Panasonic announces UX180 and UX90 pricing & availability

AG 160 versus UX 180

I use two AG 160 3-chip Panasonic camera for most of my theater and dance recital videos. How does the 160 compare to the 180 as far as low light work and picture quality. I think from what I have seen of the 180 posted videos, the 180 is a better camera for my work...just want to know for sure before I buy 2 Pannie 180s.

Thk
 
jtczere said:
AG 160 versus UX 180

I use two AG 160 3-chip Panasonic camera for most of my theater and dance recital videos. How does the 160 compare to the 180 as far as low light work and picture quality. I think from what I have seen of the 180 posted videos, the 180 is a better camera for my work...just want to know for sure before I buy 2 Pannie 180s.

Thk
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When I had two AC160s a number of years ago I was generally unhappy with the images. Using the UX180 I am generally happy with the images. Hope that helps.
 
jtczere said:
AG 160 versus UX 180

I use two AG 160 3-chip Panasonic camera for most of my theater and dance recital videos. How does the 160 compare to the 180 as far as low light work and picture quality. I think from what I have seen of the 180 posted videos, the 180 is a better camera for my work...just want to know for sure before I buy 2 Pannie 180s.

Thk
Click to expand...
It will be slightly better in low light, especially if you have to use gain. The noise and grain structure is much better on the 180, and you have adjustable noise control that can push the acceptability of the picture even further if you need to. The 180 is a better camera in pretty much all ways than the 160, and it's UHD on top of that. The 160 has a little bit longer zoom range, so if ultimate telephoto is your prime criteria, the 160 does reach a little further, the 180 is a little wider.
 
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Thank you Barry, you always know you way around the Panasonic cameras. I am going to send my 160s to B&H for credit and buy 2 180s.

Cheers,
John C
 
Barry_Green said:
If you're recording SDXC, then you can get 96 gigabytes of continuous recording. The UX90 in HD records at 50 mbps, so you'd get about 2 minutes per gigabyte; one 64gb card should deliver a two-hour performance in one contiguous file. If you're recording UHD, it's about 1 minute per gigabyte, so you'd either need two cards (and therefore you'd get two files, of course) or you'd need a 128gb card, in which case you'll still get two files - one will be 96gb long, and the other will be 32gb long.

The 4GB file limit is due to the SDHC card's use of FAT32, which has a 4-gb file size limit. The only time you'll get split files on an SDXC card is either a) you exceed 96gb in one recording, or b) you're shooting AVCHD (which splits files on its own, at 2gb file sizes, regardless of what kind of card you're using).
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Thanks Barry for the details. I am currently using the HMC80 and looking to upgrade to 4k and considering the UX90. Can you tell me the main pros and cons of the UX90 as it compares to the HMC80. Apart from 4k is the UX90 considered an upgrade? I do see that the UX90 unlike the HMC80 and UX180 doesn't have a waveform and synchro scan. I also see I will loose a stop on the lens but assume I should gain it with the better gain and get a wider lens with little extra reach in 1080p!! Also would the UX90 color match well with the HMC80? Thanks
 
I'll try to start off your answer from memory..
The hmc80 may have a faster lens, but the UX90 is still better in low light. The hmc40 and 80 fall apart in low light and sensors have come quite a ways since then.
The 90 also has a wider lens as well as more zoom.
Yes. I would say the 90 is an overall upgrade to the 80.
Too bad the batteries will not interchange though.
Not owning the 90 I'm guessing matching will require some work but will be easier than matching some other cameras such as Sony
 
Yes the UX90 would be a major upgrade over the HMC80. One big differentiator is that the HMC80 is a shoulder camera, but the UX90 is a handheld, so you'll have to determine if that works for you. Other than that, it's pretty much all in the UX90's favor -- it's much sharper (being UHD), it's got a much wider lens, and a longer zoom range IIRC, it's got three rings on the lens instead of one, it uses a 50mbps codec instead of just AVCHD, it's got two card slots for relay recording or simultaneous recording (I think the HMC80 has one slot?) It's cleaner, it's got more menu controls, it's more sensitive (250 ISO vs. about 40-50 ISO for the HMC80).

The AC90 was a big upgrade over the HMC40 (except it was a physically bigger camera). I would consider an AC90 a generally superior camera over the HMC80 (except for the shoulder-mount issue). I think the UX90 is a big, big upgrade over the AC90, apart from it being bigger/heavier. Considering how much more camera it is than the AC90, if size isn't a problem, the UX90 is just much better. So, the only thing that keeps the HMC80 in the running is the unique differentiating factor of it being a shoulder-mount, IMO. Other than that, I think the UX90 is much better.

Can't say as to color matching. Neither the UX90 nor the HMC80 have the 16-pole color matrix so dialing in one to match the other will be a limited scenario. The UX90 does have more gamma and color options (the new STILL gamma and STILL color matrix, and the black gamma and noise reduction controls) so it's possible you could get it somewhat similar to the HMC80 I guess, but without trying I don't know.
 
Barry_Green said:
Yes the UX90 would be a major upgrade over the HMC80. One big differentiator is that the HMC80 is a shoulder camera, but the UX90 is a handheld, so you'll have to determine if that works for you. Other than that, it's pretty much all in the UX90's favor -- it's much sharper (being UHD), it's got a much wider lens, and a longer zoom range IIRC, it's got three rings on the lens instead of one, it uses a 50mbps codec instead of just AVCHD, it's got two card slots for relay recording or simultaneous recording (I think the HMC80 has one slot?) It's cleaner, it's got more menu controls, it's more sensitive (250 ISO vs. about 40-50 ISO for the HMC80).

The AC90 was a big upgrade over the HMC40 (except it was a physically bigger camera). I would consider an AC90 a generally superior camera over the HMC80 (except for the shoulder-mount issue). I think the UX90 is a big, big upgrade over the AC90, apart from it being bigger/heavier. Considering how much more camera it is than the AC90, if size isn't a problem, the UX90 is just much better. So, the only thing that keeps the HMC80 in the running is the unique differentiating factor of it being a shoulder-mount, IMO. Other than that, I think the UX90 is much better.

Can't say as to color matching. Neither the UX90 nor the HMC80 have the 16-pole color matrix so dialing in one to match the other will be a limited scenario. The UX90 does have more gamma and color options (the new STILL gamma and STILL color matrix, and the black gamma and noise reduction controls) so it's possible you could get it somewhat similar to the HMC80 I guess, but without trying I don't know.
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Not sure how familiar you are with the FZ2500 but concerning color matching would the FZ2500 have similar color settings for a two camera shoot?
 
Barry_Green said:
Yes, if you have a wi-fi adapter such as the Panasonic WM30, Panasonic WM50, or Asus N53-A1. You will also need the Panasonic AG ROP app on your iPad.
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Hi Barry
will it be possible to use Asus N53-B1, I have that one(As I read the difference is that B1 is usb 3.0)
Tnx
 
paja said:
Hi Barry
will it be possible to use Asus N53-B1, I have that one(As I read the difference is that B1 is usb 3.0)
Tnx
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I don't know. The only one that I know of that they have certified is the A1 version. It's entirely possible that it will work; the camera's USB port is USB 3.0.
 
Barry_Green said:
Yes the UX90 would be a major upgrade over the HMC80. One big differentiator is that the HMC80 is a shoulder camera, but the UX90 is a handheld, so you'll have to determine if that works for you. Other than that, it's pretty much all in the UX90's favor -- it's much sharper (being UHD), it's got a much wider lens, and a longer zoom range IIRC, it's got three rings on the lens instead of one, it uses a 50mbps codec instead of just AVCHD, it's got two card slots for relay recording or simultaneous recording (I think the HMC80 has one slot?) It's cleaner, it's got more menu controls, it's more sensitive (250 ISO vs. about 40-50 ISO for the HMC80).

The AC90 was a big upgrade over the HMC40 (except it was a physically bigger camera). I would consider an AC90 a generally superior camera over the HMC80 (except for the shoulder-mount issue). I think the UX90 is a big, big upgrade over the AC90, apart from it being bigger/heavier. Considering how much more camera it is than the AC90, if size isn't a problem, the UX90 is just much better. So, the only thing that keeps the HMC80 in the running is the unique differentiating factor of it being a shoulder-mount, IMO. Other than that, I think the UX90 is much better.

Can't say as to color matching. Neither the UX90 nor the HMC80 have the 16-pole color matrix so dialing in one to match the other will be a limited scenario. The UX90 does have more gamma and color options (the new STILL gamma and STILL color matrix, and the black gamma and noise reduction controls) so it's possible you could get it somewhat similar to the HMC80 I guess, but without trying I don't know.
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No problem Barry. Occasionally I have clients requesting raw footage only and no editing. I am going to buy the UX90 and see how the color matches with the HMC80, If I don't get a good match I might end up buying a second UX90.
 
Clients requesting raw footage would probably be happier with the UX camera's footage, mainly in that it records in Quicktime .MOV or straight .MP4 files. No more AVCHD headaches (unless, of course, you want AVCHD, because that's offered too).
 
Barry_Green said:
Clients requesting raw footage would probably be happier with the UX camera's footage, mainly in that it records in Quicktime .MOV or straight .MP4 files. No more AVCHD headaches (unless, of course, you want AVCHD, because that's offered too).
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That's why I brought up the Panasonic DMC-FZ2500 as it also has unlimited recording time like the UX90. The specs on that small body is amazing on paper but want to make sure I get similar colors. In the long run I would like to upgrade my gear including my Canon DSLRs to a GH5 with an FZ2500 along with couple UX90's
 
Filming fast moving action at night under flood lights. Personally think it came out quite well but would be interested to know if would be good to increase shutter speed and probably up the gain to compensate for smoother action? Anything else to improve?

2160p60
Scene file 3 (Spark)
Iris fully open
Shutter 1/120
High sense mode
Gain 12db

 
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