Sony A57 and Ipad

[cooke69]

Hi all

Im looking to buy a Sony A57 (after a long time of comparing) the only issue i have is i work with Mac and Ipad.

As AVCHD doesnt work straight onto Ipad unless converted I'm a little bit left to useing MP4 every so often when its just me and the IPad.

I know the difference in size between AVCHD and MP4 but is there any real quality differance if i just use MP4 to create a video and then burn it to DVD? if i edit the file i have in Imovie and other programs on my Ipad will i see a real differance?

As this is one of the deciding factors for me with Sony.

Thanks

[blaireau_photo]

Hello cooke69 - Welcome to the Sony Forums

From videos that I have seen, there isn't really a noticeable difference in quality between the two formats. I will definitely agree that MP4 is easier to handle and edit. AVCHD may record audio at a higher bitrate but at the same time this may not be obviously recognisable to the human ear.

Having said all of this, I am aware that there is an app for iPad called Azul Media Player which claims to be able to handle .mts videos and play them on the iPad. I haven't used this app before personally but if you search for this in the app store you will be able to read more information.

Thanks,

Simon

[Mick2011]

Hi

If you're looking to view finished vids on the iPad there's really nothing to be gained from uploading the raw AVCHD files to it. Unless of course your wanting to use the iPad as a bigger preview screen for rushes while you're working, in which case there are frankly better alternatives available.

iMovie will convert to Apple's own format and while it is possible to retain native resolution, output to MP4 would be a perfectly good way of exporting your videos for iPad viewing, with negligible quality loss. To elaborate a little, AVCHD is a great format for compressing very high quality video prior to editing, but it's not really intended for use as an export format. On both PC and Mac platforms it's usually best to publish using something like MP4 once the movie has been edited.

Hope that's of some help.

Cheers

Mick

[Mick2011 · Accepted solution]

Your last question seem to be about tethering the camera to the Mac, a function which Sony pretty much restricts to the higher-end models. So you'll be able to do this with the new a99, for example, but unless this function is a deal breaker I'd be inclined to look more favourably at the a57.

On the face of it here's liitle to choose between the a57 and the a65 but if you're primarily shooting video I'd suggest the a57 has the edge. It shoots at 1080p at 25/50fps, slightly higher resolution than the a65. Other differences arguably favour the a65 with its new OLED viewfinder – astonishingly good, the same at the one in the a77 but imroved again with magnification mode selection.

This makes it favour the purebred photographer, rather then serious videographer, so I'd still put the a57 forward for that reason. That 16MP CMOS chip is a keeper; I wouldn't be swayed by the higher pixel count of the a65, for your purposes.

Cheers

Mick

[cooke69]

Cheers

I looked at the app and it doesn't get great reviews so may leave it.

Yeah the quality isn't much difference at all I just need to make sure my choice is right investing in Sony.

I took some video with an in store a57 using mp4 came home and edit it on iPad and looked and sounded totally fine then took the original and edited it on final cut pro giving it a black and white look but keeping the colour red showing, and converted to hd 1080p which turned out fine on the mac sound and image. Then to really test I put the edited file through iDVD and burnt it with some other dslr videos I had and the version looked fine when I put it through my Xbox on my big tv.

So all in all I think I finally got the answer that yes the mp4 video is fine to use and quality is not lost, plus I can record in AVCHD if I really need good footage then convert later on my mac.

One last question, is there any point in going for the a65 or will the a57 do the same job ( apart from more pixels)

Thanks

Message was edited by: cooke69

Also has the a65 and a57 have the capability to be connected up to a computer or IPad and when pictures are taken go straight into the computer or iPad ?  Cheers

Message was edited by: cooke69

Sorry I had to reply here but I get an error when I try reply.... Thanks Mick2011 Decision now made, just need to get a good deal sorted now

[cooke69]

Hey Mick2011

I went in store today and get a price for the A65 but while looking at the camera someone said that the buffering is really slow on the A65 and taking RAW images will slow the camera up.

any ideas on that

[Mick2011]

For RAW images in particular the point is moot. Buffering stills with these cameras only an issue if you're intent on shooting in 12 frame bursts for more than 1 second. You can get faster-clearing buffers but it's questionable whether you will ever want that. Besides, I've seen tests where the RAW files clear the buffer much faster than JPEGs, which would make sense when you consider that RAW (by its very nature) requires no camera-based post-processing. I'd say the person who told you this has been misunderstanding too many internet forums

It's true but apocryphal that the (eg) a77 is faster at clearing its buffer, due to its support of the UHS-1 memory card standard, which I believe the a57/a65 lacks. These high-end cards clear internal buffers (essentially an internal hard drive in your camera) faster than others, which in some circumstances might prove beneficial. You should have no problem shooting with these 'slower' Sony alphas, because the difference is rarely if ever a factor in real-life shooting.

Unless you change it every 6 months, there will always be a faster camera on the market that the one you own. Make sure the one you own will do the job you bought it for, would be my advice. If you suddenly find you need to shoot a hundred RAW images per minute, it might be time to upgrade to an a99... otherwise I'd make sure I had a fast (95 mb/s) card and spend my worrying time elsewhere.

Cheers

Mick