On 14 Apr 2002 07:56:02 -0700, tedbragg@msn.com (Ted Bragg) wrote:

>I'm about to jump into digital filmmaking, but I have a few questions
>nobody in town can answer:
>
>1. How does one capture slow-mo footage? On a film camera, they
>speed up the film. Simple enough, but video cams are stuck at 60fps.
>Is there a way to speed up the capture rate?

It can be imported while the camera is in "slow-motion
playback" mode, or altered in software while editing.

>Once, I had a TV tuner card on my PC that could capture up to 120
>frames per sec. from a live camera feed. Stupid thing BROKE, and I've
>yet to find a capture unit that can do that.
>
>Is there a way to change the speeds in software? What about
>'ramping'? Does it work both ways (speed up and slow down?)

Ramping the speed is more difficult, but some NLEs can do it.

>I'm looking at getting the Canon XL-1....but are there any other
>cameras on the market that sport a good 24fps progressive frame mode?

The XL-1 does not do 24fps PS-mode. The closest is the PAL
version at 25, but the interpolation used softens the image,
and in NTSC-land, the PAL camera is not very useful.

>Alot of people rave about the SOny unit, but it's stuck at 30fps. I
>don't want to mess with doing a pull down on my footage.

If you do ONLY film transfer, consider the PAL Canons or
probably better, the new Panasonic 24 FPS PS-mode camera.
Otherwise, shoot the best possible 30fps (which I think is
not done by the Canon models, for their price areas...) and
have the results transfered to film by a good lab (and some
of these prefer 30fps interlaced for best results, same as
for TV display...).