What is 24p?

On the camera Panasonic DVX-100B it says that it is good for the fact that it has 24p setting. Average video is 29 i heard wouldnt that be better. I heard 24p is film. But wont it look slower? If im shooting a short film do you reccomend using it?

In general, there are 3 different frame rates to choose from: 60i, 30i/p, and 24p. P stands for Progressive and I stands for interlaced. As Lare correctly stated, interlaced is better for action shots as progressive blurs more, but progressive looks more natural, so you'll have to decide which you prefer. 60i is generally reserved for higher end HD cameras. 30fps, or more accurately 29.97 fps is standard on digital camcorders, but 24fps is standard on film cameras. So yes, since 30 is higher than 24, 24p would not capture action quite as well. However, the purpose of 24p is not to capture action shots, but to simulate the look of film. 24p is a must-have feature for independant filmmakers, as digital video gives off a distinct, hard look to it. 24p gives you a softer, smoother, and more pleasing look to your footage. 24p gives your videos a more artsy look, so it is prefered over 30i or 30p on theatical productions. On nontheatrical productions, 30fps or 60fps would be better, such as news broadcasts, or on family vacation videos. These frame rates are easier to edit too. 24 Progressive Scan however, is ideal for artistic productions, such as independant films. If it were me, I'd use the 24p for a short film, especially if you want to be artsy about it. It will not look slower, as the computer compensates. There will be a subtle difference, but not enough to distinguish whether 24p blurs more that 30i. Of course, it's up to you. However, if you do not have a good editing system such as Avid Media Composer, Apple Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere Pro, you will not be able to work with 24p, so just stick with 30. If you do have a good program, make sure to set the project/capture settings to 24p. If you do use 24p, expect your footage to look a little more grainy though, but not in a bad way in my opinion :)
Once again, it's up to you, and you must decide whether or not you want to put in a little more effort to achieve a look closer to film...btw, great choice with the DVX100B! There isn't a better Standard def 24p camera around!

Good luck, and have fun!!!

if your video is going to be converted to film for projection, then 24p would be prefered. most theaters can project normal video these days so standard interlace (29.95i) will actually give a better look to action shots.