

The AJ-HDC27 VariCam HD Cinema Camera brings variable frame rate acquisition to the DVCPRO HD product line up. This is the first high definition production camera that is capable of variable frame rate at the touch of a button. Individual frame rates may be selected from: 4-fps to 60-fps in single frame increments. Frame rates may be changed during recording. Designed as a high quality production camera, this native 720p camcorder can be used for 60-fps or the film-like 24-fps acquisition. When acquiring for 24-fps projects, higher than 24-fps operation can be processed for slow motion effects while slower than 24-fps operation can be processed to speed up motion. Additionally, the variable frame rates and related variable shutter speeds create some very interesting ghost like motion blur effects, warp speed zoom effects, and long exposure still shots typical of what one might see in music videos, sci-fi dramas and dream sequences.

The camera has the capability to emulate film’s gradual transfer function performance (i.e. CineGamma). This function greatly increases the camera’s usable dynamic range, especially in traditionally limiting areas such as highlight handling, which until now was a serious limitation for most HD cameras. CineGamma provides the user with a much closer approximation of film’s renowned ability to maintain smooth image tonality even when gently compressing extreme highlights. Cinematographers are able through the CineGamma feature to control the camera’s gamma transfer function to best optimize control over tonality, from extreme highlights to the lowest of shadow areas.

The AJ-HDC27 VariCam serves a triple role: 1.) as a 24-fps camera, 2.) as a standard 60-fps video camera, and 3.) as a variable frame rate special effects camera.

It is important to understand that only the camera section operates at variable frame rates. The VTR and the camera HD-SDI output operate at a constant 60-fps rate. If you set the camera for 60-fps with no shutter, the exposure time is 1/60th of a second and each camera frame is recorded once on tape. As soon as the frame rate becomes lower than 60, exposure time increases proportionally and redundant frames are recorded on tape. For example, if the camera operates at 30-fps, each new frame is recorded twice to ensure 60-fps on tape. 24-fps is a non-evenly-divisible frame rate and requires the classic 3:2 type pulldown frame sequence with one frame recorded three times and the next two times. As you see, this technique generates redundant frames used to pad the data to maintain a constant 60-fps on tape including both new frames and redundant (repeated) frames.

By keeping the VTR frame rate at 60-fps no new DVCPRO HD studio VTRs or specialized video monitors are necessary. By recording standard 720p60, tape can be run through a standard linear tape based post production chain, yet still deliver “film look” video. If a linear 24-fps post production process is required, material can be converted to D-5 HD 1080p 24-fps by the Panasonic AJ-UFC1800 or other 3rd party products. This process works by removing redundant frames. Various NLE systems now support editing with variable frame rates acquired with the AJ-HDC27.

This camera has a great look. However, if given a choice I would use the Sony HDW-F900. Greg Verspohl President of HD Worldwide Video

-Greg Verspohl
President of HD Worldwide video

Tech Talk: Why HD vs SD? Read below and you will see why Every HD camera crew or production company should implore clients to make the switch to High Definition. From the edit bay to screen, weather you are making a commercial, feature film or shooting reality television; High definition is the way to go.
The Sony HDW-F900 is a ground-breaking digital.

The Art of Image-making
The progressive scan CCD sensor at the heart of the HDW-F900 marks a significant advance in Sony HAD CCD technology. It is a development that now makes possible image capture over a range of frame rates, and ensures that their quality is at the highest possible level. This progressive scan CCD sensor provides a sensitivity of f10 at 2,000 lux (at 60i) providing subjectively noise and grain-free pictures. At 24 fps, with a 1/48-second shutter speed (equivalent to a 180º film camera shutter setting), the exposure index of the HDW-F900 is approximately equivalent to 300 ISO*. It allows the acquisition of gain-free imagery in deeply shadowed areas of a scene. Superb CCD highlight-handling greatly extends the Exposure Latitude of the camera, allowing directors the dramatic freedom to shoot and capture extreme highlights in otherwise low-key scenes.

-Greg Verspohl
President of HD Worldwide video

HD Forum: Let’s look at Panasonic’s HXP3000

Tech Talk: How does the HXP3000 stack up? See why HD camera crews or a production company should look into the High Definition Panasonic models. There are really two camps, Sony or Panasonic. Every HD camera crew has one or the other. The Sony HDW-F900 is a ground-breaking digital
The AJ-HPX3000 is the industry’s first native 1080p one-piece camcorder to capture master-quality high definition video. Featuring three 2/3″ high density 2.2 million pixel CCDs, the HPX3000 acquires cinema-quality images in full-raster 1920 x 1080 resolution with 4:2:2 10-bit sampling using the advanced AVC-Intra codec. AVC-Intra, the industry’s most advanced compression technology, is a professional intra-frame video codec with bit rates of 50 and 100Mbps, utilizing the High-10 and High-422 profiles of H.264 respectively. AVC-Intra provides high-quality 10-bit intra-frame encoding in two modes: AVC-Intra 100 for full-raster mastering video quality, and AVC-Intra 50 Mbps for DVCPRO HD quality at half the bit rate, thereby doubling the record time on a P2 card.

The HPX3000 also records in industry-standard DVCPRO HD at 1080 in 24p, 25p, 30p, 50i and 60i and can produce standard definition recordings in 50Mbps DVCPRO50.

Designed for movie, commercial and TV program production, the HPX3000 combines the ultra reliability of P2 HD solid-state recording with high-end features, including six advanced gamma settings, including Film-Rec mode (made popular by the VariCam), film-like shutter controls, intuitive film camera-like operation. It also features a built-in reverse scan that allows unique setups such as mounting the camera upside down or usage of an ultra prime lens or an anamorphic lens adapter to create a 2.35:1 aspect image.

With five 16 GB P2 cards installed, the camera rec

HD Forum: Let’s look at Panasonic’s HXP3000

Tech Talk: How does the HXP3000 stack up? See why HD camera crews or a production company should look into the High Definition Panasonic models. There are really two camps, Sony or Panasonic. Every HD camera crew has one or the other. The Sony HDW-F900 is a ground-breaking digital.
The AJ-HPX3000 is the industry’s first native 1080p one-piece camcorder to capture master-quality high definition video. Featuring three 2/3″ high density 2.2 million pixel CCDs, the HPX3000 acquires cinema-quality images in full-raster 1920 x 1080 resolution with 4:2:2 10-bit sampling using the advanced AVC-Intra codec. AVC-Intra, the industry’s most advanced compression technology, is a professional intra-frame video codec with bit rates of 50 and 100Mbps, utilizing the High-10 and High-422 profiles of H.264 respectively. AVC-Intra provides high-quality 10-bit intra-frame encoding in two modes: AVC-Intra 100 for full-raster mastering video quality, and AVC-Intra 50 Mbps for DVCPRO HD quality at half the bit rate, thereby doubling the record time on a P2 card.

The HPX3000 also records in industry-standard DVCPRO HD at 1080 in 24p, 25p, 30p, 50i and 60i and can produce standard definition recordings in 50Mbps DVCPRO50.

Designed for movie, commercial and TV program production, the HPX3000 combines the ultra reliability of P2 HD solid-state recording with high-end features, including six advanced gamma settings, including Film-Rec mode (made popular by the VariCam), film-like shutter controls, intuitive film camera-like operation. It also features a built-in reverse scan that allows unique setups such as mounting the camera upside down or usage of an ultra prime lens or an anamorphic lens adapter to create a 2.35:1 aspect image.

With five 16 GB P2 cards installed, the camera records for up to 100 minutes in AVC-Intra 100 at 1080/24p, 200 minutes in AVC-Intra 50 at 1080/24p, 160 minutes in other AVC-Intra 50 formats, and 80 minutes in other AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD formats. Recording times will double with the release of Panasonic’s 32GB P2 card (model AJ-P2C032RG) in November.

I personally love the look of this camera. I find myself torn between this model and the Sony HDW-F900.

Records for up to 100 minutes in AVC-Intra 100 at 1080/24p, 200 minutes in AVC-Intra 50 at 1080/24p, 160 minutes in other AVC-Intra 50 formats, and 80 minutes in other AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD formats. Recording times will double with the release of Panasonic’s 32GB P2 card (model AJ-P2C032RG) in November.

I personally love the look of this camera. I find myself torn between this model and the Sony HDW-F900.

-Greg Verspohl
President of HD Worldwide Video