question about MX500 at DVinfo.net

Ken Dong · May 14th, 2003, 12:58 PM

hello everyone, I am very new in this area, so I don't know if this is normal for MX500(pal) or maybe for every kind of DV:

when I wanna take a still photo in Card mode, I just simply switch Tape mode to Card mode, immediately the picture displays so different,(especially in low light) much more grainy,noisy, not only on the LCD, after I took one still photo in Tape mode, I took again in the Card mode, (in Auto mode) then I copied the one which I took in Tape mode to the Card, so I could compare them with the computer, the one compied from the Tape looked much better than the other one, smoother and less grainy. I don't know why, is anything different in the Card mode??

is it normal or just my cam?

Thank you for your attention, hopefully I could get your help.

Ken

Ken Dong · May 15th, 2003, 02:58 AM

Actually, I checked my friend's MX500, seemed the same problem...

Frank Granovski · May 15th, 2003, 03:02 AM

You should e-mail Panasonic about this. Perhaps they can shed some light!

Peter Jefferson · May 15th, 2003, 12:12 PM

still mode...
well, i have been asked afew times for people who werent happy with their wedding pics for me to supply them with some still i stook using this cam...

the thing about it in still mode is that it works like a pro SLR camera.. basically you adjust shutter and aperture to your suiting manually.
the only problem is that the light meter is your eye (no levels im afraid) and with low light, the megaopticalthingymibob doesnt pic up properly, so u need at least a 5w light on the subject BEFORE being able to capture a decent pic. The flash will make up for the low light in the stll, the 5w spotty is only to get the pixel shifting working...
i get some really REALLY good phots, in fact, i use it to take photos of photos....

one hting i hate about it, is that with a large memory card, it takes forever to sift thru pics....

I dont get graininess, so i dont knwo where that prob is comeing form.. maybe ur pic is overexposed?

even in auto mode (basically tryin to get that dot to turn green) shoudlnt give u graininess...

Ken Dong · May 24th, 2003, 02:49 PM

thanks a lot, Peter, I have not checked this site for a while.

Actually I talked about this problem with a friend who is a spare time photographer last week. First he compared his DX-100 with my DX500, (he uses a SONY 0758 wide angle lens, it makes his DX100 look like a monster, and even DX-100 did a better job in low light I think ) then he also found that there r difference between card mode and Tape mode with my MX500, he guessed that the Cam might use different viewfinding system in Card mode, I have no idea, but afterall, there is no point to ask too much about Still Photo Quality with a DV, and it's a good DV with its price, anyway.

something strange is , it is very hard to find the Panasonice accessories in China, but you could see Sony ones everywhere. so many of Panasonic users have to choose for example Wide-angle Lens or Microphone in Sony or the other brands.... I tried to look for Panasonic 4307wide-angle lens, but at last I bought a Sony 0752H (with a 52-43mm ring of cuz).

Yik Kuen · May 28th, 2003, 07:24 AM

Hi Ken,

You might have the following settings (I guessed)

1. Field based stills in Tape mode and Progressive in Card mode
2. Normal shutter speed in Tape mode and 25 in Card mode.

Ken Dong · May 28th, 2003, 11:39 AM

thanks, Yik Kuen,

Actually I test again, but still the same result, check my page

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/dvitdv...vit/index.html

Yik Kuen · May 28th, 2003, 06:37 PM

Did you take in the same resolution?

If yes, then I won't be surprised to see that most DV cams stills capturing capability is 'crippled' by skipping certain DSP filtering processing.

This is the standard marketing strategy and also the reason for digital cameras existence.

Yow Cheong Hoe · May 28th, 2003, 09:07 PM

Same issue on the MX350. The sharpness and saturation (in video mode) will not work on photo mode. Therefore, any 'softening' will not be applied. The photos are taken as raw, that is straight from the CCD, with little processing.

A little smoothening in an image software like Photoshop will help.

Ken Dong · May 28th, 2003, 10:43 PM

yeah, I surely took the photos in the same resolution.

also thanks to Yow Cheong Hoe, I think I got the answer from your reply and also Yik's , more and less.

how is mx350? I think it's a nice cam, actually that 's the cam I was really willing to buy, but at that moment, it was sold out in the whole city. so I decided to buy MX500.

In low light, yes, MX500 works quite bad.

I am going to find someone who uses MX300 or 350 in my area, will try to make some photos together, to see how "bad" MX 500 could be in low light.

Regards

Ken

Frank Granovski · May 29th, 2003, 12:27 AM

Quote:

I am going to find someone who uses MX300 or 350 in my area, will try to make some photos together, to see how "bad" MX 500 could be in low light.

Don't waste your time doing this. We all know this cam requires more LUX than the MX300 and MX350. Instead, go shoot some nice video with it.

Yow Cheong Hoe · May 29th, 2003, 03:29 AM

And the older and lousier still photo system in the MX300/350 will NEVER stand up to the MX500's better resolution, even if the lux rating is better.

Shoot video with a video cam. :-)

Ken Dong · May 29th, 2003, 07:38 AM

maybe you are right, we will see.

May 14th, 2003, 12:58 PM	#1
Ken Dong New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: ÖÐ¹ú Posts: 8	question about MX500 hello everyone, I am very new in this area, so I don't know if this is normal for MX500(pal) or maybe for every kind of DV: when I wanna take a still photo in Card mode, I just simply switch Tape mode to Card mode, immediately the picture displays so different,(especially in low light) much more grainy,noisy, not only on the LCD, after I took one still photo in Tape mode, I took again in the Card mode, (in Auto mode) then I copied the one which I took in Tape mode to the Card, so I could compare them with the computer, the one compied from the Tape looked much better than the other one, smoother and less grainy. I don't know why, is anything different in the Card mode?? is it normal or just my cam? Thank you for your attention, hopefully I could get your help. Ken

May 15th, 2003, 02:58 AM	#2
Ken Dong New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: ÖÐ¹ú Posts: 8	ohh Actually, I checked my friend's MX500, seemed the same problem...

May 24th, 2003, 02:49 PM	#5
Ken Dong New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: ÖÐ¹ú Posts: 8	thanks a lot, Peter thanks a lot, Peter, I have not checked this site for a while. Actually I talked about this problem with a friend who is a spare time photographer last week. First he compared his DX-100 with my DX500, (he uses a SONY 0758 wide angle lens, it makes his DX100 look like a monster, and even DX-100 did a better job in low light I think ) then he also found that there r difference between card mode and Tape mode with my MX500, he guessed that the Cam might use different viewfinding system in Card mode, I have no idea, but afterall, there is no point to ask too much about Still Photo Quality with a DV, and it's a good DV with its price, anyway. something strange is , it is very hard to find the Panasonice accessories in China, but you could see Sony ones everywhere. so many of Panasonic users have to choose for example Wide-angle Lens or Microphone in Sony or the other brands.... I tried to look for Panasonic 4307wide-angle lens, but at last I bought a Sony 0752H (with a 52-43mm ring of cuz).

May 28th, 2003, 11:39 AM	#7
Ken Dong New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: ÖÐ¹ú Posts: 8	oh thanks, Yik Kuen, Actually I test again, but still the same result, check my page http://mywebpage.netscape.com/dvitdv...vit/index.html

May 28th, 2003, 09:07 PM	#9
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	Same issue on the MX350. The sharpness and saturation (in video mode) will not work on photo mode. Therefore, any 'softening' will not be applied. The photos are taken as raw, that is straight from the CCD, with little processing. A little smoothening in an image software like Photoshop will help. __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

May 15th, 2003, 03:02 AM	#3
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	You should e-mail Panasonic about this. Perhaps they can shed some light!

May 15th, 2003, 12:12 PM	#4
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	still mode... well, i have been asked afew times for people who werent happy with their wedding pics for me to supply them with some still i stook using this cam... the thing about it in still mode is that it works like a pro SLR camera.. basically you adjust shutter and aperture to your suiting manually. the only problem is that the light meter is your eye (no levels im afraid) and with low light, the megaopticalthingymibob doesnt pic up properly, so u need at least a 5w light on the subject BEFORE being able to capture a decent pic. The flash will make up for the low light in the stll, the 5w spotty is only to get the pixel shifting working... i get some really REALLY good phots, in fact, i use it to take photos of photos.... one hting i hate about it, is that with a large memory card, it takes forever to sift thru pics.... I dont get graininess, so i dont knwo where that prob is comeing form.. maybe ur pic is overexposed? even in auto mode (basically tryin to get that dot to turn green) shoudlnt give u graininess...

May 28th, 2003, 07:24 AM	#6
Yik Kuen Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Johor Bahru, Malaysia Posts: 135	Hi Ken, You might have the following settings (I guessed) 1. Field based stills in Tape mode and Progressive in Card mode 2. Normal shutter speed in Tape mode and 25 in Card mode.

May 28th, 2003, 06:37 PM	#8
Yik Kuen Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Johor Bahru, Malaysia Posts: 135	Did you take in the same resolution? If yes, then I won't be surprised to see that most DV cams stills capturing capability is 'crippled' by skipping certain DSP filtering processing. This is the standard marketing strategy and also the reason for digital cameras existence.

May 28th, 2003, 10:43 PM	#10
Ken Dong New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: ÖÐ¹ú Posts: 8	thanks , yik kuen yeah, I surely took the photos in the same resolution. also thanks to Yow Cheong Hoe, I think I got the answer from your reply and also Yik's , more and less. how is mx350? I think it's a nice cam, actually that 's the cam I was really willing to buy, but at that moment, it was sold out in the whole city. so I decided to buy MX500. In low light, yes, MX500 works quite bad. I am going to find someone who uses MX300 or 350 in my area, will try to make some photos together, to see how "bad" MX 500 could be in low light. Regards Ken

May 29th, 2003, 03:29 AM	#12
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	And the older and lousier still photo system in the MX300/350 will NEVER stand up to the MX500's better resolution, even if the lux rating is better. Shoot video with a video cam. :-)

May 29th, 2003, 07:38 AM	#13
Ken Dong New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: ÖÐ¹ú Posts: 8	haha maybe you are right, we will see.