AG-AC90 starts shipping tomorrow. How many have one on order?

Tom Roper said:
Inherently, servo controlled electronic rear focus lenses are not parfocal, so a flangeback adjustment is a calibration that maps the focus plane to track the zoom range. On the EX1, you could do this within the service menu. On the PMW350 and other 2/3 inch cams, it's an expected adjustment so it's a menu or even external switch driven adjustment. You focus on a star chart put on the wall at each end of the zoom range. On the AC90, HMC40 et all, I have no idea. I just know that when I zoomed in on my neighbor's tree across the street and focused, after I zoomed back out it was out of focus enough to notice on the pc, although not bad enough to see on the LCD.

If you zoom with auto focus, obviously you won't see this problem. And it may not be wholly obvious unless you zoom from one end to the other with the focus near infinity. And I did notice on one particular zoom, the subject went out of focus as I was zooming, manual focus mode of course. Whether it's an issue with just my copy? I can't answer that. I doubt it but I would just be speculating. Ideally, mfrs need to make the flangeback adjustment available to the operator just like they do on pro cams like the EX and PMW.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tom. I can probably live with some minor back-focus calibration issues. I thought there was wild unpredictable focus behavior during zooming (and I was raving wildly in response). Does the HMC40 have adjustable FB?

(I thought AC90 was a pro camera.) :happy:
 
steve4505 said:
I am now a bit more curious as with your experience with the beach and being Texas and lots of sun why you wouldn't be going with a 6ND (1.8) or even another higher one too.
Click to expand...
The beach I've been shooting isn't in Texas, it's in the Dominican Republic. As for not suggesting an ND 1.8 or higher -- it's just not necessary. The camera is a relatively slow ISO rating to start with (ISO 40), and it does have a couple of stops of ND built in. A three-stop ND filter lets you get the shutter down to 1/60 while still being in the middle of the lens range (f/5.6 to f/7.2). That gives you optimal sharpness, without unnecessarily introducing IR contamination. If you went with a six-stop, you could maybe get the iris all the way up to f/2, but is that really desirable? With the small chips you're not really gonna get shallow DOF anyway, and opening it up all the way may just end up meaning introducing a little bit of possibility for focus error as well as increasing the proportion of infrared that gets through. Of course, if you're talking about something like a whitewater ND/IR filter, that's a whole different story and yeah, that might be a good choice.

Edit 11-4-21: When I was going over my order with B&H the Video Pro associate I talked to talked me out of an ND filter and instead was recommending an circular polarizer. http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/B-W-77mm-MRC-Circular-Polarizer-Filter-Review.aspx, because they have free shipping on most of their filters I delayed in purchasing one. I've read about this debate somewhere before and I remember NDs were a better option, I tried to argue for this, but he was insistent. What do you guys think? He was talking about the loss of depth of field with an ND. I told him I live in a sunny climate and that did not phase him either.
Click to expand...
A circular polarizer can make a lot of sense with this camera. It delivers about a 1.75 stops of exposure reduction, which helps you bring your shutter speed back into an appropriate realm, and -- depending on what you're shooting -- a polarizer can make a significant impact on the quality of your shot. It can really deepen a blue sky, and it can remove the glare from reflective foliage; grass and leaves can look a lot better with a polarizer in place. But, it depends on which way you're facing and where the sun is, and that's the problem with polarizers. They work to different degrees depending on your axis to the sun, when at 90 degrees from the sun they're very effective, but when at 0 or 180 degrees to the sun, they're kind of worthless. So -- definitely I like to have one in the kit, but if I could only have a polarizer or an ND filter, I'd go for the ND filter because it's completely predictable in all scenarios, whereas the polarizer varies depending on the angle you're at, and how far you've dialed in its effects. If you can afford both, get both.
 
Barry_Green said:
So -- definitely I like to have one in the kit, but if I could only have a polarizer or an ND filter, I'd go for the ND filter because it's completely predictable in all scenarios, whereas the polarizer varies depending on the angle you're at, and how far you've dialed in its effects. If you can afford both, get both.
Click to expand...
Yeah I personally can afford both. I really appreciate your input. I saw the posts about the IR thing on the BMCuser forum which makes sense.
 
This little camera is really temping me away from the Canon XF105 I have been wanting! I'd like to see some comparisons between ag ac90's and xf100s, very different but both relatively "cheap"
 
Just pulled the trigger...

Just pulled the trigger...

Well...I couldn't take it any longer. My church has offered to purchase my entire HMC80 rig so I just ordered the new AC90 and some accessories from my favorite place, B&H. I hope I've made the right decision. I believe I have. The picture quality I have seen so far and the low light performance will work well for what I do. I'm looking forward to playing with this unit and deciding what kind of camera stabilizer rig to buy next. I'll post some footage after I get the cam. The HMC80 will work well in it's new home as I have already used it many times for special events with excellent results.

Happy Holidays to All,
 
B&H does offer a 30 day unconditional money back satisfaction guarantee. So do give the camcorder a good workout when you first get it. If the worse should somehow happen, and you did decide that you did not like it, you could then return it and get your money back
 
Just pulled the trigger... UPDATE

Just pulled the trigger... UPDATE

My new camera rig has arrived on time. Lots of settings on this camera for me to study. With the battery installed, it feels nicely balanced in my hand. The on-screen touch menu is easy to understand and operate. There is definitely something different about these back-lit sensors. Just playing around in my dimly lit man cave, I could not see much noise, even at 30db. One thing I am already concerned about is the slide out monitor. The mount seems a little flimsy. I'm careful with my stuff but will have to watch out for others. I also purchased a Magnus VT-4000 tripod to try. It is sweeet, for my price point. Silky smooth operation and sturdy construction. I'll try have some test footage up after this weekend. A postcard for a free copy of Barry Green's new AC90 book was also included with the camera. I'll be sending that off tomorrow...
 
SteveL_59 said:
A postcard for a free copy of Barry Green's new AC90 book was also included with the camera. I'll be sending that off tomorrow...
Click to expand...


Barry's book will no doubt be essential, as the Panasonic docs are typically pretty sparse. His book made the difference for me in getting comfortable using my AC-130.
 
Anyone know of a good authorized Massachusetts retailer that is selling the AC90 so I can pick one up tomorrow? Yes I should have tried to get it earlier but I didn't think I'd get a potential gig tomorrow afternoon and not to mention I was still deciding on rather to get the X900M ($648) or AC90 ($2,000). Chances are I'm out of luck and will be forced to use my SD600 together with the GH1 and GH2 for a concert rather than mix the AC90 with the GH1 and GH2.
 
Last edited:
Thanks. I didn't think of them at first when I called some places. If only they didn't close at 5:30 Eastern but it's not open on Saturday though. I'll try the other places.
 
OK, I received word that the concert got cancelled. I guess this is sort of a wake up call for me to not spend any more time delaying on getting a camera because you never know when very important gigs pop up.
 
So I guess you can add me as one of the owners now. I have just purchased it from B&H. I can't believe what I have just done but besides it having many extra features over the X900, it should be able to balance better on my Sachtler FSB4 tripod and I should be able to put it to work soon. Now all I need is a bag.
 
Camera Expert said:
So I guess you can add me as one of the owners now. I have just purchased it from B&H. I can't believe what I have just done but besides it having many extra features over the X900, it should be able to balance better on my Sachtler FSB4 tripod and I should be able to put it to work soon. Now all I need is a bag.
Click to expand...

Congrats! I am liking mine, but there is a learning curve for me since I have not used a similar model.
1) I just finally figured out how to the 3200/5600k settings. (manual page 40) You just lightly press the WB button (not press and hold).
2) I don't understand why there are A and B Color temp adjustments. (manual page 41)
3) I am getting skin tone problems. I was doing a shoot and the dark skinned (especially) skin details were muddied. I used skin tone detail off, but I am not sure what setting/lighting is causing the problem. I am noticing this in a variety of lights (just not shot folks in bright lights/day light yet.
4) Manual Pages 85 - 88 have way too many settings to play with. I need like a quick table to change these based on a variety of conditions.
5) I know I need Barry's book!
 
Here's an un-boxing video I did yesterday when I received the package. Possibly one of the most boring or weird unboxing videos you'll see. I had to mute the audio since their were people talking in the background and I never once talked in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tqzo3RrAyc

I shot it wit the Panasonic GH2 and 20mm lens. The ISO was very high because the lighting in the room is not perfect.
 
steve4505 said:
Congrats! I am liking mine, but there is a learning curve for me since I have not used a similar model.
1) I just finally figured out how to the 3200/5600k settings. (manual page 40) You just lightly press the WB button (not press and hold).
2) I don't understand why there are A and B Color temp adjustments. (manual page 41)
3) I am getting skin tone problems. I was doing a shoot and the dark skinned (especially) skin details were muddied. I used skin tone detail off, but I am not sure what setting/lighting is causing the problem. I am noticing this in a variety of lights (just not shot folks in bright lights/day light yet.
4) Manual Pages 85 - 88 have way too many settings to play with. I need like a quick table to change these based on a variety of conditions.
5) I know I need Barry's book!
Click to expand...

Barrys book explains items 2-5. Item 3 was mostly a function of settings and lighting. I was able to grade my footage to much better look in FCPX.
 
Some of you might be aware of this but in case some of you didn't know yet, B&H have lowered the price of the AC90 to $1850.
 
Yes, I've already contacted them immediately after I saw the price. I nearly freaked out thinking how that money could easily be put toward a bag and possibly an ND filter. I've very glad they offered that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top