K3 video - FullHD and HD differrence

Can anyone explain what the difference is in video settings of FullHD an HD. The K3 Handbook does no give any explanation of what the technical difference between each each with regard to quality.

I believe Full HD is 1080p and HD is 720p.

It is a tricky one these definitions. I believe that 'HD' such as 1080x720 is best known as 'HD Lite' as shot by many consumer camcorders in the AVCHD format - these would have smaller sensors than your K3. 'Full HD', or better still 'HD' would be 1440x1080 or 1920x1440 - the difference is in the pixel ratios, not the effective resolution ... the former is with rectangular pixels and the latter square. Quality-wise they are equivilent all else being equal - I think the rectangular ratio was tradionally for PAL tvs, square NTSC.

The 'native' dimenions of your K3 files probably won't match up to these figures exactly - the K7 doesn't, shooting at 1556x1280 I think (which is 'Full HD' ), but the exact figures depend on the individual sensor size.

Anyway, with HD widescreen TVs today, 'HD Lite' will not fill the screen 'natively' - but systems these day stretch it out anyway with minimal distortion. But if you intend to output your video into a format that will be viewed on a large modern flatpanel TV, then I would definately shoot in 'FULL HD' mode (the higher number you have available), and use a video editor that can match the dimensions of the clips as closely as possible with its output files.

For computer monitor applications then my 'HD Lite' will be adequate.

Well in the marketing world "HD" is 720 pixels high and "Full HD" is 1080 high.

That's a valid definition - but like all definitions, for it to have practical meaning there has to be a common understanding of both the 'dimensions' & scope involved, as well as the actual purpose & application for each option.

It would be interesting to see the specs for the K3 video outputs, or for the OP to shoot some clips at each setting and look at the file properties to see the dimensions. He asked about respective quality, which is display-dependent really - I mean, higher is better for larger screens. But other factors are involved also such as the bitrate - usually expressed in magabits per second (mbps). The K7 rattles off about 41,000 of these which contributes to its very large video file sizes in the low-compression .avi format. But the K3 addresses this with the .mov AVC format (higher compression). It would be interesting to know the bit rates at each quality setting.

The higher bitrates translate into smoother motion and flow with a file size price to pay - its a smoothness/size equation.

So to answer the original question - choose the larger dimensions option for large screen display, the smaller if its just for computer screens or internet maybe, and the bitrate (if they vary) depending on the file size you can tolerate and smoothness needed.

From the K-3 manual Page 94:

Full HD = (1920×1080, 60i/50i/30p/25p/24p)
HD = (1280×720, 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p)

How can something so simple be made so complicated? In the context of the K3 and most recent Pentax DSLR's, the answer is:

Full HD (1080P) is 1920 * 1080 pixels, progressive scan
HD (720P) is 1280 * 720 pixels, progressive scan

Best way to see the difference in quality is to take a short video at both settings, preferably of moving subjects, then watch both videos on your (Full HD) telly. Job sorted

Cheers
David

As a 'PS' to the above, Ralph has already kindly pointed out the different frame rates that are available, but from what the OP has asked, I would imagine that the question was mostly about the difference in resolution between 'Full HD' and 'HD'.

I hope this has answered your question Dennis

Regards
David

There you go cambuff92 - just check ya manual and do a few tests to figure it out - job sorted But that does your question some disservice I feel ... Its a good question, and very relevant here for us Pentax people - and it applies equally to all our other video shooting models. I like to widen up the discussion as things can then apply to other people and situations.

My main point about choice in shooting and editing software settings is that what is optimum depends on the various factors I've been talking about - display device size, the bitrate and file size relationship (which is dependent on your intended use, say internet upload, DVD player or high quality archiving). It makes sense when starting an editing project to try a match your project properties (the settings that the final output will be) as close as possible to your camera video files - so again, the output templates of your software will be a factor in the shooting settings choices.

You get no control over the quality bitrates, only resolution and framerate.
Pentax lags the other main brands in this area, with bitrates that are well below where they should be.

Manual modes (on the K-30 at least) give you control over aperture and shutter speed and ISO too I think.
Personally I'd recommend leaving it set at full HD/1080p as I have not been impressed with the 720p quality, resolution aside even. You can always output at lower resolutions once edited etc.

Full HD files will require a bit to work with computer processing power wise. The newer file formats are more compressed, which means smaller file sizes but more work to decompress and work with the file.

Its the reason I've always found the k7 video files a breeze to work with, as they are largely uncompressed .AVI

But your system and software has an impact as well ... I've recently upgraded Sony movie studio to the latest version 13, which works in 64bit. Now its able to use the full 8gb ram on my computer and wow, what a difference! Working and scrolling around a project is super smooth now. So this will benefit k3 users significantly ... If you can try and get a 64bit version of your software if your os is also 64bit.

Many thanks everyone for replies all of which are very helpful. In particular Ralph for point out about Page 94 in the handbook - it pays to read the small print !!! Anyhow my post seems to have provoked a lot of interest. The range of considerations are very wide when one embarks on video. What with Codecs, containers,framerate,bitrate etc,etc not to mention burning format DVDs,Blu Ray etc it is a bit of a minefield.

Well to give you a little bit of my limited experience I had a K30 before the K3 and shot one short clip on that now I have recored two short clips with the K3 with the settings of FullHD and 30fps which is the default setting on the camera as purchased. I have tried several video editors some of which I have found either too complex or too expensive so I finally purchased Serif MoviePlus X5 for £20 as it is being replaced with X6. I have found this very easy and intuitive to use. I have burned one DVD in PAL widescreen format which plays quite well on my DVD player coupled to the TV and one in AVCHD format which will not play on the player. I have now invested this week in a BLU Ray player coupled to the TV by HDMI cable and this will play both discs but the AVCHD one produces much better quality.

You're right, this can be a bit of a minefield, but its fun to get into and experiment. Our k3 user manual has come in for some stick as to its level of detail and coverage, so I'm not surprised there are plenty of questions to ask.

DVD or bluray are great ways to display videos ... There are two methods available for DVD player use ... 1. Use a DVD creation programme to burn a formatted disc with menus and titles like a commercial dvd,or ... 2. Burn the files,like your avc one, directly to the disc. This 2nd option will only play on a limited range of machines, but if its a bluray player then you can see it in full hd ... You can't with standard DVD players.

Good luck with your video work ... Would be great to hear how it goes and what settings, formats etc you find work best.

I use a couple of Serif products (although not MoviePlus) and find the user forum very helpful: link. There's also an official Serif forum that might be worth a look: link.

I don't own a K-3 but I do have a K-01. With the K-01 you do have some control over bitrates.
Simply chose which video IQ from the quick menu (info button).

Using the different IQ setting I shot three test files in turn for 5 secs each which gives these results:

*** = 23.5 Mbps / 5 second file 16Mb / Overall bit rate : 24.7 Mbps
** = 16.0 Mbps / 5 second file 11Mb / Overall bit rate : 17.2 Mbps
* = 8 945 Kbps / 5 second file 6Mb / Overall bit rate : 10.2 Mbps

I have found the lowest IQ setting while giving the smallest file does not really equate to less in video image quality when played. At least I can't see the difference.

I'd be very surprised if the K-3 didn't have similar control.