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HD Video Recording

Discussion in 'Photography' started by Hemerdon, Feb 13, 2010.

  1. Hemerdon

    Hemerdon Member Friend

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    Hi,

    I've recently changed from an SD to an HD camcorder and I've started trying out different settings to see which is best. There seem to be quite a few Nat-Pres members using HD camcorders now and I was hoping some of you would share your knowledge and experience with the settings that you have used and found to work better for railway videos.

    The settings I have been playing with are:
    Shutter speed: is 1/50th sec best or should it be faster?
    Frame rate: 50i or 25p - is 25fps progressive better than 50fps interlaced?
    Mbps: 24 or 17 or 12?

    I have switched off:
    Face recognition (if only it could be changed to loco recognition)
    Image stabiliser (I normally use a tripod)

    I know the effects will be different from camcorder to camcorder but there must be some 'best practices' when taking railway videos.

    Thanks in anticipation
     
    Hemerdon, Feb 13, 2010
    #1
  2. BillR

    BillR Well-Known Member

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    so much depends on what control you have over the iris, any neutral density filters etc.
    I do try to keep the shutter at 1/50th but If light allows step the shutter speed up to 1/100th
    50i or 25p? six of one half a dozen of the other, best experiment and see which one gives the best results for you.
    Mbps? I'd stick to 24, record in the best possible quality all the time. why bother with anything less!

    Even though you use a tripod, if you plan to pan, IS could be useful. It is surprising how much shake can occur when zoomed in - unless your tripod cost more than a grand.
    Again experiment, but do not dismiss it out of hand. That said I usually have my IS off as it tends to "grab" when doing a slow zoom out.

    Experiment is the key. Good luck, don't forget to use some sort of wind baffle on the mic, 60% of the video is down to the sound in my opinion. A poor sound track ruins a good video!
     
    BillR, Feb 13, 2010
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  3. RalphW

    RalphW Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Administrator Friend

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    I agree with Bill, always record at the best possible quality, and use a decent remote mic well shielded to cut out wind noise. Most of the time a directional mic is the best bet, only if you are fairly close with a comparitively short shot, consider using a stereo mic in a static position, ie do not have it moving with the camera, position it at 90 deg to the track to get some stereo effect.
    As Bill says the sound is very important, without it you might as well be taking a series of stills.

    I always have the Image Stabilisation on and have never had any problems with "grab".
    I would also suggest a remote zoom control that can be mounted on the pan handle of your tripod, it means that you do not have to touch the camera and the zoom speed can be very accurately and easily controlled. OK they cost a bit, well maybe a lot, but I suppose it depends how serious you are.
     
    RalphW, Feb 13, 2010
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  4. pennysteam

    pennysteam Well-Known Member

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    Image stablisation! Well I always had mine on, untill recently when I noticed it was actauly inducing a slight woble when on the tripod, fine when not on, but on the tripod it seem not to be able to believe it could be held stable, canon HG21 for the record. Note: I only noticed it at extreme zoom. Anyway as a result I turn it off when on the tripod and back on when hand held, generaly only do hand held when I don't have time to get setup and the odd spot where you need to move a foot to one side while panning, tree in the wrong place scanario.

    Top to tips, get a good camcorder tripod, and a external mike.
     
    pennysteam, Feb 13, 2010
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  5. Hemerdon

    Hemerdon Member Friend

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    Thanks for taking the time to provide your suggestions and advice. It certainly seems that I will have to experiment with different settings.

    As for the microphone, I've been using an external mike on my old camcorder but moving with the camera. I've now bought an extension lead to try with the mike set up static.

    Thanks again
     
    Hemerdon, Feb 16, 2010
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