Optura 30 opinions / questions

[Rodel Alcalde]

here are clips of both optura 30 and Panasonic GS200 operating under 100W

http://www.sutepm.plus.com/vids/deymayor_100w_gs200vsOptura30.wmv

and 60W

http://www.sutepm.plus.com/vids/deymayor_60w_gs200vsOptura30.wmv

i used both cameras at the same time to capture these clips. settings:

- shot around 9:00 PM, on the 100W test, section of the house is measured around 14' x 40', under 60W, room is around 12' x 12'
- manual white balance for both
- for the optura 30, auto slow shutter (1/30) is ON.

[Michael Wisniewski]

Thanks, that was very interesting to see.

It looks like the GS200 is better in low light, with the Optura 30 trailing just a bit behind.

I noticed the Optura 30 did a large exposure change in the 100 watt video, when you pointed it at the wall. I wonder if that's because it's in 1/30th mode?

[Jed Williamson]

I'm testing out the firewire capture with the card mode switched on. Here is the first comparrison.

www.geocities.com/jedwilliamson/footage


*edit * sorry geocities seems to not be working

[Jed Williamson]

Now its up correctly. 4.6 mb.

Let me know what to film next for a comparison.

[Kevin A. Sturges]

Thanks for the effort. Which part is tape and which is card mode?

Could you try something in better lighting? It was so dark and grainy, it's hard to tell what you are looking for.

[John C. Chu]

I had a chance to play with an Optura 30 and was really wowed at what one can get nowadays.

Top loading tape door--so very important...
A really small size.(It should be wonderful on a Hollywood Lite VS-1)
Hi-quality 16:9 mode.
Manual focus ring.
Exposure compensation adjustments.

From looking at the LCD--the picture looks really nice and crisp. Nice fleshtones.

This camera would seem to address all of the shortcomings of my 5 year old consumer digital 8 Hitachi....

I can't go the HDV fx-1 route--it's just too expensive for me to play around with at this moment in time. (it's scary just to think that I'm holding something in my hand that cost almost four thousand bucks)

The Sony PDX-10 is a possible choice however--but it is in another league and price bracket.

But for half the money(and I can get the canon wide angle adapter and two batteries) I'm seriously considering this cam.

The question is...can the exposure/iris/apperture on this thing be "locked"?

That is--if I pan across an open window etc....will the Optura automatically "dim"? Obviously I don't want the iris to close and open noticeably..but will this camera have AE lock?

I hope I'm clear.

Thanks for any information.

[Chris Hurd]

Hi John,

There is an AE lock on any Optura. Just make sure you're not shooting in "Green Box" (easy recording) mode. A button on the back of the cam is labeled "exp" -- that's your manual exposure override and AE lock function.

[Philip Williams]

http://www.philipwilliams.com/videos/stonemnt.zip
Mpeg2 format (requires Videolan or DVD software)
About 23 megs zipped.
Video is just over 1 minute.

I shot this at Stone Mountain, GA last weekend. The sky was partially overcast with fast moving clouds, so lighting was a bit rough. All shots are with a polarizer (even when they shouldn't have been). The closeups of the park visitors are at full zoom.

The footage was: deinterlaced, field blended for added motion blur, had a not-too-harsh S curve applied, and finally had the red channel desaturated a bit.

Anyway, just thought that prospective Optura owners that are looking for samples might be interested. And remember, this is the 30, the lowest of the currently available Opturas. Its only going to get better from this as you step up in the models (OK, maybe the 50 will be about the same).

Philip Williams
www.philipwilliams.com

[Xiaoli Wang]

Nice sample! The RGB filter is a lot more capable than I thought, colors look very 3CCD like. The Optura series really gives a whole lot for your money.

By the way, shouldn't all the Opturas have the same image quality since they all use the same chip?

[Philip Williams]

<<<--
By the way, shouldn't all the Opturas have the same image quality since they all use the same chip? -->>>

Size and quality of the lens makes the difference. According to at least one review the Optura 40 has a slightly better picture than the Optura 30. All and all, the Xi should get an advantage from its substantially larger lens.

[Kevin Samborn]

Hi-

I have an Optura 30 camera, and I have two questions.

1) When I capture 16:9 footage to my Windows XP computer with FireWire, the properties dialog of Windows Media Player says "Aspect Ratio: 4:3 actual, 16:9 displayed". Naturally, I am concerned, as so many people are, that the 16:9 mode is actually a loss of quality. I've read every FAQ I can find on it, and I think I finally understand how the Optura 30 works.

So, my question is, is this property noted this way because of the mechanism of "squishing" the 16:9 into the 4:3 frame as discussed? Is there an appropriate way to capture video so that it says "16:9 actual"?

2) I read the FAQ about "TV-mode" and 1/30 second shutter speeds for the Optura Xi. Is this possible with the Optura 30?

Thanks,
Kevin

[Michael Wisniewski]

Originally Posted by Kevin Samborn

Is there an appropriate way to capture video so that it says "16:9 actual"?

You are recording it correctly. There isn't "another way" that your missing out on. The Optura 30 has a real widescreen mode and uses the full width of the CCD to capture the image. But, it still records both 4:3 and 16:9 images into the same MiniDV 720x480 format, this is the standard way of doing it.

The Windows Media read out is correct, it's in a 4:3 format that's been flagged as widescreen, HD/HDV is the way to go if you really want/need a native 16:9 widescreen file.

[Michael Wisniewski]

Originally Posted by Kevin Samborn

... "TV-mode" and 1/30 ... Is this possible with the Optura 30?

The Optura 30's shutter speed range is 1/60 - 1/2000.

[Michael Wisniewski]

And welcome to DV Info!

[Kevin Samborn]

Thanks, all set!