Panasonic announces UX180 and UX90 pricing & availability

Thanks for posting. I would be interested and hope Panasonic comes out with a P2 version with a 720p60 mode. I would also like to see a side by side with a PX270 to see comparative gain settings. The much faster lens on the PX might even out the larger chip on these cameras. I can't give up 720p yet as it is just too useful for longer events.
 
Thanks Terry. I am still debating whether to be an early adopter (for 2016 tax reasons) or wait til the've been out a while, which would be the safer bet.
 
Pasted this from UX180 specs:
Full HD - 1920 x 1080 AVCHD
Compression Method: LongGOP
FPS: 59.94p/50p (bit rate: 25 Mb/s)

Isn't 1080 60P AVCHD 28 Mb/s ? And 30P about 24Mb/s?
What is the deal?

I also see that 720 60P is like 8Mb/s, which must be some sort of low quality thing. Why no PH mode 720 60P like the older cameras?
 
1080/60p PS mode is average 25mbps, max about 28mbps.

1080/PH mode is average 21 mbps, max 24mbps.

The 720/60p is not the PH mode from prior AVCCAM cameras, it is PM mode which is a very low bandwidth file format. I wish it also offered PH mode for very high quality AVCHD recording, but it doesn't. They stopped putting in PH 720p mode a while ago; the DVX200 doesn't have it, the UX90 and UX180 don't have it, the HC-X1000 doesn't have it, and the AC90 doesn't have it either. I think the AC130/AC160 was probably the last time that a Panasonic camera offered PH 720/60p mode.
 
Thanks Barry!
I had temporarily forgotten those were max bit rates and also forgot about the exclusion of PH 720 in the last few years.
I guess that low bandwidth 720 PM mode wouldn't downscale to very good SD DVDs either. I suppose it's useful for low bandwidth applications and maybe something like long events/games where coaches want to review but don't need good quality.
 
I use the proxy recording feature a lot on my PX270 which has a 6mbps 720p file which is perfect for quick turnaround handoffs. But I also shoot a lot using the AVC-Ultra 720p60 mode for long concerts, shows and recitals where I know I am going to DVD or Blu-ray. The 720p60 on the PX270 looks amazing and at 25mbps is very friendly to work with. But I guess they are thinking the 1080p60 AVCHD is the same bitrate, so why not use 1080p? Maybe they are right.
 
Terry Nixon said:
ETA to me is looking around Dec 19.
Click to expand...

If I weren't in such a state of denial, I'd be out making arrangements to rent a DVX200 or something :sigh: :cry: :beat head on wall:

If there's a four day delay for every 6 days of real-time, we're about a month out. I wouldn't be surprised -- any delay not attributable to shipping at this point is likely to compound now anyway. All of my packages are being delayed in one warehouse or another, and the last one I got (yesterday) looked like a pitbull decided to play with it. As always, Christmas wreaks havoc with shipping.
 
Bassman2003 said:
I use the proxy recording feature a lot on my PX270 which has a 6mbps 720p file which is perfect for quick turnaround handoffs. But I also shoot a lot using the AVC-Ultra 720p60 mode for long concerts, shows and recitals where I know I am going to DVD or Blu-ray. The 720p60 on the PX270 looks amazing and at 25mbps is very friendly to work with.
Click to expand...

For a somewhat similar workflow with the new camera, you can record dual codec on the UX180, getting UHD (or FHD) on the main card and an 8-mbps 1080p file on the second card, giving you both workflows (high-quality master and a small-bandwidth for turnaround and/or handoff).
 
Proxy mode is usefull for 2 reasons.

- For quick video file preview
- And second (and this is basic reason) for 4K editing. You can load 8mbps files just for editing and when you are ready to render the project to swap to 4K files. This will reduce a lot the CPU requirements.
 
Terry Nixon said:
i'm thinking about deferring delivery until 2017 to avoid inventory taxes.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got that from your previous zing regarding December being a difficult month. Given the delivery dates for both cams are well past middle of the month, and given that December has some of the worst delivery records, that would seem a pretty sane choice to me.
 
Could you tell me how the ux180 compares in low light to the px270, I am about to order the ux180 and this is my last sticking point. Thanks
 
Stevelunn40 said:
Could you tell me how the ux180 compares in low light to the px270, I am about to order the ux180 and this is my last sticking point. Thanks
Click to expand...

Not directly, as I don't have a PX270 to compare against. I did try the DVX200 vs. the PX270 and found that when the light got low and you needed a lot of gain, the DVX200 was a much cleaner image than the PX270 was under the same conditions (even after factoring in the wider iris on the PX270).

The UX180 seems very comparable to the DVX200. It's not *quite* as fast, but it's very close, it's around ISO 450 to 480 or so, so within spitting distance of the DVX200's 500 ISO native.
 
tsioukas said:
Proxy mode is usefull for 2 reasons.

- For quick video file preview
- And second (and this is basic reason) for 4K editing. You can load 8mbps files just for editing and when you are ready to render the project to swap to 4K files. This will reduce a lot the CPU requirements.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's very useful indeed
 
I do not expect files from the UX180 or HC-X1 to be any more difficult than the files from my FDR-AX1 when both are shooting UHD60P . They are both 150Mbps Long GOP. I use EDIUS 8 WG on my i7 4790K and this has no problems editing native files on either a UHD timeline or a downscale to 1920x1080. I have not seen a need for proxies. Both EDIUS and Vegas can also reduce preview resolution to ease editing if needed.
 
Barry_Green said:
The UX180 seems very comparable to the DVX200. It's not *quite* as fast, but it's very close, it's around ISO 450 to 480 or so, so within spitting distance of the DVX200's 500 ISO native.
Click to expand...

barry-

good info. thank you.

your assessment of "native" iso has always been helpful (going all the way back to the dvx100!) especially since panasonic never officially states what that magic number actually is.

since the dvx200 has a 4/3" sensor and is faster at 500 iso and the ux180 has "only" a 1" sensor and is "within spitting distance" at 450-480 iso, i'm surprised that the larger sensor hasn't produced that much of a difference, maybe .5 of a stop.

you reckon just better "technology" while using the same sony chip and seemingly a 1" sensor is the equal to a 4/3" sensor?

be well.

rob
smalltalk.productions
 
Barry,

We are a nonprofit and use four cameras for shooting a single event. Barry, how well will the UX180/HC-X1 match with the FZ2500 for indoor shooting? Do the profiles match at all? We need small B cameras designed for amateur operation as well as main cameras that shine with trained operators.

And what is your opinion of the UX180 for shooting indoor events without stage lighting, just normal office lights. Even though the base ISO is roughly the same as the DVX200 has the NR improved?

And finally, any sign of the face banding and chalkiness that was in the DVX200 at launch?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top