Re: Good camera for SD Green Screening

Welcome to the world of multi-format recording :-)
True, HDV is "HDV", but not HDV is the same, and not all HDV cameras are limited to outputting in HDV.

Look for the book by Douglas Spotted Eagle on this - Really a great primer. He masters the explanation of what is DV.

I have yet to see Firewire support 4:2:2.

Cameras with HD-SDI outputs output what the "camera" portion of the camcorder sees. Sony's new XDCAM1, and the JVC are two cameras under 7500 that have this feature. The bit rate of the captured signal will have as much to do with the capture device as the camera. In our case, we capture the JVC in studio to an Apple MAC via a Kona 3 card at over 35 Mbps. It is beautiful footage, and it is 4:2:2.

If you record onto the internal tape drive, the recording format is HDV, and compresses the signal using a complex formulation based on the type (DVCPRO, MPEG2, HDV -- read GOP vs Long GOP, Interframe vs Intra-Frame) that results in the bandwidth you referenced - at 4:2:0.

Panasonic's HVX-200 will record 4:2:2 in the DVCPRO format onto P2 cards, just as the XDCAM-EX will record 4:2:2 to EXpress cards using MPEG-2.

Confused yet?

I was. We selected the JVC because at the time it was the only HD-SDI camera with interchangeable lenses and HD-SDI in its category. It is a wonderful 720p studio camera that shoots at 1080i too.

We've had the pleasure of shooting the Sony XDCAM-EX1 - beautiful gamma, larger 1/2 inch chips gave great DOF, but the unit was, for me, very touchy on the focus and a little soft. I DID NOT have the time to work thru the setups. EXCELLENT field camera.

Now that the EX3 is out with interchangable lenses, I am game for a shot at it. The SxS Express Card workflow is wonderful, as is the option to capture direct with the HD-SDI.

Hope that helps!

Karl


Karl Krummenacher
Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer
Activated Marketing
www.activatedmarketing.com