Re: Panasonic vs Sony for green screen production

I have to agree with Tim! Don't get all hung up on the 4:2:0 v 4:2:2 in this price range! Take a look at the FRAME size those camras shoot too! What is the end product? Where will it play? The 330 shoots a 1440 x 1080 frame size... the HVX200 et al, on the Panasonic side shoot MUCH smaller frame sizes (have smaller imagers!), and UP SAMPLE to the "larger" frame size. This will affect your final image and resolution!

Lighting is everything in the world of keying! I've keyed all kinds of stuff with BOTH cameras. I have to say, the XD Cam HD format is FAR superior! The HVX200 isn't really in the same "class" of camcorder as the 330. The 500 and 300 are... however, the frame size is one half the 330, therefore, the Panny's "appear" faster... (remember, half the size of the sensor, far less pixels to illuminate, thus "better in low light!") when you double that frame size to accommodate to true 1080, you'll loose resolution. So by having a "4:2:2" camera that isn't truly full frame, or even close to full frame HD (the 330 captures 1440 x 1080, but hey, so does the F900!), you're not truly comparing apples to apples!

Just because it's 4:2:0 doesn't mean there's NO INFORMATION in the blue channel... if that were true, you couldn't capture an image! Remember, these are results of fractions!

If you really do know how to light green screen work, then really the camera won't matter! I've keyed BLUE SCREEN with DV... the same with F350 XD Cam HD and EX1! I've read that doing that, especially in the blue channel is impossible, because they are 4:2:0! Don't get caught up in the hype! Light the background even and flat (use a waveform monitor to check your work in the field, don't light the background by eye!), and you'll get the results you want!

I think you've gotten caught up in some marketing efforts; that's the intention.

Curt Pair
Picture This Productions
Sony ICE Team
F900/F800/F350/PDW700/EX1/EX3/D790/D600
Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 HD/Matrox
Phoenix, AZ