Confusion abounds in the land of 24p!  If you’re shooting at 720p24 with a Sony EX camera, you are recording native frames to the SXS card at a rate of 23.98 FPS. Importing this footage into the Final Cut Pro timeline will produce a 23.98 editing time basis consistent with an all-24 FPS workflow ideal for output to DVD and Blu-Ray. The 24p frame rate in the Sony EX is also ideal  for mixing native 24p footage from other cameras like the Panasonic HPX170 and HPX200 P2 models.

On the other if you intend to shoot 24p for broadcast or web applications  at 1080i60, you will likely prefer an editorial time basis of 59.94 fields or frames per second.  Recording the HD SDI output out of the EX1 or EX3 to the AJA Ki Pro or Kona capture card will also give you the option of adding “pull-down” to create a 59.94 FPS time basis in the NLE. While the 23.98 workflow is efficient, especially for output primarily to disc, the 59.94 setting provides best compatibility with the web and certain tape-based cameras like the original Panasonic Varicam and HDV variants on the market from Canon, JVC and others.

To avoid unnecessary rendering on the NLE timeline and a potentially severe loss of quality, make sure you’re right!

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