March / 2003

24P Arrives in a Small Package
Testing the Panasonic DVX100 Camera

by Richard Stringer csc

I readily agreed when Panasonic Canada asked me to check out their new AG-DVX100, the “world’s first” 24p DV camera recorder that comes in a compact two-kilogram package. There has been lot of interest in this type of small camera recently, as evidenced by the large crowd at the CSC mini-DV forum last year. Since then, Sony, JVC and Panasonic have introduced new handy-cam models, and with NAB 2003 coming up in April more products are on the way, including new DVD cameras and JVC’s HD camera recorder.

Richard Stringer csc with three mini-DV cameras he evaluated.

Professional videographers are being asked to use these handy-cams more and more, but these “prosumer” cameras, although easily portable and unobtrusive, can be more complicated and less precise to operate than standard video cameras. I find that producers who want you to shoot with these cameras, regardless of the problems, still expect properly shot images, because you’re a pro. Then the editors use the exposure bumps, focus problems, and white balance shifts, and the camera operators take the blame. I worked on a documentary reality show recently where I was expected to run two Sony PD150s at the same time!

The low cost of these cameras (C$5,000+) is appealing and they have many features, but they still have no real professional controls. Nobody seems to want to make a small camera with mechanical controls, even at a professional level price, but I believe camera operators would be willing to pay for that.

Let’s take a look at Panasonic’s new 24p DVX100, which actually addresses some of these control issues.

Overall package: The Panasonic is similar in size to the Sony PD150 and the JVC DV300U (all feature a built-in top handle). The Panasonic is lighter than the PD150 and somehow does not feel as solid. That said, the camera is easy to shoot on hand-held shots and most buttons, plugs and controls are in the right position, although one of the hand-hold locations on the camera is right where the white balance button is — so you might find yourself changing colour when you don’t want to.

Viewfinder: The flip-out LCD viewfinder is a large 3.5 in. (like the PDX10 or PD100). You can choose to have both eye and side viewfinders on at the same time or have the eye viewfinder shut off when the LCD is used (as with the PD150). The eye viewfinder is in colour and large, like the Canon DV cameras. I like the fact that the detent middle position of the Panasonic external LCD is smoother than the PD150 or the JVC, which tend to jump the camera when you have to twist the LCD while craning from high to low positions. Also the LCD does not block the iris control which is a problem with the PD150 LCD when facing up. You also do not have to open the LCD to get at the menu button. The JVC model has no buttons in its LCD cavity at all.

Power/Batteries: The battery I was given was smaller than Sony’s large F960, which will last all day on most shoots. This Panasonic battery, which is not compatible with other manufacturers, lasts about 80 minutes. I was told they have a battery that is double that output and Anton Bauer is working on an optional interface to use with its products.

The camera’s power switch goes up for on — opposite to the on-switch on the PD150. This is a common problem even with some bigger Sony cameras, changing on-off switch direction over different models. This is really only an issue for operators who are always switching to different rental or producers’ models. Auto shutdown was a nuisance on older models; newer models like PD150, XL1S, DV300U and the DVX100 either don’t have an auto or have a defeat (to standby mode). One nice thing about the Panasonic remote is that it can be set up to run two cameras!

Tape format: The DVX100, like the Canons and JVC DV300U, only take mini-DV tape (DVCAM is an exclusive Sony product) and allow for settable SMPTE time code (with 2 speeds: SP and LP which is 1.5 x SP). Panasonic recommends using their higher-end 60-minute ME tapes; they have an 80-minute cassette but the tape is thinner and not recommended for this camera.

Resolution/16:9: The DVX100 has similar resolution to the PD150 and JVC DV300U (as well as overall sensitivity). The 16:9 setting only creates black bars top and bottom, which means the chip is only meant for 4:3 use. Panasonic will be coming out with its own anamorphic adapter, which is the only way to get all the resolution of a 4:3 chip on a widescreen image. I have used an anamorphic adapter on the Sony and there can be problems; you have to view a squeezed image, flares are hard to control and the one I had would not focus closer than 12 feet. So far, the Sony PDX10 is the only true 16:9 handy-cam with 690,000 pixels dedicated to widescreen.

Shutter speed: Panasonic’s DVX100 is the first handy-cam with 30 frame and 24 frame progressive imagery, but to use this function properly, you have to follow it up in post. It only works when transferring to film or on newly available computer software that can properly convert 24p (just like HD 24p). I have not seen any results in that mode, but the word is that it performs as it should. Some shooters have used these settings and posted in 60i. You get a similar “pseudo film” effect as the 1/30 shutter speed on the Sonys or the frame mode on Canon. For some reason, in progressive modes you lose auto focus, gain control, access to colour bars, drop frame time code, 1/2000 shutter speed and intermittent recording. A PAL version will be available with 25p and 50i.

The Panasonic AG-DVX100 24p mini-DV camera recorder.

Slow shutter speeds as low as 1/4 second have only been available on Canon and Sony cameras. They are useful for effect shots and to achieve more sensitivity without using gain. The Canon XL1S and the DVX100 have clear scan for shooting computer monitors cleanly.

Exposure: The DVX100 has a choice of two pre-set zebras (from 5 values which range from 80 IRE to 100 IRE). The PD150 goes down to 70 IRE — which has become more of a standard for flesh tone — and it’s too bad the DVX100 doesn’t go there. The Panasonic has an amazing zebra “marker” setting which gives the IRE value of a small centre area of the picture with a range of 0-90 IRE (would be better if it went to 100). I haven’t seen this option on any bigger cameras. One problem is that there is no indication which of the four zebra choices (OFF, No. 1, No. 2 or “marker”) you are set at. The VX1000 and XL1 only had white zebras, the PD150 has 2 level zebras (70 and 100), the JVC DV300U has 4 ranges covering 70 to 100, and the Canon XL1S has 5 zebra choices from 80 to 100.

One problem with manual exposure controls on most of these cameras is that the iris jumps in substantial exposure values (the VX1000 and JVC DV300U are not as bad as the PD150 or Canon which also has a lag if you move too quickly). I don’t know why this is; Sony’s bigger PD250 with the same innards as the PD150 has a smooth iris adjustment (it is more
expensive but it proves it’s possible electronically). One trick I use is to go to auto iris temporarily through a lighting change, then lock it on again, but the results can be unpredictable.

There is a definite improvement with the DVX100 and its manual iris — a very smooth iris change — but, as owner/operator Jim Aquila csc points out, if you move it slowly you can see minor jumps. But at least the knob action is smooth and the change is the best I’ve seen from these cameras. If you choose the auto iris control you can also adjust that for a manual fine tune (for that one time). BTW, you have to have full viewfinder display to know if you are in auto or manual iris mode.

On Sony, JVC, and Canon cameras, rotation on the manual iris dial is opposite to Betacam, film, and still lenses (which rotate down to open). If you’re in a hurry and just came off a big camera shoot, you might go into auto pilot and find yourself going the wrong way! So, Panasonic has a good answer to the problem: in the menu you can choose either dial direction, either the same as professional lenses or “up to open” if you are used to the other DV cams.

A major issue with these cameras is high contrast. I looked at the DVX100’s image contrast alongside Sony’s PD150 and PDX10 and they looked similar, although there are more picture control settings on the Panasonic (as with the JVC). I think the best camera for wider contrast range is JVC’s DV300U.

The DVX100 has pre-set gain switches like the big cams. Aquila says the gain seems fairly noise free.

Lenses: The lens on the DVX100 is not interchangeable. This zoom lens is 4.5/45mm, a good wide end (actually you should not require a wide eye with this camera) but not as telephoto as the others (soon Panasonic will be offering a telephoto adapter). In comparison, the PD150 zoom is 6/72mm, JVC’s is 5.6/78.4mm, and Canon’s regular zoom has the longest range of 5.5/88mm.

The Panasonic DVX100 zoom ring is like big boys, with a servo on/off switch, focal length markings, and end stops. So far these cameras have not been able to offer a manual fast zoom, but with the Panasonic you can “zonk” your zooms! There is a good toggle control with variable speed and three-speed top handle control.

When shooting at the wide iris opening, zooms on these cameras usually lose light as you zoom in. With the PD150 and the Panasonic you lose about 1 stop on the end of the zoom. The Canon and JVC DV300U lose a little more. The DVX100 doesn’t have a digital zoom which is fine by me!

Filters: If you wish to attach external filters, the Panasonic DVX100 and Canon XL1 have a 72mm thread. The VX1000 and JVC is 52mm and the PD150 is 58mm. As for built-in ND control, the DVX100 has two filters (3 and 6 stops) which are useful choices. The PD150 also has two (2 and 5 stops). The VX1000 has one 3-stop filter, which is not enough for sunny-day, slow-shutter use (you have to use an external ND). The Canon has one big jump with 4 stops. The JVC DV300U has the same problem at 5 stops. The Sony PDX10 has no filters but still compensates — either they use a very small aperture or use reverse gain. The DVX100 closes down to f16 manually, as does the JVC DV300U; the others only go to f11.

Focus: There are no mechanical manual focus controls for handy-cams (except for the Canon XL manual zoom); it’s all unconnected unmarked rings, and it’s very frustrating. On the PD150 and JVC DV300U, temporary auto is quite effective, perhaps better than using the ring control.

There is a big breakthrough with focus control on the DVX100. Although the focus ring has no stop or any markings, the distance is shown in the viewfinder in totally arbitrary Panasonic numbers from zero to 99. No. 99 equals infinity and regular focus goes down to about 4 feet or No. 50. No. 49 to zero covers the macro mode (wide end only) down to 2 cm. So the operator or assistant can use these numbers to find an exact point of focus. The focus ring position is still arbitrary, but at least there is a repeatable reference to the distance, just as good as ring markings, but in a different place. If you are on a medium or wide shot and your subject is 15 ft. away and moves to 7 ft., you can set the numbers from 82 to 69 knowing you’ve tracked focus without zooming in to check! You just have to get used to the numbers.

All the Sony PD150 has in the viewfinder for focus is a mountain (infinity) and a head and shoulders (CU), although the PDX10 has some in-between metric numbers on its display. The PDX10 has a neat gimmick where you touch areas on the LCD screen to focus, but I believe you are limited to that only function at that time.

The DVX100 also needs less turning to cover a complete focus pull from end to end. But Jim Aquila felt that the lens doesn’t focus close enough at the telephoto end.

White balance: The DVX100 has a pre-set position with two options, 3200K or 5600K. There are also two pre-settable auto white balances (like the big cams), one of which can be the ATW — fully auto tracking balance. Panasonic is the only small camera with black balance.

Menu: SMPTE colour bars are available in the menu and can assigned to one of two user buttons for quick access. The Canon XL1S and JVC DV300U are the only others with proper SMPTE bars.

The DVX100 and some other cameras now have black level control (under setup in the menu), which can either be 7.5 or 0 (if you want the “crushed black” look).

The camera has many image control options like bigger cameras (detail, chroma level and tint, colour temp, pedestal, AE plus and minus, 4 gamma choices including “cinelike”, skin detail, matrix) and you can name and store up to six scene files. The menu button can be tricky; it goes four directions as well as push in, but sometimes the button goes up or down when you want to push in. This control also runs the VCR. JVC has a very extensive complex menu, but uses the same wheel and push control as on the Sonys.

Sound: I didn’t look at sound that closely but there were a few things I noticed. The camera does not come with a large mike (like the PD150), only the stereo camera mike, but if that’s all you need, it’s handy to have a unobtrusive camera mike. There are no reference numbers on the LCD’s sound meter. Another slip up is that there is no monitor volume control while recording (only on playback). The control knobs are handy but you have to have these knobs up for auto gain to work. Maybe it’s just a limiter of some sort. Aquila tells me you cannot split tracks into auto and manual, only one or the other on the two tracks.

Instructions: I found the instructions were not very good at giving a clear overall picture about the camera, and there was no index.