IMO thats really low hours, like the equivilant of 5,000 miles on an almost new car. I have over 200 hours on my DVC30 and have only had to run a head cleaner tape on it once at around 150 hours and it turned out that the problem was really just a bad tape I had used and the heads were just fine. What would also indicate the cams condition are any nicks, dents or scratches on the body which would show how well it had been cared for.

Regards,

Mark

Thanks very much for the feedback. I will check out what you have suggested, but I am relieved...

Greetings:

I've read through the manual, and would like to be able to save a manually set white balance (my automatic wb doesn't seem to work, and seems to be set for flourescent lighting. In manual, the cam has settings for sun and tungsten lighting, but if it's cloudy or shady I've got to set it manually each time I shoot).

Anyway, I can't find a way to do this. Is there something that I'm missing? Thanks in advance for any tips/suggestions.

Jon

Hi

If you point your camcorder at something white and then press and HOLD the White Balance button for a couple of seconds, it will adjust the white balance manually. The LCD/EVF also gets black for a short while when the cam adjusts the black level. After that you can release the WB button and you should have proper white balance setting. As I have seen, sometimes the manual setting adjusts the white balance very wrong so the procedure might have to be done a couple of times before the WB is set as expected.

This procedure is described in the manual, but might be hard to find/understand.

Unfortunatley there is no way to save more than one manual WB setting.

Regards,

/Bo

A few more details about DVC30 manual white balance...

Once you have set a manual white balance (as Bo describes above), it is saved in memory as the "set mode". You can return to auto white balance by pressing the white balance button 1 time, or switch the camera back to auto mode. To return to your saved white balance, switch camera to manual mode, and then press the white balance button 4 times til you see the set mode icon (solid square with 2 triangle outlines).

If you power off while set to manual white balance, the camera remembers and starts up again in this same setting. Your manual white balance is retained with power off and a battery change.

If you switch the camera to auto mode, and then back to manual, the white balance is in auto mode and you have to press the white balance button 4 times to get back to your saved manual setting.

To save a new manual white balance, just zoom in on your white card (or white wall, etc) and hold the white balance button about 3 seconds until the screen goes black and then the image returns. The white balance icon blinks while taking a new manual white balance. It will continue to blink slowly if it could not do the white balance due to too bright or too dark lighting.

You can also set manual white balance while shooting but the black level doesn't get set (I don't know when that would be a problem).

Douglas

Bo and Doug:

Many thanks for your replies. Yes, I knew how to set the wb manually, but I wasn't aware that it was saved in the wb set mode. I wish I could save a couple of settings, but one will in most cases be all that I need. Very helpful. Thanks again!

Jon

Lately, my DVC30 has begun recording some broken-looking video. Horizontal bars of video from a previous frame jump around on playback. The jitter is not visible in the viewfinder while recording, only when playing back the recording.

The jumping bars of distortion are not seen on recordings of a still subject. They only evidence themselves when the camera is shooting items that are in motion. If I shoot an unmoving scene, the recording looks fine on playback.

This is a new problem...up until recently it didn't do that. I've tried both normal and slower speed recordings, and a variety of tapes, but nothing has helped so far.

Video project waits in the wings...here's hoping someone can tell me what I'm experiencing and what to do.

Thanks much,

Dane

I would say it sounds like the heads are dirty. try popping in a cleaning tape and see if that helps.

I thought I had done my homework and bought a DVC30 for legal applications. Among other features, I chose it for the Zoom, and Date\Time superimpose feature. I have problems with it and badly need some feedback. Let me preface by saying that for my uses I am not concerned about artistic presentation, but instead evidence gathering. I rely heavily on Digital Zoom and must have Date & Time superimposed on all videos.

1) Unfortunately, I have discovered the Date\Time stamp can not be superimposed on any video recorded above 24X. I see no exception to this rule. (Am I missing anything here?)

2) I need a seamless digital zoom. That is to say I may need to zoom from 1X to 30X or 40X without ceasing recording. As best I can determine the procedure for zooming from 1X to 24X, involves stopping recording, at least once, if not twice, because you apparently can not move out of the Optical Range into the Digital Range without Stopping Recording. Once in the digital zoom range if you realize you need to go to the next level, you must again stop recording to make the adjustment (even with a User Button Programmed For Digital Zoom).

The Zoom Increments are 1.25X. 1.5X, 2X. 5X & 10X respectively. You must Stop Recording to go to the next increment. That’s an awful lot of stopping and starting recording, if you suddenly realize you don’t have enough Zoom.

I hope I am missing something on both these issues. Am I? Thanks in advance.

Jack

I'm a newb here. Did I post this in the wrong place or what? Surely someone has some feedback on these two issues. I was just curious if I was overlooking something? If I don't get a response I'll just RMA it, as I see no solution myself. Thanks Jack

hmm, not sure. I haven't tried any of your options. I never found a need to really do any of these things. But i'll give it a try and see if i'm able.

Michael

If you have already checked it out, Thanks. If you haven't don't go to any trouble, as I am returning the camera.

I know my needs are far from typical, but others who are considering this camera and need Date\Time stamp and digital zoom should be aware of these limitations.

I will say that the camera was very nice. Sturdily built, with a great optical lens, and a good feel. I wish it had worked out.

Thanks
Jack

I'm headed for a trek in Peru with my DVC30. Up to 18,000 ft. Does anyone have experience or advice for high altitudes (regarding the camera, that is... My body is another topic ;-) ? Assuming that I can keep the camera above freezing, and without condensation, are there other altitude effects to watch out for? The DVC30 specs don't mention altitude.

sounds like a fun trip. I've had mine up to 12,000 with no problems other than panting like a fool. this winter on really cold days here in NYC, I would occasionally hear a funny noise coming from the transport. this was below freezing though. Kind of sounded like a whine. didn't seem to affect anything other than the mic picking it up.

ive seen PD150's etc on Everest (on tv of course) so i doubt you will have any problems. i think temp would have more effect than altitude. good luck on the trip. Ive only been to the summit of Mt. Washington NH. I could only imagine something 3 times the height :)

"Apr. 14, 1999: Last Sunday in Huntsville, Ala., a weather balloon was launched amid the golden light and stretching shadows of late afternoon. The whipping wind quickly carried the balloon aloft at 6:47 p.m. CDT, encouraged by the enthusiastic cheers of the launchers. Their eyes followed the balloon until it disappeared into the expansive blue sky, then they quickly huddled around tiny TV monitors to watch scenic video filmed from the balloon’s payload.

............

Thanks to the balloon’s downward-pointing video camera, anyone with Internet access could watch the world from the balloon’s point of view. The live webcast featured images of the sunset as seen from 80,000 ft and eerie gurgling sounds caused by high altitude winds. Selected video highlights are now available for replay. They include a movie of the launch, sunset from the stratosphere, and an audio recording of the balloon bursting at 95,000 ft."

Does the battery series that fit my DVX100B work on the DVC30 that I'm thinking about getting?

yes, however if your planning on using teh DVC30 as a B roll to the 100b, then id strongly recomend you run tests before hand.. the image is TOTALLY different from each camera...

does anyone else have this problem? I white balance and everything, but on shades of pink (including fuchsia) it shows up as shades of red. this sucks because i shoot weddings with two cameras, the other shows the pink shades. thus my delimma. if anyone knows how to correct this please let me know! thanks!

yup.... the red saturation is too high on this unit, and if u tweak it, it will affect the whole colour range..

i took the cam when it was first released out ona job where the bridesmaids dresses were hot pink.. they looked red...
i took the camera back and got a seconds DVX100....
the only think i miss is the looooooooong zoom...

hmmm, did you try tweeking down the chroma setting?

i had a prerelease pal model before they hit the market (i worked as a distributor) so knowing these cams was paramount to my sales....
That and the fact that i already had DVX100's in stock and in my own studio.... so knowing the insides was pretty standard stuff... tweaking these cams wasnt brain surgery...
Trying to use sell the 30 as a "second unit" for DVX100's failed abysmally due to the lack of colour matching. If they could at least match that saturation and chroma phase, then it would have sold like hotcakes, but it didnt, so it didnt sell that much... it was nigh on impossible to match the 2... irrespective of what settings you had them on..
to this day, even matching a dvx100 to a 100a is nigh on impossible... even if u dumb it down... i dont know if its the 12bit RGB chip or what... either way, ive found the only to match pana cameras is if theyre the same unit...

either that or im missing something..

yeah, i've since then tweak the color settings, a little too late though. but the colors still end up having an abnormal tint to them. i just had to create a seperate user setting just for fuchsia. that is a major achilles heel if you ask me. other then that i've loved the camera...too bad i guess. thanks for the input.

I just shot a outdoor wedding today, Beautiful outside, no breeze, beautiful couple. Got home, rewound the tape and went to import them and nothing.

Dirty heads I believe. Worked on regular video recorders for 20 years but can I clean the video heads on my DVC30 the same way as I did peoples VHS desks? Denatured Alc on a wet shamy.

Need help quick. Couple comes back in a week and a few days from their honey moon!!!

Jeff Lovell
Created Design Video

I really don't want to send this in.

i woudlnt clean the head with THAT...

id use a dry type (or hhrard type) head cleaner

also what do u mean by "nothing"

need more info

Fixed!

I went over to Radio Shack after work and they carry a miniDV cleaner tape by JVC. Put it in play for 10 seconds and that was it!

Just as a note, video recording in all tape type machine regardless of format uses what is called 'helical' recording to get the frequency range needed. This link is for data tape recording but it works the same for video;

Data tape helical recording (http://www.imation.com/products/pdfs/IMN_LinearHelical_WP.pdf#search=%22helical%20recording%22)

I just put that in for those whoa re not familar with it. It is totally different from linier recording which is how standard audio is recorded.

Which these special types of heads which rotatoe on a drum you have to use a different method to clean them which certainly does NOt include any cotton swabs!

Anyway, all is wall and I have dumped the wedding in to the computer and started to make a memory for the happy couple!

Jeff

I have been asked to shoot an outdoor wedding in March that will be held under a tent. I have a Panasonic DVC30 and I was curious anyone has any pointers or settings that may help. I have only had this camera for a few months and this will be my first experience under a tent. I have played with the backlight button, but I was wondering if there are other if anyone has any other recommendations.

Hi Scott,

I also have a 30 and in this situation I would set the iris manually so the interior of the tent is correctly lighted and white balanced, this might and probably will mean the light coming in from below the edge of the tent will be over white but you may have to live with that to get a proper exposure under the tent. If you have any action you need to video that is not under the tent you can always adjust the iris so the exposure if right and then open it back up for things going on in the tent.

Since you are new to the 30, I would say to go out and practice with the camera in manual mode and also learn how to set the white balance manually if you have not before. The tent I would think is white so you can just zoom up into it and set the WB. I would also turn on the 'zebra' bars so you know when the exposure is too high. Read up in the manual about this.

Good luck, the 30 is a great camera. I just did a wedding in October that was outside in very bright and direct sunlight. Some of the scenes were "fun"!

Jeff

The info you got in the above post is accurate. Although I don't use the camera in question when shooting a situation like you described the best way to shoot is in manual mode. One way to set the proper exposure is to have someone stand in the place the B&G will be zoom in tight to the face, let the auto iris set the esposure then lock it (manual) and see what it is. Say it's F/4-then move to other locations you think you might be shooting from and do the same, auto set then lock it and write down the F stops from all the locations. Also don't forget to turn the other way for the processional. The exposure will probably be different, I've had as much as 4 stops different. The most important thing is to set the exposure for the skin tone, forget everything else, if the skin tone is right then the rest will be very close.
I would avoid the backlight button as this is not always the case-the sun might be coming in from the side or it might not open the iris to the right exposure-it could be off by a couple of stops.
Play around with the camera under every lighting situation you can come up with and here's an important thing. IF you have to rely on the LCD for exposure then learn to use the ZEBRAS AND set the brightness of the LCD to fit the situation-if it's really bright then set the brightness up and vice-versa. The LCD is not really the way to set proper exposure BUT it can be used if you set it to be close to the overall lighting in stead of setting it so you can see everything clearly.
HTHs

Don

Hello
I am wondering if there is a way to stop my camcorder from turning off automatically after few minutes. I need it to be turned on all the time for two reasons:
1. I want to do an on-the-fly capture from my camcorder to NLE application (iMovie), without recording to a tape (a tape is inserted tho)
2. I want to adjust all the controls and setting before a shot - camcorder is on a tripod, I am setting up the lights, adjusting exposure etc. and my camcorder suddenly goes off.
Thanks!
Tom

Tom, there are only two things you can do and I'm only sure about one of them on your camera.

First, take the tape out. This will stop the camera from shutting down. It's doing this to protect the tape and heads.

Second, if your camera has this feature (the XL1s and XL2 have it) is to look for a feature called VCR stop. On the Canon cameras, this stops the tape and heads from spinning, but does not shut off the camera. I'm not certain you have anything like this on your DVC30, but it's worth a look. If not, I'm afraid you are stuck with option one that I listed above.

Good luck,

-gb-

There is a menu setting to adjust the shut off time and type, but you should be good to leave it in the REC pause mode for a while without it shutting off.

Is your battery fully charged? I know silly question but if it is shutting off suddenly after a few minutes there maybe other problems.

With the tape out of it, it should stay on indefinitely.

Read through the manual to find the info on the shut down time.

Jeff

In the Other functions screen, set the tape protect to STBY instead of power off. First thing i did with my DVC. Its a pain in the ass when they cast is ready to shoot and your camera is off...

Derek

was wondering what would be the difference between shooting the dvc30's 30p vs. shooting 60i and deinterlacing in final cut pro/other apps? both have a loss in resolution anyway?

Hi

You can't film in progressive mode on the DVC30. What you can do is film in either Interlaced or Frame mode.

Frame mode is not exactly as Progressive mode and you will lose about 30% of the image resolution. I don't know how FinalCut handles deinterlacing. In Adobe Premiere, deinterlacing is done by discarding one of the interlaced fields and make the other field appear in the place of the discarded field. This decreases the resolution by 50%. So it's better to use Frame mode than to do deinterlacing in post.

There are other deinterlacers on the market that does a good job, but they are expensive and very time consuming during render.


Regards,

/Bo

umm.. there are afew anomolies to the initial response here..

in cam frame mode is an in cam deinterlacing method. Its pretty much identical to the higher end deinterlacing plugins/nle's out there.. HOWEVER, when shooting in frame, you should use progressive scan filming techniques, as it behaves in much the same way as progressive scan.

As for loss of resolution, this is a myth. The CCD captures at 50\60i and as the calculates the frame based on the 2 fields, that FRAME is full res, however sharpness is lost due to the interpolation averaging out where each variable pixel shouls be... Its EXACTLY the same as doing it in post.
Its still the same res, its just calculated and processed differently, in turn, causing some softness becuase what you see an average of teh two, not the actual. This can be fixed by going into the scene file and adjust the sharpness either way.. with clever tweaking and good exposure, this softness wont be noticable.


In regard to deinterlacing in post and discarding fields, many applications behave differently. One of the reasons Prem sucks so bad with progressive is because of its method of deinterlacing

Most NLEs will interpolate both fields and draw a completely new frame for where those fields once were. Most apps let u either interpolate or blend your fields, however interpolation is much more accurate especially when using slowmotion, and a variety of different filters. Also if your planning to scale up to 720p, interpolation would be your best option.
In regards to a 50% loss of resolution, this again is a myth, depending on your application.
Basically much like the DVC30, if you deinterlace in post, most of the time the app will run an average of both fields and create one frame.
The only time a frame is discarded is when your shooting in 24/25p natively whereby a pulldown service is in use. Where there are duplicate frames is when the frame itself would be discarded (such as 2:2 pulldown for PAL or 2:3:3:2 for NTSC) THis however does not affct the image quality, but then again, this is all shot in native res with redundant frames anyway and this is nt what were talking about..

The point is, is that depending on your application, you can easily do it in cam, or u can run an app such as Vegas and get identical results.

An interpolation of 2 fields does not contstrue a loss of resolution, its only a different way of calculating and processig that same data based on the average between those 2 fields.

I have a DVC-30 now, and use it to shoot our dance recitals. It works great, but I need a second cam for double coverage and need to be able to match the footage. I'd rather not drop another 1800$ if possible.

Does anyone know of a sub-1k camera that would come close? I realize it won't be exact, but I need 'good enough' to where if I cut between the shots, after color-matching in FCE, it isn't too distracting.

Thanks

Why not try the Pana GS 500 and shot with that in 4:3

Th GS 500 has 3 x 1/4,7 CCD and the DVC 30 has 3 x 1/4 CCD

I think they would match pretty well

That sounds like a pretty good idea. I shoot for my daughter's dance school, and have been doing 2 cameras for years. I have a main camera centered on the balcony and then I put a second camera on the stage right wing for close-ups. I'm using DVC-80s. I have one and a friend who helps me has one. I would use the 30 on balcony and put the other closer. That way if there is a little difference in resolution, it wouldn't be noticeable. Also, the manual functions on a sub 1K camera are usually much harder to use. If you shoot from a location that has more light, and don't have to zoom in as much, that makes it easier to use the less expensive camera.

Good luck.

Hi,

I want to record some old video footage back onto mini dv through my DVC 30 but am having problems. I put the AV cable from the AV Out on the VCR and into the AV in/out on the DVC30. When I put the DVC30 on VCR Mode the video and audio comes through fine onto the LCD. However when I put it onto record mode I get nothing coming through and consequently can't record it onto the mini dv tape?

Maybe it's something simple as I've never used the unit for this before?

Can anyone please help me out?

Thanks, Ian

Hi Ian

I can't give you a definte solution to this one from memory but I had similiar issue a while back. A couple of things to check:

Are you using the original AV cable that came with the DVC30? I once tried using the cable (with all the same connectors) from a digital still camera, no joy.

Also, be very precise about the mode settings. It seems to ring a bell that to record from AV the camera needs to be in VCR mode, no Record mode....(could of got that completely wrong)...

I'm not at my 30 right now, but you need to stay in "VCR" mode. When you have the video from the VHS playing press and hold the 2 REC buttons on the camera (with the LCD display open) and it will start recording. This will not make the video better but it may be somewhat better for archiving.

Question, if you are going through all of this why not just import the VHs video to your editing software and output it as a DVD and then it won;t go bad.

Jeff

Thanks Heaps Guys,

Mission accomplished!

Well I Just purchased a DVC30 as a back up camera for our dvx100b. I was also looking at getting the infrared adapter to allow farther filming. Any thoughts before I order one?

I will be using the infrared for wildlife filming.

Has anyone used the infrared with this camera? Whats your thoughts?

1st timer here. I'm trying to capture old vhs-c tapes to my computer. I tried the "dazzle" route but it drops frames like crazy. I've recorded to my DVC-30 then catured and that works fine, but the manual (and what I want to do) makes it sound like I can use the camera to turn the signal to digital and cature the footage through the camera without actually recording to tape first. But when I try that as soon as I hit capture it starts capturing the camcorder tape not the VCR tape. What's the trick, or is there one? (I hope this isn't a "if I had a nickle every time I heard that question" question)
BTW I'm using Vegas 4.0 & firewire cable.

Hi Gavin,

This is fairly easy. Just connect the AV cables that came with the 30 to the video output of the VHS player and plug the other end into the AV jack on the side of the 30.

Connect the 30 to your computer via firewire.

Turn on the VHS player and turn on the 30. Once the 30 comes up, put it in player mode.

The camera should see the signal (I'm thinking your VHS player will output a blue screen if it is not playing a tape) and switch the AV cooonection to an 'input' and show you the incoming video from the VHS player on the viewfinder of the 30. It might take a second or 2 for this to happen.

Play the video and verify the sign is passing through the 30. You shoud then be able to fire up Vegas and to a "live" capture, meaning you have to set it to ignore frame drops. I don't have Vegas so I'm not sure how. You do not want Vegas to control the 30 as you normally do when capturing from the miniDV tape.

Look through the manual for the 30, I think it is all in there. I do this quite a bit when I get jobs for transfering VHS or 8mm to DVD.

Jeff

Sorry I can not help you with the IR adapter that is available. I have only used the built in IR. It works nice but not much range. The various SMS modes are nice and it does a good job as far as picture clarity.

Jeff

OK, Vegas must be the issue. I was doing everything the way you said, now I have to figure out how to change the capture control in Vegas. Thanks Jeff. (I've recently started my own videography business and was wondering how much you charged to transfer VHS/8mm tapes to DVD)
-Gavin

If it is one tape I usually change $20. I did a whole series of hi8's amd miniDV for a friend for $60. Try not to charge too much so I get repeat busniess.

I only do this part time, weddings, other events, promotional DVD's church work. Good hobby that brings in some money!

Jeff

Success! In the capture window there's an "options" heading, clicked on that and UNCLICKED control DV device.Then when I click capture it captures the VCR feed not the camcorder tape. The other thing is to change the DV OUT setting to "ON" on the DVC 30. It's under AV IN/OUT SETUP. Thanks for the help, both camera and business, and I hope any and all this info helps someone else too!
-Gavin