Pinnacle
Written: Dec 08 '04
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Pros: Color quality. Resolution, "ease" of use, FULL control of everything.
Cons: optimal quality 16:9 requires a $800 anamorphic adapter.
The Bottom Line: Absolutly reccomend, maximum quality image for the dollar, and its very small and light compared to its competitor.
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| x2mag68's Full Review: Panasonic AG-DVX100BP Camcorder |
This camera is simply a technologic master piece. It offers the best resolution and some of the most beautiful images ive ever seen come from a digital video source under $10,000. However what makes this camera special is its 24P capability. other video cameras in this price range offer stadard video that is on par with this machine, however they all lack 24P. 24P is the sacred 24 frames per second acquisition. the same frame rate as film cameras. Much of the look of Video, and all its associatons come from its 60i frame rate, that is its 60 fields per second frame rate. Fields are half images, or every other scan line on the TV screen. Standard video cameras are really only showing you half an image every 60th of a second. think of it as when you mesh your fingers interwoven into eachother. ie, Lpinky Rpink Lringfinger Rringfinger etc. ascending. each right hand finger is a field. each left hand finger is a field. odd/even. This produces very smooth fluid motion, however since you are only seeing half the image at a time it suffers from lower resolution.
The P in 24 P stands for progressive capture, that means it takes an entire photograph everytime it shoots a frame of video, 24 times persecond. this provides a cystal clear image, that has literally about 1 megapixel of resolution per frame of video. (3ccd's at 410,000 pixels each) thats really astounding.
The only camera that performs as well is the canon XL2, but at over 1800 more, the value is clear. but i will continue to compare it to this camera because these two are the only two cameras that are a match for eachother.
The DVX has variable framerates. you can choose to shoot 60i, 30P ( progressive again, but at 30 frames per second) 24P, and there are tricks for simulating 15P and 12P, for sped up motion. it honestly is similar to a varicam, which costs over 20,000 dollars more.
This machine produces the most accurate color reproduction ever on MiniDV,IMHO but with legitimate argument. Even the XL2 is not as color accurate. this is thanks to Panasonic's superior color processing system.
however, this camera enables you to have so much control over the image, that a novice not familiar with the controlls can easily throw the picture out of wack. For example, going through the settings, of which there are ample, and randomly changing settings can make the image so poor, its hard to believe it came from the same camera that is used in major television and Indie film productions.
with a little practice you can actually recreate the look of famous movies, just by adjusting the way the image processing chip handles the data it recieves. you acn simulate the matrix's green cold hue, Amelie's warm gold cast etc.
Its low light performance, is very good. Clear and with relatively low noise. The canon XL2 performs slightly better in the dark, not because its image is brighter, but because its image is SLIGHTLY less noisy, in fact its lens is about a full stop slower than the DVX. however the DVX comes with a feature called Detail coring which reduces noise in dark environments, to combat this problem.
The Dvx 100a specifically has two modes of wide screen representation. an anamorphic 16:9 squeeze and a 4:3 standard format that is letterboxed. The canon XL@ has natively shaped 16:9 chips. this provides a clearer 16:9 recording. however for the DVX you can purchase a anamorphic adapter, which squeezes the 16:9 aspect ratio onto a 4:3 aspect ratio chip. equaling its resolution.
The DVX has three resolution settings, Approx:470lines of res, Approx:510 lines of res and approx:550 lines of res(the theoretic limit of DV).this is called the line thickness setting the reason you can change the resolution is to prevent an image that is too sharp from flickering on a standard TV set. TV sets have a difficult time showing areas of high detail, they prfer to show a softer image without harsh lines of contrast liek a striped Tshirt, or pinstripes on a car. these are jsut a few examples of how detailed the control you get is o this machine.
For excellent information on this camera, you can ask questions on DVXuser.com THsi website is dedicatedto DVX users, and they are all professionals and have a wealth of knowledge on how to effectively use this machine.
I purchased one recently, and have neverbeen happier.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3300
Recommended for: Professional Videographers - Broadcast Quality Videos
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Epinions.com ID:
x2mag68
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 3 members
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