DSC-HX9V Preferred Video format and size?

[davederave007]

Howzit girls and guys,

I was wondering anyone familiar witht he new cybershots reccommend the best HD format when considering files size? Most people will opt for the highest setting 1080(p) progressive and not (i) interlaced but I was wondering if this setting really is necessary when you consider the massive file size it takes up just afer a few minutes recording.

The four settings available on my camera Sony Cyber Shot DSC-HX9V are (in quality accending order):

• [HQ] AVC HD 9M- 1440x1080(50i)
• [FH] AVC HD 17M- 1920x1080 (50i)
• [FX] AVC HD 24M- 1920x1080 (50i)
• [PS] AVC HD 28M- 1920x1080(50p)

I'm not sure what the 'M' means but I got a fair idea on the rest. To me the quality looks good all round. So why have all these options seems more of a confusion and I'm wondering if opting for the lowest setting will be a regret when I learn something later in the future. But they all seem pretty High HD quality to me and I jsut dont like the highest settings chewing so much gigabyts for what is relatively a short video.

Hey drop me your opinion here if you are familiar with your HD video options as above. Personally I'm still using [HQ] 1440x1080 setting as I feel it gives more than adequate video quality and takes the lowest file space. On the other hand I don't really have a shortage of file space (2+TeraBye free) so should I be considering going up to higher settings?

Thanks for your input/s

DAve

[blaireau_photo]

Hello Dave

I think that a big factor in your decision would be the target destination for your videos i.e. you may find that picture quality reduces when using a larger screen to display your movies. What looks flawless on a 17" inch monitor may bring less pleasing results on a 60" Plasma screen. If you have a range of uses in mind, I would be tempted to 'Split the difference' and use one of the middle settings by default.

It would be interesting to see what other users of this camera are choosing.

Thanks,

Simon

[sphinxxxxx]

Dave, I would suggest using the highest and best setting available.  Whatever you record and decide to keep is a 'one off'.  You can never go back and record it again, just the one chance.  Therefore, it makes sense to record it in the highest setting possible, this way whatever future technology will bring, and how your viewing circumstances change, you know this is the best quality you could have achieved at the time.  Also, you are not even short of storage, which would be the only valid reason for going for the smaller file size.

[Blencogo]

Hi Dave,

I'm with Sphinxxxxx on this argument.

For both photos and video, I would always shoot at the camera's highest resolution until I see what I have captured.  It is a simple matter to reduce that resolution if needed but it is impossible to enhance a low resolution image.

The cost of storage on your computer hard drive and on SD Cards has dropped dramatically in recent years and it is cheaper to retain pictures and video in higher resolutions.

The only exception would be if you only intend to use the images for the web or YouTube.