Varicam Audio Attenuation and Power Consumption Questions

Panasonic Cameras

Varicam Audio Attenuation and Power Consumption Questions

Posted by Tim Polster on November 20, 2011 at 2:50 pm

Hello,

I am a new Varicam “H” owner and really like the camera. I wanted to ask the community about two things. Since this camera has been out for a while maybe they have already been addressed.

1) I have read that there is a switch to change the mic input from -40 to -50. Does this need to be done by a tech or is it reacheable for an end user?

Also, is there any adjustment for the rear mic inputs (-60db)?
I have mics that are best at -40db and also -50db and am finding the Varicam to not be very flexible in this regard.

2)Power consumption. I use a NanoFlash with the camera so the tape mechanism is not ever used. I was wondering if there was any way to lower the power consumption of the camera if the tape mechanism was permanently disabled or removed? Crazy but I thought I would ask!

Thanks for your input!

Tim Polster replied 14 years, 5 months ago 4 Members · 6 Replies
6 Replies

John Sharaf
November 20, 2011 at 3:05 pm

If you operate the camera in “standby” mode the deck will draw no power, however you’ll need to activate the Nanoflash to roll with it’s dedicated switch. If however you roll tape in the camera at the same time, which would provide both a good backup and archive you can slave the Nanoflash starts and stops to the roll buttons in the camera and lens.

John “still have several Varicams” Sharaf
Tim Polster
November 21, 2011 at 4:03 am

Thaks John. So to clarify for me, is standby mode a specific menu setting or just not hitting record on the tape deck?
Robin Probyn
November 21, 2011 at 8:13 am

Its the ext switch just above on/off power switch.. at the front ie towards the lens..

As John says.. if your not running tape.. you will ofcourse have to hit record on the nano.. or get a remote cable.. set the nano to trigger-record & remote.. remote cable is more convenient

TBH I havnt noticed a massive difference shooting tape and nano or just nano as far as battery life goes..with a HDX900 anyway..
Tim Polster
November 21, 2011 at 5:05 pm

Thanks for your reply. I see a “VTR Start” button. Is that what you are referring to?

Any ideas about the audio attenuation for the XLR inputs? I called Panasonic and the guy who answers the phone in support said he would get back to me and never did.

It is hard for me to believe that this flagship camera from 2006 does not have audio attenuation settings in the menu. My $5,000 DVC-200 from 10 years ago had all kinds of menu audio settings.
Dale West
November 21, 2011 at 8:58 pm

Tim

The best move you can make is to download the user manual for this and frankly any
camera or device you use in production. Spend some time with it. I’ve owned a 27F for about 7 years and to this day will find myself cracking the user manual. I also download all my user manuals to my iPad and iPhone.
Its can save a ton of embarrassment in front of a client.

Good luck with the camera.

dale west

Dale West Video
North Miami, FL
305-588-2683
dale@dalewestvideo.tv
Tim Polster
November 22, 2011 at 5:50 am

Thanks for your reply Dale. I have the manual. For some reason I can not find where I read -50dbu anymore. All I can find is the reference to the front mic being -40dbu. Going crazy but I did some searching in this forum and founs this post:

Re: audio levels on the Varicam
by rpfilm on Mar 28, 2006 at 10:59:52 am

There is a dipswitch inside the audio board that allows you to change the impedance for each input. This will have a great impact on the range. Not terribly difficult to do, but easy for a tech.

Anybody know about the impedance switches?

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