[Dale West]

Had a problem with my EC3 as well. On a shoot it stopped working about 4 set ups into the day. Inspection on set revealed a small nick in the cable. A friend shut it in the pelican case and didn’t notice it. I’m told that as a precaution you should always power off both camera and EC3 when disconnecting or reconnecting. I guess that the cable came apart at that pinch and kept opening and closing and at last the EC# gave out. Had 2 cables and both were bad.
Had a company reset the connectors the next day but still nothing. Sent it to my reseller who sent it to Panasonic. Now here is the killer. They (Panasonic) had it for 4 months. You should be prepared to be missing it for a while if you send it to Panasonic as it appears you will have to do. Don’t know what the problem is with Panasonic and repairs and parts. I love my Varicam but not so much the support and service side. Am waiting now since the Masters to get a part for the body. Roger Macie my tech in Boston ordered so long ago I sometimes forget I’m waiting for it.
Best of luck with getting it fixed.

dw

[Dale West]

No you are right it was probably me. Just one of those days I guess.
Best to all

dw

[Dale West]

Redflag………………uncool

[Dale West]

Mike
You will see it in the VF. Using shutter works but if you have shutter set that is not a factor of 50 then you will still see the flicker sometimes more sometimes less. Try the syncro scan. That way you will be able to leave the shutter for normal use. It’s the kind of thing you can set in your hotel room before you hit the streets. I remember seeing it a bunch more when the area
was lit by fluoresent lights. The fluoresents also tended to run a touch green. Keep a white balance card handy. Have a blast.

[Dale West]

Mike,
Never have had problems with x-rays and tape. I alway try to carry shot tapes but have had some problems in Great Britain with that. Of course now GB has an almost total
black out of stuff you can take on the plane. No laptops or ipods so I imagine cameras might be a problem as well. I just did a trip to Aruba and packed the camera and sent as baggage.
Made me itch but I did it. Roger Macie always recomends taking the lens off the camera when shipping so plan extra protection for that if you ship. You really have to keep an eye on
comsumer grade power converters. They sometimes can’t handle the current needed for the items. Also check the items they might be universal units that allow you to just put a plug adaptor on
the cord and go. Just a note about current there…. It’s 50Hz so you will see some flicker in any pratical lights left on. If you are shooting 60 then check on your monitor and add some shutter
to see if you can eliminate it or use the syncro scan.

As for the carnet. Make sure it is opened by US customs before you leave and follow the directions closely. US cutoms agents are not as good about carnets as
the foreign agents are. If it isn’t right when you get “over there” they can be a bit snarkey about it. And it you are in the EU you only have to present it as you arrive and as your depart regardless of which country you enter or leave.
Have a good shoot

Regards

dw

[Dale West]

just so happens I’m doing a Discovery show and face the same issues. I am making a window burned dvd and at the same
time I’m doing an audio tape with timecode on one track and audio on the other. I’ve always had a bad feeling
about searching the pausing then searching etc. I’ve never had a problem but in the end who wants to risk it.
Any problem probably will result in a damaged master.

[Dale West]

It is a shame about the poor turn around on service at Panasonic. I send my paint box to NJ for service just after Thanksgiving. I called and emailed a number of times and each time I was told that the parts were out of stock and there was nothing they could do until they came in. It wasn’t until my sales rep. talked to someone that the unit showed up a few days later. One person said that the parts just came in and another told me that there was nothing wrong with the unit in the first place. Doesn’t give me a lot of hope as I now have to send the camera in to have the top cover replaced on the case. Add to that my new LH-1700 has dead pixels in it. Bought it just befroe NAB and figured I limp by until after the show since the entire industry shuts down then. I can see it now.
Ship them to NJ and put a gone fishin’ sign on the door. Too bad we can’t take the time to pay they take to repair.
But given all of that, I still love that camera.

Best to all

Dale West
Dale West Video
12225 NE 13th Court
North Miam, FL 33161
305-892-1201

[Dale West]

Thanks for the help

best

dw

Dale West
Dale West Video
12225 NE 13th Court
North Miam, FL 33161
305-892-1201

[Dale West]

Jeff
Let me first say that I love my F model. It makes a beautiful picture and while I originally bought it because I couldn’t afford a CineAlta I am so glad I have what I have. But let me tell you what a lot of Panasonic owners and operators would like to tell you and I’m sure a lot have.
Sometimes Panasonic is a bit skitzo. The H model didn’t just happen one day. All of the changes took engineering time. The apple connection is really something that needed to be addressed way back then. The past few months it appears the windows is getting more attention from you and apple is getting moved to the back. It makes the herd nervous. And being a member of the herd, I can’t help it when my mind takes me back to the Hawk Eye. It still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

OK all of that aside. I really love the VariCam and so do my clients.

best

Dale West
Dale West Video
12225 NE 13th Court
North Miam, FL 33161
305-892-1201

[Dale West]

You know sometimes I just want my 3 bvw75s and grass valley switcher back. I just want to do good work in the field and maybe keep a little money to pay my mortgage and buy a beer after work. I have an Ikegami HLv59w that works almost every day, a sony Z1 that gets out and about and a VariCam that is getting busier every day. The 200 is a natural addition to the package. And frankly I am looking forward to getting it. But. When I get calls for DV or HDV or minidv it seems that the producers are looking for a lower cost solution. I’ve been spending some time thinking about how I would have used the 200 on some of my recent shoots and be able to keep up with the shoot and dumping the material off the cards. All I can see is adding a person with the drives and perhaps a computer to do that while my soundtech and I fill ’em up. Most of what I shoot is eng or doc style so having the time between fill ups to download seems like it is going to put a dent in the flow. I know that I can get more cards but again the costs keep expanding. Don’t get me wrong I am looking foward to the P2 or similar answer but would like to wake up tomorrow morning and have all of the variables worked out!!

As always I enjoy energy that the cow creates on these topics.
Best to all
dw

Dale West
Dale West Video
12225 NE 13th Court
North Miam, FL 33161
305-892-1201