RGB blues (or: component cable crankiness)
 

Alright.... Is it just me, or are 95% of the purchasers of this camera hacking off the stooopid RCA ends on the component breakout cable, and attaching BNCs? As far as I can tell, Panasonic doesn't offer any other breakout cable, either in terms of cable ends or cable length. Did any of their engineers ever realize that someone might actually want to place a monitor more than 2 feet away from the camera? Did they ever try to keep a 3-conductor extension cable from pulling the RCA-to-BNC connectors off, just due to gravity alone?

I understand their likely concern about cable weight tugging on that eensy-teensy multipin connection... but C'MON!! (and did they ever look at a mixer snake to see how to ~really~ solve that problem?)

okay.. rant finished...soldering gun warmed up...

Agree with the above -- plus, I have found that the D-connector rapidly becomes intermittent and unreliable.

Have others found this to be the case?


BW

msg to be updated

I'm a newbie with all this and don't even know what BNC connectors are. All I can say is that we used a regular RCA cable out of the component and used extender connectors to add another RCA cable. We had about 20' or so of total length and no issues.

Hi Ashley,

BNC connectors are metal connectors that are about 1/2" in diameter. You push the connector on, then twist the outer part 1/4 turn, and the connector is locked in place, or "captive". It's been the professional standard since well before my time.

However, one doesn't generally see BNC connectors at all in the consumer world. You might have seen some on oscilloscopes or on the back of older high-end computer monitors. Old Ethernet wiring, before RJ-45 connectors, used it as well.

Jon,

Thank you very much for that. I guess I've run into them w/o knowing what they were called and so far someone else has had to deal with them. Good to know though and thanks again for the explanation!

Not yet, but I'll admit I'm worried about that. Seems a mixer snake-type connection woud've been much more secure. More chance of the camera being yanked if someone trips over the cable, yeah... but we've been in that situation with BNCs on broadcast cameras for years... I can live with that risk.

Yep, less than a month with it in the field and the multipin has to occasionally be wiggled to get a clear connection. I'm not sure if it's the connector on the cable or the port on the camera is to blame. Why didn't they just put BNC where the RCA ports are and give us a miniplug to RCA cable (ala the GL2 and such)?

British Naval Connectors
 

I was told by a British Engineer that these type of connectors were developed by the British Navy - hence BNC.

Strain Relief
 

What's important to note that any connection into the camera, whether it's the D-connector, FW cable or XLR should be tied up either to the camera handle itself or any external hard mount attached to the camera (i.e. Zacuto plate etc.). Otherwise (and especially the D-connector) those connections will with their own weight put undo strain on the connector itself and cause it to loosen and become unreliable over time.

I've been using the D-connector on my HVX continuously since I got the camera in January; it's been handled like any other pin-type connector - installed steady and straight and tied-off to the handle. It hasn't become loose or unreliable yet.

However you do it, the key term is "strain relief" and it will prolong the life of any connection made to any camera.

Robert, what a great post. I don't have one of these camcorders but just in general, the tip makes so much sense but probably not a whole lot of us would have that pop into our heads. I'm always worried about tiny connectors over time with a lot of use.

Definitely use some manner of strain relief. One technique is to loop the cables through the mic holder, another is to loop them through the handle. Another is to un-wrap the velcro in the hand strap and run the cable through it.