Panasonic's Bad Zoom Mechanism.

A

AL!

New member
Hello:

I finally decided to ask a question that I know Panasonic will hate me for. BUT this post is not meant to bad talk Panasonic at all. I love Panasonic products and give them all respect for providing DVCPRO HD to the public.

SO I wanted to ask if anybody noticed this and or agrees with me:

It seems like Nobody reviews the Panasonic lenses. I have used DVX100A, DVX100B, HVX200A, and HPX170 and I found that all these cameras have a terrible lens mechanism. Literally I have seen consumer cameras with much better zoom speeds and Zooming mechanisms. And for some reason no one has ever mentioned about it.

SO what did I notice that is that bad?
Well first of all these cameras have gaps in the lens gears. The clutch system (connection of lens gears to the motor) has wobble, so when the motor is engaged wiggling the zoom ring will reveal the IMO an unacceptable gears gap that actually affects the zoom quality. When the lens is zoomed in half way and then zoomed out, the motor jerks the gears since there is a gap, gears jerks the zoom glass and a small rod on the gears also has to move a zoom ring which just adds to the action. This chain reaction makes a noticeable zoom movement making video look sloppy.

Compared to Canon - (OH my how it Looks BAD) Not only these cameras have a motor that can't zoom slow enough but the lens gear system makes a very noticeable jerk. Not only that, the starts and stops of the zooms are very abrupt.

Well I guess to be at least a little bit positive, I can say that this mechanism is ok when shooting handheld and tracking a moving subjects. Even then, standing in front of a walking person towards the camera it is a constant zoom stop zoom stop action if you want a person to remain the same size, where as Canon, Sony, and JVC it is possible to do a slow constant zoom out and have nearly seamless track. Where panasonic really reveals it self, when a small adjustment has to be made. Such as in an interview, where zooming should not be noticeable but the shot has to be slightly tightened or interviewee needs a little more room.

If Panasonic has made a model with an Electronic Censored Servo controlled lens that can zoom a bit slower I would buy and recommend the cam over any others.

Everything on these cameras is great, but their lenses ruin the whole camera for me. It is funny that when I mention of this problem at a trade shows, every Panasonic employee is greatly surprised and says that they have never noticed that. And even then for several years they have not done anything about it.

Well I just wanted to hear if people think of me as super picky or crazy, or maybe if I can get someone to agree with me and make me feel better ;-) and help to add more voices in request this to the list of improvements. Since ""Panasonic listens to their customers"".

Panasonic we love you but if I have to spend $5000 on a cam, I don't care what you need to do but the lens has to be FIXED. There is a way around a codec but not a cheap way around a bad lens mechanism.
 
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Hi,

The difference between the consumer cameras and the Panasonic is there is a mechanical coupling on the Panasonic and the others are like our AG-DVX30/20 cameras where there is only and electronic engagement. The electronic one des give smooth starts and stops, but then you want to take it over manually well that's where it falls apart.

The HVX lens works like the big camera lenses witha real servo. Unfortunately those big lenses cost as much as the HVX, so there is, naturally a difference in the money spent on the lens parts. One strategy I have seen used and it does get rid of the jump at the start, and that is if you have zoomed in to focus and then zoomed out, start your zoom in, ever so slightly. Getting the zoom going in the direction of the on-camera move, if very desireable and will help a lot.

The electronically engaged zooms will allow for slower creep, but the manual control for a snap zoom is not there.

But then you do not say which camera you were working with. You do use the term wobble and so if that camera was an AG-HPX170 with a serial number prior to J8TCA0118 it needs to be returned to Panasonic for a fix. There was a wobble and the end of the zoom and focus seemed to just make it even worse. So why not send me a private message with you name serial number and model number of your camera along with where you bought it and I will see what I can do.

Best,

Jan
 
Zooming is a bad tourist habit anyway.

If you only want to switch to an other focal lenght, it does not matter, cause you cut it out anyway, if you want motion get a dolly.

my ct 2

Frank
 
I haven't had a single problem with the zoom on my HVX. But I agree with Postmaster.
 
I used a Canon XHA1 about a month ago on a shoot and I was blown away by how much nicer the zoom was. Was a treat to use and no, I don't agree with Postmaster at all, even if you're not rolling it makes a huge difference in how much you enjoy using the camera when the zoom is as fluid and smooth as the A1. My DVX, although I love it, feels like a joke in comparison.
 
i have also found that even at its slowest, the servo zoom on the hpx170 is WAY too fast.

on another note:
Zooming is a bad tourist habit anyway.
Click to expand...
that is totally insane. thats like a designer saying that "blue is a stupid corporate color."
 
...Wow, seriously? This is something I never thought I see. The manual zoom on the HVX/DVX is great. It's a true manual ring that responds instantly when you need it. I have an A1 and the electronic zoom does not even come close. There is a noticeable lag between the ring and the actual zoom action. Where the A1 wins handily is the wide variety of preset zoom speed, which is very handy. I use it constantly. The Pana is limited to three settings, none of which feels quite "right."
 
Postmaster said:
Zooming is a bad tourist habit anyway
Click to expand...

It’s just fallen out of favor. Zooming was everywhere in the 70's, its still an effective way of focusing the viewer' attention if used conservatively, and very affordable when you don’t have a dolly.

One thing that I really envy in the Sony V1U, is the auto ramping that softens the beginning and end of a zoom- it eliminates hard starts and stops. Wish my HMC had this :)

 
Huy Vu said:
There is a noticeable lag between the ring and the actual zoom action.
Click to expand...

Ya, seriously. I like the lag. Gives it some play. You can overshoot and then come back a bit and dance with it till it's where you want it. Personal preference, I guess. It feels to me like you can play it like an instrument.
 
This was the first thing I bitched about when I bought my DVX100B. Often when I am shooting an interview, I want to zoom in slightly after the interview has started.

...I just wish the DVX/HVX/HPX zoom would "feather" properly, so that these zooms would appear a lot more subtle when I'm shooting.
 
This is the offset that is paid for having a full manual zoom. You either get the really slow smooth electronic zooms (that are always fly by wire and have a dampening making snap zooms pretty much impossible) or you can have a full manual lens with a zoom servo, at the costs for these cameras unfortunately that means that the serve for such a lens wont be as high quality.
 
I feel the zoom is an important tool in one's narrative toolbox- the old adage goes: dollying brings the camera to the subject- zooming brings the subject to the camera- You can (should) hide a size change in a a tilt or pan or better yet, a dolly move- but you still need it at times.
Thanx to Al! for starting this thread- it's making me rethink my decision leaning towards buying a HVX 200A until I can try the zoom.
 
I normally hate zooms but the ones used in "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" rock my world. They are used sort of ironically, if it is possible for a lens movement to be ironic?

I can see what the OP is talking about and I agree to a point. I think the bottom line is that you cannot have everything exactly the way you want it, especially on a $5,000.00 prosumer camcorder.

Dan
 
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