Sony F900/Panasonic VariCam HD into FCPHD

Question

Sony F900/Panasonic VariCam HD into FCPHD

I have a job coming up that will include taking HD footage shot at 29.97 and then editing it in FCPHD5+. Is there any special requirements I should know about other than the typical capture of DV footage?

If the footage is shot at 24p (for the film look they may want), please give me a heads up on what requirements are needed to edit this for an NTSC DVD (not HD DVD) project.

I've been on FCP since it first came out.

Dave

G-5 Dual, Mac OS X (10.4.5), System & software always up to date

Posted on Mar 21, 2006 10:03 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 21, 2006 11:06 AM in response to David Kerrigan

HD footage from the F900 or Varicam will need an HD capture card and some serious storage. Kona or Decklink make cards, and as for storage you'll need a pretty big RAID, and if you're going to online it with FCP you'll need proper monitoring. Search the forum, it's all here.

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Answer 2

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Mar 21, 2006 11:46 AM in response to Kenneth Ecker

Sorry to differ in your opinion with you Ken, but footage from the Varicam does not require a capture card. That shoots in the DVCPRO HD codec that FCP has been able to capture via firewire ever since FCP 4.5 (thus the FCP HD moniker).

All you need for Varicam footage is a deck to play it back (AJ-1200HD), a firewire 400 connection, a large internal SATA drive, or external Firewire 800 (recommend G-Raids) or External SATA RAID. DVCPRO HD is 26GB per hour. I edit it fine with the system specs you see listed below.

The F900 might require more, including the Capture card and SATA RAID...Ken is most likely right there.

Shane

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Answer 3

Mar 21, 2006 2:10 PM in response to Shane Ross

I concure with you Shane, FCP4.5+ supports capturing and editing in the DVCPRO HD codec, which is the native format for the Panasonic VariCam. FCP4.5+ also does NOT state that it supports editing HDCAM which is the native recording format of the Sony HDW-F900 according to http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/specs.html.

FCP5+ has capture and control presets for DVCPRO HD, but NOT HDCAM, so unless I can get documentation that states FCP will support HDCAM or someone with hands on capturing and editing experience with the Sony, I'll lean toward recommending the Panasonic VariCam for this job and hope that Apple will read this and provide an explanation why there isn't a capture preset/control or support for this recording format.

I understand that FCP may actually support HDCAM as an uncontollable or generic device, but something like this needs to be clear at least in my mind.

In addition, considering that the Sony HDC-F950 is a full bandwidth 4:4:4 RGB HD camera, and it is now being used more and more (Star Wars, Sin City, etc) you'd think that Apple could support HDCAM so people won't need to go to third party devices or alternative editing systems. Apple are you listening?

Any further input on this subject is appreciated.

Dave

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Answer 4

Mar 21, 2006 2:35 PM in response to Shane Ross

Sorry, my bad. I wrote too quickly. The only time I've ever worked with Varicam stuff, it was brought in as uncompressed. Of course DVCProHD is FW compatible. Check out Shane's website for a full blog. (www.lfhd.net). I will add that with using HD (any format - even HDV) it's best not to have enough to 'just get by'. For instance, if you want to do any effects, there's a big difference in the performance of shake or motion when working in HD sizes vs. DV sizes. Plus, monitoring HD properly isn't anything like DV.

Shane, would you believe I still don't have the P2 store yet? Incredible.

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Answer 5

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Mar 21, 2006 2:44 PM in response to Kenneth Ecker

Shane, would you believe I still don't have the P2 store yet? Incredible.

I believe that. We had the first one on the west coast...and I think one of maybe 6 out here now.

Everything about the HVX and P2 is in short supply.

Going to NAB? I will be at the Panasonic booth talking about the P2 workflow...

Shane

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Answer 6

Mar 21, 2006 3:17 PM in response to Shane Ross

Have either of you gentlemen looked at the FireStore FS-100 ( http://www.focusinfo.com/ ) as an alternative to buying the very expensive P2 cards. I understand the P2 store will allow you to download the recorded media from the cards, but it still makes the cards necessary if we want to record tapeless. Unless I'm not reading this product correctly and you can record directly to its 60GIG HD.

The FireStore FS-100 with its 100GB hard drive seems like it may be a better choice especially because it can be convienently camera mounted. Have either of you seen this new product? If you do, at NAB could you make a post of your findings?

Dave

PS: I just noticed that at https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/sales_o/p2/p2store/index.html the P2 store specifications support Windows, it says nothing about the MAC. Click on the specifications link at this page.

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Answer 7

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Mar 21, 2006 4:01 PM in response to David Kerrigan

A firestore is a decent idea. Not nearly as rugged as a P2 card...for it is a hard drive with moving parts. We spent two weekends shooting recreations of battle scenes and more than once an actor hit the cameraman. If there was a hard drive attached to the camera, who knows what would have happened.

But, it is still a great idea for most situations.

Oh, and getting the P2 Store to mount on a Mac is a tricky venture. Just click on Underdog and go to my site www.LFHD.net and see what you need to do. Should be the top entry.

EDIT: OOP! My blog is down for some reason, and my lappy with the blog software is in for repair. Try again in a couple days.

Shane

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Answer 8

Mar 21, 2006 4:08 PM in response to Shane Ross

Thanks Underdog. Can't remember if the FireStore FS-100 is MAC compatible. I'll have to revisit their site or send an inquiry to them unless you know for sure.

Dave

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Answer 9

tallguy

Level 4

1,415 points

Mar 21, 2006 4:40 PM in response to David Kerrigan

the sony footage will be 1080 x 1920 the varicam footage will be 720 x 1280 so you'll need to convert the varicam up to 1080i or find a way to get the sony down. the pana format converter FRC27 will get the varicam footage up to 1080i. it's the same machine used for frame rate converts from varicam footage. you'll want to make sure all your source material is at 29.97 for this project. sony 24psf actually is at 23.98 timecode.
when converting the 720P up you can't go back to tape and retain original timecode. the only way I know is to drive the deck with FCP and input the output of the FRC to your capture card. you may encounter a 2 frame delay. the settings on the frc need to be set according to the source tape ie 24 or 30. you can see these values in the UB display on the HD deck in playback

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Answer 10

Mar 22, 2006 9:09 AM in response to David Kerrigan

Just an update on the P2 Store and P2 drive compatibility. At http://shop.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prModelDetail?storeId=11301& catalogId=13251&itemId=95592&modelNo=Content12072005012903035&surfModel=Content1 2072005012903035 the following is stated in the FAQs: Are the P2 Store and P2 Drive compatible with Windows and Apple computers?
Yes. The P2 Store and P2 Drive support Windows 2000, Windows XP and Apple operating systems. Drivers for all operating systems are included with the P2 Store.

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