Abstract
Data for this section is taken
from short examinations of two production models of the
Panasonic HVX200 camcorder. This is a HDTV camcorder,
physically very similar to the standard-definition DVX100,
with 3 ?” ccds, the manual gives no clue as to
the sensor resolutions. The two models under test ran
only at 60 Hz (actually 59.94) or 50Hz. It records HDTV
using the DVCProHD algorithm onto P2 flash cards (1080i,
1080psf, 720p), SDTV using any of the DVCPro50 or DVCPro
or DV algorithms onto P2 cards (480i, 480psf, 480psfa*
or 576i, 576psf, 576psfa), and SDTV onto miniDV. It can
also shoot “off-speed” when recording 720p
onto P2 cards, but only at spot speeds, it is not continuously
variable as is the Varicam AJ-HDC27F.
The camera is relatively
light and has an integral lens and viewfinder, with
side lcd panel, and seems aimed
at the high-end consumer/professional market rather
than full broadcast, which would normally demand interchangeable
lenses. It is the first tapeless camcorder for HDTV.
It has a photographic speed of about 640ASA.
It has
the usual internal menus for setting the performance,
not as complex as in the 720-line Varicam or the
1080-line HDX400, but enough to control most of the
important
features. It is not suited to multi-camera operation.
It has analogue-only
video outputs (components at both HD and SD via a
multi-pin connector) and digits via IEEE1394 Firewire
and USB.
This alone puts the camera in the consumer/semi-pro
market, rather than broadcast, which would normally
expect either
HDSDI or BNC connectors for analogue.
The same assessment
procedure was used as for other HD cameras, partly
attempting to get a good “film-look”,
and the settings reflect that. It is useful to think
of the camera, when used in this way, to be mimicking
a film camera and telecine, with “best light” transfer
to tape, with about 10 stops of tonal range. Assuming
that a grading operation will be used in post-production,
the settings attempt to give the colourist the same
range of options as with film. The recommended settings
allow
about 1.3 stops of over-exposure and one of under-exposure
relative to normal operation. This is not as good
as can be achieved in 2”/3 cameras, and arises
from the difference in pixel size (the pixels here
are much
smaller, so sensitivity is maintained at the expense
of highlight handling and video noise).
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Keywords
camera,
colorimetry, gamma, knee, aperture correction, detail enhancement,
film look, shuttering
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