Camera/frame rate recommendation

[Jeff930]

I am looking at purchasing a new camcorder, and I have two in mind.  I will be editing video in Premiere Elements 2018.  Here are the cameras with the available frame rates, according to the users manuals I looked at online.

Sony HDR-CX405:

XAVC S HD:

60p(*)/50p(**)

30p(*)/25p(**)(default setting)

AVCHD:

60p(*)/50p(**)

60i(*)/50i(**) (default setting)

^* 1080 60i-compatible device

^** 1080 50i-compatible device

Canon Vixia HF R800:

30p, 24p, 60p

Based on the above, is there one camera you would recommend over the other, for use with Premiere Elements 2018?  And which frame rate would you advise using?

[Bill Sprague]

Either camera should work fine with Premiere Elements.  But, I have a bias toward Sony products. 

Frame rates are a complex subject.  The shortest version is that 24p is left over from film and you can try for a "filmic" look by keeping the shutter speed low enough.   60p is a newer version that helps to get faster moving subjects to display has crisp video. 

I tend to shoot at the highest frame rate and quality my camera will do.  I don't try for "filmic" results.

[Jeff930]

Bill, once again I can count on you to reply.  Thank you.  I believe I saw somewhere that the XAVC S HD format was invented by Sony.  I gather that if I get the Sony camera (which right now is cheaper than the Canon above), I should take it off the default of 30p for the XAVC S HD format, or off the default of 60i for the AVCHD format, and set it to 60p, if I don't want the film look?  And if I do want the film look with the Sony, I don't see 24p.

[Bill Sprague]

In general, it seems to me that Canon is more interested in photo cameras at the consumer price levels.  Maybe because Sony makes TVs, Blu-Ray players and movies, they are more interested. 

Regarding frame rates, you should shoot, edit and review for your own taste.  30p files might be easier to edit than 60p.  Some of this depends on your computer and how you produce video.  Is it going to YouTube, disk or computer file?

[Jeff930]

whsprague  wrote

Is it going to YouTube, disk or computer file?

The short answer is, all three.  My computer is iMac Retina 5K 27" Late 2015, macOS X High Sierra, 3.2GHz quad‑core Intel Core i5, 24GB memory, 1TB Fusion Drive.

Let's talk about 30p for a second.  The Sony only offers 30p in the XAVC S HD format, Sony's own.  Is this a universal format?  Is it editable in PrE?  I don't see 30p listed in the AVCHD format for this Sony camera.

[Bill Sprague · Accepted solution]

1920 x 1080p at 30/60 fps (50 Mb/s XAVC S)

1920 x 1080p at 60 fps (28 Mb/s AVCHD)

1920 x 1080p at 24 fps (17 Mb/s AVCHD)

1920 x 1080i at 60 fps (17 Mb/s AVCHD)

1440 x 1080i at 60 fps (9 Mb/s AVCHD)

1440 x 1080i at 60 fps (5 Mb/s AVCHD)

1280 x 720p at 30 fps (AVCHD)

24 and 30 are close enough for "filmic".  If it were me, I would set it on the top one.  Note the "50 Mb/s".  That is the maximum file quality for this camera.  Shoot that and make "filmic" in editing.

All those formats should be editable in Premiere Elements without issue.  If you have doubts, buy the camera from someone with a liberal satisfaction guaranteed return policy and download the free 30 day trial of Premiere Elements.   B&H, Adorama, BestBuy, Amazon, etc all have good return policies.  I know from experience that B&H gives you 30 days.

[Jeff930]

Wow, I don't know where and how you found all that info with the frames and resolutions.  But thanks much.  The top one is the XAVC S format.  I did search for the available formats for PrE, and I don't see XAVC listed.

[Bill Sprague]

I found the frame rate info with a quick couple of clicks at my favorite cameras store, B&H Photo.  Everything they have has a specifications tab. 

Regarding PrE and XAVC, I don't really know.  The spec page says you need a i7 if you have a Windows machine but has no restriction for an Apple.  I don't know how to verify that other than to try it. 

Tech Specs & System Requirements | Adobe Premiere Elements 2018

[Jeff930]

I have gotten the best customer service I've ever experienced at B&H.  What a quality place.  Plus they have everything, and at decent prices, too.  I work in an IT department, and when I first joined it, I suggested to the supervisor that we open an account with B&H to order computers and peripherals.  B&H even sent me the paperwork.  But it just never happened.  I went and looked at the specs tab for the Sony camera: pretty nice.

Thanks for the tech specs link for PrE.  I now see XAVC listed, which it wasn't where I looked elsewhere before.  It's interesting that the Mac requirements don't show i7, or "i" anything for that matter.  Maybe XAVC isn't supported at all on Mac?  What's interesting is XAVC is listed in the Windows requirements as you point out, but it's not shown at the bottom in the "Adobe Premiere Elements supported import/export formats include" section.

I paid for the full version of PrE 2018.  Hopefully I can now get a new camcorder if the wife allows it (birthday coming up), and I'll put this stuff to the test.