Camera came in today

Justyn

Justyn

Veteran
Greetings all. My camera was dropped off and left today by UPS. Just sitting on my doorstep waiting for me to come back.. with the whole world out there able to grab it and run off. Man, I hate my UPS guy... we've had words a few times!

Well, it was quite an amazing experience to open the box.. smell the new camera and all that. So happy to see the P2 included.. and man that's a heavy solid piece of equipment...

So, I set up the accessories and charged the battery and did my first shoot a little while ago. Shooting the kids playing soccer and beating each other up. Some 60p stuff, 24, 30 and all that jazz.... and man, I've got some learning to do. So different than the canons i'm used to... The iris is backwards, position of everything.. feel.. and white balance. I'm going to have to shoot for a while before I'll feel comfortable with this thing.. NOt a pick me up and run off kind of camera at all.

I'm just wondering how do I make the recording format change to make the 60p footage play back in slow-motion. I was rushed and couldn't figure it out... What moronic steps am I missing? Is it then easy to customize this for a scene setting?

Finally, any hints on the white balance. Really through me with that one.... but again, I kind of rushed through it... I will post some footage when it doesn't look like dog poo poo. Right now it does.. and it's not the subject matter, but the owner that's the poo poo.

Thanks and hopefully I'll be contributing something decent soon and not just my snotty kids running like nutters... Although a few of the shots looked really kind of nice, but not consistantly... Thankfully I have this resource hear to pick from and help me to get to where I should be as quickly as possible....

The clunk was also not alarming as I heard about it from here... Now, I have to go hunt down the UPS guy... That rat bastard!
 
Justyn,
It can be confusing but you need to select 24P or 30P as the recording format first. Then in the individual scene files you choose the framerate. So say you record at 30P and set the frame rate to 60 then you will get 1/2 speed playback on the HVX directly. If you shoot 60P and record at 60P frame rate you will get realtime video like playback...which seems likely what you did in a hurry.

Good Luck!
 
Justyn said:
The iris is backwards, position of everything...
Click to expand...

You can change the "direction" of the iris dial--go into MENU--SW MODE--IRIS DIAL and you can change it to UP OPEN.


Justyn said:
I'm just wondering how do I make the recording format change to make the 60p footage play back in slow-motion. I was rushed and couldn't figure it out... What moronic steps am I missing? Is it then easy to customize this for a scene setting?
Click to expand...

Go into whatever scene file you are using and hit MENU--SCENE--FRAME RATE, then crank it up to 60. It will automatically playback at whatever frame rate you are set in (24 or 30). This can be saved with that scene file.



Justyn said:
Finally, any hints on the white balance. Really through me with that one.... but again, I kind of rushed through it... I will post some footage when it doesn't look like dog poo poo. Right now it does.. and it's not the subject matter, but the owner that's the poo poo.
Click to expand...

The best way to come up to speed is to play with it ALOT. There are so many places on the HVX where the white balance is potentially controlled, you have to know which ones you want for your shooting style.


Justyn said:
The clunk was also not alarming as I heard about it from here... Now, I have to go hunt down the UPS guy... That rat bastard!
Click to expand...

I have the opposite problem. When I turn on my Camera, the clunk clunk sound stops. Is my camera broken?
 
Guys.. thanks so much for the help. I kind of saw that whole scene file and frame rate bizness.. and yes I do have to play a lot with this camera.


The low light noise is something that concerned me initally too...but there is a lot that can be done to deal with it... I can now see why people love to crush the black.. That really solves the moderate to deep blacks... what have you guys been doing to deal with overall noise?


I'm going to shoot an even tomorrow.... I'm gonna have to bring the manual and look like a rookie...

I'm also glad I can switch the wheel... THIS CAMERA rocks already. I mean there is quality in every detail.... This is so pro... just like the panny big boys...

My DVXbrothers have helped me again... You do have to excuse me.. I've been shooting with canon DV gear since 99.... I'm a bit friggin' retarded and all screwy... and I also don't ever want to shoot tape again. I just wish I had 5 8 gig cards, a P2 store and a new macbook pro... then I'll be happy.

Peace out and when I get decent footage I'll post it up... Might be around this time next year.
 
Justyn said:
Finally, any hints on the white balance. Really through me with that one....
Click to expand...
Quick primer on WB.

There is a AWB button on the nose of the camera under the lens. It has 3 functions depending on the setting of the A/B/Pre switch on the LCD side of the camera. In A or B, the AWB button performs a standard white balance like every other camera out there. In Pre, the AWB button switches between 3.2K and 5.6K Presets. Push and hold the AWB button in any setting to perform a Black Balance.

When you are setting up your scene files, you can adjust the color temperature from -7 to +7. When you perform a white balance it will then be warmed up or cooled off according to the setting in the scene file for A and B White Balance ONLY. The scene file parameter is ignored when shooting in preset. I put that fact in bold because it took me two days to figure it out! :angry:

And that's about it. Not to tough but also not obvious.

Congrats on getting the camera, mine came in yesterday and I'm thrilled! My old matte box fits it perfectly! We just had a big P2 Anonymous meeting at my office for a friend that just accepted delivery of 8 cameras! We had the chnce to get 2 cameras hooked up together and tried to get the TC jammed. We were only moderately successful. We could only get it to work consistantly in Tape mode, but I'm rambling. Thats a topic for another thread.

Congrats again, happy shooting...

-filmstox

-filmstox
 
Filmstox is right on. But if you find yourself having trouble grasping the details, and the manual is opaque, let me try to add to the chaos. As with alot of Panasonic features, White Balance is a very customizable, but very confusing feature set for the new user. First, some Panasonikian terminology. This is what, in lovable Panasonic fashion, adds to the confusion.
  1. AWB="Auto White Balance" This is the button on the front side of the camera.
  2. ATW="Auto Tracking White." This is the moniker for the function that continuously auto-white-balances. It is attained through various means in the menu settings and switches, and when active, is displayed on the right side of the LCD. (It also flashes in the center momentarily if you try to manually WB when it is in auto track mode.)
  3. WHITE BAL=The three way toggle on the left side of the camera.
  4. SW="SWitch", i.e., all those switches on the left side of the camera.

Now, you can control the ATW (Automatic Tracking White) from a couple different places on the HVX in various combinations.

  • The Automatic Switch: This is the switch on the left side, toward the back--the one that can control the Iris, Gain, Focus, and of course, WB. You can adjust the Automatic mode to include WB, or not (default is ON). This is set under MENU--AUTO SW--ATW.

  • The WHITE BAL Switch: This is the three way toggle on the left side of the camera. You can set its function in the menu: MENU--SW MODE--ATW. This setting affects how the toggle switch operates. You can set The ATW (auto tracking white) to be activated when that toggle is set to the A, B, or PRST (preset) positions; or you can turn this "OFF", leaving the toggle to operate normally.

    The confusing part here can be when you have the WHITE BAL toggle set to "auto track" the white balance in, say, the A position. If you have the also have the AUTO Switch set to "ATW" in the menu, even when you slide the switch to the "Manual" postion, the camera will continue to auto track the white balance when the toggle is in the A position (You might need the camera in front of you to grasp all this).

    To add to the confusion, part deux: When SW MODE in the menu is set to "ATW=OFF" for the toggle, this is what happens:

    When the AUTO/Manual switch (the switch on the far back of the left side of the camera) is set to automatic (and the AUTO SW menu is set to ATW), the toggle does not do anything.​
    When the AUTO/Manual switch (the switch on the far back of the left side of the camera) is set to manual, the toggle toggles between:
    A: the last AWB you performed when this toggle was set to the "A" postion;​
    B: the last AWB you performed when this toggle was set to the "B" postion;​
    PRST: This will alternate between the 3200K and 5600K presets when you press the "AWB" button on the front side of the camera.​

NB a possible confusing point--not so much when you are learning the camera and everything is fresh in your mind, but later on after you forget exactly how you have the menus and switches set up: The toggle can be set in the SW MODE menu to have ATW function in any of the three positions, as detailed above--Let's again assign it to the "A" position. The "B" position now is an AWB locked toggle, per your last pressing of the "AWB" button. Note the difference between A=ATW and B=AWB.

Also, the presets (the two WB temps. when the toggle set to PRST) are helpful for the run and gun type emergency, so I don't set the PRST in the menu to be ATW--this leaves you with the option of using the presets if you are having trouble getting an approximate WB setting.

Most people will probably not use the ATW function much, so my peripatetic ramble will never be an issue. But for the run and gunner, or for the guy/gal who is trying to keep things automatic to learn one thing at a time, you can lose track of Panasonic's idiosycrasies.

Aw heck, just go back and read what filmstox said. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
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Oh, and one more thing--you can set one (or I suppose all) of the three user bottons to be ATWLOCK. When you press ATWLOCK, it will suspend the ATW mode until you press it again.

If you press ATWLOCK when ATW is not active, nothing will happen.

Unless Justyn drinks milk, then we have an ATW emergency on our hands.
 
Hey, good information here. White balance I found to be straight forward enough, but it is pretty much the same as most of the Panasonic cameras of the last 15 years.

Is there a listing in the manual that I missed that shows what all is included in a scene file?
 
Justyn said:
My camera was dropped off and left today by UPS. Just sitting on my doorstep waiting for me to come back.. with the whole world out there able to grab it and run off. Man, I hate my UPS
Click to expand...

Same here! First, UPS lost (mis-delivered) my GS400 to a wrong address. Next, they left my DVX100B on my front porch, in full view of the street! Luckily, I happened to be home that day. I think criminals could make a career following the UPS truck around town. My advice, is get a tracking number, and be home when your packages arrive.
 
Great info guys... I'm getting about as clear as mudd.. but it's feeling more comfortable. I do see the use for the scene settings. Figuring out the frame rates was another one. I also told my buddy about the ability to switch the iris knob.. and he has had the camera for a month and been annoyed by it as well...


I do think this is closer to a film camera than a video camer in how it deals with light. You need more light... more light, and murky curtain closed rooms is tough. Lots of grain/noise but god looking.

I'm gonna get a small backpack type light kit. 3 or 4 point.. Any suggestions? I don't want a big arri case. Done that.. my back and car don't like it anymore. I see the Britek... and Lowell have options. I'm looking for something in the 500-1000 range.


UPS does suck. I feel your pain about teh 100b being left out. Didn't it make you so friggin mad? I mean, I wish I was coming to my house that day.. I'd have a new HVX without shitloads of credit cards..

Help me! I need gigs to pay this ***** off! lol
 
chalk up another person who had ups leave the hvx out for all to see... what's funny is that a few days prior, fedex had refused to deliver an lcd monitor without someone there to receive it. up the cost by about 7x and make it ups? no problem!

i'd also be interested to hear about suggested backpack type light kits. and thanks for all the wb info. will have to re-read with the camera in front of me. (i should just bring it with me to work!)
 
UPS just plain sucks... The more I get involved with them... I've never had trouble with Fed Ex...


I will do some recon on some lights and post it back here. Gonna need some lights and reflectors with this camera. Tonight I'm going to investigate the videocam settings to see how they handle low-light....

Thanks to all
 
Unfortunately Fed Ex and UPS announced a corporate merger a few days ago. Yeah, the new shipping empire will be renamed, Fed-Ups.




Sorry, old joke.
 
GOOD old Joke there though! Lpc... you are going to DVXuser sainthood with your continued recon and support. Thanks a lot bro. I need all the help I can get..

Tonight though. I shot some awesome footage simply awesome. It was some slow-motion kungfu. I think that 60fps is great.. but almost too slow for something even. I thought it wouldn't be slow enough and man I'm wrong. I really like the 36fps setting the most... 60 just makes everything seem like it's in water.. which is good, but ya know.

Well when I get a way to deal with it I'll post. I'm waiting on the FCP update package so I can get it all... for 200
 
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