AC130: Panasonic ag ac130

brownerfilm said:
I shoot mostly while riding a skateboard behind my subject..occasionally I like to be further away from subject and shoot using a tripod-panning/tilting to keep the subject in the frame. I am curious will I have better success filming action sports with a HMC150 or a AG-AC130? I also like to edit slow motion for special shots and time lapse, which camera would be able to achieve slow motion/time lapse better? would a 3CCD or CMOS be better for filming skateboarding with constant motion? thanks!
Click to expand...

I overcrank my 160 for smooth slow motion i like it very much and the time lapse is good enough. The hmc 150 does not have timelapse the 130 don't have overcrank but i think there a time lapse feature. Between ccd versus cmos may be some one else can tell you that.
 
Deer Film said:
Ok,,, when I first turned on my ac130,,,it gave me an error of card door open. I turned it off, took out the card, put it back, turned it on,,, and it was good. Then I was recording and it gave me the error again of card door open. And I have tried everything and every option, but can't record or get the message off. I did record about a half hour of footage before the message came up.
I hope there is a solution to this.
Click to expand...

Hi,

You should either contact your dealer for a swap, or if that isn't possible, then contact Panasonic for them to take a look at it in the service center.

Best,

jan
 
i own a hpx170, my question is is the ac130/160 much better than the hpx?
i know its ccd vs cmos, but what would be a good upgrade from hpx170?

thanks
 
Lindquist said:
what would be a good upgrade from hpx170?
Click to expand...

HPX250. Uses your P2 media, records to AVC-Intra. Very similar in many ways to the 160/130 but better in most every way if you're looking for a straight upgrade from the HPX170.

The HPX250 shares a lot of commonality with the HPX370 but in a smaller form factor (handheld).
 
I just purchased the AG AC-130. ALL I can say is WOW!!!! Outstanding picture quality. Just sold my Canpn XF-100. The AG AC-130 blew it out of the water.
 
Lou Bruno said:
Just sold my Canpn XF-100. The AG AC-130 blew it out of the water.
Click to expand...

Can you elucidate? I've been looking at those two cameras, and any info on the comparison would be great. Specifically, is resolution comparable? I'm looking for an HMC replacement that will do better in wide shots that will be reframed in post, with huge dynamic range. Does the 130 resolve at least as much detail as the XF100? Does the improved LCD let me see zebras on faces when the whole standing person is about 1/15th of the screen height?

Cheers,
Barry
 
XF100's a single chip with a Bayer pattern. I would sincerely not expect it to compete with a three-chip system for resolution. Also, the XF100 only has a 10x zoom lens, so will it handle the telephoto you're looking for?
 
The zoom's not an issue, as this would be my wide cam… just resolution and latitude…

I'll be able to get my hands on a 130 next week, but I don't know about the xf100… reviews all seem to praise the resolution, which is why I'm thinking. I'm even considering the xa10, because for the wide cam I dont need convenient manual controls… all I usually touch during a performance is the iris, via a remote…
 
ullanta said:
, with huge dynamic range.
Click to expand...

The AC130 actually lets you choose among 3 different levels of dynamic range stretch. So you can easily modify how much dynamic range you want, depending on the scene's lighting.



ullanta said:
,Does the improved LCD let me see zebras on faces when the whole standing person is about 1/15th of the screen height?
Click to expand...

It does have a lovely 3.5 inch LCD. But a face only takes up a small percentage of a person's height. And if you are talking about the height of the person being only 1/15th the height of the LCD, that would seem to me to be an extremely small object to make out.
 
Regarding dynamic range stretch. . .why wouldn't you want to leave it on its highest all the time? Is there a quality loss to the image on the high settings? If everyone's always after the film look, why would you not want to use the highest dynamic range to emulate it as much as possible? I guess if you're after a blown highlights/crushed blacks look in cam?
 
As I understand, DRS (as on the 150) is only available in 60i or 60p modes... if it's available in 24p or 30p on the AC130, let me know!

ooops... I meant 1/5th of screen height... but that still leaves the face pretty tiny. On the HMC and HVX, it's impossible at that scale to disambiguate peaking artifacts from zebras, and there's not enough resolution to tell what the heck's going on... any bright bits seem to blow out the whole area on the LCD even when that's not the case.. as well as when it IS the case...

Josh, DRS is a localized effect... it enhances the appearance of dynamic range by locally scaling pixel values... sort of differential compression or gamma across different areas of the image. Or think of it as gain differentially applied to dark areas of the image. Sometimes it works really nicely, sometimes it can be apparent and make different areas of the image look weird in relation to each other or at transitions. Like any compression, it's best done in post if you're planning to do significant post... so for film work its kind of a no-no... it can't easily be undone, so actually takes away some flexibility on post. For live event work and situations where post will be minimal, and where the artifacts aren't a big issue, it can be great.

When i say artifacts, it may sound a lot worse than it is. Just some minor image weirdness that wouldn't be noticed by the vast majority of viewers, but would be greatly annoying to post. To see some DRS, check my old old post: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?153818-Some-Exposure-Tests-A-night-at-the-fountain ...
 
Last edited:
DRS works in any of the "P" settings. I find that keeping it set to OFF most of the time works for me. Only in contrasty areas, such as shadows in a wooded area etc. will it work well to even out the scene. However, in lowlight situations, I have been experimenting with keeping it set to "on" but I do notice a slight grain even at "0" db. I also crush the blacks via the Master Black setting to -3 and lower the iris setting to -3 as well for bright outside work. And YES....I added a 2X ND filter. I am trying to figure out if the auto-iris setting set to -3 or lower actually finds the lens sweet spot because in a bright setting my focal length is going as high as 9.6, even with the internal ND-at times of course.


ullanta said:
As I understand, DRS (as on the 150) is only available in 60i or 60p modes... if it's available in 24p or 30p on the AC130, let me know!

ooops... I meant 1/5th of screen height... but that still leaves the face pretty tiny. On the HMC and HVX, it's impossible at that scale to disambiguate peaking artifacts from zebras, and there's not enough resolution to tell what the heck's going on... any bright bits seem to blow out the whole area on the LCD even when that's not the case.. as well as when it IS the case...

Josh, DRS is a localized effect... it enhances the appearance of dynamic range by locally scaling pixel values... sort of differential compression or gamma across different areas of the image. Or think of it as gain differentially applied to dark areas of the image. Sometimes it works really nicely, sometimes it can be apparent and make different areas of the image look weird in relation to each other or at transitions. Like any compression, it's best done in post if you're planning to do significant post... so for film work its kind of a no-no... it can't easily be undone, so actually takes away some flexibility on post. For live event work and situations where post will be minimal, and where the artifacts aren't a big issue, it can be great.

When i say artifacts, it may sound a lot worse than it is. Just some minor image weirdness that wouldn't be noticed by the vast majority of viewers, but would be greatly annoying to post. To see some DRS, check my old old post: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?153818-Some-Exposure-Tests-A-night-at-the-fountain ...
Click to expand...
 
Ah, ok. See, I'm coming (if I upgrade) from an XL2. The XL does not have a DRS per se, but it does have gamma and knee settings. I had always kept the knee on low, as the low setting gives you the most extra range in the highlights. I'd never seen it look bad (though I think I read some folks recommended keeping it off). So DRS is one of those event only things?
 
The Panny cams have gammas and knees, too... but they're constant across the image, of course.

I don't know that I'd say "event-only" - really, I'd stick with "low-to-no-post only".
 
does anyone know if the ac130 has the same bayomount as the hmc150? i have the century xtreme fisheye for the hmc150 and i really want to get the ac130 but i dont want to get the ac130 and have the xtreme not fit on it.
 
Maybe. I would never have guessed that they'd be compatible, as the AC160's hood is so much bigger than the HMC150's, but I just tried 'em; I took the hood off the HMC150 and snapped it right onto the front of the AC160, just like it was made for it.

That's no guarantee a fisheye lens will work, but it's a pretty good indicator that it might work!
 
Just got the new book: THE AC160 & AC130: Thee definitive guide to the AC160 and AC130 Camcorders by Barry Green. EXCELLENT EXCELLENT. Puts tha manual to shame and explains every aspect of the camera.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top