Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I have been trying out my TM900 with a Radox HD6600Pro..

I have found the wide angle lens makes the image get that soft look and the image loses that crisp focused look...

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

The Raynox adapters are mixed, in some cases really, really soft depending on the camcorder they are attached to. The Panasonic wide adapters that are designed for this camcorder work well and are fairly sharp.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Well I can tell you Tom - the moiré on the 60D has to be seen to be believed, in every single movie mode and frame rate on offer. I just cannot think how folk are using it to film weddings - I mean there will be times when the tiles on the church roof will be in shot and in focus won't there?

Maybe time to invest in an anti-moiré filter, because at the moment it's just a joke, on leaves, bricks, tiles, anything with fine detail.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi! I upgraded to the TM900 a couple of months ago for an African safari that I will be going on in Dec. I've read through this entire thread and I appreciate the amazing amount of information in here. This is the closest I've come to finding a class to teach me how to use all of the amazing capabilities of this camcorder. I have a million questions, but in the interest of not adding another 22 pages in a single post, I will restrain myself!

I will be shooting at 1080/60p. I've been working on how to shoot at first light in the morning and after dusk.
I've tried a few different options:

I set the shutter to 1/30, set the exposure to +5 and got reasonable results.

To the above, I turned intelligent exposure on. Not sure that I could tell the difference.

Then I tried the low-light scene. That also seemed reasonable.

The color night recording setting had good colors and lighting, but I don't think it focuses well enough if there is movement, even if I am using a tripod or other mount.

I am also assuming that under these lighting conditions, I should shoot without any filters and no additional lenses.

Thank you in advance for any advice on why I would choose one option over the other and under what circumstances.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Carol: you've chosen well. I upgraded to this little camera about 3 months ago - from a Sony NX5. I'm sort-of joking, but the side-screen on the 800 is bigger, brighter, more colourful and has decent sized menu icons. It's also far more touch sensitive and you can even creep-zoom on screen. In replaying the still pictures, simply touch any part of the frame and that immediately and automatically zooms in to make that touch point the centre of the displayed image, then you can use the zoom rocker to zoom in more.

But to your points. You set the shutter to 1/30, set the exposure to +5. Question: why? 1/30th loses the smoothness of 1/60th and +5 on exposure? What does that mean? +5 what? I'm pretty surprised you got 'reasonable results'.

iA overrides all other settings other than OIS (and the lens ring reverts to zoom control), so you're immediately recording multiple audio tracks and accepting all sorts of other compromises. The face detection is neat though.

The 900 uses smaller-than ¼" chips, so you're right to be wary of using extra filters and add-ons. But the 35mm wide-angle is only so-so these days, so I do use a wide-adapter a lot of the time and accept the consequenses.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

1/25th shutter (PAL camera) helped me out filming at dawn at Lake Garda in Italy a couple of weeks ago such my TM900 didn't need add gain. I should add I only use manual exposure (or shutter priority on occasion). Motion at this slow shutter speed was no problem since I was up before anybody was about, no people, no ferry boats, as yet.

After dark, due to more activity in the scenes I used 1/50th shutter and accepted there would be gain applied, well as it turned out this wasn't bad and yes colour held up very well. The biggest problem I had with the TM900 in the evenings was how to white balance for multiple types of lighting with different colour temperatures, this is something of a problem, there was fluorescent (green), tunsten filament (red) and curses.. those dreadful "economy" bulbs, oh and an occasional powerful halogen.. all in the shots together! In the end I filmed all night shots using my own stored daylight setting and corrected in post, not always easy as people moved from beneath one colour lighting to another.

An advantage of sticking to my daylight WB setting was that sunset scenes from the boats looked perfect, ie: "warm" as I remember it. Something you don't want automatic WB to "correct for"...

Oh, and be aware manual focus is the only way to shoot in dim lighting, the TM900's auto focus in incredibly fast and accurate in daylight but not when the light level drops.

I must say the footage I came back with is by far the best quality I have ever taken on a holiday and also the easiest to have shot with this little gem of a camera. Previous trips included cameras much larger and heavier, cumbersome things, good riddence!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Tom & Claire - Thank you for your fast responses.

Tom - The reason that I set to 1/30 shutter and +5 exposure is that at 1/60 shutter and 0 Exposure I record a black screen. If I set to color night view it looks like the shutter speed drops below 1/30. At 1/30 shutter the camera could still focus and I was able to capture a clear picture. Is there a better approach under these conditions?

I do plan on getting and using a wide angle extender lens (I'm thinking of the Panasonic - VW-W4607), just not under these really low light conditions. If there is a zoom extender that doesn't cost a fortune that works well, I would like to get one, too. (Any recommendations?)

Claire - Fortunately, I won't need to worry about lights in the middle of the Serengeti! I have not started using the manual white balance or focus yet. I was hoping to rely on the auto focus since I am not sure that I will be any better than the camera when it comes to maintaining focus on moving animals. Am I correct to assume that if the autofocus is not working optimally, the MF Assist function will also not be working optimally? I will need to do some testing to determine the conditions where I can do a better job than autofocus can.

I am also planning to come home with the best footage I've ever taken on a trip!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Carol,
What looks good on the side-screen may not be what's best on the big screen later, that's the problem you face with slowing the shutter speed and using '+5'. Generally iA will give you a good starting point, and from there you switch it to manual and chose which of the disciplines you want to leave in auto, tweak or lock down.

Forget zoom extenders, they don't exist. Ah, but the 900 has one built in, and it's the best of its kind. Go into the menu and set the zoom ratio to 20x. The 900 will then cleverly use the bigger than necessary chip pixel count to increase the zoom seamlessly from the 12x point up to an actual 20x point, without any of the degradation associated with such digital zooms in the past.

The zoom bar chart on screen tells you when you're in this digital domain but it's not really necessary. The good bit is that the aperture remains constant at f/2.8 and doesn't ramp after the 12x zoom point, but then so too does the dof remain constant, as the optical focal length remains at 41.4mm.

In the stills mode you're limited to a 12x zoom because the camera's using the entire pixel count of the chip. And as I say, zoom extenders don't exist. You can buy telephoto converters, but in actual fact these turn out to be zoom contractors because of the vignetting they bring to the party.

MF assist is really neat on the 900. It rings the entire frame to warn you, and 'peaks' the accurately focused items on screen. It's still a lot slower than the autofocus, but the beauty is it allows you to accurately lock the focus.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Tom- thank you again for your response - and for saving me money on the the zoom extender!

I am running my tests and then evaluating results on my 37" or 48" 1080p tv. This is one thing that concerns me on my trip. I will spend most of the time in camps without electricity and will need to depend on my experience and only the side screen to evaluate my results. I won't see the results on the big screen until I return home.

I've been looking to see if could play my video on one of the new pads, but haven't found anything yet. Also, I can't download to anything since in 1080/60p you can only download using a computer with the AE software installed.

I am going to spend some time shooting video of moving cars (to simulate moving animals). That will give me a good opportunity to compare using autofocus to manual focus with auto assist.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

That's just what I did - I connected the 900 to my 46'' LCD TV and used that as a huge viewfinder. I pointed the camera out into the garden and - while watching the TV - played with all the controls and settings. You can then get an idea of how the little side-screen is presenting the results.

What was strange though was that 14mp stills replayed from the 900 into the TV took on an exaggerated 'over-sharpened' look and looked pretty naff. But once downloaded onto the pc I could see it was the TV that was doing this for some reason. Maybe it was the downconvert from 14mp file to the 2mp 1920 x 1080 TV screen.

No electricity? Taking solar chargers then?

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

No electricity - but you can use the cigarette lighters in the vehicles to recharge. I am bringing an adapter that expands to three outlets so no one can accuse me of being a charger hog! I also have a Solio solar charger that I may bring for backup for daytime when we are in camp. I need to test how effective it is in re-charging batteries. You can also have the camp stewards take it to their base where they have electricity during the day, but I would need a second charger and/or a lot of batteries for that. I have the battery that comes with the camera with two of the larger Panasonic batteries and the charger on the way. I need to test if that will be enough.

Based on my experience in Alaska taping bears and whales bubble feeding, I think I will be making extensive use of the pre-record function which I think will use up more battery power. (Hope to avoid my experience in Alaska where I had to just let the camera run and then had tons of editing to do when I got back home!)

Carol

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Carol, I found the large Panasonic battery to last me all day and the next and I was filming most of the day, every single day so hopefully with two of them you should never run out of juice the same day. I never used the pre-record function though so don't know how this would affect things.

I am guessing you will be filming moving animals from a moving vehicle? If so will you be struggling with a tripod or travelling light and relying on the camera's own stabilisation? On my hols I needed to travel very light and also not take up any space in a crowd so I bought a Gitzo GZM2561T carbon fibre monopod with quick release for the trip.

This little beauty collapses to only 14" and weighs very nearly next to nothing. I used it on the rolling ferry boats that go up and down the 60 mile long lake and got really wonderful steady close ups of the shore line. The monopod and the nice stabilisation on the TM900 combined to make it look like I was filming from only a few hundred yards away instead of right out over the lake and the detail this camera records fully zoomed in good light is fantastic. Yes, I know the advice is normally to turn off image stabilisation when on a tripod but I found otherwise using a monopod, it turned out to be just brilliant, I could pop it in my little carry bag and put the TM900 in my pocket, hey what a difference to the days I was weighed down with loads of kit.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I've never been on an African safari, so I can only plan for what I think I will encounter.

I am bringing a good tripod with me. Other than a day or two when I might go on a walking safari, I don't expect that I will be going far from our vehicle or far from camp. The advantage of a tripod is that I can take videos that I am in and for long distance shots, I'll be able to hold more steady than a monopod. (Although you had a good idea about leaving the stabilization on with the monopod.) It also frees up both of my hands, which I might need.

Approximately 1/2 of the trip is on private reserves where our vehicles have open sides. I was considering getting a mount that gripped onto the bars of the vehicle, but was advised that if I got the tripod, I could set that up in the car, even if it meant putting one or two legs on the seat.

When we are in the National Parks, we are required to travel in closed vehicles. I think that we can stand up and look out the roof. I am considering getting a Gripper with a suction cup mount and using my tripod head on it for those days to mount my camcorder on the roof.

I don't think that I will do much if any filming while we are moving. My understanding is that it is a pretty good workout to stay in your seat. What I'm hoping for is for me to be still and the animals to be moving! I am going to be very disappointed if I don't come home with at least one Big Cat Diary style hunting scene!

I'm going to Sedona next month and will probably take the Pink Jeep Tour which will give me a good opportunity for experimenting. I'll see how combining a tripod or mount works with stabilization on in a jeep riding across rough terrain.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Your description of trying to stay in your seat as the Landrover bounces around are oh so true. And the dust! Make sure you can quickly pop the 900 into a zippered bag while the dust settles.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Carol,

There is an irritating aspect to the use of prerecord that you may not be aware of when using 1080p60 and that is, it has to be set in the menu for every shot.

Have you considered using a field monitor to review your results? I have a Small HD DP6 that has an HD screen is a great improvement on the TM900 screen and I can also use it for stills from my Nikon. It is compact and does not use much power and of course they are also great aids when recording.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Anyone know if there are any non Panasonic batteries available for 900 series?
Is there a separate battery charger - again non Panasonic?
Norman

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Norman,

I recently acquired a field monitor that I powered by a couple Li ion batteries (each ~ 8.4 volts, ~ 6 amp hours). Either battery is capable of powering the monitor for several hours. I have arranged them so they can also be connected in series giving ~ 16 volts. Using about $5 worth of components including a voltage regulator I can provide my TM900 with the 9.3 volts it needs through a cable that plugs into the power socket. This supply acts like the supplied power supply - it will charge the battery if the camera is turned off and will run the camera if it is turned on. My two batteries cost less than a single replacement battery for the TM900. They have about 5 times the capacity and are guaranteed for 400 days. Time will tell how long they last.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Tom - I have a couple of layers of dust/rain protection, so I think I am as prepared as I can be in that area.

Alastair - It is not only that the pre-record needs to be turned on before every shot, it is that you need to remember when all of the settings get reset and it is inconsistent. But even with that, I expect there is a lot of value in the feature. I came back from Alaska with hours of footage with bears doing nothing punctuated by short bursts of them catching salmon or other moments of interest. (It was an older DV camcorder so you couldn't erase scenes from the tape.) My expectation is that with the pre-record function I can turn on record when the action starts without missing half of it. (Untested at this time.)

I love the idea of the small monitor. Now if it had an Android operating system, 3G capabilities, and could replace my Kindle and my iPod it would be a no-brainer! As it is, I have this tiny, lightweight camcorder and a 6lb tripod that only fits in my pack if I take the head off of it. I'm not sure if it is overkill for a hobbyist videographer.

On the other hand, I'm concerned about going and not being able to really check my video until the trip is over and I am home. How closely does a monitor like that replicate how the video will look on a big screen tv? (If the camcorder monitor is a 1 and a 1080p tv is a 10, where would the monitor fit in terms of knowing what your video looks like?)

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I'm really envious of Carol's trip, and respect the thoughtful attention to detail she's put into the planning, therefore don't have much to add except 3 snippits of advice, 1.) Travel as light as you can, 2.) Practice extensively beforehand, 3.) White balance in the field, don't trust AWB or the WB presets, white tennis shoes can work for a WB card in a pinch.

Good shooting, and have a great time!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

My major reasons for getting the field monitor were to permit a degree of remote operation and also to try operating two cameras from the same point. The review capabilities are a welcome bonus. I cannot rate the DP6 image against a 1080P TV as I do not have one. However I am aware that small images often look better than they really are.

I have found other uses for the monitor. I have built my DP6 into a rigid sunshade/mount and equipped it with larger than necessary batteries. If necessary I can draw power from these batteries to power my EX3 and/or to power/recharge my TM 900. That is the monitor set up can act as an emergency power supply. I use non-proprietary Li ion batteries that work on my SD702 also. I have also built-in an IR remote extender so that with the appropriate camera remote I can control my EX3 and/or TM while watching the monitor.

It is not a hiker’s dream kit but I live on a property that still has some wildlife. At the moment I have a heron catching frogs and tadpoles about 30’ from my door. As is the case for your bears there are long periods of the heron waiting patiently followed by a sudden strike. The prey is then rapidly taken from the water’s edge, separated from the bycatch and eaten, the bird then returns to the water to rinse its beak. I am good at recording the periods of inactivity but tend to muck up the rest in the excitement. This activity occurs relatively early in the day when lighting conditions are changing rapidly and that makes matching shots difficult. I am hoping two cameras with different viewpoints and zoom settings will help

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Tom - I appreciate the advice. I am working on the first two items (with the exception of the tripod which I am still deciding whether or not to bring due to size), but have some questions about using the manual white balance on this camera.

Do I need to worry about the exposure when I am setting WB or is that what the camera is doing when it either accepts or doesn't accept the manual WB reading?

Does it need to be a white card to set WB or can you use a grey or black card, too? And if you can use any of the three, under what conditions would each one be optimum with the TM900?

Alastair - your property sounds lovely! I hope you get the perfect heron shots and then post them.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Carol,

I think a gray card should work, not a black but so can a business card, handkerchief. AWB can be okay in the city where the cam can manage to find some reference but in the bush, all those earth tones will confuse it, so you need something.

I thought about the tripod problem when I answered the last time. It's the most painful decision but here's what you have to keep in mind. I think it will need to be tall enough to see over tall grasses, but any shake at all with a cmos cam at high magnification and even a sturdy tripod on solid ground will cause ruinous wobble if there are even minute vibrations from wind. A lightweight convenient tripod won't be sturdy when fully extended, and a sturdy tripod breaks rule 1 about traveling light. No tripod means you might miss the shot if your arms are tired from just holding your arms up. That's why I'm persuaded that Claire is right (I think it was Claire) to suggest the monopod. It can serve dual duty as your walking stick, but since you steady it with your hands, it will work effectively with OIS, while tolerating wind.

Lastly, I had a thought about the electricity problem. I have this battery that goes with a zylight (on camera light) for my Sony shoulder cam. It's lithium polymer, and I checked the ratings for it, capacity wise it's about equivalent to 5 of the regular vbn130's. Pressing a button you can adjust the output voltage to match anything between 5 and 19, (about 9 is called for.) And I think it even came with an assortment of male and female plugs to fit most things. If you clipped something like that to your belt, you could at once be powering the cam and recharging the installed cam battery, with only 1 to have recharged over nite or in the car. Seems like it recharges quickly too. It's called a Tekkeon. It might make life less complicated from the standpoint of time shifting smaller batteries and chargers or solar.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Tom & Claire- I just got back to my computer after taping up the box for my tripod to be picked up for return when I saw your response. It was a painful decision, but it did break the travel light rule. I've been doing some reading on safari photography and it is probably not the best choice for Tanzania. So I have also come to see that Claire's recommendation is the right one.

I've also decided to forego the monitor (unless of course they come out with an HD monitor/Kindle and iPod replacement/3G Android device) so I've just downsized dramatically!

I think I will be ok with power. 1 large Panasonic battery lasted Claire all day and I will have two large and one small battery. With the cigarette lighter converter, I will be able to keep one plugged in whenever we are in the vehicles.

Do you think it is worth getting a small, battery run microphone? It would need to be lightweight. Or is there a way of improving the sound of the built in microphone. Even with the wind noise canceller on I can hear wind sometimes and sometimes I can hear my breathing.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Carol, since you are going to use the sound recorded by the camera I must tell you if were me there is no way I would rely on the built in microphone, unless it is flat calm you will certainly have unusable audio much of the time due to wind noises. I am attaching several photos I took of the equipment I took with me on my trip, it all dismantled down so that I could carry it in my small backpack and with the kind of rain jacket that folds into it's own pocket (tiny) reckoned I was ready for more or less anything Italy could throw at me in September.

Much of the time it was flat calm and so I did on these occasions get away with the camera's built in mic, I set them to record 2 track stereo, not surround sound and they did fine. The last time I was in Africa I don't recall any wind but I was only there a week and I'm sure it does get windy sometime, even though it's in the tropics where high pressure dominates.

Even in flat calm your sound will get wiped out when you are moving, say in the Jeep... when I was on the seating area on the roofs of the ferry boats, (which was as often as possible due to nice 85/90F temperatures each day) I used an Edirol CS50 mic with a Rode WS6 windgag. This is my most "windproof" setup, no unwanted sounds even with the warm air rushing past me, nice!). It's stereo so it recorded the live ambience, to me an essential ingredient to relive the experience with full effect, boat noises and peoeple enjoying themselves, sounds coming from all directions, and when the large paddle boats pass each other they sound their horns and it's so exciting in stereo! LOL! I can already imagine the live sounds you would here on your trip, it would be sad not to capture these properly so please think carefully before you go.

You will see from my photos I have this mic mounted on a Hague camera support bracket together with a Juiced Link box that converts the XLR plugs to the little jack plug needed for the TM900. There are of course mics that would not need this accessory, it's just that I use this mic with my EX1R and love it to death so I thought the addition of the JL box worth while.

Now note that this whole camera support bracket pops off and on the monopod at will, so when I need absolute steadiness (eg: you zoomed up on a lion !!!) I would be on the monopod but if I need to quickly be very mobile I might pop it off and with two hands, one on the camera and the other on the handle of the camera support I could film anything anywhere, and still have more stability than the camera on it's own. I am delighted with the arrangement it allows me FLEXIBILITY!

Last but not least I have the Rode VideoMic Pro with a Rycote windgag, this keeps the camera small and simple and the windgag is fairly effective but not perfect, I use this in light winds where I need to remain discrete, not stand out in a crowd but I don't like it for one reason which is that it is mono only and the sort of filming I do with the TM900 demands realistic proper stereo ambience, mono sound dull and flat when compared.

Hope these ramblings and pics help...

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Carol,

Someone, somewhere in this forum recommends placing a patch of sound blimp fur over the grill of the TM 900 microphones to reduce wind noise. He attaches it with double-sided adhesive tape. All very simple and easy to replicate.

I have not tried this in the field but I have set up my TM900 about 3 feet in front of a 15” fan set to its maximum speed while I had a wireless tuned to a lecture to provide a sound source. I used headphones for monitoring. A patch of artificial fur made a worthwhile difference in this case.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Those pictures are offensive to chinchillas everywhere.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Claire - I love your pictures! Now that I returned my tripod, I can't wait for my monopod to get here and see it all set up. I ordered the Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 Fluid Video Monopod with Head. I think it will work really well for shooting video from inside a vehicle, either while sitting down in an open sided vehicle or through the roof in a closed-sided vehicle. So I appreciate your and Tom's nudging in that direction.

Alastair - I will try your suggestion before I decide whether or not to get a microphone. I would definitely be looking at something smaller than in Claire's setup. The question is, will a smaller (stereo) microphone perform better than the built in mike?

How much storage do you think I need? I will be shooting at 1080/60p. Do you think a 35GB SD card for each full day on safari is sufficient? I read tests on some cards that different cards perform better when you delete out sections of video and then record more video on the card. Any experience with this? Claire - how much did you use on your trip?

And Tom - there are still 2 or 3 spots left on my trip! And you still have time to get your visa and your shots if you hurry!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Carol,

I use a Nikon ME-1 mic for when I want decent sound. Checkout this post for a few clips and piccies: Panasonic SD900 + Nikon ME-1 = pretty good stereo sound

I also have one of these permanently attached and it actually works quite well: Stick-On WindCutter

Cheers,
Ian

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

The good thing about plugging in an external stereo mic is that you'll get stereo recordings whether you're in iA or manual recording mode. With no external mic on board you get (unnecessary, in my view) 5.1 audio recordings in the iA mode.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Ian - thank you for the link. I watched the 360 degree test of the running water on YouTube that was linked to in the thread and that sold me on the Nikon ME-1! I have some video I shot last week of my dogs splashing around in a small pond that we came upon while hiking and I can hear my breathing in it almost as much as I can hear the splashing! I also ordered the Micover Slipover Windscreen. I may not need it in Africa, but I am sure that I need when taping my dogs at the beach here in Pacifica.

Is there anything special I need to know about the sound settings while using the mic? For example, do I leave the wind noise canceler on? Also, any suggestions when using the built-in mic in manual mode?

I have a lightweight Sennheiser noise-cancelling headset that I will be bringing with me (I use it with my iPod on the plane so that I can sleep). Will it help to use it when the sound that I am capturing is important? And if so, do I use it with noise cancellation on or off?

I had ordered the stick-on wind cover you recommended last week and I'm still waiting for it to come in. I'm sure that will help when I want to go really light and not use an external mic.

I have questions related to another topic: I have a difficult time shooting my black lab. I know that I will have similar problems with dark-skinned people when I am in Africa. I thought I would use the AE/AF tracking function, but that is only available in auto mode. So what is the best way to improve my video in these situations?

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I wonder if the fact that you could hear your breathing was due to the camera recording 5.1 audio in the iA mode, Carol. In manual you can specify that the camera only uses the stereo L & R mic capsules, which may help directionality (not sure, haven't tested that).

Generally wind noise cancellers are simply bass-cut filters, the theory being that if you don't record the bass you won't record the wind. I dislike the thin sound they leave behind. Try recording your hi-fi with the filter on and then off.

Noise cancellation can be good, though generally such h/phones are frowned upon by audio guys because the cancellation circuitry robs you of some fidelity. I like them though - in noisy surroundings (such as that mountain stream, say) what you hear is what you get on the soundtrack. Tghey're like a big rubber eyecup on the v'finder.

Know what you mean about the black lab. Anyone who has photos of themselves with their black lab know they sit beside a silhouette, because the dynamic range required to expose from shadow to highlight is beyond cheap cameras. You can bump the exposure for black faces (using the backlight function, say) but that will be at the expense of the rest of the frame. Best to let them be black unless they're frame-filling faces.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

And I thought it was because I was out of shape!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Hi Carol, I only ever record in stereo and have never recorded myself breathing. The 5.1 is too awkward to edit in post.

When using the Nikon, if I am in a windy situation, I leave the noice canceler on just to help out. Unfortunately, the Nikon is good at recording wind noise. I have actually emailed Rebekah from WindCutter asking if they will make a furry for it. When indoors, I turn noice canceller off. It does seem to produce a wider dynamic range with it off. I always use the mike in manual, never used auto.

Cheers,
Ian

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Generally the better the mic's frequency response (i e the more expensive and sensitive it is) the better it will record wind noise. Switching in the wind-cut filter generally only curtails the bass response - it certainly shouldn't affect the overall dynamic range.

The limited bass response of the Nikon should help in this regard - though of course it's always best to shield the capsules from the moving air rather than to jettison the bass from the outset.

tom.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

The video scope in my NLE indicates luminance and chroma are being recorded in PC space (0 - 255). I apply a filter in post, along with a slight gamma adjustment. Also shoot with intelligent contrast on. The bummer is that iris mode switches ic off. Works in shtr or prgm auto though. That's about all you can do, dynamic range is the weakpoint.

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I want to thank everyone who has been helping me prepare for my trip. There are a number of classes available in the San Francisco area for photography, but other than formal film school classes, I can't find any classes where you can go out with an instructor and shoot video and learn more about how your camcorder works. So this thread has really helped to fill in some details for me and guided me about what to go out and test.

I think that I am pretty close when it comes to equipment. Here is what I currently have or have ordered:
Panasonic TM900 (obviously)
Manfrotto FLUID VIDEO MONOPOD W/HEAD - Fluid (shipped today)
ME-1 Stereo Microphone from Nikon (arrives tomorrow)
Micover Slipover Windscreen for Nikon ME-1) (Ian - I think this is what you are looking for)
Raynox HD-6600PRO 0.66x Distortion-Free Wideangle Conversion Lens for High Definition cameras
B + W 46mm Top Linear Polarizer Coated Glass Filter

I am also bringing 1 std. and 2 large Panasonic batteries and charger, plastic bags, small case, various supplies for cleaning lenses and camera, and white and grey WB cards.

I haven't decided how many SD cards to bring yet.

I also haven't decided whether or not to use a daylight, plain glass, UV, or no filter on my camcorder all the time. And I haven't determined if I need to get a polarizing filter for the Wideangle Conversion Lens and if I need a protective filter on the front of that lens.

I think that this not only meets Tom's travel light rule, it also should provide me everything I need to take awesome videos. Now I need to practice, practice, practice to make sure that I really know how to use all of it without having to think about it!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Carol,

You nailed it in the last line. Get totally familar with the camera/ancillary gear you're going to be using before the trip and you'll not regret it.

Regarding SD cards - well I took four 16GB SDHC cards to supplement the 32GB in built memory on my TM900 to a recent 3 week trip back to my wife's native Mauritius. I could have filled twice as many cards...so what I did was every day spend 30 minutes reviewing what I'd shot the day before, deleting obviously naff clips and trimming the ends off any that had good sections in them to economise on memory usage. The in-camera editing tools are surprisingly easy to use once you've got a need! Sure, doing all that with the (otherwise pretty good) LCD as your only monitor is not ideal but it worked OK for me.

Enjoy your trip and enjoy that cam. It's an amazing bit of technology that only 5 years ago I'd have said would be impossible to do in such a small package - capable of stunning images when you know how to use it (occassionally, I even manage to get a few with it myself!).

Just be careful about blowing out areas of the picture in very bright conditions. The Picture Adjust, then dial Exposure setting down to -2 or -3 (or even more sometimes) is an important thing with that - as indeed are the Zebra and Histogram tools (never leave home without them enabled - they are very useful and accurate even on this tiny little cam!). Shooting at 1/100th shutter speed in bright light is also something I do routinely now. I shoot almost exclusively in 1080p50 mode by the way being in PAL land. You'll soon get to know all the tricks with this cam and will squeeze the best out of it.

Good luck!

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

I can tell you now Carol - only use filters with this camera when you *absolutely must*. Why? Well look at it this way. If you had a 35mm lens on your SLR you could put a filter in front of it without fear of either surface of the filter being in focus on your film, right? Now look at the 900. It's '35mm lens' is in fact an incredibly tiny 3.4mm. Space your fingertips that 1/8'' apart, marvel at the incredibly short focal length and realise that the dof will mean that both surfaces of the filter will be coming into focus at wide angle and close focus.

Do you want spots and splodges in your against the light shots? Thought not. By adding the filter you've got to have three spotlessly clean surfaces - very difficult to achieve, and in against the light shots any minuscule dust spots will be all too apparent.

Now you fit the 0.66x Raynox and your focal length is an astonishing 2.27mm. Your front element is going to have to be squeaky clean and although Raynox describe it as a 'filter thread', take my word for it (I owned one of these) it's much better treated as a hood thread.

So no, you don't need a protective filter. If the rhino's that close the filter won't help you and anyway, modern multi-coatings are pretty tough - you can clean them with (washable) microfibre cloths and all will be well.

tom.

PS, just to add - Carol, you realise that the 6600Pro is not a full zoom-through lens, don't you?

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

Andy - Nice to hear from you! Thank you for starting this thread and thank you for the advice. My goal is to shoot in as many different environments that I can and then evaluate on my 1080p TV before I go.

Tom - you just saved me a lot of money on filters! I just want to check: When I am not using the adapter, I should still use the polarizing filter when conditions call for it?

Let me see if I have this right about the lenses:

The wide angle lens in the TM900 is a 35mm equiv. lens. If I use intelligent zoom to 20x, that gives me a 35-700mm equiv. zoom. (700=20x35) If I go the the 30x setting, I have a 35-1050 mm equiv zoom. I did some testing on my larger 1080p tv and that video still looked fine to me. I need to do more testing, but at this time, I am planning to use the zoom setting up to 30x, but would welcome any advice.

The 6600PRO is a .66converter. So the wide angle is converted to 23 mm equiv. The 6600PRO is optimized to focus through to 6x zoom, or to 138mm equiv. The lens is optimized to have imperceptible distortion and no vignetting over that range.

So without the adapter, I have the equivalent of a 35-700 or 1050mm zoom lens. With the adapter, I have the equivalent of a 23-138mm zoom lens. That seemed to be a pretty good mix to me, but I am basing that on when I used to travel with my Olympus OM-1, shooting slides, with a wide angle zoom and a telephoto zoom.

My decision came down to this lens and the Panasonic VW-W4607 Wide Conversion Lens (0.7x). Almost every review of the Panasonic lens remarked on how heavy it is. I only considered 46mm lenses since I find it a lot harder to change lenses when I need to use an step-up ring. But now that you point it out, that lens would be the equivalent of a 24.5-294 zoom at 12x, and to 490 at 20x. How would the quality of that video compare to video shot without the adapter on?

Do you think I made the wrong choice and I would be happier with the Panasonic adapter? Or a third adapter I didn't even consider? (The adapter won't arrive until next week, so I can easily change my order.)

Re: The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread
 

OK, we'll take the points in order. Firstly I'm glad you've got the message that filters add nothing, they only take away. That 'taking away' might leave you with better images which in itself can be good reason for using them, but there's little that can't be replicated in post - although the polariser is a noted exception.

Grads can be good for bright skies over dark plains and if you've got all the time in the world then a selection can mean you carefully flag the filters so that they're always operating in the shade. This way the inevitable imperfections won't show up on your footage. It's a big reason why matt boxes are popular.

Of course the wide converter means hooding the front element becomes much more difficult, but paradoxically much more important. Aspect ratio hoods (or petal hoods) are the answer if that's possible.

Polarisers (as you know) do their magic when used at 90 degrees to the sun's axis, so they can give continuity headaches when your shots happen to be 90 degrees apart. They also remove the sheen from hair and fur, so the male lion might not be best pleased.

My 6600Pro did add to the barrel distortion but not by much. Raynox trade distortion for zoom ratio, and Panasonic take the other route. They give you the full zoom but in combination with more barrel distortion. When I had the Raynox I was always worrying at what point as I zoomed I would enter this soft zone - with the Panasonic lens attached you can forget this worry. And will the distortion show up on the African plains? I doubt it. It'll show up in the Toyota Land Destroyer though, when you film your cut-aways.

Now some thoughts about the 900's lens. When shooting stills it's a 12x zoom - with different focal lengths depending on the aspect ratio chosen (unlike their GH2, say). When you shoot movies you can 'use the full chip' and get a 20x zoom (very clever, Panny) without loss of resolution and with mild f/1.5 to f/2.8 ramping. If you go into the digital zoom area, even slightly, you lose picture quality. OK, you say it's hard to spot but nevertheless it's there.

The next point is that a focal length of 1050mm really requires a concrete tripod, and however good the hybrid OIS and monopod is, that's asking a lot. As always, pictures trump specs, so if you're getting better pictures at the 30x setting rather than the 15x setting, go for it.

There must be a lot of wimps out there. Complaining about the weight of the W4607? Will someone else carry their water bottle? And we're back to my statement that the picture is more important than the pixels. Adding an extra (slightly miss-centered) 3 elements in front of your fine 12x zoom will degrade the image; it's the law of the land. Oh, and having a polariser on the 900 and the wide-converter on that (now 4 extra elements) could well result in vignetting - on the smaller W4607 more so than on the 6600Pro (which will have its step-down ring permanently attached).

tom.

ps just to add that this 900 review is well wort a read:
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content...der-Review.htm