Shooting Your First Film With Panasonic AG-DVX100

The AG-DVX100 is the first camcorder to offer the film feature of 24 frames per second. It's the first consumer camcorder to truly produce a film look. It's a great buy with many manual features and you won't regret it. This extensive review covers all the features of this great cam.
I'm going to get some things out of the way first. This review will go two different ways. Those who want to know about the 24p and those who could care less and want to know is this a great cam or it is more vaporware. Let's start with the 24p, this is what many really want to know about so I'll happily oblige. My test were in the store, outside the store, in the hallway and my original test in the store.
This cam was on a tripod so I kept it there for awhile. I looked in the book about twice to find out where certain settings were but the DVX100 is pretty much self explanatory. All the important controls are on the left side of the camera. What threw me for a second was the tiny joystick used to run through the menu and when in VCR mode it's used to control the VCR functions. I immediately checked out the 24p functions. Now some things you should know. There are two modes of 24p. There's basic and advanced. In 24p basic or standard mode, it captures progressive footage at 24fps. Then converts the footage to a 60i signal with a basic 3:2 pulldown. The video is then output at 30p so it can be edited with most current DV editing software. Basically the camera is doing the pull down for you so you don't have to. What people used to do is shoot at 30p, or deinterlace in post, then pull everything into Adobe After Effects and have it spit back out at 24p then go back and edit the sound to go with the picture. The DVX100 handles this better for obvious the obvious reasons. You shouldn't have to worry about sound and you get the look of 24p but the ability to edit with traditional software, Final Cut Pro, Avid, Premiere or whatever it is you're using.
Now for you hardcore 24p people, especially indie filmmakers who're hitting the filmfest this is what I know you want to know about. 24p Advanced. In the 24p advanced mode this is where things get a little more complex. You're still dealing with 24 frame progressive footage, but the conversion is different. Footage recorded at 24p is transformed back to 24p in your NLE by taking out the extra frames. Sound strange? Well what the DVX100 does is actually a lot simpler that it sounds. It's capturing at 24p and adding frames to equal 30p. When you get it to your NLE the frames are pulled out and reconverted back to 24p. As of this writing the only programs I know can do this are, Apple's Final Cut Pro 3 (not the current version but the upgrade will have modes especially just for this), Apple's Cinema Tools, or DVFilmmaker which can do this too. I don't know how Cinema Tools will handle this but as of now it is the standard for 24p editing on Macs until the FCP upgrade. I've heard rumors that the popular "Vegas Video" will have a process to handle this set-up as well.
But this is where things also get serious for independent filmmakers who want to go to film. Lets talk about some things first. The best video image you can put on film is that which is shot with HD. Everyone's pretty much agreed on this. But let's be real this hasn't stopped anyone whose wanted to go to film from going to film even with things shot on 1 CCD consumer cams. People get into big flame wars over the "film look" but there's something that's frequently overlooked, convenience. Normally you'd have to take your 30p or 60i footage and get it transferred to film via a pulldown process, then the transfer house would put your video on film in whatever process they use. Your only other option was shoot on expensive pal equipment. As some of you know PAL is a European standard and PAL video won't play on NTSC (the North American standard) televisions or monitors. Most NLE systems will edit PAL but viewing PAL that's different story. Are you willing to have both a PAL capable editing system and an NTSC editing system? Some are and have done this for years. Why? PAL is higher quality video. PAL is also 25 frames per second. So it's a frame off from film's 24fps standard. Not bad. You drop one frame, fix the audio and it's no problem.
With that being said I'm sure you see where I'm going with this? Advanced 24p will allow you to skip the pulldown process. The camera and your NLE have done it already. All you have to do is make a 24p master and take it be printed to film. Don't get me wrong, nowhere do I state that you're going to get an HD quality film print from this cam. I haven't seen a film print from the DVX100 so I'm not going to pretend I know how one looks. Some have said it looks great, but it can't be worse than "Jackass: The Movie" or "Blair Witch" and surely the quality will look better than "Full Frontal."
Now let's take a look at something the DVX100 has something called CineGamma. Now this is where Panasonic heats things up. See you can get 24 progressive frames per second and it will still look like progressive video moving at the speed of film. That's good and many filmmakers would've bought this cam based on that alone. You could fool some people into thinking it's film. At least the person wouldn't be taken aback by the fact you movie is done on video. But Panasonic really tinkered with this camera. They understood why people wanted to use 24p. This was something the indie filmmaking community had been crying out for. Canon heard us and gave us framemode and a hot camera that's the envy of most indie filmmakers who don't have it, namely the XL and XL-1s. Sony heard us and told us to sit on it and then laughed at us by giving us 15p. A mode usable only as a special effect if that, and as far as anyone knows was just added for the heck of it.
Enter Panasonic. They give us 24p, (two flavors of it) then go above and beyond the call by giving us CineGamma. What is CineGamma? One of the reasons film looks the way it does is because of it's higher gamma curve. (See there's more to the whole film look than 24p, a lot more). What the DVX100's CineGamma does is emulate the gamma of film for video. CineGamma emulates the gamma curve of cinema. In my opinion this has more to do with this cam's filmic look than 24p. But this is the beauty of CineGamma - it doesn't matter how you shoot. Wait hear me again, it doesn't matter how you shoot. I shot with CineGamma in 24p, 24pA, 30p and 60i. By the way these are the main shooting modes. You got four. If one of these modes don't do it for you then you really do need to find some backers and shoot film. I know, I get mad when people say this to me too but as of now this is as good as it gets in DV without going HD. And for those who really like 30p, you'll be quite amazed, it actually looks a little like Canon's framemode but is much smoother. In 60i you get that "off video" look. (This is the look some people come up with when trying to get the film look).
And you want to talk about Depth of field. Panasonic says, "Depth of field is related to how wide the lens iris is opened. By reducing ambient lighting or by selecting a neutral density filter, the light transmitted to the CCD pickup is reduced and the iris can then be opened wider. This will reduce the depth of field. In general you want to shoot as wide open as possible for this effect, so using less intensive lighting, more strategically placed lighting and moving back from the subject, it is much easier to "lift" the subject off of the background. Conversely "stopping down" (closing) the iris will increase the depth of field, allowing a greater range of objects to appear in sharp focus. This is usually accomplished by adding more light to the scene." I only bring it up because I know there some people out there ares big on the whole DOF thing so I wanted you to have that info. If you can find one those 35mm lens adapters that would fit onto this camera you'd have the DOF you're looking for. It would probably cost you about $8000 all and all (camera + adapter) but you'd never really have to worry about film processing unless your distributor absolutely wants a film print.
Now let's talk 16:9. I heard this cam had 16:9 native CCDs but that was a rumor. It doesn't. It's simply the same special effect used by many lowend cams to get the appearance of Widescreen 16:9. To get this effect you simple select "Letterbox" mode. This is in the menu functions. The quality of the image you get is still impressive. If you want real 16:9 you have to add an adapter. I'd probably use the fake mode because I'm not going to film but it's up to you.
This carves up a whole new path for many indie filmmakers. Many of us have begun to slap our stuff DVDs and see where it takes us. Some of us are still shooting video that has some type of filter or film look process done to it. Frankly many of us are just shooting progressive video and some of us don't even bother with that. The ability to make your own DVD has opened the door for some brave indie filmmakers to take the chance with self distribution. Frankly, some guys have decided if you shoot good video, use 16:9 and professional shooting techniques you might be able to get people to watch your video without automatically thinking (cheese). Well, I have to admit I've seen some good stuff shot on video. If you shoot progressive you might or use a film look software you might keep some people guessing, heck, maybe even fool them. But think about it. A good three chipper will cost you about $2000-$3000, a package like "Cinema Tools" (for your 60i/30p to 24p conversion) will cost you about $1000. Your film look package will cost you about $500, you film motion package (if you choose to buy one) will cost you about $500. You've paid $4000-$5000. That's the price of this camera, and to tell you the truth in some places you can buy the camera for a lot less.
Here's what you miss out on. The lengthy rendering times. It's doesn't make if you buy "Cinelook" or "Magic Bullet" (The Orphanage's hot new filmlook package) film look software comes with lengthy rendering times, then add you special F/X and transitions, etc you're looking at a long time for your movie to bake. It'll make you wish you'd shot film. With the DVX100 this isn't a problem. Your film look is right there. Your effects and transitions will have to render as normal (unless you do them in camera) but you probably won't be waiting nearly as long. Note: You're film will still have to render but not as drastically long as with film look software. The DVX100 does have some limitations when shooting in progressive mode. You can't use the gain setting, auto focus or display color bars. I should mention that when you look at your work on the LCD it may look a bit jerky but watch it on a monitor or television and it'll be fine.
The store had normal lighting, and the hallway had a little more, but it was dark behind the stairs (but not totally dark, I mean it was sunny day and the glass door wasn't that far away). In all these situations the film look came shinning through without a hint of video look. Now in extreme low light situations you'd have to look at that yourself. They claim a "low light performance of 3 lux (at +18dB) and a high sensitivity of f 11 at 2000 lux".
So that's your filmlook info. That's the nitty gritty. The Panasonic 24p film look works. It looks like you're shooting with 16mm film. Frankly Panasonic only promised us 24 frames per second. They did way more than they had to if you ask me. I think Sony needs to look at their example when it comes to making product with a specific group in mind. Something to remember; to allow the DVX100 a few seconds to to sync sound when you switch into 24p So now what? Let's look at this camera as a basic video camera. We'll start with the lens.
This is a f1.6, 4.5mm-45mm Leica Dicomar zoom lens, not one of those basic crap jobs you get on a standard cam, but this is a procam so why would you expect any less. This is a wide-angle lens with 10x zoom. 10 is decent, I think they could've stretched it, but hey, I'm easy, especially when I saw the sharpness this lens produced and with little distortion. You can't take it off like the XL but it is there and you can play around with it to get the look you want. The Lecia's front ring is 72mm. I'm sure someone will make an adapter for any and every look you want like every other big name high-end cam out there. As a matter of fact Panasonic is set to drop a wide angle adapter for it (if it's not out already). Speaking of the zoom lens this cam offers a zoom ring and rockers. Both screens have zoom meters, but mind you the zoom is measured in percentages and not focal lengths.
Recently there's been a big push for better audio right out the box. The DVX100 has an audio limiter, auto and manual audio control and a pair of XLR connectors in the front of the camera with (48v) phantom power. Audio levels are shown on LCD and in the viewfinder. This is good for sound monitoring without intrusion. So the operator can shoot and keep an eye on the sound while at the same time. I should mention the microphone mount that comes with this cam so you can put your favorite mic there. I've heard that the onboard mic may pick up noise from the zoom. I didn't experience this so this is something you'd have to check out for yourself. If this is true then it's boom mic time. But with all that said the question remains, how's it sound? Clear. Seriously, very little distortion, picks up very well, of course the mic is omnidirectional and no that cool mic they show in the ads doesn't come with it. Sorry.
We talked about the film look modes but there's another mode I should mention. Interval Recording (a.k.a timelapse) is possible as well as all kinds of cool looks. The DVX100 displays flesh tones and most colors pretty accurately, it's hot on the reds (reds tend to be saturated. I like that versus green saturation, but I know others won't so it's worth noting) but I was told by a guy in a camera forum to play around with the "scene file" controls. I won't say anything but it's in the menu, just go in there and have a ball with the colors and looks you can get. Once you get out of there play with the shutter speeds, they go from 1/60th - 1/500th wow.
Another thing about this cam is it's ergonomics. Aside from the XLR thing (some will find them too close together but I don't think it's anything that can't be worked around) this camera has some serious ergonomic flow. What I mean is all you most important things are in reasonable positions. I've already mentioned the zoom wheel and rockers, nice to have both, a nice sized LCD (3.5 inches), which has a nice brightness to it and is very sharp. When you open it you expose the buttons: There Zebra Striping (to warn you of overexposed footage), mode check, reset, a counter. There's Zebra controls that can be set totally independent of each other. You can set the Zebras from 80%-%100 based on your needs. The lens controls are all on the left side and a ton of other things. This is what I like too. There's a focus switch. I come from the land of consumer cams where you have to push the shuttle wheel in to get manual focus which as we all know, is clumsy. If you push the wheel and accidentally turn it (it's easy to do) then the camera doesn't respond to the "manual focus" command but does something else which you may not want it to do, so this is a welcome addition. Now that I think about it, the iris has a switch also. So you can go from manual to auto. If you're actually doing a pro shoot you'll probably do better to keep this on manual. And what can be said about that viewfinder. It's a color VF with a huge eye hugging piece. It's like your whole eye is comfortably covered by the cup.
This is just a pet peeve of mine but I wish they had done like Canon, whereas this would be their lowend model, and cost somewhere between $2000-$3000 (so I could more readily afford it) and that they had a higher end model that looked liked Canon's XL and had the interchangeable lenses. (And of course it would cost about $4000). I say this because I feel that with the look of the XL Canon was really making a statement about who their target market was. They made a video camera that looked like a film camera. They had their fans locked in anyway (those who were going to buy this cam no matter what) but I think the design of that camera made people think "film" and "pro" and bought them a new fan base. But when it comes down to the actual film like functions the DVX100 is playing for keeps.
Is this camera sexy? C'mon guys admit it, sometimes you use your cam to attract chicks right? Well, as I've said it's not the magnet the XL is but it does stand out. The first person to speak to me during my test was a college girl who wanted to know what I was shooting. She thought the camera was nice. You won't be doing any "pretending you're a tourist" with this cam. It doesn't have that kind of look. It's more like the VX2K. I can't really describe the look (you've probably seen it by now) except to say it's different. It's not a shoulder mounted cam but it's doesn't look touristy either. It's a serious cam and looks like one. It's 4.4 pounds and it's a nice size for it's weight. Now you ladies who do video work and like to get a little male attention with your camera, the same applies. This will do the trick. Trust me, you know how guys are about gadgets. I know. You're reading this going, "That's not professional. He's advocating using our cams to get the attention of the opposite sex." Like you don't do it anyway. Please, spare me - I know what goes on.
This cam has some other little gems too, Synchro Scan. You know how sometimes you watch a movie or during your own shooting you want to get a television or monitor in the shot but there's distortion because the monitor or television's screen showing images at a different rate. This feature stops or at least limits that distortion. There's two "user" buttons you can use to personalize camera presets for two different users. Sweet. Did I mention the gain switch has three positions for three levels of gain? (Low, Medium and High). Also, there's no more of that annoying "camera/off/VCR" switch. (I always feel like I'm going to break the camera using that thing). On the back of the DVX100 there's a camera/VCR button. You hit it once it goes to camera, hit it again it's VCR and the power button is totally separate.
The only problems I see with this cam is not being able to use some of the functions when in 24p mode and the close proximity of the XLR sprockets. There's some slight fringing when dealing with high contrast areas but nothing shoot-wrecking. Here's something I should bring up. The focus is ring is accurate but I would've preferred it not to have been so loose. In film school I was taught to use the focus and zoom rings, (I was also taught it took two people to operate a camera), but I'll probably use the focus ring and rockers. The DVX100 offers 500 lines of resolution and 3 1/3 CCDs, along with incredible versatility, professional manual controls, great sound and the ability to shoot video and film looks in one camera. I can't wait for Sony's answer to this cam, maybe they'll give us 38p. (That's a joke Sony).
I'll leave you with this, at Panasonic's website (www.panasonic.com) they have a link called Panasonic DV World. They list twenty-four questions (it's like a FAQ page)