Once again, the future has arrived for me.

[Lensmith]

I got the call yesterday to come in early to the office from my Chief. "It's Christmas" he told me.

I had an inkling of what to expect. Our station is in the middle of transitioning to the Sony XD/HD cams...but I couldn't help my feelings of deja vu.

When I first started shooting news, it was on a wind up little Scoopic then my first "excitement" at getting assigned one of only two CP-16s at the little Texas CBS affiliate where I started this crazy career so long ago. After a short year of euphoria and getting to know the "film" world of change bags and keeping the gate clean, I was told change was coming again. Video tape! And I was assigned three twenty minute cassettes by my thrifty chief engineer which were supposed to last me "forever" as long as I didn't lose them in his mind.

Cumbersome...you've all heard the stories of hauling those boat-anchors of a record deck on one shoulder while balancing a less than comfortable table sized camera on the other. I won't bore you with more of those stories other than to say this and many more "transitions" to come were the beginning of a basic life lesson for me as a television news photographer.

Change is constant.

See, most of us think what counts is pretty pictures. Why would anyone choose a camera system to replace an old one which didn't produce a better picture? Why change something so it could deliver a lesser end product?

The answer is the quality of the picture is not what counts in the end when it comes to shooting daily news. It's the delivery system. Quality will always take a second chair to something that will get the images on air, to the viewer, faster rather than "beauty" in a frame.

Film to tape. Then the various tape changes from 3/4 to Betacam to DVC Pro. I shook my head as they took away my long loved Ikigami HL79D, which shot the best image I've ever seen. Replacing it with a Betacam. I was happy to lose the heavy record deck but the purist in me still couldn't help but lament the loss in picture quality. Sure, it got better...a little...as the technology tried to eek up the visually image. Then I went from Beta to DVC Pro. Pathetic. Another step back when it came to a quality image. All you have to do is stick a Betacam image up next to a DVC Pro image and the difference is obvious. But, as usual, that's not the priority. Why spend so much money buying Betacam when you can get so many more cameras with the DVC Pro format? Bean-counting logic always wins out...sadly...or is it really that sad? Maybe not. Maybe it's just one more step in a never ending series of steps. DUH! Change is constant!

Yesterday I was handed my brand new, out-of-the-box Sony PDW-F350 HD/XD camera.

Once again I've got that little kid feeling in me. Once again I'm reading a manual on my days off. Cramming as much new information in my head so that come Monday, I won't embarrass myself when I actually have to shoot this camera and come back with usable product which will enhance, not insult, my personal reputation as a news photog.

Is this the best HD cam in the world? Probably not but it's one of the reasons I made the big change in my life to leave the freelance world and rejoin the crazy world of staff news photogs. To keep up with the changes. To stay current and continue to do the job I've loved for so long. Plus...to experience that feeling one gets with a new toy that's been put in your hands and gives you the chance to be creative with the latest technology. In short, to be a news photog just one more day with, hopefully, many more days to follow.

Hey?!?!? Where did that video tape go!?!?! Oh right...it's "gone".

Now, back to my reading...while I still feel "young".

 

[Max Girth]

Congrats. I don't think this step is like going from Beta to DV, though.

Couple quick things:

1-Out of the box, usable latitude is scarce. Cinegamma 3 or 4 will grab more highlights for you. Cinegamma 1&2 do the same, but darken the mids too much for news. I think 4 will be the most "normal" looking.

2-Raising Black Gamma will squeeze more image in from the blacks. I run 50, which is extreme and gives more noise than most would want. Maybe 20 or 30 for you.

Camera makes tremendous pics in HD mode, in DV they're what you'd expect plus maybe a bit better.

 

[Lensmith]

Oops!

Bless you Max.

Experienced information is what I always appreciate.

Especially when I'm cramming to learn something new.

For what it's worth...I reposted this thread where I intended it to be in the first place. Over on the general forum since...well...I'm not freelance any more.

 

[Canonman]

Bless you Max.

Experienced information is what I always appreciate.

Especially when I'm cramming to learn something new.

For what it's worth...I reposted this thread where I intended it to be in the first place. Over on the general forum since...well...I'm not freelance any more.

Let me add my congratulations, Lensmith. I'll second the Cinegamma 4 recommendation. I also use the HISAT preset matrix to make the colors pop a little. There are a lot of features in this camera that will make your ENG life easier. Jumping from clip to clip like you would with songs on your favorite CD, and most importantly...YOU WILL NEVER ACCIDENTLY ERASE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED MATERIAL. Take the time to learn about cliplists and how to create and edit them in the camera. It seems a little awkward and arcane at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll come to love the ability to feed a clip list out of the camera as a b-roll package.

It may take some getting used to the single filter wheel system. WB is done electronically and you can assign a WB value to each position on the filter wheel if you choose.

Also note that using Cinegamma locks out KNEE adjustments and disables DCC.

Lastly, get used to the idea that HD cameras aren't quite as sensitive as their SD counterparts due to the higher pixel density on the CCDs.

So is your station going to go HD for local news anytime soon?

cm

 

[Mr MoOz]

Lensmith, I posted over in General first. Congrats all around.

Seeing the above replies, I am wondering if we can create another forum where we can keep just work arounds, settings, etc to all of the new gear. Something that maybe edited?

 

[SandRat]

have fun .... we are

The Cinegamma settings are only reproductions of film looks (I think Patel said they were Kodak replicas).

TO REALLY get the most out of the 350, if you're shooting regular ENG style, is to bring down your KNEE SLOPE to 95 and your KNEE POINT up to 15. I have my white clip on 108 and do not use the DCC function. I would lower my white clip, but the stations playout guards against illegal levels. This will provide you with a look that will give you a wide range of contrasty situations.

If you're not running and gunning and have time to tweak things, try Sony's scene files.

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/markets/10014/xdcamSceneFiles.shtml

I like LBEACH and LBEACHC ("C" is if you need more contrast), but I still go in and drop my KNEE SLOPE and raise the POINT.

Also, save seperate scene files that have higher detail settings for big panoramic wide shots that tend to look a bit soft.

After using it for a month, pull out the manual and read it again ... it will make a lot more sense.

 

[cameragod]

Congrats on the new camera John. You are still welcome on the freelancer board. Even though you’re all domesticated now and get to eat regularly you can run with us wild dogs anytime.

Have you been to the OZ XD site? Some good settings and stuff there. Clive is the best source of advice on things Sony I’ve ever found.

p.s. you have to register to get to the forum

 

[Max Girth]

The Cinegamma settings are only reproductions of film looks (I think Patel said they were Kodak replicas).

TO REALLY get the most out of the 350, if you're shooting regular ENG style, is to bring down your KNEE SLOPE to 95 and your KNEE POINT up to 15.

The Cinegammas are different gamma curves, that's it. They don't modify the color reproduction. I suppose one could say they "emulate" different film stocks, but since different film stocks are different in more ways than just gamma...I dunno if I'd agree. If I've ever heard the words "350 cinegamma" and replica together, it's been that two of the 350s cinegammas are drawn from the F900s hypergamma. I don't know which ones.

The real meat of the Cinegammas is the highlight handling. It's like DCC, except it goes a step farther in execution...in my experience Cinegamma 3&4 save more highlights than DCC...and look a bit more natural than an aggressive knee set manually.

Anyway, my point is that the cinegammas myself and CM recommended were in pursuit of the same thing you're recommending, SandRat, not in opposition of. Out of the box, the 350 looks a little contrasty and harsh, but it's easy to tweak it so it's much better.

 

[SandRat]

I agree wholeheartedly. Anything other than the STANDARD setting is better. Many of the scene files from Sony are based in the Cinegamma settings. I just don't think those settings handle a wide range of variables as well, but will produce a better picture in controlled circumstances than the KNEE settings I mentioned. I was just recommending a nice setting for ENG use (run and gun) when you don't have time to use a field monitor or set up lots of lights.

 

[Canonman]

Also of note is that one of the preset matrix settings is CINE. I haven't used it myself. I did use the FL matrix preset at a meeting under standard fluorescent lighting and was quite pleased with the skin tone reproduction while the whites looked absolutely pure.

I guess Lensmith is still buried deep in the manual since he hasn't posted back since early yesterday.

cm

 

[Douglas]

In my opinion, the 350 out of the box is anything but contrasty. It's too flat. And if you don't have the right paint settings, you'll really risk blowing out the highlights which really kills the whole "film look" we're trying to achieve.

Here's what I've settled on as my default scene file:

A Iris: 0
Detail: 0
Master Black: -11
Gamma Select: Cine 3
Master Gamma: -30
Black Gamma: 0
Preset Matrix: Cine (sometimes HISAT)

- 3db gain
Shutter should be 1/48 for 24P and 1/60 for 30P. Anything slower will cause motion blur, and anything faster will cause strobing.

I find that this is the look I want 80% of the time. The other 20% could be just about anything, depending on the situation.

NEVER use DCC. I mean NEVER, even if you think it looks better at the moment. It will fluctuate on you right in the middle of a shot. Not everytime, but often enough to screw you over.

Doug

 

[SandRat]

In my opinion, the 350 out of the box is anything but contrasty.

Correct. Bad description. I meant it didn't handle contrasty situations in it's STANDARD scene file. (or anything really) Flat, like you said.

 

[Lensmith]

I guess Lensmith is still buried deep in the manual since he hasn't posted back since early yesterday.

cm

Worked nightside yesterday with the "old" camera and then stayed up late with my nose in the "new" manual.

We're supposedly coordinating the camera menu settings at my current place of employment.

One of the photogs has had this camera for some months now and I'm going to be getting more menu-heavy with him so our settings match.

Great stuff above. That's the kind of info you can only get from those who've had this camera in their hands!

It's all very appreciated!

 

[SimonW]

1-Out of the box, usable latitude is scarce. Cinegamma 3 or 4 will grab more highlights for you. Cinegamma 1&2 do the same, but darken the mids too much for news. I think 4 will be the most "normal" looking.

Cine 1 and 2 are designed solely for film out and heavy grading. You also need to adjust the way you expose shots with these gammas too. I'm going to cover them in detail on my website soon.

Also consider that the first firmware on the cameras had the knee point set to 100. The new firmware sets the STD gamma knee point to be the same as the standard def cameras, 85%. This will give you more room in the highlights.

2-Raising Black Gamma will squeeze more image in from the blacks. I run 50, which is extreme and gives more noise than most would want. Maybe 20 or 30 for you.

Thats quite high for an image that won't be graded. Care needs to be taken as, just like the Cine gammas you are compressing the tonal range by doing this.

The Cinegamma settings are only reproductions of film looks

No. The old FLM gammas on the standard def cameras were (but Sony and Kodak had a falling out so they don't like this comparison). The FLM gammas on the XDCAM HD are based on the hypergammas on the F750, and now the F900R. In turn they do a similar job to the film rec gammas on the Panasonic cameras. That is to say absolute maximum latitude capture. They are not film stock emulations.

It's like DCC, except it goes a step farther in execution...

DCC is dynamic, and isn't strictly a highlight saver. It decides on a frame by frame basis what to do. Part of what it does is to give the maximum tonal range to what it deems to be the most important part of the picture. If it deems another part of the picture to be more important it will actually blow out the highlights and give more range back to the part of the picture it thinks is best. You have to be careful with DCC. And like Douglas pointed out, on the XDCAM HD it can visibly hunt mid shot.

 

[wtv]

Hi LS,

Didn't realize that you had moved and had taken a staff job.

Good luck on moving back to the US (sure will be a change after Nicaragua) and good luck with the staff job and most of all enjoy your new XD, hope to have mine on the way soon.