Got my TM300 for a couple of weeks already... bought the Corel Videostudio X2 for editing... and one of my 17 babies already celebrating his 1 month old birthday...

So combined them all... the things that filling up my time this recent time...

ronaldkwok, yeap, PAL playback hardware are built for NTSC playback. We don't have to worry about anything.

NTSCwise and consumerwise yes, 60i is the most common shooting mode. Not all video cameras have the 30p feature, 1 to name is Sony. Just like how not all of them have 24p or 24f.

mode 2 and 3 are debatable. You have better motion for 60i which is ideal for spots, and 30p for web streaming purposes, 24p for judder looking filmic purposes. but in consumer cams, the 30p is pretty much identical to it's 60i in terms of quality in each frame. it's just 60i being deinterlaced by blend method within the camera itself.


Masculine, what a happy snake, ahaha..

This post has been edited by FuGZ: Jul 5 2009, 12:51 PM

As for the video,

1. The flower footage for the intro, why flower? Macam tak kena. But can kena also, if the text also appear rotating as the middle flower. But the out transition (clockwise wipe) tak kena. if the wipe can start from the middle better. if the text also can be "wiped" together with the flower intro (render the text + flower to another video file, then baru wipe) EVEN BETTER.
2. when the snake is eating the tikus together iwth the catchy music, do fast cuts la better instead of one whole long shot of him eating. u cut cut cut the video to make it shorter, and susun ikut the beat of the music. then can gelak + gross at the same time.
3. since angle is limited, try having the view of him eat it from as low as possible, with his eyes like staring right in front of the cam while eating. maybe can start to show this part bila the catchy song repeats the 2nd time, like around 1:15 like that.

I didn't watch the whole thing since internet slow la today, so yeah thats my komen lah.



50 is a bigger number than 25. 1080 is a bigger number than 720. its all marketing, which sony traditionally excels at. sony erricsson phones have really, REALLY slow and bad UI. and yet they manage to sell it like crazy.

although I have to say, the GPS is really useful TO ME. it's really not an everybody's thing. Again sony knows how hard for documentary filmakers to find a really suitable camera for them (long battery, good low light, small, quiet, light, low radiation, solid metal, great stabiliser, great pre-recording modes, long, long, long recording) when filming in jungles, filming birds, predators eating animals, etc. I've spoken to a few docu filmakers and pretty much all of them are either planning or have already got the XR cam.

Thank you C-fu... that's a kind of critics I want to hear... kind of critics that I can improve on....

something like the intro of this, look at how the sticks and movements seems to be hitting at the right moment the song beat clicks. its things like this that will make a video macam ada feel best gila.

audio has 80% of influence of how good the movie is. video is only 20%. if the video footage is crap, colour is out, ada noise, etc2, audience will forget all mistakes as long as the audio is crisp, in sync, no delays, etc.

also look at how can transitions complement the mood/feel of the video.

oh and the footage is not mine ah, before anybody asks i just reedit je.

a good study of audio-video association and synching and mood would be to watch the critically acclaimed silent movie, Man With The Movie camera.

First 3 mins is intentionally blank, try to feel how the music plays a role to give the mood to appreciate the footages.



This post has been edited by C-Fu: Jul 7 2009, 11:24 AM

hihi guys. alot of si-fu's here, especially C-Fu.

I'm a noob here, looking to get my first camcorder.
Main purpose now is to use it for my wedding and pre-wedding captures.

Intend to get a HDD camcorder, that comes with HD recording as well.
Are there any disadvantages to using such models?
My budget is around 2-3k more or less. Saw the Panasonic HDC-HS20 and Sony HDR-XR100E quite nice, but Sony seems abit expensive (most ppl say so also). Can recommend some good brands/models?

Plan to do some editing on the videos myself so can make a small MV. The above models can do it right?
Lastly, is optical zoom really that important? I'm not sure why some models can get upto 70x zoom, then the others are so much different only 10x. Funneh~

for weddings, you don't need
1. HD (then you need power pc to edit, and end result will be in DVD which is SD, so whats the point)
2. tape cams
3. super high optical zoom (digital/hybrid/max/other than optical zoom is worthless, avoid). 10x is good enough

you need
1. long battery life
2. SD/DV quality
3. monopod (and tripod if you can)
4. long recording on SD/DV quality
5. good low light quality
6. stabilizer

Thx C-Fu for the sound advice.
Actually I intend to get camcorder not for wedding purpose only la, it is just a start. But I do understand your points.

I don't understand what this means "end result will be in DVD which is SD".
Can elaborate wat you mean DVD is SD? Sorry I noob.
Also what do you mean by SD/DV quality?

As for the main things I should be looking for: long battery life, SD/DV quality, good low light quality, stabilizer.
And of course for the captured video to be good enough for editing into a small MV,..
Do you recommend any brands/models that have these? I will still do my research but hope you can recommend some.
TQTQ!

sd is standard definition. tv quality. dvd quality. hd is high definition. blu ray quality. pc quality. unless the output is just pc or blu ray, there's no point in going hd.

Bro, thx for the inputs.

Sorry I ask again - can recommend some brands/models which you think is suitable for me?
And where to buy got good deal.

Newbie question about HD formats in different brands.

Is it true that different brands have different concept/file formats? Sony = AVHCD, canon = ??, panasonic = ??

When recording in HD, are the files able to directly copy to external pc and watch directly without conversion?

First, I must confess that I am no sifu and I just want to give my opinion. As pointed out by C-Fu, you have to first decide what type of camcorder you need, whether it is SD (standard definition) or HD (high definition); not to confuse with HDD (hard disc drive). The cost of SD camcorders will range from maybe RM500 to RM2000 depending on the brands and the features while HD camcorder will cost from about RM1500 to RM5000. This is for normal consumer camcorders while professional camcorders will cost many times more. The top three brands are Canon, Panasonic and Sony and generally cost more than the lower tier brands such as JVC, Sanyo and Samsung. At the higher price end, both the SD and HD camcorders will have a HDD of various sizes.

With due respect to C-Fu, I would suggest you go for a HD camcorder if budget is not the deciding factor. Even if you do not have a HDTV or other HD hardware now, it is a matter of time that you will own them. Watching HD compared to SD is like watching DVD compared to VCD. (OK, maybe not so drastic but you get the idea.) If you have captured, say your wedding only in SD, there is no going back to record in HD again. Meanwhile (assuming you only have normal TV) you can still watch you HD footage in DVD format (at the SD quality) but once your HDTV arrives you can watch your footage in all its HD glory. I mean why buy a CD burner when you can buy a DVD burner (that can also burn CD), unless you never want to move to DVD?

As to which model, you have to decide what features are important to you depending on how you want to use it. You can read a lot of reviews on the net that may help you decide.

Hi ozak,
Have a look at this video where there is one clip taken by my missus while walking, sure shakes a lot. This is the 6th clip, the Goreme Open-air museum. It won't win any prizes but still it will bring back sweet memories years later, even though shaky ones!

Video sample

The other video (Turkish dance) is taken in low-light.

Sorry for my mistake. Yes, 540p is half of 1080p or full hd. 720p I mean is those lcd HD ready. My DC can take video is Canon S3IS and DVcam 3ccd panasonic NS-GS70.

---

Added on July 13, 2009, 11:37 am
Thanks ronaldkwok. The walking video side did shake alot. But overall is ok. Just need to train your hand more. Since this videocam have electronic stabilizer, it is better than nothing. I m average consumer not pro. So I always take this kind of walking and shooting landscape. If shake alot, I just edit it out.
Do you know your videocam can take highspeed video. Your cam have this mode 448 x 336 (240 fps/8Mbps) and 192 x 108 (600fps/8Mbps). Take some gun shoot video and slow it down. You never dream your camera can do that. Others you can do, water drop, ballon burst, F1 race, etc. Don't forget to post your video here.

This post has been edited by ozak: Jul 13 2009, 11:37 AM

hi guys,

as usual another noob in cam coder popps up(pointing at myself ofcourse)
da truth is my best fren ask me to suggest a videocams popps up(all fingers pointing at me ofcourse) Well da story is my fren ask me to recommen videocam for him but i also dunno much bout dis la. He kinda wants a videocam coz expectin his 1st baby dis comin sept... biasa la wanna capture sum candid moments wt his baby. I'd really appreciate if any sifus out der can give recommend for this matter , his requirment are listed below:

Price : below RM1200
Brand : Any
Usage : home videos, indoor shooting mostly
Also : user friendly pls

From wat i read so far da Sanyo XACTI CG10 seems 2 be a good choice aroun dis budget, any comments?

does any of you have any idea at all about AfterEffect's video stabiliser function? i suppose i might be able to do a short tutorial on that, might improve your vids.


other than that, might help if you make your cams heavier to stabilise it. or attach the cam to a small weight and a tali.

This post has been edited by C-Fu: Jul 13 2009, 06:36 PM

Thanks for your comments. I am aware of the highspeed modes but they last only up to 10 seconds each but I suppose long enough for some fun shots. Never though of using them to shoot what you suggested, will give it a try some time.

But not much people here use AE. Even I find it difficult to use. Last time Adobe premiere 5 or 6 ve a addon video stabilizer. Quite good but will blur the image a bit.
Anyway, please show some tutorial here. Might somebody interest to try it.

Newbie question :-

1) Was wondering why there are no videocam review sites like dpreview
2) Which brand has the most accurate color? I tend to think Sony and Panasonic has that metallic color look