I've managed time to try a few comparative tests of the Sony NX3D1 and Panny Z10K. Cameras were both set for default automatic... no manual adjustments. The Panasonic performs better in low-light, without question. Out of the gate, the Panny is softer than the Sony. I found that turning the noise compensation in the Panny off improved sharpness somewhat - without really adding much noise in low-light. Additionally, I was able to sharpen the Panny footage to match the Sony in post. I do not think the Sony actually resolves more detail than the Panny. All things being equal - I certainly prefer any artificial sharpening to happen AFTER the camera encoder, not before.

David, I'm assuming the Panny is on the left and the Sony is the right set of pics - correct?

Did you measure the lens interaxial distance with a ruler by chance? If so, what did it measure out to?

The thumbnails are named Panny and Sony - you can mouse over to see which one is which.

The Sony has a published I.A. of 31.75mm. The Panny is 42mm

The Z10000 has significant other possibilities for adjustment - all the scene file settings allow a significant shift in what you get in the final result. From that side a comparision is hard, since the NDX3D1 does not offer all that professional settings. To increase contrast for example, play with the gamma curves and use B.PRESS or CINELIKE-V.

But I have a similar experience with the Sony TD10 and the Z10000 - the Z10000 delivers a lower contrast and I agree with your finding that I tend to change that in the postpro. The issue is the format only - with AVCHD it would be better got get that in the acquisition right.

Can you share your Z10K setting preferences? I'm not a Panny guy, so, this is my first exposure to these parameters.

Thank you!

I use following settings (what is a modified film settings):

SCENE NAME :FILM Modified
DETAIL LEVEL: 0
V DETAIL LEVEL: 0
DETAIL CORING : 0
CHROMA LEVEL: -1
CHROMA PHASE: 0
COLOR TEMP: -2
MASTER PED: -3
A.IRIS LEVEL: -2

GAMMA : B.PRESS
KNEE: MID
MATRIX: NORM2
SKIN TONE DTL : OFF

Delivers a better contrast and nice black.

If you need further help about what the settings means, take that file:

http://www.google.at/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=panasonic%20professional%20scene%20file%20settings&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dvinfo.net%2Fforum%2Fattachments%2Fpanasonic-avccam-camcorders%2F12714d1244766370-scene-file-thoughts-panasonic-hmc150-scene-file-doc.pdf&ei=8xveTpShI8Lm4QTU8uHRBg&usg=AFQjCNFU61ysTqMSNJZyS3WLnxbYhPpd9A

but also that file here:

http://www.filmrocks.com/pdf/hvx_scene_files.pdf

Thank you!

Interesting result. I thinked Panny will have a lot better sharpness than Sony.
I have a TD10, and first experiences with it, that the sharpness (full hd!) is
a bit lower than my Canon HV10 (HDV!). A little disappointed about that.

Have you tried to adjust the sharpness in the scene file? The Z10000 does not increase the sharpness automatically as that is done by many other (consumer) camcorder, but offers in the profile both DETAIL LEVEL and V DETAIL LEVEL to do so.

Beside that, sharpness is not everything. The tests that I know show a nice resolution for the Z10000, and the possibility to adjus the gamma curve offers and other parameters are great - and go far beyond what I have seen for most HDV camcorders.

Wow! The difference in sharpness is striking, but as you say, it also sharpens the noise, so I guess it's a trade-off.

I'm curious, too, about the color shift. The Panavision is a lot greener than the Sony, in all three of the lighting situations.

I've managed time to try a few comparative tests of the Sony NX3D1 and Panny Z10K.

Why are the images odd sizes like 1885x1059 rather than 1920x1080? Were they cropped or rescaled?

Hi I am looking forward to buy a 3d camera and ended in a place whether to decide between Sony Hxr NX 3d or panny Z10K please give me a suggestion.

Thank you

Z10K, because all together it is the besser solution for 3D - while the Sony is a improved TD10 only. The overall concept of the Z10K is better, it has better technical figures (6 chips!)

One disadvantage that I see: the Z10K is a little bit larger, but I do not know if that is important for you.

Hi I am looking forward to buy a 3d camera and ended in a place whether to decide between Sony Hxr NX 3d or panny Z10K please give me a suggestion.

The Panasonic is markedly better in low-light. Controls are much better (there is virtually no control over Sony in 3D mode). It offers manual white balance.

Thank you very much ,your replies helped a lot. I have decided to go for Z10000.

How about the shallow DOF in Z10k is it good? I am an indie film maker. Shallow DOF is important for my shots.

Shallow DoF is the exact opposite of what you want in most 3D. Use it with extreme care, if at all.

Generally shoot wide in 3D with a lot of DoF so your audience's eyes can wander around and explore the scene.

Not being able to look at the whole of a 3D image is at best frustrating and at worst some out-of-focus 3D can cause intense irritation. In particular avoid out-of-focus objects in negative space (coming out of the screen).

To answer your question, the Z10k has a 6 small 1/4" sensors so it does not give shallow DoF anyway unless you telephoto in - but note that when you do this you will get depth compression (or "cardboarding") and will lose the roundness of the 3D. Whether the reduced 3D is worth the cost in order to get some shallow DoF effect is a decision you will have to make - in some instances it may be the only way to get the shot anyway.

Don't shoot 3D using 2D pre-conceptions. When you get your Z10k go out and shoot a lot of footage to practice and check it closely on the largest 3D screen you can find. The only real way to learn what will work and what will not in 3D is by experience, so best do that before you have to do a real shoot.

All imho of course :)

Best wishes

Neil

For your shooting, you have some important points:

- the major point is really what convergence you adjust. Here you have to take care if you converge the two streams not. To converge the camcorder has some advantages if you wish to avoid the adjustment in the postproduction. But it has major drawbacks if you end up with high divergence, what may bring a lot of ghosting in situations where you have both divergence and high contrast. Another disadvantage is that you reduce the depth bracket. But you will not suffer from a trapec effect with the Z10K.

So, one has to take care about the convergence in the shoot, to shoot with parallel streams is possible if you switch the convergence to C99. And not everybody will agree, but a lot of people still think that parallel shooting is the best way how you can do it - and maintaines the best possibilties for the postproduction.

A nice way to check that is to use the mix-mode of the 3D function, that gives you a better indication abotu the divergence. Rule: it should not be larger then something about 3.5% of the monitor width.

- the other part is that you have to take care about the minimum distance. The build in "3D Guide" is your friend, make sure that you enable that function during the shoots

- and yes, check the footage at your editing place or at a large 3D HDTV, and learn from that. I completely agree with Richard about that.