Camera frame rate and sequence setting in final cut?

[NRose8989]

I use a canon HF10, which can shoot in either 24p, 30p, or 60i. I'm curious on what sequence settings to use in final cut express 4, either AIC 720p30 or AIC 1080i60. its confusing because the camcorder writes the video a 60i despite the shooting frame rate. take this situation for example:

say i recorded some footage using the 30p mode, the camera writes the data to the storage medium as 60i footage. when i'm back at my computer, does final cut (or iMovie, which ever you use) automatically convert the 60i footage back to the original 30p footage? or does it still stay as 60i footage?

Do any of you HF10/100 or even HV30 users do when shooting in either 30p and 60i.


also... since some of you canon users are here anyways, what exactly does Cinemode do? I've experimented a bit with all the settings and i seem to get the best video using "P" or program mode. Cinemode seems to make my footage look grainy and awful, without even adding a cinematic feel.

 

[KeithPratt]

It would probably be a good idea if I Googled to make absolutely sure before I post, but to be honest I can't really be bothered...

It's probably all down to the magic of PsF. PsF is where the sensor takes a full progressive frame every 1/30 second (rather than half a frame every 1/60) but then stores it as interlaced fields. So whilst it is technically interlaced, it will look like progressive. Plenty of stuff we think of as progressive is actually shot or presented this way.

24p works in the same way, but rather than the 2:2 pulldown technique of standard PsF, it uses 2:3 pulldown, which basically pads out the extra 6 frames per second.

With AIC 1080i60, FCE/iMovie is not doing any conversion* other than HDV-AIC, it's taking the frames and fields in as they are on the tape.

I'll leave the Cinemode question to someone who has a clue.


* When you watch it back in the viewer in iMovie, half the fields are most probably cut, but in your actual footage they remain intact.

 

[CaptainChunk]

Cinemode is a low-contrast gamma curve that enhances detail in shadows/highlights, while flattening the overall image. I can't say I've ever seen excessive grain come from this mode on an HV20/30 under proper lighting conditions. How are you lighting?

 

[NRose8989]

Cinemode is a low-contrast gamma curve that enhances detail in shadows/highlights, while flattening the overall image. I can't say I've ever seen excessive grain come from this mode on an HV20/30 under proper lighting conditions. How are you lighting?

lighting? well I'm just using natural light, i usually dial down the exposure by
-1 in really bright sunlight but other than that, i don't use any external lighting source.

Also what should i be setting my sequence setting too? I've been using AIC 720p30 and i recorded with the camcorder set to 30p. I'm not sure if i should be using a different sequence setting like NTSC because I'm not producing videos for broadcast or for playback on a SDTV. any suggestions?