In Sony Vegas, no need to set undersampling to .5, leave at 1 and just select disable resample in clip properties.

Thanks Ian. Anyone tried this conversion software on a Mac? Its $29 ...and comes with "warm afterservice" (!)... Any good?

Aunsoft Introduces Panasonic HDC-TM900 AVCHD Video Converter on Mac (http://prsync.com/aunsoft/aunsoft-introduces-panasonic-hdc-tm-avchd-video-converter-on-mac-114110/)

Thanks Andy,

I have not been able (till now) to download 1080 50p clips from my TM900 into my iMac unless I convert them to AVCHD in the camera first.

I have just tried the new Aunsoft MTS/M2TS Converter for the TM900 etc and for the first time I have been able to download 1080 50p clips without prior conversion. I could not do it with the Aunsoft vidoconverter.

I cannot answer your question as to whether it is any good but at least and at last I have something to work with.

If it is of interest I have found that I can download clips (1080 50p and HA1920) from the TM900 into a Nexto 2500. Furthermore I can play the clips back on the Nexto screen and now with the Aunsoft I can download from the Nexto to my iMac.

Many thanks, greatly appreciated.

More early TM900 footage (not mine this time I stress). Filmed in the Italian Dolomites (Cortina).

If anyone has any doubts about how good the TM900s 1080p50 codec/how sharp the lens is etc. then they should simply watch all of this in 1080p. :-)

Look at the detail of all the tiny figures in the closing shots. There are a few times where there is a slight greenish tint to the sky but other times when I see colours exactly as I'd expect from my own use of the TM900 in sunny conditions. It simply might have been that colour in those distant hazy horizons or simply an incorrect white balance setting, I guess we'll never know - but no matter.

YouTube - Dolomites, Italy 2011 - Panasonic HDC-TM900 Full HD Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKJnbTorxRs)

I've just put a couple of short (30MB and 36MB) raw clips (.mts) onto Vimeo.

Have enabled downloading if anyone wants to test anything out.

NOTE: I'm not a Vimeo Plus user so I think they will only be available in the original format for about a week.

If you download these clips please consider giving a donation to the people in Japan at this difficult time as soon as your country has systems in place to do this.

Panasonic TM900 - Raw 1080p50 Short Test Clip (.mts) on Vimeo

Panasonic TM900 - Raw 1080p50 Short Test Clip 2 (.mts) on Vimeo

Notes on the Vimeo page and in my rough and ready narrative - it's just finished converting but the HD version does not seem to be available just yet even on Vimeo site - hopefully it will be soon. Anyway, the raw 1080p50 .mts (Note 59 seconds, and 174MB) should be available to download for 1 week.

Remember the Japan request - those clever people brought you things like the TM900.

Panasonic TM900 1080p50 Extreme Low Light Test (.mts) on Vimeo

Andy,

I use a nanoFlash with my XLH1 so 25p only. I guess cutting in 50p footage off a TM900, assuming my FCP/iMac set up up to it, would be problematical.

I am talking about TM900 footage off the camera and not via a nanoFlash. Can the TM900 be set to record/output 25p?

I know the TM900 can be used with a nano but sometimes it would be too "fiddly" to swap nano from cam to cam in the field.

Ron

OK, well it seems Vimeo's encoders assumed my TM900 Extreme Low Light Test video clip was not worth encoding to their version of 720p so I put it up on YouTube this morning and it's now available in 1080p (albeit after it's been through YouTubes encoding engine - but hey at least you can see it in 1080p on the web now), link below. Note that the original footage looks a lot cleaner/nicer - and that's an understatement:

YouTube - Panasonic TM900 Extreme Low Light Test (1080p50) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DJO1Q0RVBw)

Remember, you can still download the original 1080p50 clip (from Vimeo) until the end of next week and decide for yourself what it looks like.

Ronald, the TM900 has a setting to record in 1920x1080p25 at 17Mbps in a fully compliant AVCHD codec. Full specs are in the Panasonic Global link I posted at the very start of this thread. I've not really started using my Mac Pro/FCP for TM900 footage yet so will let others comment more about that.

Thanks Andy. I'll be interested in reading of your experiences with FCP etc and 50p footage. Seems the cam will record/output 25p okay. I wonder whether possible to record 50p and "down res" to 25p in post, and if so, whether worthwhile given the 25p capabilities "in camera".

Not even sure whether my monitor will handle a 50p signal, my telly certainly won't as it's only "HD ready", so more expense.


Ron

Hi Ron. Maybe try downloading one of my short 1080p50 sample clips from Vimeo (see in thread above a few posts back) and trying it on your Mac and monitor somehow?

I find my 2-3 year old Dell 24-inch 2408 UltraSharps (1920x1080p) handle it no problem at all (playing off a RAID 0 in a 2010 Windows 7, 64-Bit Intel i7 Box) and I typically use the VLC Player on this PC. Yet to try the Mac Pro so can't really help with that yet.

In Sony Vegas, no need to set undersampling to .5, leave at 1 and just select disable resample in clip properties.

I just stumbled upon something interesting with this. I was was authoring a multicam live music performance in DVDArchitect (Blue Ray Disc), and noticed that when previewing the disc ("Best" quality setting) the footage from the 2 canon 30p cameras looked fine, while the tm700 60p shots had interlacing artifacts (viewed on the computer screen). I'm not sure if the "Best" setting simulates an interlaced display or what, but the other quality modes did not show the artifacts. Going back into vegas, i noticed that the tm700 clips had resample disabled, but no undersampling. When I switched to undersample .5 (30fps) and re-rendered, the artifacts in DVDA disc preview disappeared. So this tells me there is a difference between the two. Disable resample keeps the two frames from blending when rendering to a progressive format, but when rendering to an interlaced format, it doesn't keep vegas from pulling half the fields from every frame. If want to render out 30p in a 60i container, then you need to undersample so vegas only has 30 frames per second to pull from and therefore will pull the two fields from the same progressive frame.

Had a spare couple of hours today to try my Panasonic TM900 out on my Steadicam Merlin - using some settings I quickly derived last night (indoors). It's a lovely Spring day here in England with very low wind (3-5 MPH according to the BBC Weather website) so I though, go for it! However, even that light breeze was enough to make this ultralight set-up difficult to manage!

Next test I'll be using more weights as I think it needs a lot more self inertia - it was impossible to walk with it smoothly (something I can do very well now with my Canon 7D on the Merlin). See all the notes on the YouTube Video Info page and at the end of the video for full details of the TM900 and Merlin settings I tried in this first, very quick Steadicam test.

YouTube - Steadicam Merlin & Panasonic TM900 (1st Test) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kYYiL6-oaE)

By the way I screwed up a few things on the the opening shot - which is why it's got the title all over it!

Just had this e-mail from the shop that's supplying me here in the UK with one of the new type large batteries for the TM900.

"Apologies for the delay, we have had confirmation that the item you ordered is arriving with us on Monday and will be dispatched shortly after"

I have also been enjoying the TM900, and have gone beyond "testing" to use in the field.

Here are two examples, both downloadable, both using 108060p, fixed 1/60th shutter, manual audio, and no transcoding:

Two Hours in Alicante with the Panasonic TM900 on Vimeo


St. Patrick's Day Parade using the Panasonic TM900 on Vimeo

Here is one more downloadable video. This uses a lot of zooming and panning, as is relevant for action sports. Also, Intelligent zoom is used at times, so that some shots are 700mm (equivalent). Harsh light conditions, -1 exposure and ND filter, 1/60th shutter, 108060p.

Softball Home Opener using the Panasonic TM900 on Vimeo

My big battery has just arrived from the Bristol area camera shop that I bought it from (£89 plus £10 next day postage here in the UK). Big is a relative term as, like the camera, it's still tiny!

It is a genuine Panasonic VW-VBN260E-K, made in China. Some quick pictures of it on the little baby below showing the viewfinder in both positions.

Need to fully charge it now before first use and then we'll get an idea of just how long it'll keep the TM900 going (although I have to say I've been pretty impressed so far with the TM900's longevity even with the little supplied battery). As with the smaller battery it is a very slightly loose fit (and I mean very - I'm being picky here) rather than a snug tight fit that I would prefer but I guess that's just the way they designed them. It looks like its drooping slightly in my picture - but that's just the wide angle effect on the old Sony P100 that I took these quick close up snaps on. By the way, the zebra pattern marks you can see, e.g. on the little batteries shiny plastic part, are simply the reflection from my oak table!!!

Use of the viewfinder is still going to be OK (certainly no worse than normal for anyone like me who wears glasses!)

Hi Andy

Thanks for the update, should run and run on that battery.

Are Panasonic doing the separate chargers yet? The only snag with a bigger battery is it ties up the camcorder longer charging.

Regards

Phil

Hi Phil,

Not seen any for sale yet here in the UK despite a bit of Googling recently. I gather its going to be expensive so I may just get yet another big battery (if I feel I need it once I've seen just how long this one lasts).

Typically, I'm able to plan ahead and get kit ready to go/all batteries fully charged up before my booked corporate shoots (remember, this TM900 is really only a B/C cam to my main gear anyway)....although I must say I seem to be getting busier and busier so my desire to get a Panasonic battery charger might change soon, regardless of cost, especially now I'm seeing what lovely images this thing captures! I should be able to easily charge up both these batteries during the evening (and if needs be overnight) on the cam for days when I have back to back shooting. In many situations I'll be able to use mains power too so, I think on balance, I'd say that right now I'm in no big hurry to get the charger.

Let us know if you find a UK supplier soon though.

1. Both the regular-size and big battery became available in the US today.

2. I don't see why one should get the big battery: it is twice as big, twice as heavy, takes twice as long to charge and lasts twice as long as two regular batteries. And, in the US, it costs twice as much. There is no efficiency or economic gain.

Given how clumsy and ungainly the big battery is on the camera, I don't see why two regular-size batteries are not the better choice? You get just as much total power, and I do not see the need for shooting one take that lasts longer than what one regular-size battery can supply (1.5 hours in 60/50p mode).

What am I missing?

In USA the "big" battery does not cost twice as much as "small" one.
It's available for $139.95 here:

PANASONIC VW-VBN 260 BAT (http://www.kenmorecamera.com/p-14065-panasonic-vw-vbn-260-bat.aspx)

So, it is less expansive than having two VW-VBN130

That's a very helpful find. But without a price for the vbn130 at this vendor, we don't know that it is not twice as much as the 130, do we?

The same vendor has "smaller" battery for $79.95 (but it is "on order").

Here is the link:

PANASONIC VW-VBN 130 BAT (http://www.kenmorecamera.com/p-14064-panasonic-vw-vbn-130-bat.aspx)

Now, if you do the math you will discover that "bigger" battery is about $20 less expensive than buying 2 "smaller" ones.

Good (when I went on the site there was no page for the VBN130 yet). Now all one has to do is consider whether carrying on the camera one humungous battery is more efficient that carrying a smaller battery on the camera, making it lighter and easier to handle, and one in the pocket (see the pictures above).

I think I will go for the smaller option; it's worth the $20 to me to have more flexibility and agility.

This video displays the prowess of the TM900 in low light and very bright light. Use in low light - subterranean NYC (subway, tunnels beneath Grand Central, Grand Central Terminal itself, which is very dim). Fixed shutter 1/60th, manual audio, awb, manual video (iris and shutter) except below ground. Manual exposure was necessary in bright light to avoid overexposure.

Earth movers, flowers, camermen, Chinese violin, condiments, trains.

A Short Trip to NYC using the Panasonic TM900 on Vimeo

The low light parts are noiseless with good color. Original can be downloaded.

Well, if anyone had any doubts what these little cameras can do they certainly won't now...impressive results indeed.

I took a break from all the corporate editing that I've been doing to work out some better settings for the Panasonic TM900 on my Steadicam Merlin.

One of my video tests is linked below (and see the notes on the YouTube page for more info/other relevant Steadicam tests I've been doing). Steadicam Merlin settings are at the end of the video along with a couple of quick snaps of the rig - on a bike stand!

YouTube - Panasonic TM900 & Steadicam Merlin (1080p50 2nd Test) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzGKVIfjomE)

The key this time was using a Manfrotto MN577 Quick Release Plate directly under the TM900 to give it more weight. Mind you, it's still pretty light - you could use it for hours, unlike when I fly my Canon 7D and a wide angle! However, it is still a little lacking in the self inertia/smoothness that I get with the 7D but I think (with practice) I will definitely get a lot better results than this quick test shows.

As soon as we get another spell of good weather I'll be out and about practising with this new set-up in a much more interesting envionment than my back garden!

As I've mentioned before, the mics on the TM900 are very susceptible to any wind when shooting outside - even just a light breeze renders the audio pretty useless. I've been considering getting a new Rode Videomic Pro (I have the original VM and the SVM but these would totally dwarf such a tiny camcorder in weight - especially the SVM - and size). I fully understand that any mic on a camera is almost always in the least perfect place to get good audio but sometimes I'm out and about and just need the best I can get with run-n-gun.

Well, the new Nikon (stereo) mic ME-1 has just surfaced and that looks like it's even smaller than the Rode Videomic Pro so could be a good candidate. It's said to be about £120 and will be available from 21st April.

It seems to have a over-long lead (not sure why they did this as the new Nikon camera it was announced with does not require such a length!) so I guess I'd have to put a loop in the cable. There are lots of pictures of this mic and that new Nikon camera on engadget and some information in this link on DVinfo.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-video-industry-news/494117-d5100-does-nikon-finally-have-contender.html#post1635486

Just posting this as it LOOKs like a good little mic for small cams like the TM900. Of course, we've yet to HEAR it.

UPDATE: Just learnt on another website that the ME-1 apparently draws its power from the D5100's battery via the stereo plug/lead. I have no idea if any power can be supplied via the TM900's mic jack.
UPDATE 2: I just checked in the TM900's handbook and all I can see is this on page 163 where it mentions the Mic Input, " -70dBV (Mic sensitivity -50dB equivalent, 0dB=1 V/Pa, 1 kHz)". On page 13 it states, "A compatible plug-in powered microphone can be used as an external microphone".

I guess it'll have to be the Rode VMP then.

Hi, Andy....I'm curious to know what you use for video editing software? I'm no pro but the only app I've paid for is Corel Video Studio X2 and X3. I've tried (trial versions) all of these: Magix (both consumer and pro X3), Pinnacle Studio, Avid Studio, CyberDirector 9 Adobe Premier and several others. All have problems of one sort or another.

So what does a pro like you use?

TIA,
Walt

Hi Walt and welcome to DVInfo.

Its mostly in my signature but basically I use 2 platforms and 3 computers...there are some shots of me in my studio on my showreel for the ultra curious!

(1) Vegas 9E on a 2010 Dell Studio XPS box - Windows 7 64 Bit Intel i7 2.8Ghz with 8GB RAM, 2TB RAID 0 internal drives and numerous external hard drives.

(2) FCS2 on a mid-2008 Mac Book Pro - 2.5Ghz 4GB RAM 15inch Matt screen version - with the all important Expresscard 34 slot for SxS, KxS and expansion (dirty word for Jobs) but essential for on the road editing and easy and fast ingestion of my XDCAM EX3 clips.

(3) However, my main editing tool is running FCS2 on a 2009 Mac Pro - Nehalem 8 Core (16 virtual) 2.66GHz with 4 TB internal drive (3TB in a RAID 0) and numerous 2 TB RAID 0 GRAID3s and 4s. I'm awaiting the imminent news from Apple at NAB about the new FCS - in the hope that soon I'll be able to see all those cores in use as I'm zipping along during my then ultra fast editing...note to self, I need an even faster brain...

I mainly use two Dell 24 inch 2408WFP Ultrasharps (1920x1200) for display which are excellent (I can't stand overpriced glossy screens - the only thing I tolerate this reflective finish on is my 4th Gen iPod Touch).

In truth (because of a very busy period with my corporate work at the moment) I've not really had any "play time" on the Macs with any TM900 1080p50 editing, just in Vegas. There is no perfect NLE or platform. All have strengths and weaknesses, things I love and hate. At least with my flexible approach (not cheap!) I have several ways of doing things depending on mood, client need or speed (I can even edit and/or render to a huge variety of output formats independently on two NLEs at the same time). NLEs are just some of the tools I need to allow me to be creative, have fun doing it and make money.

I don't want this thread about the TM900 going to far off track but hope that's useful - Back to all things TM900 series specific!

Nuff said....thanks Andy!

I 'm using Edius 6 myself, but it's little brother Edius Neo 3 has the same excellent support for the 1080p50/60 footage from the TM900. I think Edius is the only NLE that with a decent computer can edit this stuff in real time while showing a full quality preview.

If you haven't tried it there is a fully working trial version available here,

EDIUS Neo 3 | Grass Valley (http://www.grassvalley.com/products/edius_neo_3)

I only ever use the highest quality mode on the TM900, 50P PAL (or 60P if you are NTSC) and find that an Edius 50P project will let me save my edited movie out as 1920 x 1080/50P MPEG2 progressive. This is perfect for playing on the computer, over a network to a TV, from a USB drive media player to a TV, or for storage.

If I want to put it on Blu-ray disk I use an Edius interlaced project (1080 50i/60i) where each progressive frame becomes a field, so 50P becomes 50i... resolution not as good as original 50/60P but still pretty good and the excellent fluid motion one gets from this camera when recording at it's highest quality mode is preserved.

I suggest you download the trial of Edius Neo, I think you will be surprised...

I'll check it out. Thanks for the info. This is one I've not tried.

Regarding mics, I've had a Rode STEREO videomic for several years. I use it to record my band. I first used it on a Pana PV-DV953 and now on the TM700. Since the TM900 has the same mount, it would work identically. Cam is so small that the mic makes it topheavy.
I use it on a tripod so that's not an issue for me.

Something physically smaller would be nice to match the size of the cam but I'm not willing to compromise on the sound quality, especially the bass response.

I have the Rode Stereo Videomic and the original Videomic too amongst my "collection". I think the SVM is incredible for it's price point, built like a tank (metal, not plastic) but, as you point out, it totally dwarfs the TM700/900 in both size and weight and I would not be comfortable carrying around such a top heavy affair for casual run-n-gun as it's always a bit of a handful on my bigger, heavier Sony HC1. On a tripod or on a rig would be different. Like you, I'll use the SVM in some situations with the TM900 as I love its open sound. [My next stereo mic up is a Sennheisser AT825 (XLR mix) which is also lovely and "open", by the way, but of course is not a mic I can use plugged into a TM900...but works great with my Fostex FR2-LE though.]

So, for a good small mic for the TM900, I've just bought the Rode Videomic Pro, in the hope that its the best match size/weight/performance for such a small, light cam. Sure, the VMP is mono but that's often all I need or want. I often have a Zoom H2 in my pocket for any ambient sound capture when travelling "light".

This thread covers the Rode VMP in detail for those that want more info/sound samples/pictures and tips:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-things-audio/490160-rode-videomic-pro.html

It may even arrive today (with luck) so if it does I'll let you all know what I think!

I've emailed Rode to see if there's a stereo version of the VMP in the works. If there is, I'm guessing it will have a $349 price tag....similar to what they did with the SVM.

Well the VMP arrived at my studio this morning but I've been working all day (with a client present) on some corporate web demo edits so I have only now had a spare hour to look at the new VMP before I head down the pub.

They were not kidding when someone said "you double the weight of the Rode VMP when you put a battery in it" - it really is VERY light and you immediately wonder if it'll withstand the rigors of professional use that the name implies. Worry not I thought, it has a 10 year guarantee (and I already know from personal experience with Rode that they are truly superb at sorting out any rare problems that might occur).

The VMP is almost exactly the same length as the TM900 and the fact that its so light means it should be a perfect match for such a tiny cam.

Next, getting the battery in (and yes I did read the excellent instructions first!). I have to say it was not easy, very fiddly and I thought, who the hell thought this was a good way to design a battery compartment! But once you've done it once, its obvious. It really is. I then re-tried it about 3 or 4 times, just to prove to myself that I could replace a battery in front of a client in a hurry, if I needed to, without looking stupid!!! Should not be necessary as the battery last very long time according to the specs. Some clients might still think I look stupid ;-)

Next those rubber suspension bands - yes they seem to come off all too easily. My oh my - I'll be Supergluing them in place (as I've described I did with my original Rode Videomic on this forum before). That will prevent what will become an annoying frustration for sure!

Then I came to put the Rode Videomic Pro on the TM900s accessory microphone shoe attachment. This is where I was a little surprised (actually disappointed). It would not fit!!!!....not without CONSIDERABLE force (and yes I had fully retracted the shoe tightening screw before I attempted this). So much force that I decide to give up before I had a load of broken plastic in my hands that was once a microphone.

Now I'm a very practical type so the solution was easy. It was obvious from inspection that the Rode VMPs metal shoe was a fraction (and I mean maybe less than 1 mm) too wide to fit into the TM900's metal shoe.

So, I took my brand new £149 Rode Videomic Pro and ran a fine file over both outer side edge surfaces of the Rode VMPs metal shoe to shave off the anodized black covering (and a tiny amount of the metal beneath). All is now well - it fits without any problems, like a dream. Like it should have done out of the box...Now, I have no idea if this is a manufacturing tolerance error with the Rode Videomic Pro's shoe being too wide or the TM900s shoe attachment being too narrow but its a simple solution that took me 1 minute to execute. However, if this is not just a one off, I'm sure it will probably annoy someone (somewhere) that they effectively have to alter a brand new, just out of the box VMP using tools just to be able to use it as intended.

Just had time to switch it on, check it works and take a few snaps of the set-up when I got home - and yes the VMP is still out of shot even on full wide. Phew! When I eventually get my free deadcat that may not be the case but for now all looks good. TM900 displays audio levels nicely in iAuto or Manual so it all looks promising. Sure, as feared, the cable is a bit long so I'll be sorting out the best way to deal with that when I have more play time.

No time for sound tests as it's a lovely evening here and just I'm off down the pub to see some mates!

Pics below to keep you going. More info soon. Cheers!

Another tip for you all.

I noticed that the TM900 accessory shoe rattles a bit when it's got a mic like the Rode VMP or SVM on it. It's almost as if the metal shoe fitting that it slips down into (on the side of the camera, under the cover) is very slightly too big - and we are talking fractions of a mm here again. It's a beautifully engineered thing but obviously any unnecessary play or noise is not desired so, again, it was a very simple and (at least to me) obvious solution.

I cut a small piece of electricians insulation tape (15mm x 8mm) and stuck it onto the shiny silver metal surface of the accessory shoe. That worked a treat, much reducing the play but it still had a tiny amount. I tried doubling the thickness by placing a second identical piece of tape firmly over the first one but that was obviously way too tight to even slip down into the accessory slot on the TM900's side. Don't force it! So, by trial and error, I found that all I needed was a tiny extra peice of tape (4mm x 8mm) stuck on top of the first piece at the upper end (nearest end to the part that takes the microphone above it). Obviously, tapes come in many different thicknesses but you get the idea.

Now it slips in nice and snuggly, just slightly tightening up as you push it the last few mm into the slot to lock it.

Simple, no more rattle! I'll post a pic shortly. Maybe my TM900 is an odd ball and other Panasonic TM900, TM700 etc. don't have this play with the accessory shoe - but if they do you now know a simple solution!

I'd actually recommend you put the smaller piece of tape UNDER the second longer piece as its more likely to stay in place with much use but I've deliberately pictured it the other way round just so you can see what I'm up to here.

Pic now attached - should be self explanatory.

UPDATE: Been trying out the Rode VMP today (with some family stuff) and I did some "with and without VMP" shots so I could directly compare cam audio to Rode audio on my computer tonight. The difference in audio quality is striking. I suspect I'll rarely use the TM900 without the VMP on it in future!

Videos from one day in London. Got to use my circular polarizer, which was needed to video the exhibits at the British museum, almost all of which are behind glass. Tricky indoor lighting as well, with mixtures of sunlight and artificial light of different kinds; a workout for manual WB.

Together they have bagpipes, political protests, a soprano, jugglers, videophotographers doing interviews (with quite different equipment); tourists on boats, buses and lions; champagne, a string quintet, mummies, indoor lighting, balloons, living statues in silver and gold, filming a music video.

One Day in London with the Panasonic TM900: The British Museum on Vimeo

One Day in London with the Panasonic TM900: Convent Garden on Vimeo

One Day in London with the Panasonic TM900: Visitors on Vimeo

Mark,

Thanks alot for posting those clips, and making the mts files available for download on Vimeo. I've been looking for some decent and varied raw footage to scrutinize and it doesnt come any better than these. I'll have a closer look at them later.

Out of interest, did you have the circ polarizer on the camcorder all the time you were inside the British Museum or just when you were shooting objects behind glass.....bearing in mind that you would likely be losing a stop or two even when the polarizer is not 'set up' ? Just trying to get some sense of the 'low-ish light' capability.

Cheers.

On all the time inside.

Mark, as an owner of a TM900 I wanted to say I loved your films. Fascinating on a human interest level as well as technically, I am especially impressed with your excellent exposures while filming outdoors in very bright conditions. The latitude of this camera for coping with highlights is considerably less than with my EX1R and gives me the most trouble when filming natural objects such as found in nature, flowers, fruit, tonal shades, etc.

Yours was so well done!

I note from your Vimeo page for the London film you used "1/60th shutter, auto wb, fixed iris and gain". Since you successfully avoided blown highlights with a camera devoid of any ND buttons, I assume you must be using an external ND filter?

Thanks,

Claire,

Thanks very much. My settings were indeed aimed specifically at eliminating blown highlights; auto aperture (fixed shutter) produces overexposure and zebra stripes all over the frame. I sometimes use an external ND in bright light. But, the TM900 has its own, built-in ND filters and in very bright light when I step down the "aperture" I do not see diffraction. As a result I have stopped using my own ND. You cannot control the internal ND, but it, as in many consumer cams, it kicks in as aperture values increase. BTW, that I am deliberately underexposing to avoid hot spots is seen a bit in the somewhat noisy shadow areas.

Yeah, I think I would have taken off the polarizer on the long interior shots as you've probably lost a bit of depth. I havent used one myself, but there are circular polarizers specifically designed for interior work - milder effect with around 1 stop reduction.

You probably had more to think about anyway with frequent white balancing - warm fluorescent lighting mixed with window and skylight. Difficult.

In that type of situation what I find helpful is a Tiffen 812 filter. Manual WB off a grey card at a point where daylight mixes with fluorescent (or halogen) lighting, typically propped against a wall near a window or on the floor if there are skylights. Then pop on the 812. Might have to experiment a bit, but it helps to avoid the daylight/shadow blues without overly warming the interiors. Easier said than done though in the moment. I vote that all museums should be painted with studio neutral grey as a mere courtesy.

Ditto on Claire Watsons comments about the outdoor clips. Very nice. Of course in very bright conditions you could put a second polarizer (linear) in front of the circular and use it as a variable ND filter.

Great tips. Thanks.

Well, as you might have surmised from my last few posts I dont own a TM900 myself....and so arguably have no business posting on this users thread ; )

Actually, I'm trying to decide between a TM900 or Canon HF G10. I nearly went for a TM700 last year, but held off with the promise of further improvement in low light sensitivity/gain-noise suppression in the upcoming 2011 models. Plus, I was a bit put off by the appearance of scaly pixelization-like artifacts particularly on skin tones and most noticably faces. I'd seen this also on HMC-40 footage. I must say that the various head-shots included in your TM900 montage appear to be free from this type of artifact. I'm left wondering if this is as a direct result of improvements in the imaging system or AVC encoding per se, or perhaps your choice of settings. I'd be interested to know if there are any 'TM700-upgraded' TM900 users who could comment on this.

By the way, on the subject of internal ND filters. I dont know for sure what happens in the TM900, but I do know that in the earlier Panasonic GS Series DV Cams (GS400/500 etc), two automatic internal ND filiters operate in conjunction with physical iris movements. The first ND4 filter is activated as the iris shifts from f2.8 to f3.4 and the second ND9 filter activates as the iris shifts from f3.4 to f4.0. The ND filters then step insert up to f8 as the iris is maintained at its f4 position. With both ND filters fully inserted, the iris aperture is then decreased from F8 to F16. In effect, the shifts from fully Open (f1.6 with 0db gain) to f2.8 and from f8 to f16 are mediated purely by physical iris movement. In that way the ND filters operate over an optimal range of physical aperture.

It might be reasonable to speculate that a similar, if not the same mechanism operates in the newer Panasonic AVCHD cams as well.

Edit:.......well this seems to suggest so:

http://www.ianperegian.com/My_FZ35_38_Webpage/SD_700_ND_Filters.html

Hi

Yes I think a similar arrangement of ND filter is in the TM900 from what has been reported, and most if not all camcorders have them.

I've heard people explain it is to keep the lens in the 'sweet spot', but ND filters rather than iris opening and closing also have another although less obvious benefit, the camcorder can adjust exposure without the depth of field shifting due to the iris changing size, which might look rather distracting when the exposure changes during recording.

Regards

Phil

Yes, that's what I was meaning by 'optimal range of physical aperture', but put less succinctly ;-)

I Picked up my TM900 on Saturday. I am simply blown away by the quality this little cam can deliver. I have spent a couple of days tweaking it, and have got it pretty close in matching my EX1 in reasonable light conditions. My only, very minor concern, is the over saturation on the EVF. I have fashioned an old Z Finder eyecup, which now fits perfectely over the EVF, it really does cut out all of the extrenious light. I know the cam is recording, subjectively, true colours, its just the over saturation on the EVF that I find a little disconcerting. Of course the only adjustment for the EVF is brightness, or have I missed something in the menu's ??. Hope to get some footage up soon, mixed with EX1 and Nex-5, should be interesting.

My latest film. Shows the capabilities of the TM900 really well I hope. I used my Canon 7D and Canon 100mm Macro IS and Canon 70-200mm IS for the flower shots that top and tail this latest little ditty. The master looks lovely on my big monitors, stunning, razor sharp, but looses a little after YouTube compression...

Like Colin, I'm still blown away by the capabilities of this tiny little TM900 and I think I'm pretty close to matching it well with my Sony EX3 (in good & studio light, in corporate work I'm doing at the moment) - but that cam took a rest for this little film.

The 7D gives a different kind of look and capability, ideally suited for what I used it for in this, I think.

It's great having different tools for different applications. I love 'em all!

YouTube - Springtime Sunrise - In Ely (Panasonic TM900 & Canon 7D) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAZ8nASItXQ)

I hope you enjoy the film. More notes on the YouTube page.

UPDATE: As well as the 2GB file that I uploaded to YouTube last night I've now uploaded a much smaller 1080p .mp4 (at 243MB in size) to Vimeo.

Springtime Sunrise - In Ely (Panasonic TM900 & Canon 7D) on Vimeo

Differences in playback quality between the two sites and files is very interesting (and no, the Vimeo one is not better in all respects...but then it was a much smaller file!). I guess I should get myself a Plus account sometime to remove the 500GB file upload limit and get better 2-pass encoding.

Andy, I enjoyed your photographic eye in this video. But I have some questions about videography. First, it seems to me that most of the video was really a series of static or still shots, like a slide show. There was little subject or even camera movement. I would have thought that the comparative advantage of video is that one gets to see natural movement of subjects and also a "moving eye". The moving sun was effective in this regard, but mostly the video clips have no motion at all.

Relatedly, natural sounds add a great deal to being immersed in a scene; something still photography cannot do. Yet in your video, natural sounds were completely obliterated in favor of music. Music clearly also enhances the expereince, but that can be added to a slide show of still shots too. For example, real meadow sounds while we see a meadow adds a lot. This by the way is where the 7D falls down - it has no good audio at all. Audio is critically important to video.

This is not meant as a criticism, but as a still photographer moving to video I thought about the move precisely in terms of the advantages to the visual (and audio) arts that video brings. These do not seem so apparent here.

Maybe this is not the place for this, but even in terms of showing off a video camera, performance (including sound) when there is action or camera motion is critically important, though clearly not the only factors.