Over a year ago I posted a (non-OS news) article about this new geeky & underground, grass-root movement in videography -- similar to the artistic explosion digital photography saw a few years ago. We call ourselves "DV Rebels". Given a slow weekend, I decided to revisit the topic today with some newer videos shot with the Canon HV20/HV30 cameras, these $500 gems that have been the catalysts in the said movement. The HV lines of cameras are so popular that over 220 official music videos were shot with them, among other kinds of art. In the old article there has been criticism about the "motion photography without a story" nature of the videos that were sampled, but I think that since then these hobbyist videographers have come a long way. Have a look inside for some of my favorite HV20/30 videos available today, while you can check even more here.
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Member since:2005-06-28
Yup, this is why the HV20/30 cameras (and all new Canon AVCHD non-tape cameras too), support PF24, PF25 and PF30 recording in addition to plain 50i/60i. The HV series became popular opiginally not only because of their superior quality at the time, but mostly because of its 24p-like (PF24) ability.
These PF files are progressive recordings wrapped around an interlaced stream for compatibility reasons (e.g. iMovie and even Final Cut Express don't support native 24p editing), but a capable video editor is able to remove pulldown (for PF24) or drop a field (for PF25/PF30) and edit the native progressive stream.
Member since:2005-07-06
I've got a really old Canon ZR10. It's 480i only, but it does do 16:9. I've been thinking about the HVs if I'm in the market again.
The interlacing strikes me as somewhat amusing, especially since it a solution to a problem that hasn't been around in at least 30 years (phosphorous after-glow). Especially since it wipes out 30% of the apparent resolution. Like hooking a 640x480 computer screen up to a regular TV. It looks awful.
That's great that the HVs are still able to handle the 24p though.
Sensors are getting to the point where it's no longer a question of sensors, but of the lenses themselves. A great time for DV.
Member since:2005-06-28
BTW, you gotta watch the HD trailer for the new "Crank" movie! It was shot with the $3500 Canon XH-A1, and they also used the $800 HF-100 models as "crash cams".
http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/crank2/hd/
It just shows that it's the director & crew who make the film and not the camera. Heck, most 2k digital cinemas in the US today don't have a better quality than an LCD TV, so pretty much any prosumer camera can deliver good enough quality for cinema quality.
However, quality still maters. These consumer HD cameras (especially from Canon, as they have more manual controls) have liberated a lot of people who wanted to express themselves in a better visual way.
Edited 2009-04-05 04:21 UTC
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Member since:
2005-07-06
I'm really enjoying some of the new 24p video cameras/DLSRs coming out. A lot of shows are being shot digitally now, especially in the sci-fi realm. Galactica's mini-series was shot with film, but when it got picked up as a series it was done in DV.
Which brings me to a question. Why do we even bother with interlaced standards now? Computer displays, LCD, and plasma all convert everything to progressive anyway.
Edited 2009-04-05 04:05 UTC