LOOKING FOR A NEW CAMERA FOR CS8??

The PAL version is called the CX730.

The stabilization system is superb.

Andy.

 

The advantage to 1080/50p is that you can slow the footage down a bit in a non-linear editing system. What quite a few folks do to my knowledge (and I've done for clients too) is take the AVCHD from the camera and transcode it into ProRes 422 or XDCAM HD.

I've not done a product comparison between the CX730 and 740 as they're PAL and I'm in Never The Same Color land (NTSC).

Andy.

 

The StratoSnapper or the MK IR Trigger both work well to control zoom in/out, record start/stop or expose digital.
The only thing I don't like is that, from the ground, you cannot tell whether the camera is recording -- other than by trying to take a digital still (which causes a brief focus twitch as the image is captured). So to tell if it's recording you have to try and take a still -- if you see the focus twitch, it's not recording. If you don't see the focus twitch, then it is recording (or something bad has happened).

Get an extra Sony AV cable so that you can butcher...I mean carefully adapt it...to send composite video out to a Mondo Stinger or equivalent. You can buy these cables on eBay.

Andy.

 

I found them just doing a Google search for:
sony av cable

Just make sure that they have the Sony "D" cross-section plug at one end and that the cable splits out the to red/white/yellow at the other end. The yellow is the composite video. Red/White are stereo audio.

Here's an example: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VMC15FS-Cable-MiniDV-Camcorders/dp/B00009RUFZ
You need to cut off all the cables *other than* the yellow, and then shorten that and solder on a connector that will connect to your video downlink transmitter. If you need it (which I doubt, as you're going to be chopping up existing cables), the pinouts for the Sony D connector are at pinouts.ru/pin_DigitalCameras.shtml .

No need for the HDMI converter -- the Sony AV cable emits composite video so you can feed it directly into the video downlink transmitter.

If you really want to use the HDMI converter, then you will need to fashion a foam block as you have to wedge the LCD screen on the left hand side of the Sony to open far enough to permit the HDMI connector to plug in. The foam block prevents the right angle mini-HDMI connector from resting directly against the LCD screen.

Using the HDMI connector doesn't present any advantage *except* when you're on the ground and you open up LCD screen, the icons will also appear on the video downlink.

Andy.

 

kjetil, you will love the camera. It's magic in the air. btw, these guys have some nice right angle Sony D-video plugs/cables:

http://www.digi-dat.de/produkte/index_eng.html

Andy, it's a pain in the ass but you can switch the camera into the menu mode to check record status and then switch back to view live video. Just don't switch the wrong direction and then cut the roll in mid air. Please don't even ask why I say that....... It's super convienient to be able to roll from the TX but it's also dangerous. I'm thinking about changing the switch on my 8FG to a center return with momentary on A/off/momentary on B which would make it much more intuitive.

nick

 

You're absolutely right, Nick.

The reason I repressed that information about the Menu command is that if you want to use zoom in/out, video record on/off, and digital still shutter release on the CX760 both the StratoSnapper and the MK IR Trigger are at capacity -- there's no way of adding the Menu command as far as I can tell. So you have to give up either zooming or digital stills just to find out whether you're recording or not -- a decision that I made by opting to get maximum functionality from the CX760 -- and, as I say, you can infer whether or not you're recording by whether or not you can take a digital still.

The capacity issue is caused because both the SS and the MK IR just use two servo channels with a basic threshold above or below which certain IR commands are sent to the camera.

I was hoping that they might have the option to use, say, the left stick on the camera control transmitter so that you could get eight distinct positions: top left-hand, top center, top right-hand, and so on, around the clock face.

Thanks for the reminder about the Menu command though. I'm pretty sure Esben added that to the StratoSnapper and with the MK IR you can teach it new commands.

Andy.

 

Andy, you are way ahead of me. I didn't even know about the stills trick. And the MK IR is at capacity so you're forced to choose one scheme or the other. Might try the stills trick. How obvious is that focus twitch?

It'is too bad we can't just enable a record indicator on the output.

 

Oh, the focus twitch is so obvious that the first time it happened I said out loud: "What the hell was that?" It's doing a complete focus pull and back. Not sure why? Different sensor for digital stills? You'll have noooo difficulty in seeing it as it lasts for, oh, estimated 500 - 750 milliseconds if not longer.

And for those tempted to try the HDMI output -- if you connect up a Small HD monitor you get a full electronic viewfinder with ALL the icons on the LCD screen including recording status, battery status, elapsed time etc, etc., but the FF HDMI and an HDMI converter I bought from Amazon -- both cause the camera to drop the viewfinder icons.

I've not been able to find a tame HDMI guru who could explain what's going on but my working hypothesis is that the HDMI protocol allows the camera to detect the kind of the device the HDMI port is connected to, and, if it's not of class "Display monitor" it turns off the viewfinder icons because it thinks it's connected to a device of class "End user wants to see the live video." Sigh.

Andy.