Sony A1 video settings

[sh1209]

I have a question about Bit rate as far as video recording I wanted to ask. I was wondering what that rate most of you use when recording video? I currently have mine set at 4K and 75 for the Bit rate but it goes all the way up to 200 for the bit rate. I promise you that it requires a special environment for viewing the videos recorded at 200 bit rate so I was just curious when exporting from Final Cut Pro or such a program that if the Bit rate the video was recorded that makes a real difference?

 

[FB101]

Bit depth is far more critical than bit rate (Within reason of course). So if you are constrained on storage or editing capability and need smaller files, reduce bit rate before bit depth. The compression artefacts from going to lower bit rates aren’t really visible unless you start slowing down a 24p footage or upscaling it. But if you shoot 8bit video you’ll get posterization and noise in shadows as soon as you try and do any editing.
‘I much rather shoot 60p and 14bit and sacrifice bit rate if needed than shoot high bit rate and sacrifice bit depth and frame per second. Especially with animal videos where slow-motion is often welcome. one area to watch out with lower bit rates are artefacts in feathers and fur. If you have a really nice close up of a bird with intricate feather details, you will lose some of that resolution at lower bit rates.

 

[sh1209]

Bit depth is far more critical than bit rate (Within reason of course). So if you are constrained on storage or editing capability and need smaller files, reduce bit rate before bit depth. The compression artefacts from going to lower bit rates aren’t really visible unless you start slowing down a 24p footage or upscaling it. But if you shoot 8bit video you’ll get posterization and noise in shadows as soon as you try and do any editing.
‘I much rather shoot 60p and 14bit and sacrifice bit rate if needed than shoot high bit rate and sacrifice bit depth and frame per second. Especially with animal videos where slow-motion is often welcome. one area to watch out with lower bit rates are artefacts in feathers and fur. If you have a really nice close up of a bird with intricate feather details, you will lose some of that resolution at lower bit rates.

The A1 only shoots 10 bit but goes from 45-200 for the bit rate. So in theory the 200 bitrate should give better results, correct?

 

[FB101]

Actually bite rate in the A1 goes from 30 (or maybe even 25) to over 500. And there are 8 bit options depending on the compression format used.
lets assume you are shooting 4K (not 8k, not hd)
‘the first choice you need to make is XAVC 4K HS vs S vs S-I
* I don’t use S-I - although it yields smaller files, it is brutal on computers. But if you have a dedicated video editing computer that has some serious chops, give it a try. It is a great compression format but it’s resource intensive.
* assuming you have a regular man computer (like my M1 MacBook Pro) - XAVC 4K S is my favorite for most work, and HS only if I need the higher detail retention.

in XAVC 4S you have access to 8 bit and 10 bit. Only pick 10 bit.
‘you have access to 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 - I prefer 4:2;2 far more resilient when editing
so 10 bit, 4;2:2 - you can choose between 24p, 30p, 60p - for wildlife I shoot 60p as much as I can so that I can easily slow things down 2x
-> that forces me to 200 bit rate - but it’s only because of the other choices. I don’t pick 200 first, I pick the other parameters and in the end the bit rate that supports them is 200

in XAVC 4K HS
You don’t have 8 bit options so only 10 bit
in 4:2:2 you can shoot 24p, 60p or 120p
let’s pick 4:2:2 60p -> you have 2 choices 100M bit rate and 200M bit rate -> of all the choices, that’s the least impactful but yes 200 will be a bit sharper than 100 so if you don’t have a storage issue go with 200. Otherwise 100 will be fine.
‘In 24p your options would be 50M and 100M bit rate - that’s where things get interesting. For the same bit rate, you can shoot a highly resolved 24p, or a more compressed 60p. My experience is that I can’t easily see the extra Compression needed to hit 100M at 60p over 24p but when I slow things down I immediately see the difference between 24p and 60p. So if I have to choose 100M, I’ll always pick 60p over 24p For wildlife. But if I shot a wedding, I’d do the opposite, I’d pick 24p for the cinematic look and the extra resolution in the bride’s gown - as I wouldn’t expect much slow motion needed.

the point of all this? Pick everything else first, bit rate will follow. And in the cases where you still have a choice between two, it’s purely a trade off between file size and small differences in detail retention.
‘If you are dealing with a fairly static subject with fine details then it might be beneficial to use the higher bit rate - otherwise it will be hard to see.

i Hope that’s confusing enough

 

[sh1209]

Actually bite rate in the A1 goes from 30 (or maybe even 25) to over 500. And there are 8 bit options depending on the compression format used.
lets assume you are shooting 4K (not 8k, not hd)
‘the first choice you need to make is XAVC 4K HS vs S vs S-I
* I don’t use S-I - although it yields smaller files, it is brutal on computers. But if you have a dedicated video editing computer that has some serious chops, give it a try. It is a great compression format but it’s resource intensive.
* assuming you have a regular man computer (like my M1 MacBook Pro) - XAVC 4K S is my favorite for most work, and HS only if I need the higher detail retention.

in XAVC 4S you have access to 8 bit and 10 bit. Only pick 10 bit.
‘you have access to 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 - I prefer 4:2;2 far more resilient when editing
so 10 bit, 4;2:2 - you can choose between 24p, 30p, 60p - for wildlife I shoot 60p as much as I can so that I can easily slow things down 2x
-> that forces me to 200 bit rate - but it’s only because of the other choices. I don’t pick 200 first, I pick the other parameters and in the end the bit rate that supports them is 200

in XAVC 4K HS
You don’t have 8 bit options so only 10 bit
in 4:2:2 you can shoot 24p, 60p or 120p
let’s pick 4:2:2 60p -> you have 2 choices 100M bit rate and 200M bit rate -> of all the choices, that’s the least impactful but yes 200 will be a bit sharper than 100 so if you don’t have a storage issue go with 200. Otherwise 100 will be fine.
‘In 24p your options would be 50M and 100M bit rate - that’s where things get interesting. For the same bit rate, you can shoot a highly resolved 24p, or a more compressed 60p. My experience is that I can’t easily see the extra Compression needed to hit 100M at 60p over 24p but when I slow things down I immediately see the difference between 24p and 60p. So if I have to choose 100M, I’ll always pick 60p over 24p For wildlife. But if I shot a wedding, I’d do the opposite, I’d pick 24p for the cinematic look and the extra resolution in the bride’s gown - as I wouldn’t expect much slow motion needed.

the point of all this? Pick everything else first, bit rate will follow. And in the cases where you still have a choice between two, it’s purely a trade off between file size and small differences in detail retention.
‘If you are dealing with a fairly static subject with fine details then it might be beneficial to use the higher bit rate - otherwise it will be hard to see.

i Hope that’s confusing enough

Thanks for all the info. I’ve been using xavc 4k hs and definitely like the look of it and have been using 75 for the bit rate. There’s just not a lot out there anywhere about properly setting up Sony video settings.