White Paper 034 Addendum 8 (rev 7): Menu settings for Panasonic DVCProHD AJ-HDC27F Varicam (720/4~60Hz proscan)

Alan Roberts

Abstract

Assessment was made on several AJ-HDC27F cameras at various times. Itis a 720-line progressive variable frame-rate camera, and all menuitems refer to this camera only. The camera is a refinement of the 27Vwhich is also a development of the 27. The 27H differs only triviallyfrom the 27F, all the settings in this document will work equally wellin either camera; however, setup cards recorded in the F will not workin the H, or vice versa, although there is a Panasonic utility toconvert between the formats if necessary.

The camera has 3 ccds, each of 1280x720 pixels. The tape speed isconstant despite any camera frame rate changes, the tape always runs at60 (or 59.94) frames/second. When the camera is set to run at lowerframe rates, replicated frames are recorded as needed to fill the tape.Thus, the pictures can be monitored using a fixed frame-rate display. Aspecial hardware/software system is required to extract frames from thetape to reconstruct a sequence of non-replicated frames at 24 persecond. Nominal frame rate is 24fps, so the camera can effectivelyrecord between 2.5 times (60fps) and 1/6 (4fps) normal speed. If thecamera is set to 24fps, then the tape is effectively performing a ""3:2pull-down"" operation as is normal for film work in 59.94Hz countries.

The camera is smaller and lighter than the familiar Beta camcorder andis useful mostly for portable, single-camera work. It has very manyinternal menus for setting the performance, and two versions of most ofthem, giving a range of combinations that it has been impossible toinvestigate thoroughly in the limited time available. There are threedistinctly different modes in which it can operate. It is clearlydesigned with the intention of supplanting film, both for televisionand for printing back to film for distribution.

Panasonic have a DVD that shows how some of the more important featureswork, and how menu values can be used to manipulate pictures. Potentialusers of this camera are very strongly advised to get this DVD andstudy it at length in order to exploit the best features of the camera,it's ability to mimic film negative performance and variable speedrecording. Even the DVD is not sufficient for the user to get the bestfrom the camera, the combination of DVD and manual will explain how itall works, but laboratory work is needed to ensure the best performancein any mode. The settings given here are neither exclusive norexhaustive, the user is strongly advised to seek specialist help beforeshooting.

This revised version has some more modifications resulting from fieldexperience in varied conditions; it also incorporates settings designedspecifically for Natural History productions, and recommendations foruse in keying.

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