AG-DVC30 various topics

[Chris Hurd]

Hi Derek,

Welcome aboard! You'll find an entire forum here dedicated to discussing DV Tape; it's called "The Long Black Line" on the main forum index page.

Regarding your DVC30, it's an excellent little camcorder which has a very broad set of features. I'd recommend first sitting down someplace quiet with the camera and the manual together, and start going through the manual one page at a time. Shoot with it as you go, don't start another chapter until you've mastered the current one. I'm sure plenty of other DVC30 owners will chime in as well. Congrats on your purchase, be sure to dig through the other topics in this forum for even more DVC30 info. Hope this helps,

[Dan Davis]

Derek:

As always, Chris has made an excellent suggestion regarding the instruction manual.

The other thing you might want to do immediately is set the camera to "full" automatic and shoot a few hours in that mode. If you don’t have a lot of experience it will help you get a feel for the camera.

Go to page 39 and set the Zebra pattern. Now, start alternating between auto and manual mode. Experiment with different camera settings. See how each affect and setting alters your shot.

Regarding the XLR adapter; because the mic is on the camera (some distance from your subject) about the only way to get effective audio is to use a shotgun mic. Be sure to plug the mic into “input 2.” Set the switches to: mic; att off; +48 on (if you want to use phantom power); and ch select to 1-2. Make all audio adjustment on the XLR box using the small dials on the back end of the adapter.

That's all I have time for right now. Let me know how things are going! Dan

[Derek Brameyer]

Dan and Chris-

Thanks for the replies!

I've pretty much absorbed most of the instruction manual now, and I've shot a lot of stuff with the camcorder. I filmed two of my brother's JV lacrosse games for his team, put the first on DVD, and am capturing the footage for the second right now. I borrowed a shotgun from school and did exactly what you said, Dan.

I'm thinking of breaking down and buying a shotgun mic, and I'm looking heavily at the Azden SGM-1X. It's got XLR and looks decently sized (the 2X is 15" long!) and I think it would go pretty well with the camera. As always, I'm open to suggestions. I don't really know how the Sennheiser mics work...they've got a "capsule" for it and a "powering module?" Do they run off of phantom power?

I'm also looking into a handheld image stabilizer. I'm definitely going to hold off for the Steadicam Merlin just to see the price (rumors: $900?!?), but I'm also looking at the VariZoom (Hollywood Lite?) Ultralite and FlowPod. From what I've read, the Glidecam is a bit heavy. Any people here who've used handheld stabilizers with their DVC's?

Also, what do you guys set your user buttons to? Mine are:
User 1 - Photo shot
User 2 - Backlight
User 3 - AF

And how about your scene files? I haven't set mine yet...

I made a newbie mistake shooting on Wednesday too. The game went into overtime, and one of the coaches called timeout. All this time, I had been recording through the timeouts, but this time I got fed up (they're about 2 minutes long) and stopped recording. Well, the teams went back on to the field, and I didn't start recording again. Oh well. Is there any way around this? I've since turned the beeps on, but I was wondering if there was any sort of intermittent beep that lets you know that the camcorder is in pause? I think it'd be a good idea to have a beep every minute or so when it's in pause.

Other than that, the shooting continues to go well and I'm getting a lot of practice. Next year I'll be promoted to doing both the JV and Varsity games, so I'm pretty excited for that. And starting in a few weeks, I enter into the filming part of our Videotechnology class at school...any movie ideas?

Thanks

-Derek

[Mark Williams]

Hi Derek,

Congrats on getting a great camera. As far as scene file settings the DVC-30 at the default settings looks at little "cool or blue" to me. My settings for a warmer look are as follows:

Detail +1
Chroma level +1
Chroma Phase +1
Everything else 0

See what you think.

Regards,

Mark

[Dan Davis]

Derek:

I use the Sennheiser ME66 shotgun capsule with the K6 power module. The results “for the cost” are outstanding. It is clean, accurate, with nearly flat frequency response.

The K6 power module operates with one AA battery or with phantom power from an external source such as the DVC30. It also is the location of the XLR connection for the mic. There is an odd quirk to the K6. One AA battery must be in the mic even if you are using phantom power. There is no path for the current without a battery in place. The Sennheiser K6P is a phantom “only” power module and there is no separate “mic” battery.

The ME66 is the shorter of two lower cost cardioid polar pattern mic capsules made by Sennheiser. The other one, ME67, is about 5” longer and is useless on the DVC30 unless you plan on pole vaulting as you shoot. Total length of the ME66/K6 combo is about 12”. The ME67/K6 combination is over 17” long.

The cost is about $400. One unique aspect of the module/capsule configuration is the ability to use the K6 power module with other types of Sennheiser mic capsules such as a handheld cardioid.

Keep shooting, Dan

[Riley Harmon]

Okay, I read somewhere that the dvx100a changes the frequency of its ccd's to achieve the 24p...Now I was reading some specs on the dvc30 and saw that it can do scan matching from 24.1hz to 250hz... Has anyone tried shooting some footage in 24.1hz scan mode to see if it can replicate the look? Also does anyone have any info on the dvc30's lowlight capability. I'm not talking about the nightvision. I'm talking useable footage like, indoor footage, etc. With and without gain?

Thanks

[Jheronimus Nunca]

Originally Posted by Riley Harmon

Now I was reading some specs on the dvc30 and saw that it can do scan matching from 24.1hz to 250hz...

It says so on B&H site, which is incorrect:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=316087&is=REG

The lowest synchro shutter speed for the AG-DVC30P is 60.3. The manual recommends using 100 synchro scan shutter speed when shooting TV in 50HZ locations. Check the panasonic site for the correct info:

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...Model=AG-DVC30

I wonder though why when shooting 30p frame mode the manual recomends the 60 shutter speed for the NTSC model? It seems to have no flicker problem with fluorescent lights with those settings. Strange little beast.

[Riley Harmon]

I shot with a dvc80 the other day and loved it. I'm guessing that the dvc30 is basically the same, only smaller with smaller chips.

[Mark Burlingame]

I currently am using a PV-DV953 and want to upgrade to a better more pro than prosumer cam. Reading about the DVC30 a couple things came up that I am not sure I understand. One was EVF DTL (viewfinder peaking) can anyone explain this and how it helps manual focusing. The other was the "exposure knee". I don't think my camcorder has either of these functions. thanks, Mark

[Evan Strobel]

What is essential equipment?
I'm talking about just camera accesories here. I'm looking to shoot movies. What types of lens's or microphones should I attain?

[Stefan Sellure]

Really depends what type of shots & audio you're after.

Wide angle lens from Panny. Audio?.....Shotgun and Lavallier mics - add XLR adapter if really serious. Tripod for sure. Heavy duty battery. Stormcase to carry the stuff in.

Budget permitts - Ultra from Serious Magic and a dirty big green screen.

Good site for getting audio, lighting and shooting training material.
http://vasst.com/search.aspx?entity=16&sort=date

[Mathiu Zimmermann]

The Viewfinder Detail is quite a good tool when focusing manually, as it will make the "in-focus" edges look crispy :) .

Exposure knee is (anybody correct me if I'm wrong) a possibility to tell your camcorder how "bright" your image is to be recorded, it is a setting you might want to use in certain situations, for example trying to match another camcorder in terms of the overall look.

Have fun! Matthias

[Mark Burlingame]

thanks for the info.

[Barry Green]

EVF DTL is indeed a focusing aid. It outlines anything that's in sharp focus with a thin white outline. The effect is subtle, but definitely helpful.

As for the knee -- the knee works for video sort of like how an audio limiter works for audio. With a limiter, if the signal is getting close to "clipping" (and thus in danger of distorting), a limiter will step in and back off the volume gradually in an attempt to reigh the signal in and prevent it from clipping. The knee does the same thing for video -- as the signal approaches burnout/clip, the knee will attenuate it some, trying to avoid the blown-out look. On the DVX100A you can set the level when knee compression begins to low/mid/high, meaning 80%, 90%, or 100%. Don't know about the DVC cameras.

[Derek Grimes]

Does anyone know of a book or video training for the DVC30. There is so much on this camera I have no clue what it means or how to use it. I can find it out, I'm sure, but if anyone knows of a training aid, I would appreciate it.
Thanks,