Panasonic's new AG-CX350 camcorder
- Thread starter nutmegger
- Start date
This is one of the more confusing aspects of the camera.
For each system frequency (60Hz vs. 50Hz) and recording mode (24p, 25p, 50i/p, 60i/p), there is a default shutter speed for the camera. When you press the physical Shutter button on the camera, it switches between the default shutter speed and manual shutter control, which allows you to set the shutter speed via the dial. But the thing that is confusing is that when cycling through the available shutter speeds with the dial (in manual shutter control), the default shutter speed is not shown in the list. So if you want to use that shutter speed, the only options are to (a) press the shutter button to switch out of manual shutter control and use the default shutter speed or (b) use the synchro scan shutter speed option which lets you set the shutter speed in tenths of a second (so you could set it to 1/50.0 for example).
Making matters slightly more confusing, the default shutter speed is not the same across all of the recording modes. Nor is a 180 degree shutter used as the default. There is a list of the default settings (Panasonic calls this "shutter off" in the manual) for each of the different frequency and recording frame rates in the Specifications section at the back of the manual. If you look under the Shutter Speed section, whichever shutter speed is listed as "shutter off" is the default shutter speed for that recording mode:
https://pro-av.panasonic.net/manual/html/AG-CX350P.PJ.EN.ED.AN.PX(DVQP1830ZA)_E/chapter11_02_02.htm
I'm not really sure why Panasonic doesn't just include this default shutter speed in the list when switching to manual shutter mode. It seems like that would make things much less confusing, and doesn't really add any additional complexity when using the camera. It seems like this could be fixed with a simple firmware change.
nutmegger
Well-known member
I don’t have any info I can share at this time.
Mitch Gross
Cinema Product Manager
Panasonic System Solutions Company
These are the fixes/improvements in future firmware updates I would like to see:
1) Auto Focus: Auto focus is slow at times and inconsistent. I normally have the camera set to manual focus. When I use the "Push Auto" function button, the camera often remains in the auto focus mode for 4-5 seconds after releasing the button. On the UX90, the camera immediately returns to manual focus when releasing the Push Auto button.
2) Focus Assist: Currently Focus Assist gives you the choice of enlarged display or peaking. I would like to see both enlarged display and peaking enabled by Focus Assist. I currently have Focus Assist set for enlargement and button 4 A. Iris Level mapped for peaking.
3) Wave Form Monitor: The WFM is my preferred choice for setting exposure. It is too small to be useful as currently displayed. Hopefully, the WFM can be enlarged in a future firmware update.
4) Zebras: Has anyone noticed when Zebras is enabled there is no icon displayed on the LCD to indicate Zebras is turned on? Please add an icon to indicate Zebras is enabled.
5) LCD Screen: This cannot be fixed via firmware. The 3.2" LCD screen is too small for this camera. The LCD screen size used on the UX90 would have been a more appropriate size. Occasionally, when doing an interview I use my Ninja Blade as an external monitor for framing, manual focus, and determining depth of field.
Otherwise, I am very satisfied with this camera. The CX350 offers a lot of bang for the buck.
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Bassman2003
Veteran
My main gripes so far:
I am finding the auto iris tends to overexpose. Filming some outdoor sunny day football games, I flipped on auto iris and had to turn the compensation down to -12 to get a good exposure (through the viewfinder). Just plain gets it wrong a lot. My PX270 never missed very much with auto iris.
Audio preamps are a little "tinny" compared to the PX270. They are fine, but I will probably invest in a zoom F6 for concerts once I fully transition to these cameras. I know that is best anyway but with the PX270 I feel confident to not need it.
Skin tones are not as pleasing so far with my tweaking. I am still working on the setup but the PX270 has very nice skin tones which I am having trouble matching the quality level. Other colors can be tweaked to be very accurate.
I will call Panasonic for this one but the LANC zoom stepping is not very forgiving. In other words, it jumps from relatively slow to faster. I think the LANC still needs some attention for truly professional rear zoom behavior. This is very important to me. This topic seemed to blindside Panasonic but 'decent' is not good enough in this area. It needs to be right!
I am finding the auto iris tends to overexpose. Filming some outdoor sunny day football games, I flipped on auto iris and had to turn the compensation down to -12 to get a good exposure (through the viewfinder). Just plain gets it wrong a lot. My PX270 never missed very much with auto iris.
Audio preamps are a little "tinny" compared to the PX270. They are fine, but I will probably invest in a zoom F6 for concerts once I fully transition to these cameras. I know that is best anyway but with the PX270 I feel confident to not need it.
Skin tones are not as pleasing so far with my tweaking. I am still working on the setup but the PX270 has very nice skin tones which I am having trouble matching the quality level. Other colors can be tweaked to be very accurate.
I will call Panasonic for this one but the LANC zoom stepping is not very forgiving. In other words, it jumps from relatively slow to faster. I think the LANC still needs some attention for truly professional rear zoom behavior. This is very important to me. This topic seemed to blindside Panasonic but 'decent' is not good enough in this area. It needs to be right!
Mitch Gross
Veteran
I don't deal directly with this camera but will pass along your comments.
Bassman2003
Veteran
Thanks Mitch!
nutmegger
Well-known member
Mitch Gross
Veteran
Absolutely!
This is related to the previous issue I mentioned where the default shutter speed does not appear as an option when in manual shutter mode.
The 1/50.0 shutter speed (with the decimal displayed) is actually the Synchro Scan shutter speed. The Synchro Scan shutter speed is user adjustable, so you could set it to something other than 1/50.0 if you wanted to (1/50.0 is the default Synchro Scan shutter speed in the 50Hz system frequency; 1/60.0 is the default in 59.94 system frequency). The Synchro Scan shutter option is typically used to eliminate the banding or flickering that can occur when shooting a monitor or TV screen, but it can also be used to set more precise shutter speeds beyond the commonly used ones.
Since the Synchro Scan Shutter speed can change, however, it actually makes some sense that it appears at the end of the list of shutter speed options you can scroll through with the wheel (after 1/10000). Otherwise this option's placement in the list would have to keep changing when you adjusted the Synchro Scan Shutter speed, which itself could be confusing. So I don't really fault Panasonic for giving the Synchro Scan shutter speed a fixed placement at the end of the list.
The part that it is confusing is that the default shutter speed (often 1/50, but this depends on the recording mode), does not appear in the list at all in manual shutter mode. If the default shutter speed of 1/50 were included, it would appear in the list before 1/60 where you'd expect it, and everything would make more sense. You shouldn't need to use the Synchro Scan Shutter option just to get a shutter speed of 1/50 in manual shutter mode.
If you switch the system frequency to 59.94Hz and choose one of the 59.94i or 59.94p recording formats, you'll notice that 1/50 will now appear in the list of shutter options when in manual shutter mode. But now 1/60 will be missing when you scroll through the shutter speed settings.
It just seems unnecessarily confusing to leave out the default shutter speed like this. Especially since previous Panasonic camcorders like the DVX200 and UX180 included all the shutter speeds in the list when adjusting the manual shutter speed with the dial.
Couple of things I'd like to see to make a great camera even better:
Level indicator more like the DVX200's large green horizontal line indicating level. The CX350 has little orange bits on either side of the screen. It shouldn't be hard in firmware to make them green when level instead of just broken orange on orange steps when not level.
Don't know if it's possible due to power constraints, but USB3 bus power for portable drives (again, as in in the DVX200) would be great for on site video offloading without having to bring along a powered device like a laptop.
Also, the focus assist option Nutmegger mentions above.
All in all, the weight, balance and ergonomics are near perfect for the kind of stuff I do and the 5 axis stabilization in 4k is icing on the cake.
Ken
Level indicator more like the DVX200's large green horizontal line indicating level. The CX350 has little orange bits on either side of the screen. It shouldn't be hard in firmware to make them green when level instead of just broken orange on orange steps when not level.
Don't know if it's possible due to power constraints, but USB3 bus power for portable drives (again, as in in the DVX200) would be great for on site video offloading without having to bring along a powered device like a laptop.
Also, the focus assist option Nutmegger mentions above.
All in all, the weight, balance and ergonomics are near perfect for the kind of stuff I do and the 5 axis stabilization in 4k is icing on the cake.
Ken
Yes, this is another step backward in usability from previous cameras like the DVX200 and UX180. With earlier cameras you could use the thumb wheel to adjust the gain in 1 dB increments, but with the CX350, gain is not one of the settings that is directly adjustable via the wheel (this is called the Multi Manual function in the user's guide) The settings that are adjustable with the wheel are:
- WB (white balance temperature, in Kelvin)
- SHUTTER (shutter speed)
- SYNCHRO (synchro scan shutter speed)
- FRAME RATE (when using the variable frame rate, VFR function)
- AREA (adjust the size of the region for the area function, for touch focus, touch iris, etc.)
- AF AREA (adjust the width of the autofocus area)
It is possible to adjust the gain on the CX350 in 1 dB steps, but you have to go into the [SW MODE] section of the CAMERA menu and change the gain level that is assigned to the L, M, or H settings of the physical gain switch. Which is not really a convenient way to adjust the gain. And often you may just want to make a temporary gain adjustment for what you are currently shooting, but changing the gain via the menu like this means that the physical gain switch will now keep this new gain setting indefinitely (at least until you go back into the menu to change it to something else).
One other option, is that it is possible to adjust the gain in 1 dB steps via the smartphone/tablet app over wi-fi (although this requires the USB wi-fi adapter, which is an added cost).
Thanks very much , had the AG AC 160 for years, in between Sony , miss a couple of features a lot.As a wildlife filmer I was used to follow the upcoming darkness in the field by adapting the gain in single steps to avoid noise as long as possible.Also the fact , that infinity exceeds 95 is not nice , gave back an X1 for this reason , but now I am ready to accept.
Rest of the 350 is very nice , a really fantastic camcorder for the money , but do hope for some future updates to fix different issues, discussed above.
Thanks very much , Rob from Austria
Rest of the 350 is very nice , a really fantastic camcorder for the money , but do hope for some future updates to fix different issues, discussed above.
Thanks very much , Rob from Austria
nutmegger
Well-known member
I'm at NAB NY. Spoke with a Panasonic engineer from Japan regarding my posted issues. Takuya Ozawa said he will look into my issues when he gets back to Japan. Glad Panasonic is willing to listen to a customer.
Bassman2003
Veteran
Cool. Any chance you mentioned the auto iris or further work on the LANC performance? I think this camera has potential but it has some weakness in important areas. It will be interesting to see how much energy Panasonic puts into it.
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Yeah, so disregard. These settings did bring the two cameras close, but added a metric ton of gain to the CX350, and created some bad yellow highlights. Apologies to anyone who bought in to this scene file.
nutmegger
Well-known member
Sorry, I did not. I was at the show for a very short time, less than 3 hours. I too would like a remote LANC controller that is compatible with the CX350. Try sending your concerns to Panasonic's Steve Cooperman ,Senior Product Manager Broadcast, Cinema, AV at steven.cooperman@us.panasonic.com. Good luck.
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