Video Formats

[SwanR]

Morning All!

Bought a new camera recently and it supports two video formats - AVCHD and MP4. I've done the usual Google search to try to find out a bit more about these options but haven't really found anything that tells me whether one is definitely going to give me better quality than the other.

For ease of use it has to be the MP4 because I can copy that straight from the camera to wherever I like on my computer. If I use AVCHD then I seem to have to import the file via iMovie on my Mac which is not what I really wanted to do. But if using MP4 will compromise the quality then I might consider it. 

Any thoughts from all the folk who like taking video when they are out and about would be appreciated.

Thanking you kindly in advance. 

[grendel]

my HD camera records to Mp4 and has quite good output, 1 hour of video runs in at 4Gb

there is a discussion here - http://www.fcp.co/forum/4-final-cut-pro-x-fcpx/19305-avchd-vs-mp4 of the merits / drawbacks of each, my take is that if MP4 is easier to process, then use that.

[LondonRascal]

I now film my Blogs using the AVCHD format - I can import these from the SD card directly into my editor (Sony Vegas Pro 13) and it accepts them better than Mp4 which seem to cause the editor to use more memory during playback when editing.

AVCHD I find does result in a better quality of video but that may be my camera. I an only use Mp4 up to 720p HD but with AVCHD I can choose either 720p HD or 1080P HD - using AVCHD uses more bit rate, thus the better quality but the draw back less minutes of video per SD card.

Remember too whatever you render the video at needs to match the camera settings it was originally recorded on - I film at 25fps and I match in my editor the bit rate and frame speed of the camera - being over or under this can cause issues and I have found in early videos some ghosting because of the format being meddled with from the original.

 

 

[JawsOrca]

(Grace.. don't worry.... it's all over my head too..) 

[BroadScot]

54 minutes ago, JawsOrca said:

(Grace.. don't worry.... it's all over my head too..) 

SNAP ! 

[trambo]

Hi Jean, Always film in AVCHD as it gives the edge over Mp4 when uploading to the likes of YouTube or Vimeo and you wish to publish rather than keep them private for your own use. I also have a mac and although I now use Final Cut pro to edit it is very similar to imovie in many respects which is a doddle to use.

Fred

[Gracie]

Honestly Jaws, I understood every word, well, at least the "I now film my blogs using the" bit 

Grace

[SwanR]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Have to admit that I struggle to get to grips with the more technical side of things - the very long online manual for my camera has proved enough of a challenge. It's a Lumix TZ70 and I find it slightly disappointing, and somewhat strange these days, that the editing software they give you free on a CD with the camera is only compatible with Windows - not much use to me.

I've not downloaded any editing programs as I have wanted to keep my Mac as clean as possible and am never quite sure what to trust these days. So I've stuck to using iMovie so far and have found it adequate for putting some photos and video clips together which I then upload to YouTube to share. 

And that's it. That's the extent of my knowledge but I have found it fun to get that far. Mostly I stick to the automatic settings on the camera as I love taking photos but understanding aperture and shutter speed and all of the manual settings isn't something I've got any inclination to get my head round. 

We're out on the Broads again next week and I am hoping to try some time lapse video to put something together when we come back.

[deebee29]

Hi Jean

imovie is pretty good for the basics with quite a few extras thrown in. I use Final Cut Pro X which is so much more complex but is quite expensive.

another option is Adobe Premiere Elements which has a lot of guided options that help you through your edits so is suitable for beginners as well as the more experienced,  it's available on both Mac & pc and you can get a free 30 day trial so is worth a look.

another program really good program worth a look for making photo and video slideshows is FotoMagico 5. https://boinx.com/fotomagico/ 

the basic version is only £39.99 or the pro version £79.99 but you can get the basic version the upgrade at a later date if it's for you. I really like the way you can combine photos & video

Hope you have a great time next week and look forward seeing the results.

[SwanR]

Thank you for the recommendations Deebee. It always helps to know what other people have used and have found worth investing in.

I am hoping that we get some breaks in the weather to do a bit of photography and I will definitely share some of it when we get back. I don't tend to get online while we're away - that's one of the attractions of being out on the rivers.

[deebee29]

I'm  totally with you there Jean, It's great to get away from all the tech when on the broads.

Just checking YouTube and there's some great stuff made with Fotomagico 5 and a great tutorial, I think you'll find it interesting