Experimenting with DVX200 Color

Brad Forman said:
Hey Mapper,

Does updating the firmware revert scene files to factory? Could you possibly post your "Reset" scene files? I lost the factory set somewhere along the line after loading Barry's gh4 set. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Updating the firmware does not appear to change any scene files that you have in the camera. If you want to go back to the factory scenes as I did, just goto MENU, OTHER FUNCTION, INITIAL SET and select SCENE. That will clear out your existing 6 scenes and reload them with the factory scenes.

As with dtocco, I'm hoping we see some new scene files created in the new palette.
 
Brad Forman said:
Hey Mapper,

Does updating the firmware revert scene files to factory? Could you possibly post your "Reset" scene files? I lost the factory set somewhere along the line after loading Barry's gh4 set. Thanks!
Click to expand...
You can always reload the factory scene files. Go to the OTHER FUNCTION->INITIAL SET menu and choose "SCENE" and it'll restore the factory scene files.
 
Many thanks to you all

Many thanks to you all

Many, many thanks to you all... I will make the change of the firmware as described in your answers and keep you posted...
Today I am still in 1.29, I suppose there is no problem to switch directly to 1.51 ??

See you, from...Paris
 
Florent S. said:
Many, many thanks to you all... I will make the change of the firmware as described in your answers and keep you posted...
Today I am still in 1.29, I suppose there is no problem to switch directly to 1.51 ??

See you, from...Paris
Click to expand...

You shouldn't have any problem going directly from 1.29 to 1.51.
 
bpap said:
"As with dtocco, I'm hoping we see some new scene files created in the new palette."

Have a look to this video (and three others):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uGCo1lsa1M

There ist also a download-link to a scenefile package from Barry:happy::happy:
Click to expand...

Keep in mind those scene files are for use with the 1.4 option and were not created in the new 1.51 firmware. There's definitely some good ones in that group but you'll have to select the 1.4 option if you have upgraded to v1.51 firmware to view them as they were designed.
 
Very good that you can give back stored scenes Map, Individual scenes and its own set can set.
Have a good set together, I'm still undecided on final choice.
 
csroy@yahoo.com said:
Also like to know how to properly White Balance?? Comments please.
Click to expand...

It's best if you use an actual white balance card. You can use a piece of white paper but there are various shades of white paper so you can get close but maybe not quite as accurate as you would with an actual white balance card.

Be sure to fill the frame with the white card that's being held in the light that you are going to shoot under. Hold the white balance button under the lens until it reads "WB OK"
 
And to expand on that, make sure the white card is close to the actual main subject of the shot, with the same light falling on it. It may not be the most polite thing you'll do all day, but for example, hold it right in front of the face of your subject when shooting people. Tilt it so that there are no direct reflections from the card shining into the lens of the camera (usually only a problem if you have an on-camera light or another light source closely aligned with the lens).

- Greg
 
It's been a long time since I've experimented with that. If I remember correctly I gave up because I always felt that I got a more accurate white balance with an actual white balance card. I know a lot of people who swear by using a gray card.

At one point in time I even purchased a really nice set of white balance cards that gave you some additional options like warm white balance and a few other options. On many projects I really don't have time to try a bunch of stuff like that so I usually stick to what works for me, one of the inexpensive Porta Brace white balance cards. It seems to do the trick and if it gets messed up you can pitch it and replace it for $6

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/300868-REG/Porta_Brace_WBC_White_Balance_Card.html
 
I have that exact white card and have been using it for years with no issues. Was just wondering if anyone uses/swears by a gray card over white and why.
 
Hello everyone, I have shot with a GH3 and a few cheaper Sony's, and now the Sony RX-10 MII. The RX-10 has me liking the one lens. So I have been seriously thinking about getting the DVX-200, I shoot Real Estate, I use a dji P3P drone, and my RX-10. I'm also starting to shoot a lot of stock footage, and a few events. I love shooting Outdoor Documentaries, mostly personal. Is it hard to learn the DVX-200? I also don't shoot a lot of low light, Very rarely above ISO-3200. I seem to be seeing a fair amount of complaints about Noise, and Color with this camera, However, I like many features about it. Also, can you really get shallow depth of field? Does the rack focusing work very well with the touch screen, or is it too fast? I have looked at many of both the Vimeo and the Youtube videos that were shot with the DVX-200, but most are 6-8 Months old, with older firmware. For me, an investment of $4,500.00 is a lot, Extra Batteries, Camera Bag, and Remote, Not something I do very often, so I'm trying to really nail it down to make a decision. I know I have to dive in sometime sooner or later, I just don't want to make a big mistake. Any feedback, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!:happy:
 
Last edited:
7DDude said:
Hello everyone, I have shot with a GH3 and a few cheaper Sony's, and now the Sony RX-10 MII. The RX-10 has me liking the one lens. So I have been seriously thinking about getting the DVX-200, I shoot Real Estate, I use a dji P3P drone, and my RX-10. I'm also starting to shoot a lot of stock footage, and a few events. I love shooting Outdoor Documentaries, mostly personal. Is it hard to learn the DVX-200? I also don't shoot a lot of low light, Very rarely above ISO-3200. I seem to be seeing a fair amount of complaints about Noise, and Color with this camera, However, I like many features about it. Also, can you really get shallow depth of field? Does the rack focusing work very well with the touch screen, or is it too fast? I have looked at many of both the Vimeo and the Youtube videos that were shot with the DVX-200, but most are 6-8 Months old, with older firmware. For me, an investment of $4,500.00 is a lot, Extra Batteries, Camera Bag, and Remote, Not something I do very often, so I'm trying to really nail it down to make a decision. I know I have to dive in sometime sooner or later, I just don't want to make a big mistake. Any feedback, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!:happy:
Click to expand...

Hi 7D, i was in the same boat as you. It's not too often that I buy a new camera and I had been using a nearly 10 year old Sony FX1. I also have a Nikon D800 and I really liked what I was getting with it but it was just such a pain to rig with an external monitor, audio adapter and wireless receiver. Maybe not so much the rigging part but moving it around after it was rigged.

I went all in with the DVX200. Extra battery, spare memory cards, AG-MC200G shotgun mic, external hard drive to offload SC cards and a new Porta Brace bag among other things. When I first got the camera back in November I really thought I had made a mistake due to the image quality right out of the box. I was still shooting with my other cameras but only bringing out the DVX200 just to experiment with it. I kept telling myself that Panasonic would step up and make the necessary changes all while questioning if they really would. Barry Green came up with some GH4 scene files that made me really think there was hope. I followed along with the forums and Panasonic's updates and I now finally feel like I made the right choice. I was sweating it for a while because I dumped a ton of personal money into what I thought was going to do the job and I really wasn't happy. I know that some people will cringe at this but I was looking for DSLR quality in a more convenient format. If the DVX200 looked as good as my D800 or better then I was going to be happy. It's only been since the release of the 1.51 firmware and the new GH4 scene file that I can really now say I'm happy with the camera. It now looks as good as I was expecting out of the box and I expect that will even be improved upon by further updates and scene files.

With all of that being said, it's a different animal and there's a little bit of a learning curve. Definitely a few limitations in features like what can be displayed on teh monitor while recording but you get used to that and move on. I've used it 3 times over the last two weeks and overall I'm happy with the results. The couple of minor things that I'm not quite happy with I think will be resolved as I bond more with the camera. My shoot yesterday started as a locked down interview and turned to some run and gun stuff in some not so favorable lighting and camera holding scenarios. I went from fully manual to turning on the training wheels (Full Auto) and hoping for the best. The camera did pretty decent in Auto. White Balance was a little slow in one situation but I know that can be adjusted. I may have to mess with the speed of that and see what happens. After reviewing my footage this morning I'm happy with the run and gun stuff and I'd say it will be more than acceptable for the production.

As far as your questions go:

Is it hard to learn the DVX-200?
You'll pick it up. If you haven't shot with a pro camera before it may take just a little longer. To me all of the controls are in the right place switching from Sony to Panasonic. Exposure is probably the trickiest with this camera but it has all of the tools (waveform, zebra etc.) to help you out. You're really going to need to learn to rely on those and not the monitor so much.

I seem to be seeing a fair amount of complaints about Noise, and Color with this camera?.
Most of the color issues have been resolved and I think they will only get better. As far as noise goes, the camera needs a decent amount of light but you'll see some night footage online that looks really good. Every camera has noise and you always need to try and hedge the bet to reduce that but I wouldn't say that the DVX200 is too far out of line in the noise department based on it's specifications. Everyone wants to push the limits of their camera and noise is always an end result.

Can you really get shallow depth of field?
Yes, like anything else you have to get used to how the camera preforms and how to setup your shots to help you get the depth of field that you are looking for but it does pretty well. WIth macro on and using it for the right shot, you can get some crazy shallow depth of field.

Does the rack focusing work very well with the touch screen, or is it too fast?
I have not tried this yet. I've only used the focus ring to rack focus.
 
Last edited:
7DDude said:
Is it hard to learn the DVX-200?
Click to expand...
It is not hard to pick up, but it's a very complex camera to master. You can start out using stock scene files and even the "auto" mode and get some decent footage; when you take the time to learn its ins and outs you can really draw out its power. There is a lot of training material available; I published a fairly gigantic book on it that Panasonic distributes to DVX200 buyers for free, and I just finished a tutorial series of introductory videos that they'll be releasing at some point. So you won't be left in the dark, there's lots of good stuff out there, and lots of good folks like mapper65 here to help.

I seem to be seeing a fair amount of complaints about Noise, and Color with this camera,
Click to expand...
That boggles my mind. I find it extremely extremely clean at 500 ISO, and really clean up to a max of about 2000 ISO. I've shot all sorts of tones at all brightness levels and stared at the monitor in 1:1 pixel mode and haven't seen anything I'd consider objectionable noise. Then again, maybe people's standards are higher than mine, or maybe it's their playback software or whatever.

Also, can you really get shallow depth of field?
Click to expand...
Yes, but you can't get really shallow depth of field. Not like a full-frame camera at f/1.4! The DVX200 delivers the same DOF as your GH3 did, at comparable irises. So if it was shallow enough on a GH3 at f/4, then you'll get the same DOF on the DVX200. However, if you are thinking about a GH3 with an f/0.95 lens, then no, the DVX200 can't deliver that. It delivers "usable" shallow DOF, but it doesn't deliver "paper-thin" shallow DOF.

Does the rack focusing work very well with the touch screen, or is it too fast?
Click to expand...
You can program the speed so it's instant, or extremely slow, or a wide variety in-between.
 
Thanks mapper65, That helps a lot! Do you think the Video Quality is as good as your D800, and many of the canon DSLR's? How does it hold up in post, I use Adobe PP CC, with Lumenti.
Thanks again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top