Panasonic AG-DVX100
This is an industrial level camcorder worth approximately $5000. Canadian.
I've only used it for two days, so more comments will follow as I get more familiar
with this camera. I am quite impressed with the quality of the video.
Likes:
- Has very clear sharp picture & has 3CCD image blocks (1/3").
- Has continuity of time code, even if you don't tag up the tape to the last
recorded piece, counter does not reset to zero. Exception being if battery
dies while shooting.
- Has XLR audio connections & flexible switch choices, including phantom
power.
- Uses miniDV tape format.
- Has an optical stabilizer (Leica DICOMAR brand).
- Cassettes can be changed very quickly.
- Has standard video & audio in/out connections without the need for
a special cable.
- Has two levels of zebra stripes for proper exposure determination &
you can use manual iris if you want.
- Weight is only 3.652 pounds (1.66 kg) excluding battery & accessories.
- Power consumption is 6.8 to 9.2 Watts.
Dislikes:
- Eye piece viewfinder is not very sharp (only 180,000 pixels), so it's hard
to know if the picture is focused or not. The viewfinder screen is LCD, which
means that if you look at the wrong angle, the contrast can be off.
- LCD 3.5" monitor is only 200,000 pixels which is barely adequate,
but not nearly enough to display all the resolution being captured.
- Earphone for headset is hard to hear.
- Too easy to bump the preprogrammed menu F settings
- Would be nice if there were an optional shoulder bracket available.
- Wind noise of microphone was excessive on a windy day.
- Only 10:1 zoom, longer zoom range would have been nicer.
- Wide angle was much wider than most broadcast lenses.
- Uses Lithium Ion batteries which seem to sometimes have a short life span.
- Auto Trace White Balance sometimes dramatically changes color during shooting.
- 3 lux minimum illumination (F1.6, 18 dB gain). Adequate in normal room
lighting, but not superb at low lighting.
By Doug Hembruff.
First written August 12/2004, last updated August 12, 2004
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