[Katy Lock]

Hi Mike & Matthew

I’m waiting to hear back from Panasonic who have told me (via my dealer) that they have a fix for these focus problems – not sure yet if this is a firmware update or just an explanation of how to set up the camera. I will post here when I know more. In the meantime here are my thoughts on the Panasonic HPX250 vs the Canon XF305 (I’ve shot 2 docs on the Canon and have been shooting for a month on the Panasonic):

GOOD POINTS FOR THE HPX250
The picture has a rich, filmic quality very different to the sharp, harsher quality of the Canon
The camera is lighter and well balanced
The LCD is in a better position so you can interview someone on the fly and make eye contact (a problem with the Canon)
It meets industry standards in the UK – we chose this camera as some broadcasters are rejecting 50 Mbps footage, however this also means you have much larger storage issues.
It records 4 audio channels – so you can set the second 2 to the stereo internal mic and this sometimes gets you out of jail

BAD POINTS FOR THE HPX250
It mainly is the focus problems described above and I’m still not sure if this is user error or not!
The macro focusing can’t be turned off
Toggling between auto and manual for the iris is unnecessarily longwinded – unlike with the Canon/Sonys where auto is only activated for as long as you are pressing the button, with the Panasonic you have to hit the button again to exit auto mode and return to manual- more time consuming and contrary to my muscle memory all these years.
The audio limiter should be avoided as it sounds even more distorted than when it tops out!
The manual is badly written

GOOD POINTS FOR THE CANON XF305
The LCD, while in an awkward position for actuality shooting, is useful for interviews on a tripod as you can switch it to be on the left or the right of the camera.
The LCD is much larger than the HPX250 and is great quality. The peaking really pings out (think you can make the peaking red if you want) and I found it easy to focus both with the ring and using push auto.
The magnification button works while recording so you can check focus easily.

BAD POINTS FOR THE CANON XF305
It only shoots 50 Mbps and some broadcasters in the UK are demanding 100 Mbps.
It is heavier and generally more cumbersome

So there you go. I would really appreciate people’s thoughts on how I can make my little Panasonic work for me. I have a feeling this camera will be amazing once these early issues are ironed out and will ultimately be a much better camera than the Canon. That’s why we waited to buy it. Only problem is I am right in the middle of my project and need Panasonic to help me now!

Katy

[Katy Lock]

Hi there Steve

It would be good to get your thoughts (and anyone else out there) on the following focus-related issues I have been encountering with the Panasonic HPX250 which I have now been using on an observational documentary for the past month.

This project involves a lot of actuality shooting where continually being able to adjust your focus quickly whilst recording is crucial. I’ve been a broadcast self-shooter for over 10 years working with the various Sony cameras (Z1, Z5, Z7) and more recently the Canon XF305. While I love the quality of the image with the HPX250 when I manage to achieve focus, it would be great to hear what you would advise with the following problems:

1. It is hard to tell whether or not I am in focus.
   • The LCD picture is not good enough to indicate this (unlike the Canon XF305)
   • I can only seem to activate the EVF peaking on the viewfinder and not the LCD. I rarely use the viewfinder in actuality filming, I rely heavily on the LCD.
   • The expanded ‘Focus Assist’ button seems to only work when the camera is not recording. Not useful if you are filming actuality and would like to check/adjust focus whilst recording.
   • The focus bar does not solve these problems. It is meant to show how in focus the image is, however I am not confident it knows what I am actually focusing on (see below for the focus hunting issues).
2. The focus tools seem a little ‘buggy’:
   • I will sometimes need to use the ‘push auto’ button – a function that is your friend in fast-paced filming to sharpen the focus quickly while recording. However, the ‘push auto’ on the Panasonic hunts a lot, so I will begin with a slightly soft shot, press down the ‘push auto’ to focus it, the shot will then go completely out of focus, then start hunting – bouncing into and out of focus and often settling out of focus. This hunting means I have abandoned using the push-auto button completely and at times I really miss it.
   • The MF Assist mode also seems to be a problem. I understand it is designed to fine tune manual ring focusing but I have found that it will often fine tune in the wrong direction and will hunt for quite a while. I have therefore turned it off.

So I am left with only one focus option: manual focusing with the LCD giving me little clue as to how I am doing (with no peaking and magnification during recording). I have been using the distance to subject on the FOCUS CONTROL DISPLAY but this is also guesswork and again with a fast moving scene is nigh on impossible to maintain. In addition sometimes the distances don’t seem to be correct e.g. yesterday a wide landscape shot said it was on ‘Infinity’ but it looked very out of focus, I flicked the ‘Infinity’ switch and it came into focus. What’s that about?

So, please can you tell me if I am missing something?! I have been scouring the manual but can’t seem to get to the bottom of these crucial problems.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Katy