HPX300 Skew Firmware Update???

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POSTHOUSE PICTURES

Member
I'm looking at purchasing the Panasonic HPX300. But I first wanted to know if anyone has heard about a firmware update to correct the skewing problem? Can the skewing problem even be corrected with a firmware update? Any input would be a great help.

Thank you!
 
From my understanding, the only way to increase the read/reset speed of a CMOS sensor would be via a hardware (not software or firmware) update. That's just my understanding. The geniuses here could tell you more than I can and it may even be right ;)
 
Thanks Joe for your response! I want to buy this camera, but I'm wondering if Panasonic is going to fix this and update this camera for NAB? If they are...I was hoping that someone from Panasonic would say something or release a press release on the camera.
 
Me too. I want to take advantage of the offers, but if they come out with a HPX300A, IDK. Here's what I might do:

Buy an HPX300 on March 31 or one of the last days of the offer. Hold on to it till NAB is over, or once Panasonic has made their announcements. If they announce a new camera, I can return my HPX and wait for the newer model. If they don't announce anything to my liking, then I just simply send in the rebate forms for my HPX and now I have an HPX300. :)
 
Manufacturers rarely pre-announce changes to existing models (for obvious reasons). They'll pre-announce a totally new model, but changes to an existing model usually just happen, not with a big announcement.

My advice is always: don't buy anything until you need it. When you need it, buy the best that's available at the time and don't look back. Your camera won't stay the "current hot thing" any longer than your laptop will. But if you need it, it won't matter what comes out a month or two from now, because you needed what you needed and you got it.

Joe's idea is interesting, but not all dealers will allow returns at all, and some will hit you with a 15% "restocking" fee, so if you want to explore that idea you'd better examine your reseller's policies pretty thoroughly.
 
I really just don't know what to do. I have always used Sony Cameras, but really want to give Panasonic a try. I wish Panasonic would give us an answer to the skew problem or a fix. I don't want to spend $8000 on this camera and be screwed!
 
Barry, you're completely right. We all look to have the "latest and greatest" even when technology changes from day to day. When I bought my DVX, there were HD cameras available (it was either the DVX or the HD100). I weighed my options. I saw that the HDV codec was not something I wanted to deal with (especially since my editing software didn't support it at that point), and the HD110 didn't offer everything I wanted, and neither did the DVX, but I just took the dive with the DVX. At first, I questioned my choice, but after about a month of agony I realized I made the right choice.

If I can, I want to take the dive with the HPX300 (and I've been holding off for a while now). To me, just the AVC-Intra 100 codec is a great reason. You know what, even if they release an "A" version, I will still be very happy. If I want to reduce skew, I can experiment with some techniques, or look into the After Effects plugin called Rolling Shutter. It's better than nothing, right?
 
POSTHOUSE PICTURES said:
I really just don't know what to do. I have always used Sony Cameras, but really want to give Panasonic a try. I wish Panasonic would give us an answer to the skew problem or a fix. I don't want to spend $8000 on this camera and be screwed!
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How would you be "screwed"? You can test it out and know exactly what it is. You can look at the specifications, you can sample it for yourself. Where do you expect some "screwing" to come from?

If there's going to be any new model, NAB is as good a time as any for it to be announced. However, there's nothing that says that new models must be announced at NAB. The HPX300 itself, for example, was announced in, I think, February of last year, two months ahead of NAB.

NAB's less than a month away. If you're nervous, why not wait and see what happens? Of course, the current rebates and promotions might expire too... so you have a choice to make. Evaluate the offer on the table today, and decide whether it's what you want or not. If it isn't, don't buy it. If it is, and you'd kick yourself for missing out on the freebies, then pull the trigger.
 
Joe Calabrese said:
If I can, I want to take the dive with the HPX300 (and I've been holding off for a while now). To me, just the AVC-Intra 100 codec is a great reason. You know what, even if they release an "A" version, I will still be very happy. If I want to reduce skew, I can experiment with some techniques, or look into the After Effects plugin called Rolling Shutter. It's better than nothing, right?
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I don't know about after-effects plug-ins, the only technique I've used that has consistently reduced the skew is to go to 720/24p for 24p shots where great skew performance is required, and then back to 1080/24p for shots where the most detail is required.

Here's the tricky part, folks -- sometimes they update stuff and sometimes they don't. People were "sure" that there would be an HPX500 update last year. There wasn't. And they're sure that there will be one this year. I doubt it. But nobody was caught more off guard than I was when the DVX100A was introduced. I thought there was NO WAY they would update their DVX100 that fast, but they did.

So -- any time you make a purchase like this, you have to be aware that they could change out the model the next day. If there's great incentives on the current model, that's sometimes an indicator that a new model is coming. Not always; the HPX170 has had a free 16GB P2 card with it for a long, long time -- over a year, I think. So sometimes they just give away stuff and it has nothing to do with new models coming out.

But one thing seems pretty clear to me -- if your biggest consternation is over whether a new model will come out, and we're only a month away from NAB, then I would think you'd feel a lot better about waiting.
 
In re the skew issue ... a non-issue for some, depending upon one's subject matter and mode of shooting, it would appear that any future improvement would be just that! Improvement as opposed to elimination. Given that some degree of skew seems to be inherent to all CMOS equipped cameras it would appear unlikely that any updated HPX300 would provide anything more than an incremental reduction of same. That said, we have found that adherence to the ASC guidelines has all but eliminated skew. And as Barry has stated, switching to 720p is a viable alternative in those situations where the ASC guidelines must be exceeded.

In the end, the camera is just a tool and there will always be something to supersede whatever you have in your inventory but the question you must ask yourself is: do you really need the latest and greatest? Must you fall victim to the industry's need to sell newer and more expensive equipment? Unless your clients demand it, the answer is probably NO to both questions.
 
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Ron777 said:
we have found that adherence to the ASC guidelines has all but eliminated skew. And as Barry has stated, switching to 720p is a viable alternative in those situations where the ASC guidelines must be exceeded.
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Do you know where I can find a pdf or something of those guidelines? I looked, couldn't find anything.
 
I don't think we got a definite answer, and I would love to know:

Can a manufacturer actually reduce skew in a firmware update? I did some research, and some people have said that it can be done by adjusting the internal clock of the camera (whatever that means). Others have said (and this makes sense to me) that you would need a new chip or chips with faster read/reset times.
 
Joe Calabrese said:
I don't think we got a definite answer, and I would love to know:

Can a manufacturer actually reduce skew in a firmware update? I did some research, and some people have said that it can be done by adjusting the internal clock of the camera (whatever that means). Others have said (and this makes sense to me) that you would need a new chip or chips with faster read/reset times.
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That is a really good question. Read or scan speed modification certainly seems like a logical approach to the issue but it may be more technical than that. And given that all of the available CMOS chipped cameras seem to exhibit varying degrees of skew it would seem that the problem is not easily rectifiable. With this in mind, minimalization would appear to be the current goal.

But aside from the chips themselves, skew shows up to a greater or lesser degree in proportion to the user's technique. So perhaps we all should be working on establishing a workable technique, rather than banging our heads against the wall in search of the ultimate machine to compensate for our lack of filming expertise or panning consistency. If that approach proves unsatisfactory, switch to 720p or buy a camera with CCDs. BTW, I've been through several CMOS equipped cameras, including an EX3, and they all had—some more or less than others—problems with skew. Furthermore, I've heard from users that the Fujinon 13x wide angle lens, aside from its being optically superior to the 300's stock lens, appears to reduce apparent skew ... this may be related in part to the fact that it is of a shorter focal length but I'm certain the technical experts can do a better job of explaining that observation than I or, in the alternative, disproving it.
 
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