Hi Pete Rush,

There is some info about wide angle adapters way back on Pages 8 and 9 of this huge TM900 Users thread. Hope this helps!

Guys I'm currently using a GoPro for wide angle but it's really bad in low light - I'm looking for a wide angle adapter for the TM900 and came accross this one

Panasonic DMW-LW46E 46mm Wide Conversion Lens (DMW-LW46E) - Wex Photographic (http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-panasonic-dmw-lw46e-wide-conversion-lens/p1518747?cm_mmc=googlebase-_-camera-lenses-_-extenders-and-adapters-_-panasonic-dmw-lw46e-46mm-wide-conversion-lens_1518747&awc=2298_1364142016_69b391255595ecd27ce71763a106f775&utm_source=aw)

Does anyone have any experience of it?

Cheers

Pete

Does anyone know how to turn off Dolby 5.1 on the TM900? Premier Pro does not like it - it won't visualise the waveform - not a big thing but helps when quickly syncing audio.

Pete

I have mine set up with just stereo sound - trouble is I am out looking through my telescope at Jupiter in a freezing cold field right now with my elder daughter and some friends. There is definitely a menu option for it accessible perhaps when you disable the iAuto function - In case you made that mistake - only ever use that by accident! Wish I could disable that button permanently.

Have a dig around in the setup menus. Someone on the warm with their TM900 can help if not!

Yes. Turn off iA.

You can change the Mic setting by:

Set to Manual
Menu - Record Setup - MIC SETUP - [select option]

Pg 74 of the manual describes all the options but Stereo is one choice.

Cheers guys - will try it

You can change the Mic setting by:

Set to Manual
Menu - Record Setup - MIC SETUP - [select option]

Pg 74 of the manual describes all the options but Stereo is one choice.
The menu settings are only effective in manual mode. If you shoot in ia the camera seems to default to 5.1. I had this happen when I first got my TM900, set to manual and you can freely choose, and set the audio

Colin, That is strange because i set my TM900 MIC to Front and use Auto most of the time and never had to set it again.

Looking for a little help here. I have a HDC-TM900 that is a couple of years old. It has performed great but I ran into a problem yesterday with it. I had plugged it in to my PC to transfer off all the video/still photos as I normally do every few months. After transferring, I usually disconnect the camera, select the playback mode, and use the camera itself to erase all of the video.

Anyway, I moved the 3-position mode selector switch (camera/video/playback) switch to the playback position but it never switches to playback mode (the mode where you get all the thumbnails of the recorded stills and video). I've tried removing the battery, plugging in the camera, etc..but cannot get it to switch to the playback mode.

Has anyone else encountered this? I don't have my manual handy and was also wondering if there was a factory reset pinhole somewhere on the camera? I found the setting in the menu, but wasn't sure if there was a hardware reset switch somewhere on the camera.

If push comes to shove I suppose I can delete the contents of the camera directories via the computer, but it would be nice to have the playback mode functioning.

Any help would be appreciated.

Chris

Does anyone know if it's possible to have the TM900 record to an SD card and then to it's internal memory when the card is full - or indeed record to it's internal memory and then to the SD card when that's full?

Pete

Hello everyone, this is my first post. Have been reading the wealth of info on these forums and thanks to everyone for it.
I have a Panasonic TM900 which I am sure, I have not used to its full capacity. I would be highly obliged if someone could guide me to the best settings. I have Sony Vegas for processing and most of the videos I use are for home use.
I also have a question regarding using the remote control when the camera is tripod mounted. Since the remote control receiver is in the front, if someone is sitting at the back then the remote does not work. I had a old Sony camcorder where the remote receiver was a popup kind and could be operated from anywhere in the room. Is there a wired remote available for this camera ? Thanks

You can make a wired remote control out of you existing infra-red unit. It is a bit tricky but worth doing. What you need to do is unsolder and remove the infra-red diode from the front of the remote. This will leave two holes in the remote's PCB. Carefully solder and connect a thin flexible two core multi-stranded insulated cable - one core to each hole. This cable needs to be as long as you need to go from the front of the camera to where you intend to use the remote control. Then solder the cable ends to the two wires from infra-red diode that you have removed. Mount the diode close to the front of the camcorder facing the IR receiver hole.

Two points to watch:

You must connect the diode with the correct polarity otherwise it will not work.

It is almost impossible to split the remote plastic casing into it's two halves to get at the diode, so carefully cut the bottom half through with a junior hacksaw, close to the diode.

Also insulate the solder connections to the diode with heat-shrink.

I've used mine this way for over two years with no problems and have extended the cable up to 20 metres.

Hi Riki
I have not tried modifying the IR remote but I have successfully used two other methods to remotely control a 900. The first way it to use a reflector to direct the IR remote beam onto the camera sensor. I use aluminium for the reflector – even when black anodized it works well. No doubt there are many other materials that reflect IR. The second way uses an IR extender available locally in kit form. The sender picks up the signal from the remote, copies it and transmits to a IR emitter on the end of a cable that can be placed where its output is “seen” by the camera’s sensor. Not quite as neat or as adventurous as Guy’s solution but works OK.

You can make a wired remote control out of you existing infra-red unit. It is a bit tricky but worth doing. What you need to do is unsolder and remove the infra-red diode from the front of the remote. This will leave two holes in the remote's PCB. Carefully solder and connect a thin flexible two core multi-stranded insulated cable - one core to each hole. This cable needs to be as long as you need to go from the front of the camera to where you intend to use the remote control. Then solder the cable ends to the two wires from infra-red diode that you have removed. Mount the diode close to the front of the camcorder facing the IR receiver hole.

Two points to watch:

You must connect the diode with the correct polarity otherwise it will not work.

It is almost impossible to split the remote plastic casing into it's two halves to get at the diode, so carefully cut the bottom half through with a junior hacksaw, close to the diode.

Also insulate the solder connections to the diode with heat-shrink.

I've used mine this way for over two years with no problems and have extended the cable up to 20 metres.

Thanks Guy for your suggestion, I doubt I would be able to do as you suggest as am not so savvy with diy

Hi Riki
I have not tried modifying the IR remote but I have successfully used two other methods to remotely control a 900. The first way it to use a reflector to direct the IR remote beam onto the camera sensor. I use aluminium for the reflector – even when black anodized it works well. No doubt there are many other materials that reflect IR. The second way uses an IR extender available locally in kit form. The sender picks up the signal from the remote, copies it and transmits to a IR emitter on the end of a cable that can be placed where its output is “seen” by the camera’s sensor. Not quite as neat or as adventurous as Guy’s solution but works OK.

Both your suggestions whilst workable, would be difficult for my use as I needed to stop and start recordings using the remote whilst the camera stands on a tripod a distance away in a concert. I wonder if it would be a big problem for Panasonic to implement RF remote controls instead of IR into their cameras?

I've also seen people use a piece of aluminium/tin foil, bent into a position to create a reflector a few cm in front of camera's IR sensor to allow wider coverage of operation with a remote from behind.

[I think from memory it was in the XDCAM EX section, which is another area of this forum I occasionally frequent, and the guy was using it for nature recording - so possibly from some distance away].

Not sure what the limit of the TM900s IR sensor is in ideal situations or what the effect would be on range reduction of using a reflector - but since it's a very simple, cheap to no-cost solution it might be worth at least testing to see if it's reliable enough.

Yes that could be worth trying, thanks for your suggestion

As I have mentioned in my first post, I have been using the Panasonic straight out of the box and have been using AVCHD HA 1920 to record video. I have seen the dedicated 1080/50p button but have not yet ventured there. Is it advisable to shoot in the 1080/50p resolution or should I stick to the HA option. I am using Sony Vegas and now learning Edius to process the files. My viewing of final output is streaming through a Popcorn C300 onto a Full HD plasma TV.
My processing would be done on my laptop which is a Sony Vaio I5 with 8gb ram. Sony Vegas runs beautifully no problems, but I have noticed that the trial version of Edius is unable to play even the AVCHD clips and the sound is distorted and a lot of stuttering. I thought I would have to fine tune the settings, but am not sure if the laptop is good enough.
Mainly holiday videos as am a over enthusiastic amateur.

Following on from Andy's suggestion, you might try a small concave mirror (shaving mirror) to reflect and concentrate the IR beam onto the sensor.

The other solution is to buy an X920 and download the wifi control app to your smart phone.

As I have mentioned in my first post, I have been using the Panasonic straight out of the box and have been using AVCHD HA 1920 to record video. I have seen the dedicated 1080/50p button but have not yet ventured there. Is it advisable to shoot in the 1080/50p resolution or should I stick to the HA option. I am using Sony Vegas and now learning Edius to process the files. My viewing of final output is streaming through a Popcorn C300 onto a Full HD plasma TV. Mainly holiday videos as am a over enthusiastic amateur.

Rika,

1080p50 is in a different league resolution wise. I only ever shot HA mode once and it was so much poorer (but I needed the card space). Try a 1080p50 on a few test clips and see how your PC/NLE handles it (in my case PC wise I use Vegas 9E on a 2010 i7 box - handles it no problems - but my main workflow is CS 5.5.2/Mac Pro based). Assuming your computer set-up works OK I doubt you'll ever go back to HA mode...

Hi Andy,
Following up on your suggestion I just returned from a long May day holiday and have shot around 96gb of video all in 1080/50p. Now would really appreciate if someone could guide me to the render settings in Sony Vegas Pro 12.
Also I am streaming from a Popcorn C300 to a Panny TV and that is the only way I will be watching the videos.
Thanks

Hi, a quick search in this section or the Vegas section should pull up some useful threads for you - but here is one to get you going.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/panasonic-avccam-camcorders/499640-tm900-editing-50p-files.html

Not sure what advances Vegas 11 has over the 9 that I ended my Vegas days with, but if you can't work it out by doing some tests on a few clips I am sure those who are up to date with Vegas 11 and handling 1080p50 AVCHD2 on here can help. I only really use Adobe on Mac now.

I also seem to remember that some useful Vegas tips appeared somewhere in this huge long thread about a year ago [on my iPhone right now so I'll let you search back and find one of my index pages] - and then perhaps you can find some more useful info Riki.

Sure someone will offer advice!

Hi Andy, no one has responded yet. I have had to downgrade the files and had to render them to check the recordings and have lost the advantage of having shot in 50p. I really hope someone replies soon. There are some settings suggestions abut Edius but unfortunately I am unable to run Edius on my I5 system. Maybe there is anther software which you can suggest which could do the jobe, thanks.

Will Vegas 12 not handle 1080p50 on your i5 windows box? Very surprised at that - but I rarely use Vegas now so someone else will have to help as there will have been a lot of changes from my Vegas 9 to your 12.

By "downgrading" your files I hope you kept a copy of the originals in tact...

As I mentioned before, the best approach is always to do a few tests on a few short clips to optimise your workflow (and write down notes about your findings and all critical settings used).

Only once you have established what works best - lots of pixel peeping on the resulting very short test movies once they are rendered to your choosen viewing format - would I then consider throwing a huge project at your system....which is what 96GB sounds like to me!!!

That's why my YouTube Channel (AndyKWilkinson) has a quite a few "worthless" test films on it...a few of my TM900/Vegas test results are even public too...

I can't help with Edius as have no experience of it. No idea why it would not work on your i5 computer.

Riki, Here is the workflow i use with TM900 footage (i shoot 1080 60p) and Sony Vegas Pro 11:

1) Transcode the MTS files to AVI using Cineform. You can get a free copy of the software at GoPro.com
2) Open Vegas project with settings in attached image
3) Add AVI files to Vegas project. (AVI files will allow for smooth playback during editing)
4) Edit (disable smart re-sample on all clips)
5) Render with settings in attached image.
6) When you are finished with project editing, you can delete AVI files to save space. DO NOT delete the MTS files.



Hi Andy,
Following up on your suggestion I just returned from a long May day holiday and have shot around 96gb of video all in 1080/50p. Now would really appreciate if someone could guide me to the render settings in Sony Vegas Pro 12.
Also I am streaming from a Popcorn C300 to a Panny TV and that is the only way I will be watching the videos.
Thanks

Thanks Mike for your reply. One question, my camera is a European model so I have shot on 1080-50p. Do I choose 1920*1080-50p (Double Pal) in Vegas. Any other settings to change ? Also forgive my ignorance , but Cineform Import does not see the .mts files, maybe I am doing something wrong.

Riki, Yes match your footage (50p) for the project settings and for rendering use 25 in place of 29.97 that i have.

I don't know if there are any other changes needed.

Hi Mike,
Go Pro Cineform the free version does not read mts or AVCHD files. Any other converter which you feel would do the job ?

Sorry to hear the free version doesn't work with MTS files. I didn't know that. I have Cineform Neoscene (paid version). Here is something i just found in a quick google search. I have no knowledge of this software at all but it does claim to do the job and is free.

MTS to AVI Converter free for Windows (http://mtstoaviconverter.org/)

I am trying out EDIUS and am very happy so far as I am able to view and edit my clips which I could never do in Vegas. Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help.

I'm not sure why the Cineform step is needed. If it's not possible to get smooth playback of the MTS files with Vegas 12 with an i5 processor, then select the desired MTS files from the media bin, right click and choose "create proxy video." Then in the preview window, select "preview auto" to view the proxy files or choose "Best Auto" to view the native MTS files, your choice. This is all explained in the Vegas help. FWIW, my Dell laptop with i7 is nothing special, although it does have the GT555M nVidia CUDA open CL graphics card, it speeds through the native MTS files of my TM900 easily, and also my AG-AC90, 1920x1080/60p.

With OIS on does one need to always press the OIS lock button on the LCD screen or is it only when extra stabilisation is needed whilst zooming. Is the stabilisation without holding the hand icon good enough ?
Also what is the max zoom to use with best results. Thanks in advance.

Only push the on-screen stabilisation button when you want the maximum stabilisation and you can put up with the not-inconsiderable side-effects. You can zoom or pan or tilt without the camera 'carrying-on'. Put it on a tripod to see what I'm talking about.

The stabilisation afforded by simply using the OIS button is pretty good, but again, the side effects are pretty noticeable if you pan or tilt.

Max zoom? You can switch it to the 20x with no loss of resolution. Although it's digital from 12x to 20x it's using a mega-pixel chip, so that even at 20x it's still 1920 x 1080. Better yet it remains at f/2.8 max from 12x to 20x, so it's a neat solution.

tom.

I have been using 3 TM900's for the last two years to shoot events. They work great except for one thing. When the camera is recording continuously and has to start a new file (after the prior file has reached 4GB), there is a sizeable dropout on the audio and a bunch of duplicated frames in the video. The camera does create the correct number of frames as it transitions from one file to another such that the multiple cameras will stay in sync. However, the audio dropout is a problem if you are recording a concert and end up with a hole in the audio. The 4 frozen video frames that you get at the junction of the files is also a problem if you have fast action as viewers will notice it. However, with video you typically have multiple camera angles and can avoid the video with the glitch at that point in time. The audio is more of a problem as I have different types of mikes on the various cameras and substituting in audio from camera2 to plug a hole in camera1's audio doesn't end up with a great result. I have always shot events in 1080/60p because of the flexibility that it gives me in post. It just occurred to me that the problem might be less severe in 60i as the camera processor might have less work to do. However, this wouldn't be a great solution anyway because I really like the 60p.

I am looking to add a 4th camera as I am moving towards using more static cameras and fewer manned cameras. I really like the intelligent exposure on the TM900 as it keeps from blowing out areas of the stage that are under brighter light when I am zoomed back. I'd like to get a new camera that has this same capability, that can be easily color matched to my existing cameras, and that fixes the audio glitch at the file junction.

Does anyone have experience with the TM900 follow-on cameras that would shed light on whether or not Panny fixed the audio issue with the new cameras? For critical events today I use a PD-170 to record the audio track. But this is a hassle to set up, synchronize, and download the tapes. Any thoughts of a new camera that can be matched with my current cams and that solves my audio issue? Something that doesn't break the bank...

Only push the on-screen stabilisation button when you want the maximum stabilisation and you can put up with the not-inconsiderable side-effects. You can zoom or pan or tilt without the camera 'carrying-on'. Put it on a tripod to see what I'm talking about.

The stabilisation afforded by simply using the OIS button is pretty good, but again, the side effects are pretty noticeable if you pan or tilt.

Max zoom? You can switch it to the 20x with no loss of resolution. Although it's digital from 12x to 20x it's using a mega-pixel chip, so that even at 20x it's still 1920 x 1080. Better yet it remains at f/2.8 max from 12x to 20x, so it's a neat solution.

tom.

Thanks Tom for your reply. I will check out your suggestions.

I have been using 3 TM900's for the last two years to shoot events. They work great except for one thing. When the camera is recording continuously and has to start a new file (after the prior file has reached 4GB), there is a sizeable dropout on the audio and a bunch of duplicated frames in the video. The camera does create the correct number of frames as it transitions from one file to another such that the multiple cameras will stay in sync. However, the audio dropout is a problem if you are recording a concert and end up with a hole in the audio. The 4 frozen video frames that you get at the junction of the files is also a problem if you have fast action as viewers will notice it. However, with video you typically have multiple camera angles and can avoid the video with the glitch at that point in time. The audio is more of a problem as I have different types of mikes on the various cameras and substituting in audio from camera2 to plug a hole in camera1's audio doesn't end up with a great result. I have always shot events in 1080/60p because of the flexibility that it gives me in post. It just occurred to me that the problem might be less severe in 60i as the camera processor might have less work to do. However, this wouldn't be a great solution anyway because I really like the 60p.

I am looking to add a 4th camera as I am moving towards using more static cameras and fewer manned cameras. I really like the intelligent exposure on the TM900 as it keeps from blowing out areas of the stage that are under brighter light when I am zoomed back. I'd like to get a new camera that has this same capability, that can be easily color matched to my existing cameras, and that fixes the audio glitch at the file junction.

Does anyone have experience with the TM900 follow-on cameras that would shed light on whether or not Panny fixed the audio issue with the new cameras? For critical events today I use a PD-170 to record the audio track. But this is a hassle to set up, synchronize, and download the tapes. Any thoughts of a new camera that can be matched with my current cams and that solves my audio issue? Something that doesn't break the bank...

Alan, your problems are probably caused by the method by which you bring the files into your PC and import into your NLE.

With AVCHD you must follow a very specific workflow.

There are also white papers by Panasonic such as this one for Sony Vegas Pro:

ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/panasonic/drivers/PBTS/papers/AVCCAM%20Sony%20Vegas%20Pro%209%20white%20paper.pdf

I also use 3 x TM900's but I always also use standalone audio recorders so it wasn't really an issue for me but I discovered the above - which everyone else already seemed to know - when exploring the workflow for the AC90.

The AC90 is much larger than the TM900 family but still fairly discreet. I also use the TM900 intelligent exposure / backlight compensation feature a great deal. The AC90 has a similar function but it is a little more usable because you can allocate backlight compensation to a physical user button and toggle it on and off mid-shoot.

Pete

Thanks for the response. I will try the special AVCHD importing process. I have been simply copying the .mts files onto my computer, importing them into Premiere, and then butting them up against each other in the timeline.

I find it absolutely bizarre that there needs to be a special import process for spanned files. Why not simply make the files continuations of each other? And where the heck is the missing audio that doesn't appear in either file? Cutting out the frames with missing audio and butting them together leaves a glitch. (So where the heck are the missing audio frames if not in either file?) And there are more frames with missing audio than there are frames with missing video at the junction. It absolutely doesn't make sense that somehow these files can be stitched back together in a way that is both video and audio contiguous. (Of course it probably would make sense if I fully understood the compression scheme that was being used...)

I would point out that it will be annoying and a hassle to copy the entire private folder onto my computer every time that I want to download clips. My SD cards often contain files from multiple filmings, some of which I have already downloaded and some of which I have yet to download. I will need to look at the directory structure to determine if there are files contained elsewhere in the private directory that contain metadata about the spanning or if the .mts files simply need to be in a directory structure with the appropriate names in order for Premiere to sort out that the files are spanned and then handle them appropriately.

In any event, it sounds like there is a solution to my audio glitches at the boundaries of files even though it sounds like a hassle from a workflow perspective.

Thanks for responding,

Alan

I would like to point out that this problem is not unique to Panasonic AVCHD files. All systems using concatenated file structures that I have come across, need the user to import the media in a specific manner to avoid the problems that you have been having.

I would suggest that you do not keep adding new media to cards. After each section of a project or after each day's filming, I transfer the entire contents of the card to a laptop and or external drive. Once the media transferred is checked, then the card is reformatted prior to re-use. Also, if you are shooting more than one project at the same time or in the same location, use different cards for each sequence. The cards are not expensive, and will save you a lot of hassle.

I guess I will have to change my workflow to deal with this new way of importing files into Premiere. In the past I have kept the files on the SD card until I had finished editing the project and delivered the project. This just gave me a "no extra work involved" emergency backup of the original files if I had a computer meltdown during the editing process, or if I discovered something hadn't downloaded properly.

Given that I sometimes have 3 projects going at once, I could (as you suggest), buy 6 more 64GB cards at about $50 each and use one set of cards for each project. (Actually 9 more cards if I get a 4th cam)

A second alternative would be to copy the Private folder to several different computers after every filming, then re-format the card. This would give me redundancy at the expense of disk drive space and duplicate downloads.

I could also keep with my current approach of leaving multiple events on the card for a while and simply copy the entire contents of the card every time I download. This gives redundancy at the expense of disk drive space and download time.

A fourth possibility would be to determine the ancillary files that contain the metadata for the spanned clips and that allow Premiere to recognize the spanned clips as such. I could then download these specific files along with the .mts files and place them in the appropriate directory structure. However, this would be a hassle and might lead to errors.

My guess is that I'll go with the second alternative and download the Private folder to multiple computers and then re-format the card after each filming.

Bit of a hassle but it does solve the problem.

Thanks again for your help with this issue.

BTW, I'm still in the market for a 4th cam that can be matched up with my TM900's. It needs "intelligent exposure" to deal with varying lighting conditions. It needs to have the same picture quality as the TM900's but doesn't need all of the features as it will always be in a static position simply covering part of the stage. I'd like to minimize the amount of money that I spend on this camera. Any thoughts?

Alan

Thanks guys for enlightening me as to what the correct method of importing footage into Premiere is. I was wondering why Premiere wasn't recognizing the AVCHD format in the Media Browser... now I know I was doing it wrong.

I just logged in to rage. I have a shot of the bride's beautiful bouquet that I'm zooming in on, and the TM900 decides to CONSTANTLY shift focus, it goes absolutely WILD.

I noticed this happening -whenever- I zoom in/out slowly, for some reason the camera just goes nuts. The problem is worse if you have little lights in your shot, such as one of those old church chandeliers with lots of candle-shaped light bulbs on it. Filmed one of those as well and while the chandelier itself was a pleasure to look at, the constantly changing focus ruined it. I am always using MF from now on, even though it's not quite easy to get a steady macro shot without using both hands to keep the TM900 in place. I find it produces shaky video even with its awesome stabilizer, shakier with 1x zoom for macro shots than 20x zoom for landscape shots.

Good, got it out of my system. Here is the actual raw bouquet shot I was talking about. You can clearly see the two problems.


Panasonic TM900 - Focus gone wild - YouTube

The shakiness looks like the camera was hand held and would be improved by using a tripod. My SD 700s are pretty much the same as the 900 and from my own experience, the hunting focus is due to the sensor being confused by bright points of light. In the bouquet example, the pearl beads in the bouquet are reflecting bright pin points that I think are causing the problem. I find the same thing with small led lights, the sort of thing that you find in a DJs starcloth. You also reported the came problem with the small loghts in the chandelier and I think you will find it quite common in autofocus systems.

If you find you are encountering those sort of reflection or small light problems, just switch to MF and using the focus ring should be pretty straight forward if you are tripod mounted.

Roger

Well, I was admonished in another thread about too much techinical and not enough art stuff. So here's a break from the geek cheek, and a bit from the air. Back in 2011 I took the Tm900 along to Tucson. I lucked out and got late afternoon light on the Grand Canyon. Relax and take it in. It's beautiful no matter where or how you get the shots. Watch as much as you want.

Arizona From the Air on Vimeo

I'm currently using the VW-WE08H 0.8x wide angle adapter but still want a wider field of view so I'm tempted with the VW-W4607H 0.7x adapter.

The VW-WE08H is giving me 28mm but the VW-W4607H will give me 24.5mm

Has anyone used this adapter and if so does it display much distortion over the VW-WE08H?

Thanks guys for enlightening me as to what the correct method of importing footage into Premiere is. I was wondering why Premiere wasn't recognizing the AVCHD format in the Media Browser... now I know I was doing it wrong.

I just logged in to rage. I have a shot of the bride's beautiful bouquet that I'm zooming in on, and the TM900 decides to CONSTANTLY shift focus, it goes absolutely WILD.

I noticed this happening -whenever- I zoom in/out slowly, for some reason the camera just goes nuts. The problem is worse if you have little lights in your shot, such as one of those old church chandeliers with lots of candle-shaped light bulbs on it. Filmed one of those as well and while the chandelier itself was a pleasure to look at, the constantly changing focus ruined it. I am always using MF from now on, even though it's not quite easy to get a steady macro shot without using both hands to keep the TM900 in place. I find it produces shaky video even with its awesome stabilizer, shakier with 1x zoom for macro shots than 20x zoom for landscape shots.

Good, got it out of my system. Here is the actual raw bouquet shot I was talking about. You can clearly see the two problems.



Hi Luc, I've encountered this problem on rare occasion. The TM900 just doesn't want to seem to focus or just goes in and out. My solution. Power it down using the power button and then power it back up (possibly disconnect battery too). It goes back to normal. This seems to happen once every few weeks. Hope this helps.

Peter, for the sake of the thread, I just saw that you asked this back in August. Do you still care about this? I have the 4607H but I don't know how to compare it to the 08H. I could shoot some footage for you if it's still relevant. I find the 4607H a really nice WA for this little camera. While I have a lot of other high end cameras, there is a lot to like in these these models.

I'm currently using the VW-WE08H 0.8x wide angle adapter but still want a wider field of view so I'm tempted with the VW-W4607H 0.7x adapter.

The VW-WE08H is giving me 28mm but the VW-W4607H will give me 24.5mm

Has anyone used this adapter and if so does it display much distortion over the VW-WE08H?

Al, I'd be interested to see footage or a couple of stills shot with the WA adapter. I am interested in the sharpness in the corners of a frame. THX

I'm warming up my Lite Panels light and have printed out some high def resolution charts. Should have something by tomorrow. (my LP is COLD having been in the garage during the recent freeze).

Shooting with the 4607H WA. So I didn't get a chance to shoot inside sharpness tests, but here's a shot from today's shoot, just a screen grab from the video, so overall it's not as sharp as it looks on screen. Also, you can see that I was shooting pretty wide open. Edge to edge sharpness is about even, given that the screen grab is quite low res. Should give you a good idea of it though. I'm happy with it. Edge distortion in this shot could be way worse. People on the edges still look like people, not balloons. it's good enough when I don't want to lug around my bigger cameras.

I think the 4607H WA is quite impressive - as you say - sharpness is pretty even. I have one follow up question - after editing, can you tell a difference, sharpness wise, if a footage was shot with or without 4607H WA? THX

Yes. Sharpness is pretty even if you are a bit stopped down and working in the wild. But at wide open, lower light situations things can break down first with the WA. Here's my little test video, as you can see, when I get in close the edge's show softness. I saw this as well on the shoot documented above, when I went into a nearby forest and was shooting wide open. Edge Sharpness is not as good. But hey, if I was getting paid, I'd grab a better camera in general. This one is good for what it does, and I do use it instead of an iPhone. But if I'm getting paid, I step up to at least a 7D, and usually a 5Dmkiii. Would I buy recommend this to a friend? You bet.

One thing that this brings up, is that critical focusing on the TM900 style cameras is not great. I can see blue lines for showing me what's in focus but
This little video is NOT a scientific test, just a simple setup to try and let you know what the sharpness is like. 45 seconds, time enough to stop on a given shot and take a look. Be sure to watch in HD. Stock needle drop music, no copyrights were hurt in the filming of this.
TM900 Test w/4607H Wide Angle Lens on Vimeo