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Reader SurveyGoing Pro
Oct 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By Steve Mullen
A new generation of DV shooters can move up to the professional level, leaving prosumer cameras behind.
 Panasonic’s new AG-DVX100 three-chip, 60i/30p/24p camcorder is a good example of a less expensive pro camera with setup menus. |
At some point, shooters who have been working with prosumer three-chip DV camcorders consider moving up to a professional DV, DVCAM, or DVCPRO camcorder. Although still expensive (unless you can find deal, which is possible in our slow economy), pro camcorders offer many advantages, including large, 1/2in. CCD chips that offer greater sensitivity, lower noise, and far greater latitude. And, for many, lens interchangeability is also a positive.
Of course, the move to a pro camera involves trade-offs. Weight and bulk are two obvious penalties. Other negatives include the loss of auto-focus and optical stabilization. And then there is the challenge of mastering the often complicated camera and deck setup menus.
While prosumer camcorders, beginning with Sony's Hi8 VX3, have simple four-item setup menus, the setup of a pro camera is far more complex. It can be made even more complex by the inadequate documentation provided with these expensive camcorders. Nevertheless, videographers have no choice but to master menus. That's because setup menus are now becoming available on low-cost professional cameras.
Panasonic's new AG-DVX100 three-chip, 60i/30p/24p camcorder is a perfect example. The DVX100 provides five VTR menu pages and seven camera menu pages. The camera pages, shown throughout this column, include: Scene File, Camera Setup, SW Mode, Auto SW, Recording Setup, Display Setup, and Other Functions.
In the following charts, menu items marked in green are found on most prosumer DV camcorders, so you should have no problems using these settings. Items marked in red are relevant only to the DVX100. Blue menu items are representative of those found on more expensive DV, DVCAM, and DVCPRO camcorders — as well as the AG-DVX100. These camera menu items and their sub-categories will be the focus of this column.
Items on this menu page typically need be set only during the camcorder's initial set-up. The Hour Meter displays the total rotational time of the cylinder head. After five minutes in Play/Record-Pause, the camera either enters stand-by mode or shuts down. Tape Protect defines which occurs. The User File menu enables you to Save the SW Mode menu page settings in internal memory. The Load function loads the last saved User File. Initial restores User File values to the factory settings.
OTHER FUNCTIONS
REMOTE
DV CONTROL
DV CMD SEL
REC LAMP
BEEP SOUND
CLOCK SET
TIME SHIFT
TAPE PROTECT
USER FILE
HOUR METER
Most pro camcorders have 1 1/2in. CRT, high-resolution, B&W viewfinders (but not the AG-DVX100). Because of the large screen, it is possible to display a substantial amount of status information. Not all situations, however, demand that all information be displayed. Thus, you can enable or disable the display of individual data using items on this page.
DISPLAY SETUP
ZEBRA DETECT 1
ZEBRA DETECT 2
DATE/TIME
LEVEL METER
ZOOM•FOCUS
TAPE•BATTERY
OTHER DISPLAY
VIDEO OUT OSD
LCD BACKLIGHT
LCD/EVF SET
SELF SHOOT
EVF MODE
The Zebra Detect 1 and 2 menus allow you to set the IRE level at which the two zebra patterns become visible in the viewfinder and on the LCD monitor. Options are: Off, 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100IRE.
I would set Zebra Detect 1 to 80 and Zebra Detect 2 to 100. The camera's Zebra button toggles between Off, Zebra 1, Zebra 2, and Spot-Read Mode. In Spot-Read Mode, a readout appears in the viewfinder that displays the IRE reading from the bracketed spot.
Depending on design, mics can be divided into two categories, high sensitivity (high output voltage) and low sensitivity (low output voltage). The former have smaller negative dB ratings than the latter. (Consult your mic's specifications.) The DVX100's Mic Gain 1 and 2 items are used to match the camera's input sensitivity to an attached mic — either -50dBu or -60dBu. The Mic ALC item enables or disables Auto Level Control.
RECORDING SETUP
REC SPEED
AUDIO REC
MIC ALC
MIC GAIN 1
MIC GAIN 2
TC MODE
TCG
FIRST REC TC
TC PRESET
UB MODE
UB PRESET
INTERVAL REC
REC TIME
INTERVAL TIME
Two additional categories of items are present on this page, items that set up timecode functions and those that set up User Bits. TC Mode selects drop frame (DF) or non-drop frame (NDF). TCG selects whether the timecode generator runs continuously (Free Run) or only when recording (Rec Run). First Rec TC selects whether the timecode stamp starts on the last stamp recorded on tape (Regen) or starts from a defined value (Preset) specified by the TC Preset menu.
The UB Mode menu item enables the marking of each frame with eight hexadecimal characters (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, F). You can create your own string (User) of seven characters to define, for example, a tape tag with date (AD091101). Alternately, you can select among four camera-generated character strings: Time (time of day), Date, TCG (timecode generator), and Frm. Rate (60, 30, 24, plus a Frame Sequence Number of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 when in 24p mode).
Two additional timecode menus are available when the AG-DVX100 is powered up in VTR mode. The 1394 TC Regen item selects the timecode to be recorded when recording from the FireWire connector. The 1394 UB Regen item selects the User Bits to be recorded when recording from the FireWire connector. In both cases, the On setting uses the FireWire input information. Selecting Off uses TC Mode, TCG, and First Rec TC and/or UB Mode determined values.
Items on this page cover two different aspects of camera operation. The Mid Gain, High Gain, and ATW relate to image control, while the other items relate to setting the camera for personal tastes. The Mid Gain menu allows you to specify the gain (0dB, 3dB, 6dB, 9dB, 12dB) applied when the DVX100's Gain switch is set to the “M” option. The High Gain menu does the same for the “H” option.
SW MODE
MID GAIN
HIGH GAIN
ATW
HANDLE ZOOM
IRIS DIAL
USER1
USER2
When the ATW item is set to Off, ATW is disabled. The ATW function can be allocated to the White Bal switch (A, B, or PRST position) using the ATW menu item. When material is shot using ATW, the incident illumination on the front of the camera is monitored and white balance is adjusted continuously.
Because selecting and altering menu changes takes time, two AG-DVX100 buttons (User 1 and User 2) can be assigned to specific menu settings. Choices include enable or disable: Spotlight mode, Backlight mode, Mode check (current camera status display), ATW, ATWLock (lock ATW), and Gain:18 dB.
Because ENG shooting often begins in a moment of chaos, most new pro cameras have an Auto button that engages automatic operation to maximize the probability of immediately capturing acceptable audio and video. All four functions on this menu can be activated by the green Auto button on the DVX100.
AUTO SW
A. IRIS
AGC
ATW
AF
Pros, of course, still want control, so the items on this page select which auto functions are active when in Auto mode. The AGC menu defines the maximum video gain that can automatically be applied when Auto is enabled: Off (none), 6dB, or 12dB.
When the ATW menu item is set to Off, ATW is disabled. When AF is enabled in the Auto SW menu, and the Auto button is pressed, auto focusing is used — except when in any progressive mode.
The Syncro Scan menu allows you to adjust the shutter speed to obtain a clean image from a television or computer screen. You can select from 1/60.3th to 1/250th of a second when shooting in interlace mode. (At 30p, the range is 1/30.1th to 1/250th, while at 24p the range is 1/24.1th to 1/250th.)
CAMERA SETUP
SYNCRO SCAN
ASPECT CONV
COLOR BAR
SETUP
Aspect ratio, either 4:3 or 16:9 letterboxed (not anamorphic), is selected by the Aspect Conv item. Although the Color Bar item displays color bars in interlace mode, it cannot do so in progressive mode. The Setup item selects black level to 0IRE (correct for DV) or to 7.5IRE.
The Detail Level menu adjusts the amount of image detail. With the AG-DVX100, settings below zero soften detail, while settings above zero add edge enhancement you do not want.
SCENE FILE
DETAIL LEVEL
CHROMA LEVEL
CHROMA PHASE
COLOR TEMP
MASTER PED
A. IRIS LEVEL
GAMMA
MATRIX
SKIN TONE DTL
V DETAIL FREQ
PROGRESSIVE
NAME EDIT
SAVE/INIT
Chroma Level adjusts chroma saturation, while Chroma Phase adjusts the hue. The Color Temp menu allows you to bias color temperature warmer (-7 increases red and decreases yellow) or cooler (+7 increases blue and decreases cyan). Master Ped adjusts master pedestal (black IRE level and white IRE level), thereby increasing or decreasing recorded signal level.
Adjusting A. Iris Level allows you to bias the auto-exposure system toward lighter or darker exposure. A setting of -3 provides 1-stop under-exposure that helps keep (with Cine-Like gamma selected) highlight areas from losing color and detail. However, the under-exposure noticeably darkens the image and definitely changes the scene's mood.
The Skin Tone DTL item lets you decrease detail in Caucasian skin tone areas. Expensive cameras provide methods to precisely specify skin tone.
The Progressive item enables you to switch between 59.94i (Off), 29.97p (30p), 24.98p (24p) with 2:3:2:3 pull-down, and 24.98p (24p: ADV) with 2:3:3:2 pulldown. (For in-depth information on these modes, see “Progressive: What You Need to Know,” August 2002.)
In progressive mode, select the amount of vertical detail via the V Detail Freq menu item. The Thick setting (the only option in 60i) reduces effective vertical resolution by 25% from the potential 480-line vertical resolution from the CCD chips, thereby reducing video artifacts from narrow horizontal lines. In 24p ADV mode, Thin is the default because the destination is film rather than video.
By using the Gamma menu, you can alter picture contrast without altering black level and white level. Expensive cameras provide menu items to enable black-stretch and white-compress. Some cameras let you graphically create a gamma curve to meet your individual needs.
The AG-DVX100 allows you to choose from Low Gamma (gamma curve bows below linear gamma so mid-shades are pushed slightly darker, thereby providing black-compress), Norm Gamma, High Gamma (gamma curve bows above linear gamma so mid-shades are pushed slightly brighter, thereby providing black-stretch), and Cine-Like Gamma. The latter is a gamma curve that attempts to preserve both shadow detail and highlight detail.
The Matrix menu on the DVX100 allows you to select from three pre-set image styles: Norm, Fluorescent, and Cine-Like. The latter setting adjusts the image to emulate film.
Camcorders like the Ikegami HL-DV7W DVCAM (see my review in the September 2002 Video Systems) provide many additional menus to let you create custom matrix styles.
Panasonic provides the AG-DVX100 with six preset Scene Files designed to cover situations likely to be encountered. These can be selected by a rotary switch on the DVX100.
You can rename any file using the Name Edit menu. You can also modify any file and then save the settings using the Save/Init menu. From the Save/Init menu, you can restore factory settings.
Preset Scene Files
| F1: | Settings suited to standard shooting |
| F2: FLUO | Settings suited to shooting under fluorescent light |
| F3: SPARK | Settings to create accentuated colors |
| F4: B-STR | Settings suited to shooting at dusk |
| F5: 24P | Settings suited to 24p mode with 2:3:2:3 pulldown |
| F6: ADVANC | Settings suited to 24p mode with 2:3:3:2 pulldown |
Learning more
Now that a generation of DV shooters is moving up to pro cameras, it's incumbent upon manufacturers to document the functions of these camera in English. That means it's high time for U.S. documentation to be written by native English writers who have an understanding of video.
While we wait for camera manufacturers to shoulder their responsibilities, feel free to experiment with menu settings because you always have the option of restoring factory settings.
feedback
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