My New Big Honkin' Camera just showed up

vtxrocketeer wrote on 1/26/2012, 5:59 PM

"Little brother" looks like a can of Coke in comparison. Have fun with your new toy, er, tool.

paul_w wrote on 1/26/2012, 6:01 PM

Oh thats nice.

There... you already got more replies than i did when i announced my new Sony FS100 arrived the other day! :)

Paul. - have fun with that thing!

[r]Evolution wrote on 1/26/2012, 10:06 PM

Let's see a picture comparison of captured footage.

Rory Cooper wrote on 1/27/2012, 12:59 AM

Paul that’s because we are peeved …big time!

Enjoy Jerry. I only bother reading the destruction manual if it has lots of big graphic drawings with big arrows … insert eye here and push this button here.
Trouble shoot: everything is black…solution…take off lens cap.

I got the Sony NEX VG20 day before yesterday , planning to do some shots tomorrow to see how it compares to my VG10.
I ordered a Carl Zeiss 24mm F/1.8 to go with it …Sony finally put some audio levels on!!!

NickHope wrote on 1/27/2012, 2:44 AM

Congratulations Jerry. Looking forward to seeing footage.

Duncan H wrote on 1/27/2012, 3:02 AM

Hi Rory,

Really interested in your views re the NEX VG20, features, performance, ergonomics etc. I'm still pondering what sort of camera might suit me best next, so please let me know what you think. I'm sort of attracted to the video camera format (as opposed to DSLR) and I probably put too much sway on two features - XLR audio and built in ND filters (as I've certainly had problems using cheaper cams outside in Australian sun). Given I'm really only producing material for the web (generally short corporate comms type materials), maybe these two features are simply not too big a deal. Thoughts? I'd really be interested in what aspects of he NEX VG20 swung it for you. If you find hte time, please post here or alternatively, I'd welcome an email.

thanks,

Duncan

amendegw wrote on 1/27/2012, 3:53 AM

Yeah, I think there ought to be a forum rule... you can't announce a new toy unless you're willing to display some sample footage.

Unfortunately, the east coast of the US is under a gray winter, and rain is forecast for the next few days, but I will post some footage by the end of the weekend - even if it's just a puddle.

...Jerry

Rory Cooper wrote on 1/27/2012, 4:44 AM

Duncan I Love the VG 10

the ND filter is an issue with the supplied 17-300 lens, not an easy lens to work with. The VG 10 got bad low light reviews but you can put it down to that lens. Same cam with a manual Nikon prime lens is a different ball game.

Will post some images and give you some feedback.

craftech wrote on 1/27/2012, 6:45 AM

Lot's of luck with your new camera Jerry.

The Panasonic AC-130 has some great reviews.

But I don't think they mentioned that the camera was capable of getting "pregnant".

John

farss wrote on 1/27/2012, 6:54 AM

Kind of reminds of "that's not a knife...."

I think you'll be very happy with your new toy.
Apart from overcranking I don't really see much use for 60p, the 130 shoots 60i which would be more useful than 60p.

Bob.

craftech wrote on 1/27/2012, 7:05 AM

I don't really see much use for 60p, the 130 shoots 60i which would be more useful than 60p.
==================
His TM700 shoots only 60p, not 60i so that's probably why he wanted the capability to combine the footage from both cameras.

John

farss wrote on 1/27/2012, 7:28 AM

"His TM700 shoots only 60p, not 60i so that's probably why he wanted the capability to combine the footage from both cameras"

That's true but it's also pretty easy to treat 60p as 60i.

From my experience though trying to match footage from my "big" EX1 with footage from our "little" HC5 25p/50/50i is the least of the problems. Personally for what most of us shoot I think this is an over rated issue. Shooting stage shows and the like where every camera is capturing a different POV it just doesn't seem to matter. Even if you had precision matched identical cameras given the lighting a simple reverse shot is going to look different.

Bob.

amendegw wrote on 1/27/2012, 7:37 AM

"His TM700 shoots only 60p, not 60i...Hmmm... the TM700 has 4 1920x1080 60i modes. However, I must admit that virtually all of my existing TM700 footage is 60p.

Now, I've been a great proponent of the TM700 & 1080 60p on this forum, but I'm now re-thinking how important that is.

Almost all of my delivery format is for the web. And I normally reduce the framerate to 29.97 fps (i.e. 30p). What was (is) important to me is that shooting in progressive & publishing in progressive reduces/eliminates the complications of deinterlacing.

However, with the advent of musicvid's HandBrake procedure & the free http://www.yohng.com/software/yadifvegas.htmlYadif deinterlacer OFX plugin for Sony Vegas[/link], this has become much less of an issue (if at all).

Recently I did a short project combining 1080 60p & 1080 60i (w/ yadif plugin) in a progressive project and was amazed at the quality of the combined footage.

Of course, the other nice feature of 60p is the ability to do smooth SloMo on the Vegas timeline. However, johnmeyer has clued me into the AviSynth/MVtools procedure that does an even better job.

Is all this rationalization 'cuz I just got a new camera? Maybe, but I don't think so. I will be reporting back.

...Jerry

craftech wrote on 1/27/2012, 8:04 AM

Sorry Jerry,

I thought the TM700 was like the TM90 that only shoots 1080 / 60p and not 60i.

John

amendegw wrote on 1/27/2012, 9:04 AM

Okay, little did I think that this would be the first test footage that I would post, but I'm wondering whether there's something wrong with my Image Stabilization on the AC-130. Here's the test I just ran in my family room.

Should I be expecting more? Should I call tech support at B&H?

...Jerry

PS: I think I'll post this in the AC-130 area of the DVXuser forum as well and see what they think.

Editguy43 wrote on 1/27/2012, 9:19 AM

Very nice Camera, but Who is the father.. ;-)

MTuggy wrote on 1/27/2012, 9:45 AM

The TM700 has amazing stabilization (which can be problematic if tracking a slowing moving object as it can overcompensate).

Interesting that the AC-130 is not that stable - I wonder if there are settings for the stabilization - i.e. high vs. low that could still be selected on one of the menus.

Mike

TeetimeNC wrote on 1/27/2012, 10:06 AM

Great looking camera. I have had similar stabilization results with my HMC-150 which the AC-130 replaces. The stabilization isn't nearly as good as on my old Canon GL2. Still, I love the 150.

Also, I understood that the 60p firmware upgrade was only going to be available for the AC-160.

>Should I be expecting more? Should I call tech support at B&H?

/jerry

amendegw wrote on 1/27/2012, 10:23 AM

/Jerry,

It's somewhat re-assuring that you see similar results from your HMC-150. I guess I'd rather the camera was working properly and my expectations were too high. I can always fix this in post with Mercalli.

However, I'd love to hear from someone in this forum with an AC-130/160.

...Jerry

[r]Evolution wrote on 1/27/2012, 9:09 PM

The TM700 footage looks better in my opinion.
not just the stabilization

Is the price comparison as close as the image comparison?

May I inquire as to why you purchased the BIG camera?

NickHope wrote on 1/27/2012, 10:49 PM

Is that TM700 stabilisation purely optical/mechanical? i.e. No resampling going on?

Maybe you were just nervous holding your shiny new AC-130.

farss wrote on 1/27/2012, 11:08 PM

I don't have access to any of those cameras however I do to the CX550 and the CX700.

The CX550 had amazing stabilizing, it could also be an amazing PIA though and Sony dialed it back in the 700. What could happen with the CX550 was you'd pan and stop and then the darn camera would slowly pan back the other way, very, very unsettling.

What you should find is the bigger camera is easier to hold still so you need less stabilization anyway. I'd also add that the bigger cameras also "expect" to be on a tripod. Nothing you can do in post comes close to how much a good tripod will improve your video.

Bob.

Geoff_Wood wrote on 1/28/2012, 1:08 AM

My new Tiny Honkin' Camera has a few weeks on it now Panasonic TZ20. Lovely little piece of Leica glass on it, a 16x 'real' zoom. And focuses down to about 6 inches !

Still like my Nikon D300S though - just too big to take overseas on my ski trip ;-)

geoff

amendegw wrote on 1/28/2012, 5:51 AM

[r]Evolution said, "The TM700 footage looks better in my opinion.

Well, my first test was without supplemental lighting, and with lower lighting the AC130 was superior. I purchased the the AC130 because I wanted to move up to the next level in image quality and wanted the ability use knobs & switches to make manual adjustments rather than the crude/cumbersome touch screen method of the TM700. I did lots of online research and it looked like the Panny AC130 was the "winner" at this price point. Plus my good luck with the TM700 was a factor.

Nick Hope said, "Is that TM700 stabilisation purely optical/mechanical? i.e. No resampling going on?"

I'm 99% sure it's 100% optical. Although there's two settings for stabilization, the "normal mode" & the more agressive "active mode". I used the "normal mode" for these tests.

Bob (farss) said, "I'd also add that the bigger cameras also "expect" to be on a tripod"

I suspect that's, indeed, correct.Finally, the post I made over in the dvxuser forum: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?273550-OIS-Am-I-expecting-too-muchAC130: OIS - Am I expecting too much?[/link] resulted in a comment that makes the most sense to me, "The main reason the OIS is better on the smaller cameras is because the lens element that is being driven is much smaller."

Thanks to all for their replies. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do. I'll probably call B&H customer support tomorrow. Maybe take a trip up to NYC next week to talk with them directly. I'll post the results (in case others are interested).

...Jerry