Panasonic Removable Lens Four Thirds HD AVCHD Camera

(...)

back to the old DV PAL days. The UK specs say 25p over 50i. That would provide 25% less compression and no risk of 2:3 pulldown chroma issues (although I would think Panasonic would do an artifact free 2:3:3:2 pulldown).

Are you really sure?

This is the answer we've received from our mailing with Adam Wilt:

« > So, it does mean will the 3:2 pulldown at 24p have the same result as the 25p without pulldown?

As far as chroma? Yes.
»

hf11hummerpa2.jpg


http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/awilt/story/review_canon_vixia_hf11_avchd_camcorder/P1/
 
Isn't that what folks where trying to tell you earlier? But thanks for the verification. That sounds much better than the 13.5 Mbps you mentioned earlier.

To compare....this is the same spec as the HF10 that was used to shoot the upcoming Hollywood movie "Crank 2."
I guess I should have also stated that one is Long GOP while the other is intraframe...one is considered pro while the other is consumer. One offers 10 bit 4:2:2 while the other is "typically" 8 bit 4:2:0. But both still utilizes the H.264 compression.
 
Just to add a note, I've been playing with a Sanyo YPC-FH1: 6Mp video recorder 1080p30@12.3Mb/s or 1080p60 at double that. The sensor is 1/2.5". That camera does a little chroma smoothing that looks like it reduces noise but also improves the efficiency of the compression. An odd camera, in has no audio inputs or outputs, but it has full manual control setting ISO from 50 to 3200, F-stop, and shutter.

The reason for the post is that although the image should be mercilessly hammered by compression, it is tolerable. In someone else's test it lacks the detail of an HF S10/100 recording 1080p30 at 24Mb/s, however I don't know how he setup the camera. I set the aperture full open to minimize diffraction issues and the iso as low as it will go and still retain a decent exposure. At IS0 400 with just indoor incandesent lighting it seemed to take a reasonable picture.

This is actually more compression than the GH-1 at 24fps. So...keep hope alive!

On another note I haven't seen any skew in this camera. No keep in mind it has a 1080p60 mode as its default, can record 15 8Mp pictures at 60fps, can shoot smaller images at 210 and 600 fps, the later requiring lots of light. Relevant because the camera reads the sensor in less than 1/60th of a second, always. The Panasonic sensor is capable of that (it supports 720p60), so lets hope the hardware lets the firmware to be configured to do that in 1080p24 mode.
 
> After the GH1 is out, anyone who goes out and buys a new camcorder
> only to put a 35mm adapter on the front of it is someone whose been led astray.

Perhaps. We've been let down before.
 
Holy shi*... I wouldn't use auto focus much, but it I imagine there is a manual override right?

It really is sweet to have the face tracking guides letting you know where the camera is focusing.

I know this is a pre-production version and it seems these dudes "slipped" a card in the camera without the guy at the booth noticing... is that how they got the video?
But either way, is this the banding they are talking about? Compression artifacts?

1239857769.jpg


Quite scary... though it shouldn't be anywhere close to this on the final version.

Thanks for sharing John
 
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Well, you can see the same artifacts and stuff in the tittles in between the footage, so there is a lot of compression in the conversion for the web.
 
Open the QT file, Go to "show movie inspector" and you will see the file is encoded at a fraction of the original (which should be around 17mbs). I think your just seeing a bad encode from an already h.264 file- This camera should put out quality files similar to the encoding on the HMC-150.
 
Its a pocket camera with a large sensor, changeable lenses and 24p, I think it has its place. Should make for a great doc camera and possibly more.
 
I think I'll do perfect for video pieces for the website of the newspaper I do some work for in my area. I'll be able to shoot stills and motion from the same camera with good results.
 
Barring any major problems with the video modes, I plan on using the GH1 for a short film and possibly a web series that I plan to begin this summer. I would be using an XH-A1 and an HV20 for these projects anyways. With 17mbps of AVC-HD I think the GH1 should be up to the task of matching HDV quality levels. For now that sounds pretty good to me.

The only thing I'm kinda anxious about is what the D400 might end up like in terms of the codec and whether they'll give us manual controls while in video mode. So far, I'd put my money on the GH1 as the obvious winner. Then again, who knows?
 
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