must-c-tv
07-26-2006, 11:09 AM
Greetings from Tehran! I'm having a nice little war - the network that I 'permalance' for sent us here to Iran to cover Hizbollah puppet master reax from here - so I get to stay in a 5 star hotel and watch the Beirut bang-bang from a distance for a change. There's nothing going here besides the usual demos.
Anyway.....
Before heading out, a bright management spark at the London bureau asked me to take a HD XDCam 350 out as a test. I think he was having a few pints with a friendly Sony rep earlier....
This doesn't mean my network is going with this camera (in fact I know they aren't switching to HD overseas until a solution is found for HD feeding to New York) so this is a very limited experiment.
So, here I am, bored in Iran testing a new camera for the last two weeks. I'm still shooting everything for broadcast on my SX, and take the two cameras with me in the field. I'm not editing or transmitting HD XDCam (impossible from Iran TV anyway) -- just giving it a test in the heat and dust by shooting every day some extra b-roll with it.
The camera is straight from Sony. I haven't changed any settings. I have the (crap!) stock 19x lens, and the 1/2 to 2/3 adapter that I use with my Fujinon 13x4.5. I don't have access to an engineer here, or even a wave form monitor or HD monitor.
Just lots of heat, dust and sand to shoot in.
A few things positive:
- it's a good work flow system. Looking at the thumbnails is very cool.
- the camera gets really physically hot (much more than a Betacam) which is worrying but everything works fine.
- the lens adapter is small, and seems to be rugged. It does cut down the field of view dramatically, but my 13x lens is so wide that it isn't that bad. I have stuck my 20x telephoto lens on, and that is really limiting.
- the 24P function is nice, and the ability to easily undercrank and overcrank is cool. I do US network news and magazine shows, so won't use this function often. but it is handy.
- the menus are clearly laid out. The learning curve from picking up this camera to shooting is pretty quick.
- the tape stock seems pretty reliable. No dropouts, problems or anything (except we could only get TDK - Sony XDCam stock was scarce in London). Viewing the footage in the field without having to worry about wear and tear on the heads is very cool.
A few negative things:
- the contrast range on the camera I have here is HORRIBLE. In bright sunlight the HD XDCam sample camera (and I only have one, so it may be a fluke) blows out easily. I have lined the two cameras (my SX and the HD XDCam) up and the SX is much more forgiving.
- if you aren't in the desert like I am now, this may not be so apparent. But I'm shooting guys with dark beards and turbans against bright skies. Yes - that is usually tough, BUT - I can achieve a much better uniform exposure with my SX than the Sony HD XDCam. I have lined the two cameras up side by side - and the SX is so much more forgiving with exposure.
- The Sony XDCam comes with a standard white clip level of 108 IRE, but even adjusting it down to 100 IRE the HD XDCam still blows out.
- for news, this is a major pain.
- in low light, this sample camera here is ALSO rotten compared to the SX. I know the Sony HD XDCam is rated F9 at 2000lux, with the SX at f11 at 2000lux, but in reality lighting an interview I have found it to be at LEAST 2 stops less sensitive than my SX.
- my usual basic light kit for the Middle East (where power is an issue, and you have to be quick)is 3 Dedo's and a Rifa 44. With the SX, those small lights are perfect. But again, lining both my SX and HD XDCam cameras up side-by-side in a interview, I was fine at F 2.8 with the SX, and still in the dark with the HD XDCam.
- I, frankly, don't know enough about HD to know whether HD cameras inherently have a more limited contrast range than 4:2:2 SX. I'm sure someone here will enlighten me ... personally, I don't spend my spare time reading technical papers. And this individual Sony test camera may be a fluke. But the contrast range of this camera is so limiting, it would stop me from buying it. The HD pictures looks great in nice light, but not in extremes.
Other negative things:
- the LCD is a bit cheap and shoddy. I certainly wouldn't use it for exposure or focusing.
- I can't find the breaker button on the camera (usually at the bottom of Betacams). If you are unfortunate to be near a large explosion, the concussive force can sometimes 'stop' the camera - so you have to hit the breaker button to reset and get the camera going again.
- white balancing takes a long time. Again, not sure why...
- there is a silly W:P preset button between 3200 and 5600. It's a soft, easy to push button. I think the D50 also has this. The bloody idiot that I am, a couple of times I accidentally hit this as the camera on the strap bumped my waist when carrying it. I didn't see the 3200k light up in the viewfinder, and so shot blue pictures for a little while. Now that I know the Preset push button is there, I look out for it, but it seems a bit silly to me.
All in all, I like the XDCam HD work flow, the pictures are great in the right lighting, and the camera is more rugged than I expected. But the contrast range, at least in this test camera, is really limiting. I'm anxious to plug it into a waveform back in Blighty for a more comprehensive test.
Anyway, those are my testing experiences from Iran for those of you interested.. I'm now off to the pool .... where there aren't any girls in bikini's, or beer..... just bearded men in suits.
Lovely.
Anyway.....
Before heading out, a bright management spark at the London bureau asked me to take a HD XDCam 350 out as a test. I think he was having a few pints with a friendly Sony rep earlier....
This doesn't mean my network is going with this camera (in fact I know they aren't switching to HD overseas until a solution is found for HD feeding to New York) so this is a very limited experiment.
So, here I am, bored in Iran testing a new camera for the last two weeks. I'm still shooting everything for broadcast on my SX, and take the two cameras with me in the field. I'm not editing or transmitting HD XDCam (impossible from Iran TV anyway) -- just giving it a test in the heat and dust by shooting every day some extra b-roll with it.
The camera is straight from Sony. I haven't changed any settings. I have the (crap!) stock 19x lens, and the 1/2 to 2/3 adapter that I use with my Fujinon 13x4.5. I don't have access to an engineer here, or even a wave form monitor or HD monitor.
Just lots of heat, dust and sand to shoot in.
A few things positive:
- it's a good work flow system. Looking at the thumbnails is very cool.
- the camera gets really physically hot (much more than a Betacam) which is worrying but everything works fine.
- the lens adapter is small, and seems to be rugged. It does cut down the field of view dramatically, but my 13x lens is so wide that it isn't that bad. I have stuck my 20x telephoto lens on, and that is really limiting.
- the 24P function is nice, and the ability to easily undercrank and overcrank is cool. I do US network news and magazine shows, so won't use this function often. but it is handy.
- the menus are clearly laid out. The learning curve from picking up this camera to shooting is pretty quick.
- the tape stock seems pretty reliable. No dropouts, problems or anything (except we could only get TDK - Sony XDCam stock was scarce in London). Viewing the footage in the field without having to worry about wear and tear on the heads is very cool.
A few negative things:
- the contrast range on the camera I have here is HORRIBLE. In bright sunlight the HD XDCam sample camera (and I only have one, so it may be a fluke) blows out easily. I have lined the two cameras (my SX and the HD XDCam) up and the SX is much more forgiving.
- if you aren't in the desert like I am now, this may not be so apparent. But I'm shooting guys with dark beards and turbans against bright skies. Yes - that is usually tough, BUT - I can achieve a much better uniform exposure with my SX than the Sony HD XDCam. I have lined the two cameras up side by side - and the SX is so much more forgiving with exposure.
- The Sony XDCam comes with a standard white clip level of 108 IRE, but even adjusting it down to 100 IRE the HD XDCam still blows out.
- for news, this is a major pain.
- in low light, this sample camera here is ALSO rotten compared to the SX. I know the Sony HD XDCam is rated F9 at 2000lux, with the SX at f11 at 2000lux, but in reality lighting an interview I have found it to be at LEAST 2 stops less sensitive than my SX.
- my usual basic light kit for the Middle East (where power is an issue, and you have to be quick)is 3 Dedo's and a Rifa 44. With the SX, those small lights are perfect. But again, lining both my SX and HD XDCam cameras up side-by-side in a interview, I was fine at F 2.8 with the SX, and still in the dark with the HD XDCam.
- I, frankly, don't know enough about HD to know whether HD cameras inherently have a more limited contrast range than 4:2:2 SX. I'm sure someone here will enlighten me ... personally, I don't spend my spare time reading technical papers. And this individual Sony test camera may be a fluke. But the contrast range of this camera is so limiting, it would stop me from buying it. The HD pictures looks great in nice light, but not in extremes.
Other negative things:
- the LCD is a bit cheap and shoddy. I certainly wouldn't use it for exposure or focusing.
- I can't find the breaker button on the camera (usually at the bottom of Betacams). If you are unfortunate to be near a large explosion, the concussive force can sometimes 'stop' the camera - so you have to hit the breaker button to reset and get the camera going again.
- white balancing takes a long time. Again, not sure why...
- there is a silly W:P preset button between 3200 and 5600. It's a soft, easy to push button. I think the D50 also has this. The bloody idiot that I am, a couple of times I accidentally hit this as the camera on the strap bumped my waist when carrying it. I didn't see the 3200k light up in the viewfinder, and so shot blue pictures for a little while. Now that I know the Preset push button is there, I look out for it, but it seems a bit silly to me.
All in all, I like the XDCam HD work flow, the pictures are great in the right lighting, and the camera is more rugged than I expected. But the contrast range, at least in this test camera, is really limiting. I'm anxious to plug it into a waveform back in Blighty for a more comprehensive test.
Anyway, those are my testing experiences from Iran for those of you interested.. I'm now off to the pool .... where there aren't any girls in bikini's, or beer..... just bearded men in suits.
Lovely.