[MacDV] Opinion on Panasonic DVX-100?

[Jon Blumhagen]

> From: YangZone at aol.com
> Reply-To: "Macintosh Digital Video List"<MacDV at lists.themacintoshguy.com>
> Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2002 06:41:58 -0500
> To: "Macintosh Digital Video List" <MacDV at lists.themacintoshguy.com>
> Subject: [MacDV] Opinion on Panasonic DVX-100?
> 
> The DVX-100 looks interesting to me with it's 24 fps etc.
> 
> Any opinions on this camera?

I've been looking at this camera, too. One of the best "reality-check"
reviews comes from DV cafe:

******************

MiniDV Shootout: Sony PD-150 vs Panasonic DVX100

With the introduction of the Panasonic DVX100 this October, the number one
question we get is - how does it compare with the Sony PD-150? The last time
we did a King of the Mini-DV Hill Shootout (Summer of 2001), we crowned the
Sony as the best, defeating the XL-1 and GL-1. Now with the Panasonic out,
is the aging PD-150 still the best? We did a side-by-side shoot-out to find
out.

Ergonomics/External Stuff
The Panasonic and the Sony are very similar in size, weight and layout. The
Panasonic is a hair better on the hand-held comfort "feel" due to the way
the handle is canted to better fit the hand, but it's not such a major
factor to sway one way or the other. But what is great on the Panasonic is
the larger LCD screen (3.5" vs 2.5" on the Sony), and larger eyepiece (big
enough for those who wear eyeglasses). Where the Sony is superior is the
black & white viewfinder, which we prefer for focusing.

Taking a cue from the Canon XL-1, Panasonic has put a number of controls on
the outside, like the higher end cameras. Such controls as Gain and Volume
Control are easily accessible on the outside and reachable without taking
your eye off the viewfinder.

The Panasonic still has the very aggravating infinite spinning focus ring,
but they have put numeric numbers on the viewfinder that you can use as
focus marks. So that's an improvement, sort of, but not as nice as a real
focus ring. One day somebody will do this on a camera in this price range
...

The Sony feels a little more solid. The Zoom Ring on the Panasonic is a real
zoom ring, but it feels cheap, and certainly for manual zooms isn't going to
be the smoothest, most elegant zoom you've ever done.

The Sony has a 58mm filter size, which means any filters you'd buy will be
cheaper than the Panasonic's 72mm. If you already own a Canon XL-1, you can
use those 72mm filters on the Panasonic however.

Image Quality
Out of the box, the Panasonic is more neutral, whereas the Sony is more
saturated and skews to the reds. The Sony is like Kodachrome and the
Panasonic is like Fujichrome. The initial reaction is the Sony looks better,
as we humans like the Kodachrome look. The Panasonic is more accurate
however. The Panasonic can be made to look more Sony-like though, by going
in and adjusting the menus. We'll discuss this more in the Internal section
of the review.

With regards to sharpness, the cameras are equal. If you desaturated the
image, they'd look the same.

The Panasonic's lens is wider, and the Sony has more telephoto reach.

Low Light Capabilities
The Sony PD-150 is legendary for how it handles low-light, and in
side-by-side comparisons with the Panasonic, it boosts the gain in the
shadow areas much more dramatically. However, the Panasonic is again more
accurate, but the Sony looks better. But when you boost the gain on the
Panasonic to +12, it mimics how the Sony handles shadows. Boosting the gain
on the Panasonic results in a clear, crisp picture with very little grain.
The Panasonic also handles with no gain the shadow areas very cleanly.

Which is better? We'll give the nod to the Sony here, but the Panasonic is
no slouch, and we like how it handles the dark areas with no gain. Most
people will give the nod to the Sony, but you can make the Panasonic mimic
the Sony by boosting the gain with a flick of the switch. The Sony just
seems to do it a little more naturally with less effort.

Internal Stuff (a.k.a How I Learned To Love Menus)
Both cameras allow you to go in and change the presets, but the Panasonic is
clearly the winner here. The degree of customization the Panasonic gives you
is incredible. You can go in and change your saturation levels, your colour
phase, your black/contrast levels, your skin detail, etc. etc. And the best
part? You can save up to six of these presets on a dial, and with the twist
of a knob, instantly change your settings. So you can have a highly
saturated/green skew preset, and have a destaturated/Flourescent setting for
example. We love this feature.

24p
This is the most-hyped and most-misunderstood feature of the Panasonic
camera, due largely to Panasonic's marketing department. The Panasonic is
not a true 24p camera (like the Sony HDCAM CineAlta), as it does a 3:2 pull
down as it records onto tape. But does it look like film? Does it give that
elusive film feel?

No. Not at least on videotape.

In fact, 24p right now looks quite bad, as it stutters. Panasonic Canada has
told us that the only time you would shoot in 24p is if you're going to burn
it back to negative, or make a progressive scan DVD.

Does that mean the Panasonic is pointless? No, it doesn't, as it shoots in
regular 60i mode quite well. But if your final product is going to be
videotape (such as weddings, corporate video, documentaries, broadcast
work), shoot in 60i.

Will we be able to shoot in 24p and have it eventually go back to videotape
and look more "film-like?" In the future, more than likely. Apple, Avid and
Adobe have all said they're going to support the 24p feature in the next
updates of their software. Or maybe someone will invent a plug-in that will
make it transparent and easy to do. But right now, the work-arounds are
quite labour and render intensive (links to articles in the Web Site of the
Month section). Our advice right now is, unless you're burning a neg, stay
in 60i. We will keep watching this, and let you know if this changes.

CineGamma Mode
One neat feature Panasonic "borrowed" from JVC is the CineGamma mode, which
mimics the colour matrix of film. We, for the most part, like the look of
CineGamma. Blacks are richer, colours are more muted, and there's just a
different feel to it. We did find on cloudy, overcast days that it made it
look a little too dull, but for the most part gave a nice quality to the
image. Best to experiment with it. CineGamma is the default mode when you go
into 24p, but you can make a preset for 60i with it.

Our Verdict
By a nose, we crown the Panasonic the new King of the MiniDV Hill. With it's
larger LCD screen, larger viewfinder eyepiece, external controls,
customizable presets, and the 24p option, the Panasonic is our new favourite
camera. By cranking up the saturation on the Panasonic to mimic the Sony
"look," and equal sharpness/clarity, we think the Panasonic comes out ahead.
But this is like comparing a Honda Accord with a Toyota Camry. Both are
great cameras, and you won't go wrong with either. But to answer the
question we get asked a lot lately ("If you had to choose between them?"),
we'd say Panasonic.