Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Shooting the audio for a stage show with a mic on the camera is always going to be problematic. I've always slung a couple of mics over the stage and run them back to the camera. The sound is very 'open' but the audience clapping level is in the same ball park as the performance level. A better solution would be to have 3 or 4 mics on short stands along the front of the stage going to a manually operated mixer whose output goes to the camcorder.

I must agree with Mark: the lack of LANC makes smooth zoom operation very tricky. Is is possible to devise a simple mechanical linkage to operate the top control or the front ring?

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

RODE is soon coming out with an interesting solution for independent/limited crew producers:

The World's First Digital Recorder Video Microphone - RDE VideoMic HD

I just hope the price won't be prohibitive.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Have you (or anyone else) had any success creating an XHA1 CP file to match the TM900 ??

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

[Table dolly]

Here is my latest setup for tracking shots with TM900:


Camera cage allows for better control when tracking with panning (or tilting) compared to the previous setup with a single tripod handle.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

[Lighting]

Hi, I've started a thread on lighting tips and techniques here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/document...ips-stuff.html

Please share your lighting for TM900 tips there. Thanks

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

This is cool. I just found this thread. I have had two Canon HV cameras and at the end of last year started a small business with someone using a Canon T2i and 60D. So far the results are stellar.

Having said that, I have been waning to go tapeless with my "video" cameras. So I go into Fry's Electronics and pow there is a little floor model HDC-TM900 for $380. SOLD! It was in great shape and had all the accessories except for the battery (that just got here today).

I am amazed at the work folks are getting from these cameras. It looks like I have lots to catch up on in this thread. :-)

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Here is my second short movie made entirely with the TM900. The one thing that surprised me was the shallow DOF I managed to get on some of the close shots, really nice :) what I didn't like, however, was the low light performance. Even though I had multiple lights turned on, the camera struggled. Most of the footage had to be taken at +6dB iris and even then it was a bit dark. Everything you see in the movie has been lighted up a bit in Premiere - a process which brought out even more noise.

As a sidenote, I filmed at 1/50 shutter, even though you guys recommended filming at 1/100 if you know you'll want to slow it down at 50% speed. Even though most of the clip is at 50% speed, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Maybe I could have gotten away with using 1/25 shutter and therefore solve the +6db problem too? :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy the clip, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Nicely done. I wonder if softer lighing (i.e. china lantern) would help some shots.
This piece made me hungry :)

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Haha Adrian, then my mission is accomplished :)

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Nothing elaberate, but I use my TM900 a lot while storm chasing. Here is a video I shot a couple weeks ago.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Not an easy subject to capture.
I see too much zooming in this video. If you are putting so much effort into storm chasing why not shoot with two TM900s mounted in a camera cage? One camera set for a wide angle shot, and another zoomed-in; that way you'll have two shots of the same event ready for editing. You could even show them using P-I-P (picture in picture) technique so the viewer won't miss details and have the look at the overall situation at the same time. Frequent zoom-ins and zoom-outs don't add drama, they are just sloppy camera work.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

David, I found the video fascinating. Never saw a tornado in real life before, so to see one in full HD and filmed so close was awesome!

I was surprised to see the TM900 having some tiny focus issues in daylight, it must have been confused (or scared) by the large grey ominous moving object. Also, I agree with Adrian, the frequent zoom play just makes it harder to watch, especially since the image was shaking a lot - didn't you have the stabilizer on? I find this camera has excellent image stabilization, there is very little shaking even at 20x zoom.

Thanks for sharing this!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Bringing you more footage shot entirely with the TM900! This time you get to see some lovely ladies! This little camera is amazing, absolutely everyone is impressed with the quality it delivers. Would have loved a button for instant access to the backlight exposure function, and perhaps one for manual focus. I'm probably getting a bit greedy now.

Enjoy, let me know what you think!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

While chasing, time is very limited on setting up multiple cameras and such, especially when you have to set up and operate them all by yourself.. You have to be ready to move at a moments notice. I'm working on a solution for having multiple cameras though, one for wide and one for a close shot. I'll have one mounted to the vehicle for my wide......and attempt to tripod the other for my close shot if there is time. Storm chasing requires "run and gun" style shooting for the most part, its not in a controled setting after all. Getting 60+ mph wind also doesnt help with some of the shakiness......even mounted on a heavy tripod you will get a lot of vibration in strong wind. This is Raw video, I could have edited it where you dont actually see the zoom in or out.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Luc: I notice the blacks have a purple hue to them. Is it that way right out of the camera?

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Les, no, I used the three-way color corrector in Premiere, shifted the shadows towards purple and the midtones towards orange. The original colors that came out of the camera were good, but considering this was a fashion photo shoot I decided to make everything a bit more interesting and play around :)

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Luc - loved it. Brave staccato editing built on jump cuts, and it works very well indeed. Hand held - and using the little 'hand' OIS for extra stability? Only tiny downer is the oft infinite dof, but what's one to do with less than ¼'' chips? Even so - your selective focus is beautifully used. Congrats - bet the girls loved it more than the stills.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Tom, thank you very much! I always forget to use the little hand icon for extra stability, fortunately the TM900 is great even without it. I tried to use a lot of zoom to create some DOF, on some shots it worked. A ND filter might help there, the F-value was almost always somewhere around 6 - 8.0 so that didn't help (used 1/100 shutter outside, as I learned I should from this topic). And, you are right, one of the girls said she can't stop admiring herself! Tiny wonder this camera :)

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

If you're shooting at 1/100th sec then I wouldn't think extra ND would be needed unless it was very bright indeed. Remember in the movie mode an f/5.6 readout means the lens is actually shooting at f/2.8, which is max aperture on full tele anyway.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I was using 1/100 because 1/50 caused blown highlights, the camera was shooting at its max (auto) value of F 8.0. You guys said not to exceed F 8.0 because I lose resolution beyond that.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Does halving the shutter speed affect the highlights once you've opened the aperture to suit? Not in my experience Luc. And what do you mean by 'its max (auto) value of F 8.0'. Agreed, don't shoot at small apertures if you can help it, but remember that an indicated f/8 is actually f/4. Those undocumented NDs are a pain sometimes.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Well, in manual mode but with auto exposure (just with fixed shutter speed), the camera doesn't go past F8.0. If you want less light coming in and don't want to touch the shutter speed, you have to manually increase the F-value, at which point it becomes fully manual exposure. However, I remember someone here saying the camera intentionally stops at an indicated F8.0 because going further is bad for video quality.

Therefore, at 1/50 shutter speed, the iris value was F8.0 and the LCD was showing me quite a bit of blown highlights. At 1/100, the F-value was around 5.6-6.8 and highlights were alright-ish, even so I had a few shots with the sky completely white.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

It may have been me that said something similar in this giant thread..

Don't ask me why but in bright sunshine, using manual mode, fixed shutter and iris "floating" (auto iris) my TM900 handles highlights better when I select 1/100th shutter than than if I leave it at 1/50th.

Leaving at 1/50th and stopping down the iris setting to some crazy amount for me provides an inferior result where highlights "white out" excessively.

Now I know the iris is not really stopping right down, it's more and more ND, or is it? In the absence of hard facts my personal belief is that something is happening in the camera's processor at 100th that is changing the image for the better, observable on Edius waveform meter, lowered mids, away from the dreadful cruched up white levels around and well over 100IRE, this backs off a bit more down to part of the curve where it should be.

BTW, a long time ago I gave up using fixed iris and fixed shutter when I found that the combination of F4 (as read of the LCD, I know it's probably not really) and a fast enough shutter to give correct exposure in sunshine, say 1/500th sec produced an image that was as soft as mud... similar to stopping down my EX1 to F16! So it seems it's impossible to really know what the camera is doing?

I stick to 1/50th shutter on dull days and switch to 1/100th in bright sun where the sky is in the shot. I still make fine adjustments to the iris setting to get the best image but I ignore completely what it's telling me the F number is, ha ha!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Interesting observations Claire, and backed up with some scientific probing in Edius, too.

The most basic change when going to 1/100th sec from the default 1/50th is that the camera will simply open up the iris a stop to compensate, but as you say - there may be more to the camera's set-up programming than meets the eye. It certainly appears so when you say that using 1/500th sec (and max aperture, most probably) gives you very soft pictures. I've never tried this - I must give it a go.

The ND filtration programming is the oddest I've seen, where the camera clings to maximum aperture until all the internal ND is fully in place - and only after this does it start to physically stop the iris blades down.

When the readout says f/4 on the screen then the camera is physically stopped down by nearly a stop at wide-angle and is shooting fully wide at telephoto, with half of all the available ND in place.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

TM 900 aperture control - an observation

I have an interest in close-up work and often use a Canon 250D close-up lens on my TM 900 for this purpose. Depth of field is very limited as one would expect at a working distance of about 20 cm at 20x zoom but until today I have never tried to measure it. I had always assumed that stopping down actually did something useful.

My test was to set the camera to view along a ruler and measure the depth of field at different apertures. Irrespective of the aperture shown the depth of field using the TM900 was always about 2 mm. On the other hand using an EX3 with a Micro Nikkor the depth of field was very dependent on aperture as one would expect.

Two TM 900 video frames are shown below. The depth of field of the fly feasting on the wallaby dropping is so low the wings cannot be seen.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/images/a...attach/jpg.gif

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I meant to add to my post above that if my observation is valid it suggests that there is no iris control in the TM 900.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

That seems an odd thing to put in print under your name Alastair, when the operating iris blades are visible to the human eye.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Quote:- "If my observation is valid it suggests that there is no iris control in the TM 900".

I have repeated my experiment with very different results. In my first test the smallest aperture reading I could achieve was f11. In my most recent tests the minimum aperture reading was f16. Furthermore I was getting a very measurable increase in depth of field with decreasing aperture. Between the two sets if tests I had tried some exposure duration tests. These involved setting my TM 900 up on the bed of my lathe so that it could record the equivalent of fast turning clock hand while varying the exposure time. During the exposure duration tests the camera was subjected to some vibration and afterwards it worked as I had hoped it would. I am wondering if the vibrations have been responsible for the apparent change.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

The TM900 did it again! I received very good feedback for this one. The models didn't think much of me filming them at the time of the photo shoot (something to do with the [lack of] camera size, I bet), so they weren't expecting this :) hope you enjoy!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Great job, Luc! Reconfirms what we all know - with a talented DP, the TM900 can produce stunning video images. Let me guess - 50p conformed to 25p for the slow mo?

Bill

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Thank you sir, glad to hear that :) yes, everything was filmed in 50p, I just set the speed to 50% in Premiere on most shots, on a few even 25% (i.e. 2:04). Exported at 25fps.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Help!

Could someone please tell me or point me in the right direction on the way to edit Panasonic SD900 files. I´ve had the SD900 1080 50P for a while now and am very impressed with the results but until now have only really watched the results on a computer.

I´d like to be able to edit and put them on a Multimedia player and DVD to give to friends.

What are you using? What program do I use? I have Edius 6 and a trial of Premiere pro 6 but am confused about inputs and outputs.

Please help!

Thanks

Mark

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I use Premier Pro CS5.5 to edit the Panasonic files. First copy the entire contents of the SD card or the camera's internal memory onto the editing computer's hard drive. Don't just try and copy across the video files. You need all of the folders and files. One of the things that is not obvious from the Adobe help files is the best way to import the files into Premier. Open the Media Browser pane and navigate to the folder where you copied the files. Select all the media files e.g. 0001.MTS etc and drag and drop them into the Project pane above. If you use any other method of importing the files you will find that a files may not be a complete 'take' and that a recording may start on one file and end on another. Using the Media Browser 'concatenates' the files - sticks the recorded segments together into one continuous file. Once you have the recorded files imported correctly, you can start editing conventionally. If you go to the editing sections on this site there is loads of stuff on editing with Adobe and Vegas.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Mark, if you've got Edius 6 you're up and running. You simply open the SD card and copy and paste the 'stream' files to a folder on your HDD.

Start an Edius Project (remembering that Blu-ray won't handle the 50p buts wants 50i) and simply pull the H.264/AVC files en-bloc to the timeline. After editing you click 'burn to disc' and Edius will make a DVD or BD straight off the end of the timeline. Couldn't be simpler.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I imported 60p into Premier then made a blu ray out of it ..... I was SHOCKED AND AMAZED at how good that looked. In good light is there any doubt that image has commercial quality ... WOW!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Tom

Sorry for not replying earlier - I have been trying things out. I don´t have the option to burn DVDs straight from the timeline as you say. It is greyed out. Do I have to choose a DVD compatible format (and if so which one?) before importing into Eduis?

I did however convert to an avi. format and reimported into Edius and then burnt a DVD but the quality was very bad!

I´lI keep trying

Thanks

Mark

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Guy

I will give it a go when I get a better handle on Premiere. Re: Importing into premiere what settings should I use as it doen´s seem to have 1080 50P available?

Thanks

Mark

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Mark - Edius (as it says on the box) will edit anything, so go ahead. If the burn2disc is greyed out it means your project settings are incompatible with DVD or BD, so simply export the timeline as a Canopus HQ avi file, open a fresh new project (1080i for BD or DVD), pull in this new avi and you'll find the burn 2disc is now ok.

You can use any sort of disc you like, DVD-R, DVD+R, RW, double layer, 25 or 50 gig BD.

The disc authoring software looks simple but in fact it allows you to have moving menu backgrounds with music, hidden chapters, have the menu completely invisible unless the DVD's remote calls it up and so on.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Tom

I found this edius tips website and followed the instructions:

Easy Editing With Edius 6.0: Making a DVD from your HD Project

I used 720x576 50i as suggested on edius tips but on burning to a DVD the quality was very bad.

Are you saying that I should open a 1920x1080 50i project, insert the Canopus HQ .avi file and then burn the DVD? I´ll try it tonight.

Mark

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Yes Mark - do that (your last sentence) The Edius6 MPEG2 converter works excellently as so it should - way back in 2005-ish the Canopus Storm II's MPEG encoder was the biz when used with Premiere 6.5.

When you make a DVD straight from the timeline it oddly defaults to mpeg audio, so untick the 'auto' box in settings and make it AC3. Leave the rest on auto as it'll choose (quite rightly) a CBR of 8 mbps single pass for any film under an hour to DVD-R.

The resulting DVDs are most excellent, and when upscalled by a BD player in a big modern TV, look grand.

Sounds like what you've been doing is down-converting the 1080 timeline to SD (720 x 576) and then doing a second conversion to MPEG2 for the DVD. This double conversion process is a no-no and is giving you the so-so results you describe.

tom.