DVX Quirks

H

HAL

New member
I've been doing some test shooting with the DVX for a new TV show and I've noticed some weird things. Maybe someone out there can explain. There's substantial "flutter" when panning across high contrast horizontal lines in progressive mode. It's not really noticeable in interlaced mode, but looks terrible in 30 or 24P. For example, if you pan across a white picture frame with a thin shadow outlining the edge of it. If you pan fast, the flutter is fast, and when you pan slow, the flutter is slow. It's weird. I'll check Adam Wilt's website even though his techspiel makes my head ache. Can anyone explain this, or offer a technique to subdue this ugly artifact?

Also, has anyone noticed that the EVF doesn't display the entire image? It shows you the TV safe portion of the image leaving rest as guesswork. That's very unprofessional. Why would Panasonic do this? Is there an underscan option buried in the menu that I haven't found? I've read alot of good reviews on this camera, but these issues are leaving me scratching my head. Someone tell me there's a fix....
 
With my experience the flutter will occur with the LCD and the viewfinder, but when you play back your recording on a Monitor, it wil not be visible, this scared me when I first got the camera, give it a try. Also the safe portion is the same on XL2 and most all consumer cameras, I dont beleive you acually get a full screen view unless you start to rise to a larger price in prosumer cameras.

-Matt-
 
Right. Although, they are aware only having 'tv safe' is crippling, but there isn't much they could do besides building a different camera. The AG-HVX200 will have underscan on the LCD, as I recall.
 
The "flutter" you're seeing is usually called "strobing", and it was once the most-talked about subject on this board. Do a search on strobing and you'll find volumes and volumes written about it. Short answer is: the DVX strobes the same way film does. Pan a film camera like that, and it'll strobe exactly the same way. Strobing is an inherent motion artifact of shooting at a slower frame rate, and it's part of what makes film look like film, and it's part of what makes the DVX look like film too.

Every 30p or 24p camera behaves in exactly the same way.

Regarding the viewfinder, I don't think there's a consumer or prosumer camera available that shows the full frame. It's just never been done before. The HVX will probably be the first.
 
Hey, thanks for the feedback.

"Strobing is an inherent motion artifact of shooting at a slower frame rate, and it's part of what makes film look like film, and it's part of what makes the DVX look like film too."

I'm referring to something else. I'm aware of the strobing you're talking about and I always notice it when I watch film. The "flutter" I speak of is a digital artifact found in high contrast horizontal lines.

"With my experience the flutter will occur with the LCD and the viewfinder, but when you play back your recording on a Monitor, it wil not be visible."

I did these tests with DV Rack and the artifact was present on the monitor. I'll record to tape and see if it's still present.

Thanks,
 
Also, I'm surprised that the cameras in this price range don't have full monitoring capabilities. Especially a camera so popular with filmakers. What if the boom is just inside the frame. Man, that would drive me nuts.
Although I have used the Sony PD150 and it showed me the entire frame.
 
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