I have recently read that the DVX100 doesn´t have the autofocus function when set to 24p mode.

I am considering buying one of these cameras, but I intend to use it in motion related situation: sports, documentary, and even some film making.
I am a litte bit concerned about its operability if I get no autofocus in progressive mode.

Is it still operative, fast and easy to use?? For still images I can afford spending some time just to get the perfect lighting and focus...

I would like to get some feedback just to disipate my doubts.

Thank you in advance,
GREG

Greg--What you have heard is correct--there is not auto focus in 24P modes. I am shooting a documentary right now as well and haven't found this to be a problem, you just have to be sure to get focus and use the LCD as the viewfinder doesn't have adequate resolution to find critical focus. If you are considering sports photography I would highly recommed getting the repeatable focus adapter from Century Optics. I haven't used this personally but imagine it might help. It will definitely be more difficult to use this camera b/c it doesn't have af in teh situations you describe, but it is worth the effort. Hope that helps,

Peter

how much is it at zotz? i sent them an email address and it hasnt come back yet. so doesn anyone know off the top of their head?
So which one would you guys go for Zots, bh, or evsonline?

Call Brian at www.zotzdigital.com directly.

I am trying to avoid buying either a mattebox or 3 of each filter to fit the standard (72mm), the Century .6WA (95mm), and the tele extender (105mm).
The tech at Century says that there is no fitting to put a filter on the .6WA without vignetting. He said to tape a filter to the front of the lens is the only way so far... and that they were "developing" something for that lens.
One solution could be to hold the square filter in place in front of the lens with flex arm clips. OR... I was looking at the lens hood... It measures 4"X 4.5". There are those four screws on the front to remove the plate... Has anyone thought about or tried to put a 4X4 filter into the lens hood? The open back of the lens hood could be covered with some douvatine or black velvet to keep the light from hitting the back of the filter. Might just work...

Someone on 2-pop did something similar with the anamorphic adapter...

The anamorphic has a front that's 4.25 x 4.5. On 2-pop they mentioned clipping 4" filters into the front -- just slide the filter right up against the front element, and then they used those little office paperclips (the black triangle-looking ones) to clip to the anamorphic's lens hood and keep the filter from sliding around.

Hi all,

Quick question... how can I achieve the same look that was used in Saving Private Ryan (beginning of movie) and Gladiator and Black Hawk down?
I had assumed it was a 16shutter speed,but I am not certain.
Can I achieve the same look with my DVX100? If so, what are the actual adjustments?
Any help would be appreciated...thanks!

dude check out the film look with DV forum, there HEAPS of info in there...
but basically its a fast shutter (ms likely 1/150) which achieves that crisp, high detailed image on a fast moving camera

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to using a DVX100 in motorsports? It seems like fast-paced action doesn't mix well with progressive. That would then take away lot of the advantage of the DVX .

Anyone have experience/examples of sports and the DVX?

GL

So shoot in 60i then. That's the beauty of the dvx.

Can't find any information about whether it does it not. It's a feature I'd like to see, but then again, aiming at the filmmakers the probably assume we'll have an external underscanning monitor.

Cheers
Aaron

It does not.

However, as a cheesy in-the-field workaround, the camera does have a grooved rectangle on the LCD panel that happens to correspond exactly to what are the LCD would occupy if it were to display the full frame. So, when looking at the LCD, if you were to imagine the picture area stretching to fill in the gap between the edge of the LCD and that groove, you'll get an idea of what's being recorded in the underscan area.

Hey, try this, in 24P set your iris to OPEN and zoom all the way out Z00, Then play with the focus. On my DVX, in those settings, I have to be on M99 to get sharp focus, if I move from 99 to 98, there's a noticable loss of focus on the LCD. Can you guys duplicate this? It seems that this anomaly diminishes away as the Iris closes down. Could it be due to the fact that the DVX lense is extra wide? Thanks!

I've not experienced that particular issue.

I can tell you that by closing the iris, you are giving yourself more room on the depth of field and that's why the problem dimishes. In other words, the more open the iris is, the shallower your depth of field. The more you stop down, the deeper your focus becomes.

The lens being extra wide actually contributes to exactly the opposite of what you're describing in terms of focal length. The wider the lens, the less noticable the depth of field becomes. Especially on a 1/3" CCD. The longer focal lengths is where you should notice a difference in focus changes.

However, due to the resolution of Standard Definition, most wide shots are going to tend to be a little on the soft side simply because of the resolving power of the lenses, CCD's, and standard.

I can tell you that in my experience, the DVX100 is worlds above others in its class when it comes to getting good wide shots. The resolving power of the lens, the higher pixel count of the CCD's, and the full 480P vertical resolution in progressive scan mode give the DVX100 a distinct and noticable advantage at capturing clear and sharp wide shots.

I've seen the DVX100 flip from normal focus to Macro focus going from 51 to 49. I can see that pretty easily. But you shouldn't be able to tell a difference in focus going from 99 to 98. Especially on a wide lens.

Hi, ist going to be released the panasonic AG-DVC80 camcorder in pal ???

Yes, it's definitely coming in PAL, if it's not out already.

I'm shooting a short film.

Nervous about setttings. Want to get the basics and then have fun later.

I want to shoot 24 normal, what does that give you?

What setting should i play with that will give me more of a film look.

I"m looking for a happy feel. It's a comedy piece.

I'm still unsure about how to use zebra (which one, 70 or 100)

Which shutter speed 1/50 is default I believe.

Stupid question, I just plug the mic into input 1 and make sure I'm getting soound in the headphones. It is as simple as that right?

coudl I hear sound in the headphones and it not record to tape?

Don't be nervous, it'll do fine.

24P Normal is fine, the stock settings are good.

You won't need to change the settings for more of a film look, it's already fairly optimized and film-looking. You might be able to tweak a percentage here or there, but it's pretty good out of the box.

The "happy feel" will be more dictated by your lighting style and art direction. Lots of high-key light, strong fill, avoid sharp contrast. And put colorful objects in your scene -- in wardrobe, in set dressings -- as long as you're photographing a happy-looking set, you'll get a happy-looking feel, much moreso than a tweak of camera settings will give you.

As for Zebra, the great thing about the DVX is that it gives you both, 70 and 100. Use 70 to set exposure for faces, the shiny bits (noses, foreheads) should just be showing some 70% zebra. Use 100% to make sure nothing is "blowing out" in your picture (i.e., you ideally shouldn't see ANY zebras in the 100% setting, but if you do, they should be isolated "hot spots", like a visible light in the frame or the sun or something).

Don't worry about shutter speed, leave it to "shutter off" and you'll get 1/48th or 1/50th.

As for the mic, use a good-quality microphone, and if you're using a mono mic (and no mixer) you might want to plug it into input 2 instead of input 1, that way you can record audio to both audio tracks. Make sure the line/mic input switch is set appropriately. And check your levels, average talking should hit at around -12db, with the loudest sounds coming in just below the peak 0db setting (i.e., loud talking will go into the red but shouldn't hit the rightmost red mark). -12db is denoted by the slight vertical line on the audio meters. And if you're recording the same audio on both channels, turn down the volume on one of the channels a bit, for clipping protection -- record one channel at normal volume, and the other a notch or two lower, so if something really loud happens, you'll have some headroom on channel two to hopefully prevent clipping and distortion.

Here are some pictures of an underwater housing for the Pansonic AG-DVX100. Not sure if these will make it over to the US or if they're already here but check out these photos from a Japanese site (helps out if you have the Japanese language font for your browser, otherwise the text will look garbled):

http://www.netwave.or.jp/~shioya/dvx100top.htm

http://www.netwave.or.jp/~shioya/sbp510.htm

http://www.netwave.or.jp/~shioya/dvx100a.htm

http://www.netwave.or.jp/~shioya/dvx100b.htm

Could our Japanses speaking members translate the info for us?

that's just something someone made in cad...
looks great, but it's a pipedream
that's the one i was referring to in my post where i'm looking for reviews/footage from an underwater housing

And full sunshine in Atlanta! Any ideas on how to setup the camera? I am using a ag-dvc80 btw!
Thanks also to all those who helped me with my auto gain function today.

I am considering to buy the PAL version of the DVX100. I will rent it for two days in a couple of weeks to test it myself. Until so far I only have seen pictures and info at the internet.

Has anyone some good quality MPEG2 clip online that I could download, which I can use to check the 25P quality on a big tv-screen?

Many thanks!!

Peter Sieben

Before you rent one, go try one out at the shop. See if they can hook it up to a large screen TV. Whether you use 25P or PAL interlaced, I'm sure you'll find the video quality very good. This cam has received very high ratings in a number of reviews.

USE the ND filters, run a white balance against somethign BRIGHTER than the dress... (if its white...) ive almost lost some shots by doing white balances on a white card while indoors, and the dress (being textured) captures more light and you get alot of "see thru" light which can be brighter.

set your two user buttons for 18db gain and the other for backlight compensation.

apart from that, have fun...

Once I had the filter holder working on the stock lens hood, I thougth about keeping the light a little more off of it.
I made this extension hood by placing a large card at the distance from the lens where I wanted the hood to end. (at the end of the Steadycam JR) Then zoomed all the way out and traced the edges onto the card where they were just out of frame (plus a little safe area). This gave me the outside dimension. The inside dimension is, of course the hood (plus the thickness of velcro around it. The hood is made of illustrator board and grey tape and painted with wrinkle black from an auto parts store. It looks pretty good and works great. The thickness of the board comes just flush with the filter... I was planning to add a velcro strip to hold the filter in at the top but it isn't necessary. The filter is much closer to the lens than the matteboxes put it (it just clears the mic).


http://www.2pff.com/cgi-bin/more.cgi?118

pics of original retrofit:

http://www.2pff.com/cgi-bin/more.cgi?110

http://www.2pff.com/cgi-bin/more.cgi?111

Looking nice!

Anyone have any experience or reviews on the Crystal Vision wide angle lens? Barrel distortion? good quality?

Someone doesn't seem to be too happy about one here (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12418)

After renting a DVX100 (PAL) for a day to test it I've already ordered it. So hopefully I'll join you all in two weeks time when the camera arrives.

We did a head to head test between a Canon XM1 and DVX100, making outdoor and indoor shots. We both pointed the lenses to the same scenery using tripods and both camcorders where directly connected to a large tv.
In the video-mode of the DVX100 the image looked a little better than the XM1. Lesser contrast, more finer and details. But not a big world of difference.
Then we switched on the 25P (PAL!) modus and then we where shocked by the quality of the DVX100 footage. I was sold! On indoor shots with daylight coming from the window, we discovered that there were more details in the shadowside of objects in the room and also more details visible in the windowside of the same objects. More like a photocamera.

Ofcourse a couple of minor things that could be approved were found. Like the unhandy plastic power-switch and the distance for the thumb of your right hand to the recording button inside of it. And the big number of buttons on the bottom-leftside and front of the camcorder. Not always very handy, but that's just a matter of getting used to.
Comparing this with my current Sony TRV30 consumer camcorder I know that the practical side of the TRV30 (and it's reasonable quality of the image) make me keep the Sony for quick shots around the house etc.
The DVX100 will be used for projects and short movies. Can't wait to start the first new project with it!

Peter Sieben

Hey Peter, good to hear! Good luck with your new camera!

Cheers
Aaron

I have a minidv tape with a bunch of timecodes breaks. The timecode jumps all over the place threw out the hole tape which obviously makes it hard to batch capture...

I kinda have a brain fart but... how can i refresh a minidv tape with new timecode? I've tried laying new timecode with the DVX but had troubles when i jumped back and forth between VTR and CAMERA. I ended up with more breaks again as the timecode doesnt stay consistent.

set time code on regen and avoid switching off the camera. every time before start recording, hit rec check. that will bring back to the last time code, but after switching the camera off and on again, push slightly the rewind button and set manually to the end of the last shot.

I am trying to buy a DVX100, and I have been getting the run around with some of these online distributors. Like one sales person I talked to told me that ground-shipping form New Jersey to Dallas, TX would 3-4 weeks. I asked him if his shipping company was still using covered wagon? Another thing I have came across is the old bait and switch deal where they quote you one price then once they have your credit card number the price magically rises about $400.

Where is a good online store?

If you are in the Dallas area where could I buy it from physical store?

Thanks for your help

Matt

Before everyone starts telling you not to ask this question here, here is the link to dvinfo's reputable sponsors:

http://www.dvinfo.net/sponsors/index.php

Ok, I'm doing some compositing work on stuff I jsut show. It was shot in F5(Normal 24P) and for some reason, I can't get rid of the interlaced fields which ever pulldown I use. Some shots would be pure progressive but soem would have fields!! I'm using AFX anyone else seen this problem? thanks

What AFX settings are you using for interpret footage and composition?

Anyone have some good suggestions of where to get the Panasonic MQ tapes in bulk prices? And is this everyones preferred tape? Seems like from most of the posts this is the case.....


Ted

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Where can i find A/V cords for my dvx100 because i didnt get any with my camera.????

electronics store:)

Hi DVC/DVX users......

I know next to nothing about mics and would like to get a mic for my DVC80. How do you go about getting a mic with xlr connectors with the right length cable for the DVC? Do mics come with a certain length cable and the end user is supposed to cut it to fit the application? The DVC/DVX would need a very short length cable to go into the xlr input....and i would prefer a mic that would fit perfectly in the holder the DVC comes with....how do I go about making a choice and getting the right length cable?

(PS- I'd like a mic that would zoom out as i zoomed out with the camera- I want to pinpoint audio as accurately as possible to capture what I am zooming at- like a bird chirpping in a tree 20 feet up and only the chirping- I guess to whatever degree of audio pattern the mic s able to acquire)

Also- has anyone tried using a parabolic mic with an XLR connector into the DVC/DVX?

Parabolic seems like the best option for distant audio sources.

i just got my dvx100 a few weeks ago. i keep reading on hear how people are using decks or other cameras as capture devices (or to fast forward and rewind tapes). I'm about as newbie as they come so could any of you please exlain why i would go to the trouble of getting an extra camera or a dv deck to do these things? How much does this cost to replace heads on the camera? How soon will the heads wear out?

also is there a disparity in how hard recording, playing(capturing to pc), and rewinding and fast forwarding is on the camera or do they all wear out the heads the same amount? It seems fast foward and rewind would be the hardest on the heads but is one of them worse then the other?

-peace-

I also would like to know the answer to James question, as I will pick up my DVX100 tomorrow.

Is it true that the tapeheads are being used during fast forwarding/backwarding the tape without seeing the image in speed-up motion? I can't image that.

I think have read in some Panasonic brochure that they incorporated the mechanism around the heads etc that's the same as in the pro/dvcam machines they sell. You could presume that this is also an advantage, not something that makes the DVX100 critical with tapes.

Peter Sieben

If anyone cares to comment and find logical faults in below I would appreciate it!

I did some tests with DVX100 25P setting ON and OFF, using Matrox 100 and premiere Pro. Here is the strange conclusion:

It doesn't matter whether you
- capture with progressive or field first
- export with progressive or field first
- set specific clip settings to interlace or non-interlace

The end result is the same: 25P material will have smooth, filmlike blur in moving objects, and 50i will produce TV interlace stuff which looks smoother only in broadcast environments. The 25P blur is superior in all environments.

This, in my understanding, is due to the fact that in 25P recorded version 50i consecutive frames are identical. Correct?

Any experiences out there?

Yes, that's correct. The same is true with 30P and 60i on the NTSC model. Both field are captured at the same moment in time in 25 or 30P, so they work seemlessly in an interlaced post environment.

Is it possible to make cuts anywhere on the timeline from 24p Standard footage in any nle when not on a true 24 frame timeline? I read in the Long/Schenk book that unless it was reverse telecine'd, it woulnd't be possible to make proper edits (because it'd be on a 29.97 timeline). Is that true?

You have to avoid cuts on judder frames (see 24p white paper) where on 24p frame split across 2 29.97 frames.

Was wondering if there are some default settings used to back up dv tapes.

I have the pv-dv53 and dvx100. I was going to use the dvx100 as the record deck and dv53 as the play deck. I was wondering what settings, if any should be used on the cameras. On the dvx100 I have the “1394 tc regen” ON. I assume you just start the playback deck(dv53) and press record on the dvx100.

This seems how to do it but just wanna make sure before I start backing up endless hours of footage. If this is wrong or if there is a better way of doing it please let me know. Thanks.

I think this is the way indeed. The option on whether you want
new timecode or the original timecode is probably a personal
preference.