Panasonic's new AG-CX350 camcorder

nutmegger said:
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.
Click to expand...

Regarding issue 1 I came across this while browsing Barry Green's CX350 eBook

Page 196: "Some notes on autofocus: autofocus works better at faster frame rates; it works best in 50i/59.94i interlaced mode or 50P/59.94P mode. The autofocus system responds much more slowly when using slower frame rates (such as 23.98P or 29.97P) or when using slow shutter speeds (such as 1/12 or 1/8). The reasoning is simple: in interlaced mode or 50P/59.94P mode, the autofocus system gets fed sixty (or fifty in PAL/50Hz) updates per second. But in slower-frame-rate modes or slower shutter speeds, the updates come far more slowly: in 23.98P mode, the autofocus system only gets 24 updates per second; in 1/12 shutter speed it’s only receiving 12 updates per second. With less-frequently-updated information to work from, the autofocus system cannot respond as quickly to changes in the image."

Page 197: "When in manual focus mode you can invoke the autofocus system on a temporary basis by pressing the PUSH AUTO button. If you just briefly press the PUSH AUTO button, the camera will attempt to quickly focus and then immediately return to manual focus mode. If you prefer it to go into autofocus mode for a longer period of time, you’ll find that the longer you hold the button, the longer autofocus will remain active; when you release the button it reverts to manual focus mode."

I tried both the brief and long PUSH AUTO button test. On my CX350 the camera lingers in the auto focus mode for 4-5 seconds after releasing the PUSH AUTO button regardless if it is a brief or long button press.

Update: Guess what? I changed the frame rate on my CX350 from 23.98 to 60p and the PUSH AUTO function returned to manual focus much faster, in about a second. Does the frame rate on other cameras affect the time it takes the camera to return to manual focus when using PUSH AUTO?
 
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I can add one more issue; both of my 350 are suffering from the problem , that the PUSH infinity button is not able to nail infinity,if the focal lenghth is set to maximum (maximum tele)Just the opposite is the case - if you establish infinity manually with the focus ring and than push the PUSH - Inf. button , infinity is crashed and the picture slightely gets out of focus.
And during this procedure the focus number does not change and stays at 95 all the time.

This is the reason , while during my antarctic expedition almost 50% of my footage , done with maximum focus was not sharp because I was relying on this button.
So one of my cameras now is in Cardiff on repair - we will see if the issue can be fixed.
Would be interesting , if you can observe the same problem with the US - version, just try out an object far in infinity , use maximal focal length and let me know , if PUSH infinity can make the picture sharp (but dont use any automatic support,stay completely in manual mode)
best regards
 
Canon XF705 owner here but considering the CX350. As I tick off on the nitty gritty I have five key questions:

1. Shot mark? Can you assign a button on the 350 to the shot mark feature like on the Canon XF range? I use Edius for editing and any shot mark will appear in the timeline.

Makes locating moments for exiting highlights clips a breeze.

2. Zoom Rocker - Is it the exact same as on the 90/180 cameras or more durable? I tried a 90 last week and liked the feel of it though thought it needed to be a little bigger and less flimsy perhaps.

3. HDMI/SDI output - Can you make the camera display come out of the HDMI that would feed to a monitor on top of the camera but clean on the SDI that would feed to the live stream?

4. Does Auto focus improve when in 50/60i or p frame rate compared to 25/30?

5. When playing back clips from the camera itself do the clip play seamlessly without a pause or held frames between clips? Sometimes I will need to "shoot to keep" on a job and then play the footage live to a TV.
 
Duff TV said:
Canon XF705 owner here but considering the CX350. As I tick off on the nitty gritty I have five key questions:

1. Shot mark? Can you assign a button on the 350 to the shot mark feature like on the Canon XF range? I use Edius for editing and any shot mark will appear in the timeline.

Makes locating moments for exiting highlights clips a breeze.

2. Zoom Rocker - Is it the exact same as on the 90/180 cameras or more durable? I tried a 90 last week and liked the feel of it though thought it needed to be a little bigger and less flimsy perhaps.

3. HDMI/SDI output - Can you make the camera display come out of the HDMI that would feed to a monitor on top of the camera but clean on the SDI that would feed to the live stream?

4. Does Auto focus improve when in 50/60i or p frame rate compared to 25/30?

5. When playing back clips from the camera itself do the clip play seamlessly without a pause or held frames between clips? Sometimes I will need to "shoot to keep" on a job and then play the footage live to a TV.
Click to expand...

Regarding autofocus please read post #481. The dual pixel autofocus on the XF705 is superior to the autofocus on the CX350. What don't you like about the XF705 that you are considering buying a CX350?
 
Question about resolution

Question about resolution

Hi

I've had my new CX350 for about two weeks now and have a question about resolution.

I started my HD journey 2007 with a Canon XH-A1, 2014 a Panasonic AG-AC160, 2018 a Panasonic HC-X1 and now a AG-AC350.

My expeience so far with the camera is that it's really what many people on this forum says, a great camcorder!

Now my question.

Resolution. HD is super sharp. UHD is super sharp.

My problem is that I can hardly see any difference between HD and UHD. My monitors are 23" EIZO ColorEdge HD monitors and not UHD monitors.
Without inzoomed, sitting 2 feet from my monitors it's very hard to see any difference.
If I zoom in in a HD picture and compares it with an UHD picture I can see that there are differences, the UHD picture have slightly more details.
On my HC-X1 I could see difference between HD/UHD even if it was small.

Rendering out to a 1080p file and dispalying it on my 42" TV, from 5 feet there is impossible to see any difference if I use HD or UHD as source for the render.

Is it so that the CX350 is so sharp in HD that the difference between HD and UHD is so small?

Regards,

/Bo
 
I think it shows that Panasonic has a very high quality in-camera downsampling method to create the 1080p image. It also shows how pointless going beyond 4k resolution is without a definite intended purpose. 1080p/720 delivery is the "standard definition" of our time and will be around for a long time imho.
 
Grab a 4K Dell monitor and you will see a big difference - I've been shooting 4K for the last 6 years and I currently monitor on 5K displays. HD looks soft to me now having been in a 4K world so long. Remember, 4K at 4:2:2 becomes 1080 4:4:4 when downscaled.

Bo Sundvall said:
Hi

I've had my new CX350 for about two weeks now and have a question about resolution.

I started my HD journey 2007 with a Canon XH-A1, 2014 a Panasonic AG-AC160, 2018 a Panasonic HC-X1 and now a AG-AC350.

My expeience so far with the camera is that it's really what many people on this forum says, a great camcorder!

Now my question.

Resolution. HD is super sharp. UHD is super sharp.

My problem is that I can hardly see any difference between HD and UHD. My monitors are 23" EIZO ColorEdge HD monitors and not UHD monitors.
Without inzoomed, sitting 2 feet from my monitors it's very hard to see any difference.
If I zoom in in a HD picture and compares it with an UHD picture I can see that there are differences, the UHD picture have slightly more details.
On my HC-X1 I could see difference between HD/UHD even if it was small.

Rendering out to a 1080p file and dispalying it on my 42" TV, from 5 feet there is impossible to see any difference if I use HD or UHD as source for the render.

Is it so that the CX350 is so sharp in HD that the difference between HD and UHD is so small?

Regards,

/Bo
Click to expand...
 
The cx-350 is not as sharp as the UX180 or the DVX200, after taking footage from them both, I can say without a doubt that the Lieca lens is FAR superior. Sorry to say, the cx-350 takes about the same quality video as the JVC GY-HC500, which also has a poor lens. I would consider these as very good HD or 2K lenses but soft for 4k.

Sad, I was hoping for a nice sharp camera capable of recording in v-log & 4K 60FPS using hdmi output to record on external recorder like atomos.
 
I can't speak to the other cameras but I have noticed there is a lot of range with the detail settings in the CX350. Have you 'moved the knobs around' so to speak with all of the detail settings? Not trying to defend the camera as I wish it had been made for a little higher price/quality bracket. But it is still a very nice image.
 
Alkaline said:
The cx-350 is not as sharp as the UX180 or the DVX200, after taking footage from them both, I can say without a doubt that the Lieca lens is FAR superior. Sorry to say, the cx-350 takes about the same quality video as the JVC GY-HC500, which also has a poor lens. I would consider these as very good HD or 2K lenses but soft for 4k.

Sad, I was hoping for a nice sharp camera capable of recording in v-log & 4K 60FPS using hdmi output to record on external recorder like atomos.
Click to expand...

I agree with the comment regarding the sharpness of the CX350 lens. If the Canon XF705 was $2K less in price, I would have bought the XF705.

Also, has anyone else noticed when shooting at 60fps the shutter speed of 1/60 is not available? Your choices are 1/30, 1/100, or 1/120 but not 1/60. When shooting at 24fps or 30fps the shutter speed of 1/60 is available.
 
Both lenses are identical made by Panasonic. They probably cannot use "LEICA" because the CX-350 is Made in China
 
NorBro said:
The cameras have already been selling at the prices that are in the video/graphic.

Are you wondering/is he talking about an additional savings on top of that?
Click to expand...

The video was uploaded onto YouTube on June 5, 2020. I believe it is a new rebate, though I may be mistaken. As the video states the rebate is for dealers/retailers and ends on June 30, 2020. The video shows the MAP price as $3695 which most retailers are currently selling the camera for. Whether retailers/dealers pass on some or all of the $400 rebate to consumers remains to be seen. If they do, the price may drop to $3295 during June.

Update. The video appears to have been uploaded onto YouTube by Videoguys.com which is a retailer and not by the distributor in the video. Maybe Mitch can clarify this.
 
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