[0:00] In today's video, we're going to break
[0:01] down the codecs of Sony cameras so you
[0:03] don't have any misconceptions about
[0:05] those. But first of all, you need to
[0:06] understand what a codec is. A [music]
[0:08] codec is basically a container, a way of
[0:11] pressing down, compressing the footage,
[0:13] uncompressed, pretty big files to more
[0:15] compressed and more manageable file
[0:17] sizes. And as you can tell guys, in Sony
[0:19] cameras, we have several different
[0:21] codecs. Here is the Sony FX30 as an
[0:23] example, but most of the Sony cameras
[0:25] have more or less similar codecs. And to
[0:27] change the codec, you need to go to the
[0:28] shooting menu, image quality and
[0:30] recording and file format. Then hit like
[0:32] this and you'll see different codecs. Or
[0:34] there is another option. If you go to
[0:36] the home menu, you'll have the codecs
[0:38] right here. And the first thing you'll
[0:40] see is the XAVC. XAVC is basically a
[0:43] naming for Sony codecs and it doesn't
[0:45] mean anything specific. And the first
[0:47] one we have here is the XAVC HS4K. It
[0:50] means that you'll have a 4K image, but
[0:52] also we have the letters HS and it means
[0:54] that it will be an HEVC or the high
[0:57] efficiency video codec, also known as
[0:59] the H.265. We have the older H.264,
[1:03] which is not as efficient, and we have
[1:04] an H.265, which is more efficient. It
[1:08] means that the H.265 can compress the
[1:10] file sizes more. For example, you'll
[1:12] have two times smaller file sizes while
[1:14] still retaining the image quality. But
[1:16] guys, there is a catch because the H.265
[1:18] 265 is more heavy for your computer to
[1:20] uncompress. So, we have more compression
[1:23] in camera, but the computer has to
[1:25] uncompress this footage and some
[1:26] computers may struggle with this. But if
[1:29] you have the M1, M2, M2 Max, etc.,
[1:32] you'll be more than fine because Apple
[1:34] is including the decoders and encoders
[1:36] for the HEVC or H.265 and a lot of
[1:39] Windows computers as well. Then, if you
[1:41] go to movie settings, you'll see
[1:43] different formats. For example, in
[1:45] XAVCHS, we only have 50 frames per
[1:48] second and 100 frames per second.
[1:50] [music] And that's a bug of Sony cameras
[1:52] because in XAVCHs, H.265, we're not able
[1:55] to record in 25 frames per second or in
[1:59] 30 frames per second as well, only 24,
[2:01] 60, and 120. Or if you are in the PAL
[2:04] region, only 50 and 100 frames per
[2:06] second. But then we have another option,
[2:08] which is the record setting. And in
[2:09] here, we have different numbers. And
[2:11] what do they mean? Basically, we have
[2:13] here the megabits per second. 45, 75,
[2:17] 100, 150, and 200 megabits per second.
[2:20] Don't mess those with megabytes.
[2:22] Megabytes are actually eight times more.
[2:24] As you can tell here, it's written 100 m
[2:27] capital, but the B is a small one. We
[2:29] have the megabits. If it was megabytes,
[2:31] we would have the B as a capital letter
[2:33] as well. It means that the bit rate of
[2:35] 100 megabits per second is actually
[2:38] [music] 12.5 megabytes per second. we
[2:41] have to divide 100 megabits to eight to
[2:44] get the megabytes. So this is called the
[2:46] bit rate and the higher the bit rate the
[2:48] more data we have and also the heavier
[2:50] will be the file sizes. Sometimes it is
[2:53] crucial to have smaller file sizes and
[2:55] for this I'd suggest getting something
[2:56] like 45 megabits per second but
[2:58] sometimes for heavy color grading and
[3:00] color correction it is crucial to have
[3:02] higher bit rates and for this I would
[3:04] suggest picking something like 200
[3:06] megabits per second. Up next we have the
[3:08] color subsampling. We have the 422 and
[3:10] 420. And it means that we have several
[3:13] amounts of color information for each
[3:15] pixel. And as you can tell from the
[3:17] charts, the 422 has more color
[3:19] information than the 420, which is more
[3:22] important for green screen work. For
[3:23] example, if you have an option of
[3:25] picking the 4:22 instead of 420, just do
[3:28] this. And finally, we have the bit
[3:29] depth. 8 bit or 10 bit. 10 bit has about
[3:32] 1 billion colors, whereas 8bit only has
[3:35] about 16 million colors. So always if
[3:38] you have an option to pick the 10 bit,
[3:40] pick the 10 bit because it's much better
[3:42] for color grading in post. [music] And
[3:43] for each codec, you'll have different
[3:45] movie settings. For example, right now
[3:47] we were in HS codec, but now let's go to
[3:49] XAVCs, which is the H.264. It has less
[3:52] compression, but it has bigger file
[3:54] sizes. So if we pick the H.264, XAVC
[3:58] S4K, and go into the movie settings,
[4:00] right now we have the 25, the 50, and
[4:02] 100 frames per second. And as you can
[4:04] tell, we have different record settings,
[4:06] different bit rate, different color
[4:08] subsampling, 420 or 420, and different
[4:11] bit depth, 8 bit or 10 bit. And also, if
[4:13] you go from 25 frames per second to 100
[4:16] frames per second, you'll also see the
[4:18] different record settings and different
[4:19] bit rates. The next codec we have here
[4:21] is the XAVC HD. It means that you'll
[4:25] only be able to record in HD, 1080p,
[4:28] basically at 25, 50, or 100 frames per
[4:31] second. [music] And here you have
[4:33] different bit rate values, color
[4:35] subsampling and bit depth [music] values
[4:37] as well. The next codec is called the
[4:39] XAVC SI and it means that this codec has
[4:42] an all intra compression. All intra
[4:44] means that each frame is being
[4:46] compressed individually but also the
[4:48] previous codecs such as the S and the HS
[4:51] they had the long GOP compression. It
[4:53] means that you only compress the first
[4:55] shot then after about eight shots you
[4:57] get another compression and then it goes
[4:59] like so from the first to the eighth.
[5:01] then from the eighth to the 16th,
[5:03] [music] etc. It means that the all intra
[5:05] codec such as the XAVC SI is slightly
[5:08] better for really dynamic scenes. For
[5:10] example, if you shoot in Fountain,
[5:12] you'll have less compression artifacts
[5:13] with the drops that are coming from the
[5:16] fountain basically. And also, right now
[5:17] guys, I'm using the SD card which has a
[5:19] V60 label and through all the codecs
[5:22] that I've mentioned above, it was plenty
[5:24] of speed with the SD card. But if I want
[5:26] to use the SI, so all intra compression
[5:29] with higher bit rates, it will show me
[5:31] this sign. You have to use a V90 SD card
[5:34] or the CF express type A card. And right
[5:37] now I have inserted the CF Express Type
[5:39] A card with really high bit rate speeds
[5:42] for recording and also for offloading
[5:44] the footage. And as you can tell guys,
[5:46] in the movie settings we have 25 frames
[5:48] per second and 250 megabits per second.
[5:51] It's a super high bit rate. And if we go
[5:53] to 50 frames per second, we'll have 500
[5:56] megabits per second. So the file sizes
[5:58] will be pretty dramatic. And also guys,
[6:00] I have to mention that you don't have
[6:02] 100 frames per second in all intra mode.
[6:04] So with this codec XAVCI, but you can
[6:07] actually enable it with a slow and quick
[6:09] motion if you set the FPS for the
[6:12] recording and for the frame rate. The
[6:14] next codec we have here is the XAVC SI.
[6:16] So once again, an all intra codec with
[6:18] higher bit rates, but for the 1080p HD.
[6:21] And as you can tell from here, we have
[6:23] the 93 mgabits per second speed for 25
[6:26] fps and also for 50 fps, we get 185
[6:29] megabits per second bit rate at 4210
[6:32] bit. And the final codec that is
[6:34] available only on Sony FX30 and Sony FX3
[6:37] for the cinema cameras is the XAVC SI.
[6:40] Once again, all intra but in DCI 4K
[6:43] format. This format is usually used in
[6:46] cinema in movies and it has the aspect
[6:48] ratio of 17x9 not a 16x9. And in this
[6:52] mode I'm able to record at 24 frames per
[6:54] second. So a true 24 like cinema 24p as
[6:58] you can tell from here and also in 25
[7:00] and 50 frames per second. And you only
[7:02] need this mode if you plan on using it
[7:04] for the film and if your client requires
[7:07] you to shoot in this 17x9 aspect ratio.
[7:10] Now you know about the codecs
[7:11] themselves, about the bit rate, bit
[7:13] depth, color subsampling, and
[7:15] differences between those, but which
[7:17] ones are my favorite, and which ones do
[7:18] I recommend? Usually, if I need to shoot
[7:20] at 50 or 100 frames per second, I'll
[7:23] just go to XAVC HS because it still has
[7:26] really nice image quality, but really
[7:28] manageable file sizes. As you can tell,
[7:30] for 50 frames per second, I can easily
[7:32] use 100 megabits per second and I'll
[7:35] have about 8 and 1/2 hours of recording
[7:37] to my 256 gigs card. But if I were to
[7:41] go, for example, to the XAVC S4K, which
[7:44] is H.264 codec, I'll have the bit rate
[7:48] to about 280 megabits per second. And
[7:50] here I have only 3 hours and 15 minutes
[7:53] of record time, which is more than two
[7:55] times less. But the image quality
[7:57] difference isn't that noticeable at all.
[7:59] But if I need to record in 25 fps, I'll
[8:02] go to xavc 4K H.264 codec and I'll go to
[8:06] 25 frames per second and I would pick
[8:09] 140 megabits per second 42 10 bit just
[8:12] to be in 10 bit codec and in 4:2 color
[8:15] subsampling. And with this mode, I'll
[8:17] have about 6 hours and 40 minutes to my
[8:19] 256 SD card. And I almost never shoot in
[8:23] HD because the 4K quality is really nice
[8:25] on Sony cameras and I simply don't need
[8:27] to shoot in HD. I would have the bigger
[8:30] resolution with the 4K definitely. And
[8:32] with the SI codec, I also don't use it
[8:35] often because if I pick this codec and
[8:37] shoot in 50 frames per second, I only
[8:39] have 57 minutes of record time to my 256
[8:43] CF Express Type A card, which is really
[8:45] not a lot. It's eight times less than
[8:48] shooting in uh XDC HS.265. And the
[8:51] difference in image quality is literally
[8:53] indistinguishable. At least in my
[8:55] opinion, especially when you upload your
[8:57] video to YouTube or Instagram, for
[8:59] example, you won't notice any difference
[9:01] because YouTube or Instagram will apply
[9:03] their compression and you'll see no
[9:05] difference whatsoever. And since I don't
[9:07] shoot movies and don't shoot for cinema,
[9:09] I don't use the DCI 4K mode as well. And
[9:11] for the codecs I've shown you, I do use
[9:13] the V60 card. This one is 256 gigs and
[9:17] it's for 25 megabytes per second speeds.
[9:20] And as you can tell right here, I have
[9:22] 50 frames per second in XAVCs codec and
[9:25] the bit rate is 200 megabits per second.
[9:28] So it's plenty of headroom for me. So
[9:30] the V60 would be a sweet spot between
[9:32] the price of the SD card and the
[9:34] recording capabilities. And the transfer
[9:36] speeds with the V60 cards are still
[9:38] pretty much manageable and it's not that
[9:40] much slower than for example a V90 card
[9:43] which is much more expensive. But still
[9:44] guys, occasionally I do want to shoot in
[9:46] XAVC SI mode for my clients
[9:49] specifically. And you can purchase one
[9:51] CF Express Type A card for this type of
[9:53] shot in XAVC SI codec or for the DCI 4K
[9:56] and then you'll have a second slot with
[9:58] the V6 DSD card as a backup. In my
[10:01] opinion, there is absolutely zero need
[10:02] to buy a V90 cards because they are much
[10:05] more expensive and you don't get major
[10:07] differences in those codecs that I
[10:09] regularly use and you won't see a big
[10:11] difference in the transfer speeds as
[10:13] well. There is also a V30 type of card
[10:15] for the SD cards and you'll be still
[10:17] able to record a lot of different
[10:18] formats. [music]
[10:19] For example, XABC HS 10 bit 100 megabits
[10:23] per [music] second easily and they're
[10:25] even cheaper than the V60. But in my
[10:27] opinion, the V60 is a sweet spot. But no
[10:29] matter which cards you're using, micro
[10:31] SD, SD, CF Express Type A, or CF Express
[10:34] Type B, I would always recommend using
[10:37] our Freewell Pro Card Reader Plus to
[10:39] offload the footage in a fast and
[10:41] convenient way. Not only does it support
[10:43] all the memory cards that I've mentioned
[10:44] above, it also has a USBC port with 10
[10:47] Gbits per second speeds. And the file
[10:49] transfer speeds are crazy fast, but also
[10:51] you can use it with our Pro SSD link
[10:53] little hub which can be connected like
[10:55] so. And you can actually offload the
[10:57] footage straight in the field just by
[10:59] simply using your iPhone and connecting
[11:01] it together. And what's even cooler is
[11:03] that the Pro SSD link hub can be used
[11:05] with your SSDs M.2s at up to 8 TB of
[11:09] footage. You can use it as an SSD disc
[11:11] or as a hub for your iPhone, for
[11:13] example, like here. And you have a
[11:14] magnetic connection like so. And a
[11:16] little adjustable cable in the kit. And
[11:18] then you can use it also to store your
[11:21] footage from the camera by using the
[11:23] card reader. With our Freewell Pro card
[11:25] reader plus and also with the Pro SSD
[11:27] link, the possibilities are literally
[11:29] endless. I hope you did enjoy this
[11:31] video, guys, and now you know everything
[11:32] about the Sony cameras and codecs in
[11:34] those. And we'll see you in the next
[11:35] video. Take care.