Matching hvr hd1000e to pd170

[dvnam]

I'm borrowing an hvr hd1000e as second cam to my pd170 (shooting 16:9) and although it's not an ideal combination, I know, I was wondering how best to match the footage.

Shoot sd widescreen with the hd1000 or shoot hdv and downconvert in-camera or shoot hdv and do the downconversion in FCP (although I don't know if this'll work as I have only got FCP 4.5)

As I said, I know it's not an ideal situation and Alan R. advises to neither downconvert in-cam nor to shoot sd with a hdv cam but I'll have to make the best of the situation.

[StevenBagley]

If you only have FCP 4.5 forget shooting anything but DVcam, you'll only end up with problems trying to import and edit it if you do anything else. Yes you'll get artefacts from the HD1000's downconvert but you'll also have artefacts from the ARC in the PD170. Id also be tempted to use the HD1000 as the A camera (it will look nicer) and use the PD170 for cutaways etc, since I suspect in 16:9 mode the HD1000 will run rings around the PD170 (in 4:3 mode, I'd probably chose the 3-chip ness of the PD170 as my primary).

Colourimetry won't match (I've done shoots with the VX1000 and the HC1, both relations of these cameras), so I'd shoot a macbeth chart or similar in each location before shooting so you have a reference to grade from.

Steven

[RayL]

Agree with Steven. Use the HD1000 in HD mode and down-convert in camera (you'll find it very acceptable) and run the PD170 in 16:9.

The real point here is that both cameras will look good and be a good match if you have decent light levels. Noise, artifacts and colour differences will be accenuated if the cameras are grovelling around in low lighting, so anything you can do to help the situation - direct lighting, bounce lighting, bounce boards, etc will give you better results.

As an example, when I was doing wedding videos, I regarded the first dance of the bride and groom as 'my territory' when it came to lighting. The later jogging around could be in the usual murk, but for the important first dance I tried wherever possible to rig an 800w redhead (softened with a single layer of white diffuser and run through a dimmer set at about 6 out of 10) to give a nice warm soft pool of light over the dance floor. The redhead's focus knob allows the area of light to be varied to suit the size of the dancing area. Ditto for meetings, conferences, etc.

Ray Liffen

[ClaireTall]

A couple of weeks ago we were so busy we almost ran out of cameras and I had a two camera shoot to do.

I used a Sony XDCAM 330 and a JVC 100 to film a live sales pitch across a desk and to match them I used a grey card to get the white balance correct and the same card to get the exposure as close as possible, it worked well.

Got the grey card from Ebay, £12, grey on side white on the other, fits into a small black zip bag.

Should work for you.

[Alan Roberts]

Just to clear things up: I earn most of my freelance money advising broadcasters at the top level, so my opinions reflect that. It means I'm picky. It means I see how what happens in the camera and post route affects the final outcome. But, I'm also a "high days and holidays" shooter with a Sony A1, and I'm happy with it. But I use some of that footage to demonstrate some of the problems you get when trying to make high level programming.

So, when I advise against cheap standards conversion, it's because I can see how much extra bit-rate you need in the final coding to maintain the image quality (assuming it hasn't been gutted by the conversion). If I shoot HDV and use Procoder or Carbon to do the downconversion, I can get away with a lower bit-rate on a final dvd, than if I convert in the camera, either before or after shooting.

My advice is intended to make you aware of the problems, not to lay down the law on how to do it.

[tom hardwick]

I'm sorry to post the negative POV here but I don't feel there's any way you'll successfully intercut the 16:9 PD footage with the downconverted HDV from the 1000.

I'd go as far as to say shooting with the 1000 in SD mode won't make them match any better either, although I'd admit that in an interview situation (say) the PD could shoot the big bold closeups and the 1000 could do the full length shots and that might intercut ok.

The PD170 is out of its depth when in the 16:9 mode. No reflection at all on this very fine camera as it was designed back in 2000. Even simple little cameras such as Canon's HV20 blow it right away - assuming Ray's 'good lighting' criterera are met.

tom.

[dvnam]

Thanks for the advice guys - most helpful. I'll test shoot and report back, if only in case anyone is in the unlikely position of facing the same dilemma.

Alan, I wasn't intending to sound ungrateful. Far from it - I find your experience and advice very illuminating and helpful - I was just saying that I was aware of the problems that you reported and just sought advice on how to make the best of a bad situation.

Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to upgrade to equipment that will make things easier.

Regards,

David