the UX90 DOES NOT have the focus transition feature

Ed Kishel

Ed Kishel

Veteran
despite what all the literature says:

http://business.panasonic.com/AG-UX90.html
(professional video product website: under "easier focusing in 4k")

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1250997-REG/panasonic_ag_ux90_4k_professional_camcorder.html
(features- section 6: manual focus)

http://eww.pass.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/content/guide/EN/agux_handbook_e_59.94.pdf
(the "UX-90 Book": page 41)

Been scanning the camera menu for an hour, can't find it. Cool camera, but big bummer as this was one of my favorite features. I wish Panasonic's website and marketing could get its sh** together.
This and the poor time stamp placement- this camera might go back tomorrow. I'd keep it if Panasonic acknowledged the error and would include this feature in the next firmware upgrade.
 
Ed Kishel said:
despite what all the literature says:

http://business.panasonic.com/AG-UX90.html
(professional video product website: under "easier focusing in 4k")

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1250997-REG/panasonic_ag_ux90_4k_professional_camcorder.html
(features- section 6: manual focus)

http://eww.pass.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/content/guide/EN/agux_handbook_e_59.94.pdf
(the "UX-90 Book": page 41)

Been scanning the camera menu for an hour, can't find it. Cool camera, but big bummer as this was one of my favorite features. I wish Panasonic's website and marketing could get its sh** together.
This and the poor time stamp placement- this camera might go back tomorrow. I'd keep it if Panasonic acknowledged the error and would include this feature in the next firmware upgrade.
Click to expand...

Can you post a pic of the Time Stamp? I was going to use this for legal video, but if it is placed badly I may change my mind.
 
You are correct, the UX90 doesn't have that feature. The UX180 definitely does, but the UX90 doesn't.

I have pointed out the discrepancy to the US marketing team.
 
PlanB said:
Can you post a pic of the Time Stamp? I was going to use this for legal video, but if it is placed badly I may change my mind.
Click to expand...

Here's a pic.

Date-Time-Placement.jpg

It seems perfectly fine to me for 16:9. Ed started another thread pointing out the placement, that it's on the very leftmost pixels of the frame when you do a center 4:3 extraction. It does survive the 4:3 extraction, nothing gets cut off, it's just right up at the very edge of the frame.
 
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Thanks Barry. Sorry all for the temper- I know better (and I dislike when others do it). It just reminded me when I bought the ac90 a couple years back because the Panasonic press release said it had time stamp (and it didn't) so I couldn't use it for depos ....until they fixed it with the firmware.

It's on it's way back to B&H, the hc-X1 will replace it.
 
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Ah, I see. I've never heard that term before... I guess I'd just call them focus presets or something.

Does seem cool but it's strange that if you zoom at all, you lose the presets. Does that mean the lens is not parfocal?
 
Haakon said:
Does that mean the lens is not parfocal?
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It acts as a parfocal lens in operation, but is not a strictly optical parfocal design. It has something on the order of four different groups of moving elements, and the electronics keep track of everything to make it maintain focus regardless of zoom setting. This approach lets them design a 20:1 zoom lens that covers a relatively huge sensor, yet the whole package is compact and weighs under two pounds.

So - is it parfocal in terms of physical lens elements? No, and probably no other lens of any competitor is either. Is it parfocal in terms of actual use (as in, can you zoom in, set focus, and it will stay in focus at every zoom setting?) Absolutely.
 
Barry_Green said:
Is it parfocal in terms of actual use (as in, can you zoom in, set focus, and it will stay in focus at every zoom setting?) Absolutely.
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That's good enough for me. Since the focus presets are just digital placeholder settings on the lens, however, it would be cool to be able to store one and recall it at any time. The no zoom limitation really inhibits its usefulness in my opinion.
 
Haakon said:
The no zoom limitation really inhibits its usefulness in my opinion.
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I still find it very useful for rack focusing, especially since the DOF is narrower on a 1 inch sensor.

But isn't that the way it is in traditional cinematography? I mean if a DP changes the focal length by either zooming in or switching a wide prime to a longer lens, he/she would make the focus puller recalculate the distance from the focal plane to the talent. Even if the camera doesn't move?
 
Ed Kishel said:
I still find it very useful for rack focusing, especially since the DOF is narrower on a 1 inch sensor.

But isn't that the way it is in traditional cinematography? I mean if a DP changes the focal length by either zooming in or switching a wide prime to a longer lens, he/she would make the focus puller recalculate the distance from the focal plane to the talent. Even if the camera doesn't move?
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In narrative filmmaking where you take the time to measure focus points in between takes, yes. But I'd use a camera with a larger sensor, removable lenses, and better performance for that. Where I see this camera excelling is documentary work, run-and-gun news capture, reality, and live event production. It would be kinda cool to set a focus point for someone at a podium, for example, so you could film something somewhere else and then quickly snap back to a presenter or MC and have it be tack sharp. I'm sure the autofocus is quick, but what if the subject isn't there yet or the lights are down, ready to reveal them? With a preset, you could be ready to go before they're even onscreen. If zooming deletes your preset, though, that makes such a feature mostly useless.

In the singular case of a rack focus shot where you have all the time in the world to sit there and get both of your points, recompose the shot, dial in your preferred rack speed, etc., this little feature might be handy. I don't think that's how the majority of people will be using this camera, however.
 
Haakon said:
It would be kinda cool to set a focus point for someone at a podium, for example, so you could film something somewhere else and then quickly snap back to a presenter or MC and have it be tack sharp.
Click to expand...

That would be cool, like between the audience and a guest speaker at a q&a.
 
The autofocus can be very fast. Would I trust it for that? Nah, it's autofocus. But if someone needed it, it might very well do it.

The focus ring is repeatable in COARSE and FINE mode, and COARSE is sooooo much better on the UX180 than it was on the DVX200. On the DVX200, it took only a very small move to go from minimum to infinity. On the UX180, it takes about 270 degrees to go from minimum to maximum. So, you could mark the lens for the podium focus, then go shooting the rest of the crowd, and when you need to go back to the podium just spin the focus ring to your pre-set mark. If you're using MF ASSIST (UX180 only), it'll even kick in a touch of autofocus at the end of the focus move, so if you get it pretty darn close, the autofocus will fine-tune it to what it thinks is perfection.

Or, you can just memorize what the focus distance was; focus on the podium and look at the readout, it'll be something like 28.3 feet or whatever. So go film whatever you're going to film, and then when you need the podium, spin the focus ring until the distance readout reads 28.3 feet. May not be instantaneous, but it'll work, regardless of the zoom setting...
 
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