Tag: Canon XA10

Video Editing Workflow – Canon XA-10

Source

Camera settings depend on the type of recorded video. The Canon XA-10 has only two full HD (1920×1080) recording modes: FXP and MXP. Based on these, most of my videos are recorded in FXP mode as it is a good trade-off between quality and file size.

Recording Modes of Canon XA-10

Edit and Archive

For video editing I use Adobe Premier Elements 10. Editing is done without changing codec (H264), resolution, interlacing, etc. As I have the PAL version of the XA-10, the Adobe project settings are AVCHD Full HD 1080i 25 under PAL. Once the video is edited, I  render the clip with the highest quality settings (2 Pass VBR, Render at max. depth, Macro block Adaptive Frame-Field Coding), and a maximum bitrate corresponding to the source (FXP: 17 Mbps) for archiving. In Adobe Premier Elements 10 and for XA-10 FXP mode the settings are:

Archive settings in Adobe Premier Elements 10 for XA-10 FXP mode

Target Media

Depending on the target media the clip to be published is adjusted in codec, resolution etc. I have predefined settings for:

  • Standard clips to be watched on a PC:
    MP4 – PAL DV Widescreen SD – HiQ (576p, VBR 3/6 MBps)
  • Tablet/phones:
    MP4 – PAL DV Widescreen SD – LoQ (576p, VBR 1.3/2.6 Mbps)
  • Youtube as basic HD clip:
    MP4 – HD 720p 25 (720p, VBR 2.5/5 Mbps)

Calculation of Video Bitrates in Excel

I use a simple excel template to calculate the bitrate for the target medium. As input you simply select:

  • Codec (H264, MPEG-2)
  • Standard (PAL, NTSC, FILM)
  • Definition (VCD, SD, HD 720, HD, full HD)
  • Channel (PC/Web, Disk/TV)
  • Action/Motion (low, normal, medium, high)

and as a result you get the recommended bitrate for rendering your video clip.

Comments and feedback are welcome!

Welcome to BPMSG – Dec 2012

Dear Friends, dear Visitors,

yesterday I realized 10000 visits on my website since April 2012, when I implemented the Piwik web statistics. Over the last couple of months the daily visitor frequency was actually increasing, doubling within the last 3 months. On my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/bpmsg I am now slowly reaching 100,000 video views.

So first to all of you a big thank you, showing interest in the topics of bpmsg.com, and especially to those of you,  giving me feedback, as I can learn and progress from there. For me it also means to stay committed and keep the content interesting and updated.

The topic with the highest interest is AHP – the analytic hierarchy process, and many of you downloaded my AHP excel template. Actually, here I would really like even more feedback about your applications, just to get an idea, in what other areas my template is used. Some of them, as I received, are:

  • Asset management prioritisation
  • BPMSG AHP template as a teaching tool
  • Weights of textual elements that affect difficulty of a given text
  • Environmental quality
  • Threads to biodiversity
  • Green supply chain

In my last update of the template  I improved the accuracy of calculation  significantly, so please always use the latest version, and revisit the site from time to time, to get the latest update. Alternatively you might subscribe to the bpmsg newsfeed; the link is given in the footer of the page.

My latest topic “Diversity index as business KPI – the concept of diversity” seems also to gain some interest. My video on youtube  got in a short time more viewers than the previous video about operational and strategic business performance. For me it was intersting to apply the diversity concept in business performance, as I haven’t seen this before, and the mathematical concept, to measure diversity of species in a habitat (biodiversity), is quite well established . I am thinking to publish a second video, showing more practical applications of the diversity concept in a business context.

After starting my youtube channel in 2009, I gained more and more experience in making videos. You can  clearly see the difference, comparing one of my older videos with the latest ones. Now my camcorder – a Canon XA10 – is with me most of the time on my business trips or vacations. Therefore you also find some video travel impressions on this web site under the topic “others”. My last trip was to the Philippines showing the nice island of Bohol, as well as one of the world’s largest crater lakes on a lake on an island – Lake Taal.

Klaus Goepel,
Singapore, Dec 2012

BPMSG stands for Business Performance Management Singapore. As of now, it is a non-commercial website, and information is shared for educational purposes. Please see licensing conditions and terms of use. Please give credit or a link to my site, if you use parts in your website or blog.

About the author

Practical Experience with Canon XA-10

XA-10

Since a few months I use the Canon XA-10 camcorder to take the videos on this website, and when traveling. The video about the diversity index as business KPI, and the trip to the Philippines, visiting Bohol Island and Lake Taal, I shoot with the XA-10.

Overall I am quite o.k. with it, but a few details – like for example the tiny custom assignable buttons – are less satisfying. Now I am working on a review to share my experience. Stay tuned – and thanks for visiting.

Lake Taal -Philippines

Taal Lake is a freshwater lake in the province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills a large volcanic caldera formed by eruptions between 500,000 and 100,000 years ago. That crater lake is the world’s largest lake on an island in a lake on an island, and it in turn contains its own small island, Vulcan Point.

Enjoy Watching! If you like the video, leave a comment below.

Exploring Bohol, Philippines

ChocolateHillsBohol is a smaller island in the island grouping of the Visayas, Philippines, a nice place to spend your holidays. Beside the famous chocolate hills and the trasier conservation area, the video shows Bolo knife forging, the Loboc river cruise with a local rondalla music group, dancing the traditional Tinikling dance, dolphin watching with a visit to Balicasag and Virgin island, as well as the Baclayon church, Tagbilaran market and the Hinigdanan cave in Dauis. Enjoy watching!

if you like the video, leave a comment below.

Canon XA-10 Video Camera – Damage or normal?

Just now I realized a problem with my (still) quite new Cannon XA-10 camera. Obvious under low light conditions and white colored background the corners getting dark – vignetting; you see it clearly on the second picture. Of course – lens hood removed, it’s medium focal length …
Question: damage under warranty or normal?

Result from several visits and discussions with the Canon Service center in Singapore:

It is a limitation of the camera. (I would call it a design problem). Workaround: use manual focus & switch image stabilizer off (if possible use a tripod).

News from BPMSG

I’m really getting lazy …
No update of my web site since May 2012; page rank down from 3 to 2. What is going on?

It seems less questions coming up regarding my AHP excel template, though the number of downloads is quite stable. I am still curious to know about your applications; so please kindly feedback, if you are using the template for your study or work.

In between I upgraded my video equipment, using a Canon XA10 video camera and Adobe Premier Elements for editing. I produced a couple of videos for work and on holidays. Very satisfied with the results, brilliant quality in HD. Hopefully I will find some time to share my experience here or on  my Youtube channel,  so just stay connected.

Thanks so far!

Klaus

September 2012

P.S. Update Nov 8th, 2012 – Now having  problems with my XA-10 Camcorder

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