HI everyone Bazza here

What a lot has gone on since i was last on here first lost being able to sign i due to computer change and now owning a Panasonic HC-X1500 and handle So where do I start? I suppose with the wearing out of my old panasonic HC-X900M after 11 years of use.

Next was a disaster the Sonyx ax53 camcorder, I fell for all the hype about how steady the videos were. so got rid of that pretty quick

So now onto my present camcorder the Panasonic HC-X1500 and handle. Wow what a difference. OK I own up it took ages to get somewhat into the menu setup but now found my way around for what i want. Oh it will accept 256GB memory cards . It splits each card into 127 halves .so infact you have the equivilant of 4x127GB cards

Yes there arf a couple of things I am not happy with, such as the knerled wheel being set back that far with the select/set/push, it could have been made a little more proud. Also the slow speed only does half speed to get slower needs an editing suite.

But oh boy the rest of the camcorder makes those a minor issue. The zoom unbeliveable - the video quality well say no more that axis to steady shows up how bad that Sony was. Yes I would liked to have it to have a 1" sensor so would most I suspect.

A for microphones for it
I think I have found the ideal one but relatively unknown. In my opinion is far better than well known makes everyone goes for. It is the

AZDEN SMX-30 well worth investing in and I have no financial interest in suggesting it

Where it wins hands down it is a dual stereo/directional microphone- it has a detachable audio lead (most are fixed into the microphone) . The power can be from camcorder or 2AA batteries via a dial and the batteries are easily removed while on the camcorder. Usual bypass switches and has its own 30% pivot so no need to turn the camcorder. What is more it is a lot cheaper than RH***

https://i.imgur.com/QawMdSsb.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BxrP6jSl.jpg

crossing the Artic circle using that Azden mike for sound

blue nose ice waterdip - YouTube


What I have also done is use a 3m sticky pad under the front of the handle and stuck a bluetooth dongle on it. then connected the mic cable into the camcorder mic socket port and another cable from the Mic out port at the back to the dongle. Now I can use a bluetooth headset for sound without being tethered to the camcorder. Thee is a sligvht latency b ut not enough to worry about
Just one other thing was the place a zoom/start/stop control on my Manfrotto Befreelive tripod which makes things a lot easier

https://i.imgur.com/3KN6ivSl.jpg

Just watched the video and the sound is quite respectable. Then there is like "what, plunging into an ice bath to then bow before a troll?" but that's another matter entirely. :-)

Andrew

I would love to go to Brisbane in Australia it is right at the top of my bucket list. I have been following a youtube couple from there as well who I would love to meet. Kate and Slaiman Akl. I also have cousins in Sydney so a good reason to go out there if I had the money. You are so lucky to be living there

That mic the Azden-30v version is about £250. The great thing is not having to carry a directional mic and a stereo mic as this does it all in one.

Any mic that picks up sound like this must be fantastic.

I took this video in South Korea. ENJOY

South Korea music and dance - YouTube

I KNEW YOU WANTED TO SEE IT FROM START TO FINISH

Now you are thrilled with that here is another one for sound test. There is a darkened bit at first after the talk, but this is at normal speed

SOUTH KOREA DANCE - YouTube

UPDATE re audio cables

as I have a bluetooth dongle stuck with a 3m sticky pad under the handle, the minor problem was running a cable from that to a out audio port on the HC-X1500. At the moment I have used a straight 3port 3.5mm 30mm cable. works ok but decided a right angle cable is neater and won't stick out so much

Trying to find one the right length wern't obvious. Either too long - not 3.5mm connector- wrong colour (wanted black) or not a 3 pin plug - not right angle end

Same issue trying to find same but only 20mm long from Microphone to camcorder audio in socket.

https://i.imgur.com/kzdHbE3l.jpg

looks ugly and unprofessional with all those bits sticking out

In a sense, I think you've done the right thing in term of if it's got to be there then make it a distinct colour that stands out so much that people can only assume it's mean to be there and is part of the camera setup. And the orange is pretty close to the other coloured bits in the photo.

My suggestion would be to run the cable down the other side of the camera body so it can't conflict with you grabbing and operating the zoom rocker etc on the side handle.

Also, in the olden days, audio techs would cut their cables to length and then solder away as they attached their own connector ends. It may well be possible to get a custom cable made today (or even have a crack at it yourself).

Andrew

what I did was cut a slice of a 3m sticky pad and used that to keep the cable away . what annoys me is not having right angle ends on the cables so that they don't protrude out so much. Already ordered what I think wil be better and one lot should arrive today. when I get them all I will do a comparison photo if I remember

it has only happened twice in about 12 years of using a Sandisk memory card. Just had a 128gb -170mb/s card fall apart . So I can't complain and it looked well used anyway. Trying to get a replacement 170mb/s card of that size is getting harder to get as most now are in to 200/300mb/s range. having a double slot in the camcorder I want to have a matching pair of cards in each slot.

The handbook printed in 2020 on page 36 only quotes up to a 200mb/s speed so i supose the 300mb/s card was not produced back then. Newer cards strangely enough seem to be cheaper than the one I want

I'm using 250 and 300 mb/s cards in mine with no problems. I never checked when I bought it a couple of years ago, I just put in the best cards I had and used it.

Trying to get a replacement 170mb/s card of that size is getting harder to get as most now are in to 200/300mb/s range.

That's the read speed, not the write speed which is only 95mb/s, the "170mb/s" cards from Sandisk have now been replaced by 200mb/s which only means faster transfer speed to your pc.

I have a HC-1500 and find understanding the menu and setting up the camera accordingly difficult. (Unlike with my GH6s which easy).

A question for fellow users : How does one set the lens to macro?

Ron

It doesn't have a dedicated macro function, the nearest you can get is full zoom and as close to the subject as focus will allow.

That's the read speed, not the write speed which is only 95mb/s, the "170mb/s" cards from Sandisk have now been replaced by 200mb/s which only means faster transfer speed to your pc.

understood thank you
it is not the speed from card to PC I am thinking about, more the speed from camcorder to card and buffering

https://i.imgur.com/uozZCT2l.jpg
unedited

as you can see it is a replacement card for my paired spare sets

The highest bitrate your camera is capable of is 200Mbps and your current cards can handle that, anything higher and I would be looking at faster cards. I also use the same cards as you have and only if I use the 400Mbps codec that my Panasonic camera's have it will stop recording.

thank you. I did wonder about the 300 card if it would work but as the manual says 200 is the max that is what I would have gone for as the 170 looks as if it is being phased out

as a matter of interest the 256GB cards work in the camcorder. what happens with each card the camcorder records only 128GB so after the first half of the card (128gb) it sarts recoring on the second half of the card (128GB). So in actual fact each 256 card is 2x128 on one card. saves running out of card space on a long shoot.
With a double slot camcorder with eack slot holding a 256GB card in follow on mode the recording time is almost endless. Oh I do record to both cards simultainously. More so now I had a card fall apart

On my recent trip to Iceland what I wanted to video were puffins out to sea catching sand eels. everyone in the tour group missed the chance so i showed what Ii had videoed and they were amazed. some even said they were going to get a camcorder like mined and took down make and model.

these in the video below some members never even saw them they were so far away

https://youtu.be/GvU2j4530J8
as seen at 0.25 in video and 0.42 when looking for them






found same and videoed with Panasonic HC-X1500 handheld

puffins at sea - YouTube

On my recent trip to Iceland what I wanted to video were puffins out to sea catching sand eels. everyone in the tour group missed the chance so i showed what Ii had videoed and they were amazed. some even said they were going to get a camcorder like mined and took down make and model.

these in the video below some members never even saw them they were so far away

https://youtu.be/GvU2j4530J8

as seen at 0.25 in video and 0.42 when looking for them

puffins at sea - YouTube

found same and videoed with Panasonic HC-X1500 handheld

thank you. I did wonder about the 300 card if it would work but as the manual says 200 is the max that is what I would have gone for as the 170 looks as if it is being phased out


SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SDXC UHS-II which has a max readspeed of 300MB/s and max writespeed of 260MB/s is a faster card but your camera doesn't require that to record it highest bitrate codec. Here is also a good article explaining all the differences: https://shuttermuse.com/understanding-sd-card-naming-speeds-symbols/

The bitrate from your camera codec is not the same as the bitrate mentioned on your sd cards, here is a video that explains it well, most important are the minimum sequential write speeds the cards can sustain at all times which can also be found back in the v30, v60 or v90 symbols which respectively translate to 30, 60 and 90 MB/sec: SD CARD: Mb/s vs. MB/s Explained #Shorts - YouTube

found same and videoed with Panasonic HC-X1500 handheld

A tripod can do wonders ;) I have a 43 inch 4K editing screen and while watching your video in 4K I noticed the image was a bit noisy and not that sharp, as if a digital zoom was used. You are stressing the codec a lot with those ocean waves while also moving the camera and that can cause a codec to break if your bitrate is not high enough.

I have 3 tripods but pointless taking them on a cruise which allows only a short stop at each port. It is easy to sit back at home and point out errors on unedited videos, what I will say I was damn lucky to get any video at all considering distance -wave movement-and handheld with wind blowing and time allowed to get anything at all. Anything blown up out of proportion will show up especially on such a large screen. I would suggest you try following small seabirds bobbing around on waves first under those conditions.
I was the only one to get any shots of the puffins out of 20 in the party which to me says a lot.

Like anything your have to be there at the same time and try the same thing before criticising others work. I prefer to show "as is" not altered and fiddled with which is not a true representation

you talk about SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SDXC UHS-II and similar. Unfortunately being an old age pensioner on a fixed income spending out £130 just for one card let alone £260 for 2 is well out of the question for the use they will get. Strange as it may seem I happen to know what I want or need or can afford.

I always bring a small travel tripod with me on holiday, but ofcourse that won't help much if you zoom in a lot as they don't allow smooth pan or tilt and your shots will still look shaky on a windy day with long zoom lenses. But they make a big difference with lenses up to 85mm (on a full frame).

If I need to zoom in further I never shoot handheld but use a suitable tripod which is why I never use big zooms on holiday, the tripod would be too heavy to drag around. I get it why you prefer to shoot handheld in such situations but the result just doesn't look good to me, the puffin is all over the place in that zoomed in shot and that makes it hard to watch.

you talk about SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SDXC UHS-II and similar. Unfortunately being an old age pensioner on a fixed income spending out £130 just for one card let alone £260 for 2 is well out of the question for the use they will get.

I never suggested you had to buy those expensive 300MB/s cards, I actually told you your current cards are just fine and they are cheap as chips.

It is easy to sit back at home and point out errors on unedited videos

It looks like is also difficult to accept constructive criticism, you are after all posting on a videoforum that has experienced videographers so you can expect some remarks. I didn't mean to offend you in any way but just pointing out the obvious. I also could have criticized those sometimes badly overexposed shots in your South Korea video but since the topic of discussion was audio for that one (which was good for onboard sound) I didn't find it appropriate to point that out.

Just with your last video where you where showcasing the zoom I was just not equally impressed as people from your tourgroup but that is most likely because they are not experienced videographers so over here you'll get a totally different response.

I personally would never mind if someone commented on one of my own videos, good or bad, even if I didn't ask for it, in the end it's me who decides what feedback I will take serious and the rest I will just ignore, often I will learn something new and that eventually makes me a better videographer :)

thank you. I did wonder about the 300 card if it would work but as the manual says 200 is the max that is what I would have gone for as the 170 looks as if it is being phased out

Strange as it may seem I happen to know what I want or need or can afford.

Again, I was just trying to help you out by showing that video and link as I was under the impression that you did not understand the numbers on the card based on your comments. Those Sandisk cards that state 200MB/s on the card (which are a replacement of those with 170MB/s on the card) cost basically the same and they perform the same, only transfer to the pc is a bit faster and they are perfect for your camera and very cheap. The Sandisk card with 300MB/s printed on it is faster in both read and write speed which is why it's more expensive but overkill for what you need.

One thing I come across often, not only on the internet, but in real life or with photographic clubs is the attitude some have is "mine is better than yours" or " I can do it better".

What gets overlooked is what is taken either as a still or as a video is the person who took either or both is happy with the result, if others like it then treat it as a bonus.. It doesn't matter in the slightest to most if it is technically correct or not. If they or like myself are prepared to put it in the public domain should be appreciated for doing so not have it picked over by anyone else even if they can do better or not.

If I thought I needed help in any way I would be the first to ask, but as I am not out to make prize winning videos it doesn't matter to me how they appear. At nearly 80 years old I can't be worried about others opinions too much, I just want to enjoy the time left to me and do what makes me happy

In a forum people have the option to react, even if you didn't ask for it, and as long as it's done in a respectful way then it is your right to either learn from or ignore it. If you however post videos in a videoforum only expecting to be praised for it, no matter how bad it might look, then you are better off posting on youtube only and delete all reactions you don't like, especially since you seem so sensitive to what you consider negative feedback (which it wasn't).

My feedback on your SD cards you also considered unnecessary because "you happen to know what you want or need or can afford" yet your comments about the matter show a clear lack of understanding, I tried to be subtle about it hoping to help you out but you made it clear you don't like to be suggested by others what to do and you are not willing to learn from it.

But don't let this discourage you from posting videos or be happy with what you do because in the end, that is all that matters.

I agree with Nao. If you just want to show your videos post on YouTube. Posting on a video forum will result in a critique since the people who come to these forums are interested in camera performance, settings, comparisons, shooting situation etc. Their interest is in the camera not the content most of the time. So when they see a video they look at camera performance, composition, exposure, is the image stable, timing of edit, sound quality etc .

Just for your information I will be 82 in a few months so understand you position. I shoot with GH6, GH5S and AX100 for client projects. However for family stuff I shoot with a camcorder the AX53. Much lower technical performance than the other cameras but small, easy to hold and shoot with, excellent stabilizer and forgiving for focus as the sensor is smaller so larger depth of field.

If you just want to show your videos post on YouTube

You can ofcourse always just show your videos here: https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/show-your-work/

Update on memory cards re mb/s speed

I ordered a replacement 170 sandisk card from a well known high street store on line. the sent a 200 card instead so got a refund as they wanted £35 for it. Wex which is a well known camera store wanted £53 for the same 200 card. So searched again and CCL computers had them at £25 ,so at that price I bought two.

update
Now winter is here I thought abot doing some indoor shoots with the rig setup more or less like this


https://i.imgur.com/Ke5wSKyl.jpg

the sirus-200 extn bar does extend by about 5" and I also have on order some 3pole 2.5mm 7 inch cables. these will repace to curled one in the photo from remote switch to remote port on the camcorder.

maybe something like this (unedited) just room light used

https://youtu.be/0NLjdvA1LHM
best way to start off a new year

trouble is it didn't last long but it tasted real good

I'm not picking up any audio from the clip. Recommend a re-shoot. :-)

Andrew

Andrew have you come across the youtube couple in brisbane called Slaiman Akl and Kate Akl who live in Brisbane? I have been following them for some years.
As for a reshoot I will have to wait until "er indoors" is not around and I sober up.
going on holiday to Brisbane is high up on my bucket list as well as Sydney where I have cousins

These two? https://alumni.uq.edu.au/slaiman-and-kates-top-tips-boost-your-social-media-presence

Actually, I'd never heard of them. LOL.

If you do manage to come to Brisbane, do let me know.

Andrew

Andrew
This years holiday is already booked. That is a river cruise in Portugal . My wife have travelled what I would called extensively already. Visited countries such as Russia -Latvia- Spain- Tunisia - Egypt - Brazil- Argentina- Norway- USA -Germany- Italy- Brittany- Fareo isles- Iceland- the Caribbean islands- China- Sicily- Japan, most of the countries around the med sea to name but a few off the top of my head. Got no wish to go to India or that part of the world, but New Zealand and Australia yes if finances allowand of course our age

I have been doing a bit of tidying up cable wise on the camcorder. done away with those curly expanded ones ( as shown ininitial post photo) and changed to straight correct lenth ones instead. Looks a lot better than having cables hanging down everywhere.

https://i.imgur.com/grE5CaCl.jpg
now waiting for a right angle end one to replace the one from the bluetooth block to the rear of the camera audio out socket
No need for a headphone cable as the bluetooth unit takes care of that

apart from that table top stand I also have the exact with a proper tripod, so switching from one to the other is easy.