HV20 - shooting in 60i vs. 24p in 60i

[jtmoney]

Hi all,

I'm a total newbie to this forum and videography. I have spent hours reading the threads and I am now somewhat confused.

I just got the Canon HV20 and a new Macbook Pro to do the editing, here are some questions I need help with:

1) What is the best setting to shoot in if I'm outdoors - 60i vs 24p in 60i?

2) What is the best setting to shoot in if I'm indoors/med-low light - 60i vs 24p in 60i?

3) In reality, what is the the visual difference between 60i and 24p in 60i? All I notice is that 24p looks darker (remember, I'm a newbie!).

4) As a newbie should I generally keep the HV20 in auto mode or should I play around with the settings (white balance, cinemode, manual focus, etc.)

5) I've read that iMovie 08 can't handle true 24p but can iMovie 08 handle/import 24p in 60i?


I have a new baby coming and I want to get the video just right. Thanks.
John

 

[ChemiosMurphy]

24p is the frame rate for film.

60i is for tv.

You NEVER EVER mix the two. Period. IF your start shooting a project in 24p, finish in 24p.

Shoot 60i my friend. You will save hours of time and it will work on any ntsc monitor. If you're taping your baby's birth, stick with automatic settings for everything, trust me, your mind will be on your child, not the exposure and stuff.

Hope that helps

 

[Pat H]

For basic stuff, stick with 60i. If you're displaying on an HD monitor, the image quality in 1080i will be enough to impress anyone. As far as the 24p setting on the HV20, I've not yet tried it on mine, but I've heard that only a few programs can handle the capture. A majority of editing software, however, should be able to handle 24p over 60i. Use this setting if you want a filmy look, but for basic video it's kind of overkill.

Interestingly enough though, 1080 captured in 24p mode on the HV20 is technically 1080p, so if you want top image quality this is the setting to go with. Again, though, only advanced software can handle raw capture of the progressive scan footage.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Everything the HV20 shoots gets recorded to tape at 60i. If you use the 24p mode the camera will shoot at 24fps but that signal will get converted to 60i so it can be recorded onto tape.

Shooting at 60i will give you smoother looking motion than 24p so 60i is probably a better choice for chasing your kid around.


Lethal

 

[jtmoney]

Thank you for all your informative responses - it's much appreciated.