Importing from CANON XA10

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Level 1

9 points

Importing from CANON XA10

Now I realise that some folk may have the US version of the XA10 but this topic is regarding the the European model.

According to Canon this camera records 1080@50i by default ( option to record at 25pfs) However when using Final Cut7's Log & Transfer/ Settings: import as ProRes, the clips are listed as 25P, yes 25P.

Now then when you bring the clips onto a timeline, the recommended settings to match the clips (according to Apple) show up as NO FIELD DOMINANCE.

Very odd !

What does all this mean.Well I can not produce a SD/DVD from this footage via FCP without terrible interlacing issues.

Apparantly Canon were not aware of this and began looking into it. Needless to say I am still awaiting a response. Maybe it's something that I am doing wrong, or maybe it is a Final Cut 7 issue and has been resolved in FinalCut X.

If there is anyone out there who knows what I'm on about, then please feel free to contribute.

Final Cut Pro 7, Mac OS X (10.5.8), Canon XA10 (AVCHD)

Posted on Dec 7, 2011 8:46 PM

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Answer 1

bjbarn

Level 1

0 points

Dec 7, 2011 9:47 PM in response to marts1

I have just downloaded FCP7 and waiting for US Model XA10 to arrive, hope this whole thing about transcoding to ProRes and such is simple, afterall, Canon told me on the phone before I swiped my card that this camera able to input directly into FCP7.... one of the reasons I purchased it... market 101 I suppose

Anyway, we will see how it works out.

And I learned tonight what RAID is... I have a MacBook PRO with 500 GB of HD, I had to move my iPhone 4s videos off the hard drive to give FCP 7 room to install, I guess that was the least of my hard drive storage challenges....

Playing guitar was simpler.....

Question, can someone help this newbie to set up the right amoung of storage for my MacBook PRO to run the Canon XA10 AVCHD to ProRes transcoded files and all (sounds like I know what I am talking about doesn't it, not really), I will likely be making a series of 5 minute YouTube videos, and perhaps one or two 45 minute features.

thanks

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Answer 2

marts1 Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 7, 2011 10:09 PM in response to bjbarn

Hi there. Let me tell you now, it's not that simple. AVCHD is not native to FCP7 and therefore has to be converted to ProRes or Apple Intermediate. This is where the conflict lies between Apple and Canon. You may be OK with FCX, unless like I said before.....it could be me.

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Answer 3

Dec 8, 2011 6:16 AM in response to marts1

marts1,

I'm taking a guess here, but what are your preference settings for L&T?

Marc

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Answer 4

marts1 Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 8, 2011 2:59 PM in response to Marc135791967

Hi Marc,

Thanks for your input. Our pref. settings in Log & transfer are;

AVCHD

Apple ProRes 422

These are the only options available to me under AVCHD. I have experimented last night, by changing the imported clip settings to "Upper" in the Field Dominance. It seems to work but it's not ideal as can easily be overlooked. The question has to be why is Log & Transfer seeing the source footage as 1080p25 when it is supposed to be 1080 50i ??

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Answer 5

Dec 8, 2011 4:57 PM in response to marts1

Marts1,

I'm sorry. I think I was incorrectly responding to the other poster in this thread. However since I am looking at purchacing the XA10 I certainly would be interested to find out if this is a FCP7 issue or a Cannon issue.

Apologies,

Marc

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Answer 6

marts1 Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 9, 2011 11:50 PM in response to Marc135791967

A revelation ! I have discovered today using a bit of free software called "Video Check" that the footage recorded in the XA10 is in fact 1080 50 interlaced. Then when you check on the file after you have transfered it into Final Cut it becomes progressive Why ? Don't know...we need to get Apple to answer that one, but it sure makes things tricky if you are not aware of it.

So knowing all of this, how do we turn it back to interlaced without causing an issues ?

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Answer 7

Ron

Level 2

395 points

Apr 26, 2012 7:55 AM in response to marts1

Can I take it that most of you contributors are from the UK . . . ? If not, at least some of you are so that I can be satified that queries can be inclusive for my uk area ? Ta!

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Answer 8

Apr 26, 2012 8:40 AM in response to Ron

Hi All,

From an XA10 Forum

The XA10 records 25p (PAL) and 30p (NTSC) as PsF (Progressive Segmented Frame).
What that means is that each progressive frame is divided into 2 fields and recorded as 50i (or 60i).
When importing the files, the NLE must understand to interpret the footage as 25p.
Some NLEs (Premiere Pro CS 5.5) will detect the PsF automatically and interpret correctly, other NLEs may need to be instructed.
The biggest error is for the NLE to tag the footage as true interlaced and then apply a deinterlacing algorithm in order to produce a 25p file.
Once you sort out the workflow for your particular NLE, it's not a big deal- you just have to figure it out.

DM

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Answer 9

Ron

Level 2

395 points

Jun 12, 2012 8:22 AM in response to David Mclaine

A very good programme called ClipWarp can be downloaded (costs very little for whsat it does) and it will automatically ranscode your AVCHD stuff to ProRes whereupon you then import all or part - your choice - into your FCP programme,whether it's 6, 7, X or whatever!

Enjoy.

Ron.

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