Jan Crittenden livingston
Forum Replies Created
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[Steve Wargo] “An associate of mine walked into my office practically in tears last week and said that one of his P2 cards won’t show up in his reader or his computer slot. This error was going to cost him his pay for the day and most likely his client. He’ll be lucky if he doesn’y have to pay for a reshoot.”
Steve you should have your friend contact me off line. I would bet we can get the data off that card or at least help him get the card to mount. We will try the last effort first. crittendenj at us.panasonic.com
Best,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
Hi,
Well yes I am a little biased as I am the product manager, and that is why I tried to put the facts out there and not just say that the 500 is clearly the winner. 😉
The recording algorthm is really a key factor. We had footage in our booth at NAB that showed exactly how the 500 rocked against the 350. Everyone wants to ignore the fact that Long GOP can come back to kick you in the pants. You don’t even know it when you are shooting, as you are innocently looking in the VF thinking all is well. Unless you have a big monitor for review, you won’t see it. So you see the problems in the edit suite.
Anyhow the lenses that fall into your price range are 16X with a doubler. There is a package wrapped around it, 4 16GB cards. It is a little backordered on the lens right now but that should improve by next month. But you could take delivery on the camera and rent an HD lens.
Hope this helps,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
Hi Chris,
It is a huge feature if you only have $10,000 to spend on a lens.
Best,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
Hi Peter,
If you were to look at the other variables that make the cameras work I think it will definitely push you over the edge toward the Panasonic.
1. DVCPRO HD is an I frame codec, which means that each frame is independent and compressed individually. The Sony is Long GOP. This means the frames are not independent of each other and the more motion, the more detail, the more it will stress the algorithm. This could result in the picture turning into blockies and you won’t see this in the VF, you will see it in the edit suite.
2. Many folks look that the XDCAM disc as the archive format, and while that can be true, I feel a need to point out that this means your archive will be as expensive as tape, or more at a $1.00+ a minute. Data can be stored much more inexpensively starting around .25 aminute and ending with a smalt LTO system that is MXF aware at about 40 cents a minute.
3. The variable frame rate in the 350 falls to half resolution in frame rates over 30 frames per second. The Panaosnic is full resolution in all frame rates, and does loop record, interval record and pre-record. When you want to delete something, it is a simple matter and the time is immediately available for rerecord. No consolidation of media required.
4. The 500 has Chroma Aberration Compentation circuits in it to help you use inexpensive glass if that is what your budget dictates. If you have the money for expensive glass then this is not so much of a deciding factor. The fact is that if you want really nice glass, most of that is available in the 2/3″ domain and you will have to use an adapter that will potentially cause chroma aberrations even with expensive glass, should you choose the Sony.
5. The Panasonic will be better in low light and dynamic rage because of the size of the sensor. The Sony may have more resolution because of the greater pixel density, but due to the algorithm it has to record to, you may not always benefit.
6. When you push the button to be in record on the P2 camera, you are in record. Not so on the spinning disk. The P2 is virtually environmentally bullet proof. I have a camera that got trashed in shipping, I mean the viewfinder got ripped off and I have a hole in the side of the camera case. It still records and plays back footage. I have a customer that is giving it a work out in extreme heat, sort of the reverse of the Iditarod scenario. And before you say that Sony did the Iditarod, let me interject that they did about 30 miles of an 1150 mile race, P2 went the entire distance and when the tape based camera gave up, the P2 continued to record. They never lost a shot, they got every shot they wanted.
I think however, the real proof of the camera will be in just comparing the recorded images. 4:2:2 looks better than 4:2:0. I really do think that if you compare the cameras side by side you would even see it on the camera output. Put up a real high contrast scene, see which camera is able to contain the picture, if both do, push it until there is one camera left that can hold the picture. Compare the recorded images, make sure your images are moving, like a babbling brook with trees and camera motion.
Anyhow I hope this helps you to decide to go demo the cameras, see for yourself.
Best,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
Horrible stuttering sounds like someone that is shooting video style with the camera set to 24P. What were the setting on the camera?
Best,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
This is fine. You undue the zip, save the file and then do the upgrade.
Best,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
The firmware is only to be sure you have made an upgrade.
And first format the SD card in the camera. Then put it in the computer, save the file to the card. Do not open the file. Then take the card and put it in the camera. If you open the exe file, it with the mac, it will corrupt the file.
Also while you are there, find the software to upgrade the PCMCIA slot, if you are using the Duel Adapter, or the AJ-PCD20 if you are using this device. In other words, upgrade the computer as well.
Hope this helps.
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
Yes, I would definately make sure that the frame rate in the Camera Settings Menu was the same as the PN setting in the Record Menu. If you find that these are in agreement and you have the problem, then you need a service center.
Please contact me about the Support line off list, I would like to know when you called and left a message, they should always call a cuwstomer back.
crittendenj at us.panasonic.com
Thanks,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
Hi,
The size of full frame rate DVCPRO HD is about 1 GB per minute. Therefore the 16GB card is 16 minutes. If however you are shooting in 24P, You can work in native modes on the P2 camera and get 2 1/2 minutes per GB. This is true of the HPX500 and the HVX200, the 2000 will be able to do this in August. In reality the 2000 will not be compatible with the 16GB cards until August, so the timeing is equal on that feature set.
As far as P2 vs Tape, well I can say that Data Storage is much cheaper than DVCPRO HD tape. You can store on a DLT like the Quantum 600DTLA for about $100, 30 minutes of tape is about $30, so I am sure you can see that 300 minutes for $100 is a real deal.
What a lot of guys are doing is handing off a HDD with the footage on it. In general you will spend about the same amount for the 1394 or USB Drive that you would for Tape, and you charge the client for that anyhow. The cool part is that they can reuse the drive the next time they work with you.
Hope that helps,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems -
So what is the name of the dealer that sold this fictional product and took your money? This is not a product and frankly I can’t imagine how someone would be so bold as to sell you one, take your money and promise that you would get it, when it does not exist. I suggest you call the Attorney General in the state where your vendor resides and ask for an investigation because of unethical practices.
Best,
Jan
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems