Solved Changing frame rate of clips

I currently use Vegas Movie Studio 14 Platinum. I sometimes use two video camera footage in a project.
One camera is a DSLR shooting at 1280 x 720 50 fps (Double PAL) and the other is a small compact also shooting at 1280 x 720 but at 30 fps. I understand it's not advisable to use two different files with different fps in a project.
I currently use the program Handbrake to change the footage from the compact from 30fps to 50fps in .MP4 format.
I notice a drop in sharpness in these clips. Is it better to drop frames rather than Handbrake adding frames
Would it be better to reduce footage from both cameras to 25fps for better image sharpness?
I generally render either to MainConcept AVC/AAC MP4 at 1280 x 720 50fps or the MainConcept MPG-2 720 x 576 25fps DVD Architect PAL Video Stream format for making DVD's.

Hi Tony

Would it be better to reduce footage from both cameras to 25fps for better image sharpness?

Yes. You have answered your own question.
Up converting lower frame rates into higher frame rates is a terrible idea, because the software has to create fake frames to double the frame rate. This is what causes a mushy image.

I saw a behind the scenes documentary from a regional USA TV network back in 2012. The cameraman said they shoot all video at 60 fps, even though no TV channel in the world broadcasts at 60 fps or 50 fps. The reason they do this, is so they can create smooth slow motion video if required for the story, by slowing the video down by 50%. When the video is rendered for US TV, they would be rendering everything to 30 fps (29.97), thus throwing away every 2nd frame, but maintaining smooth and sharp video.

Derek, thanks for your quick reply. I now will convert all my footage to 25fps for UK PAL and look forward to sharper images.
Regards
Tony