AG-DVC80 various topics

[Emilio Le Roux]

I'm intrigued by the camera market, and in need of buying a camera for my job.

I was looking at the DVC80 and DVX100. Of course it's cool to have a 24p camera and progressive 30p too, but elsewhere, what would be the differences between the two?

I am interested mainly because the two cameras seem very "photographic". That is, the true manual focus, for instance, and all the on camera controls. That is important for my job.

The DVC80 has a manual focus too, doesnt it?

Emilio

[Ken Tanaka]

Here's the Panasonic site's informational pages on the DVC80.

[Peter J Alessandria]

I love my DVX 100. But if it weren't for 24/30p, I would have probably bought a GL-2.

[Carlos E. Martinez]

<<<-- Originally posted by Barry Goyette : None of what you've said surprises me. I own the dvx100 and a gl2 and based on experience as well as some of the test data I've seen, the real benefit in terms of sharpness and resolution is when you are shooting in progressive mode on the DVX, something the dvc-80 doesnt do. In interlaced mode I would expect to see a marginally cleaner signal with marginally better light sensitivity, but no increase in sharpness

That you are seeing less resolution could be related to the larger chip, and your fstop. To do a test, try to have both camera's on manual in good lighting with an aperture hovering about f5.6 to f8. This would be the sweet spot in either lens, and should produce similar results.

My experience with the DVX has been that it has a more natural, neutral highlight than the gl2..can't be sure if the dvc80 is the same or not.

Remember, as has been said many times in this forumn, these camera's have much more in common than they have differences...if you see a comment that says that one camera has 10 times the resolution and infinitely better low-light capability...chances are the person saying it doesn't have both cameras in his or her hands.

I have found the DVX to be the most substantially improved camera on the market in terms of resolution, but this is only because it is the only progressive scan camera on the market...so in essence it is in it's own class. Yet even with this statement we recently shot a two camera setup with the gl2, and displayed the footage on an HD monitor...the difference between the two would only be noticed by the few of us who care about such things.
-->>>

Your comments sound very interesting to me, because the GL2 was the camera I had been considering to buy now. Later I would get a DVX100 to become my "A" camera.

But sometimes I wonder if that makes sense really. Have you used both cameras on the same shooting? Do the differences in color shift or resolution come up on the editing? How much can you adjust on any of them to make them click when inter-editing?

A third option had been the Sony PD-X10, but I read many comments to it's low light response or some artifacts on brilliant backgrounds.

What might be the best option?


Carlos

[Emilio Le Roux]

I've compared a lot these cameras and I'm almost buying the GL2. I want to share some information that usually gets overseen:


-While the DVC80 and DVX100 have wide lens and 10x zoom, the GL2 has a 20x zoom. (Even better than the XL1s!).
I prefer the zoom to the wide because an optional wide-lens is cheaper and easier to find than a zoom-lens. I find 10x falls short.

Zoom doesn't just allow to shoot far subjects. There is a lot of creative possibilities the way a bigger zoom 'flattens' the perspective.
Say your scene is a couple chatting on a cafe bar. So you want a good depth of field. If you shoot from too close, the other people at the background will appear too far (too small). You'd probably want to shoot from far, say, across the street, so people in the BG will appear 'closer' yet out of focus.
Well, this is not easy to explain in words. A clearer example, say you want to shot your subject dancing, the moon in background. The closer you go to your subject, the smaller the moon appears.
So you want to get as far as you can, and zoom the lens to have the moon as big as possible behind your subject. This is best achieved with the GL2, and as you are shooting the moon, you'll need a slow shutter speed, so go on.

-The pannasonics don't have slow shutter speeds, which the GL2 has. This allows you to make bright night pictures using a tripod. Pictures from the big city buildings, for instance. And while you are taking pictures on a tripod, you could be interested on interval recording, too. So keep reading <g>

-The DVC80 lacks interval recording, for shooting time-lapse images. This is very specific but useful in my case because my main job are commercials. I'll want to create some nice time lapse pictures of flowers brroming, the sky changing during the day... people going in and out the bank, or the shop, during an entire afternoon...

Join this, the 20x and the slow shutter speed and you'll have very bright night shots from the big city buildings over the entire night, with lights on the windows going on and off, the 20x full moon passing fast behind the buildings, and finally the morning sunlight overexposing the take to a white. Impressive.


Then there are these, less important differences IMO:

-If audio is important the pannasonics have XLR inputs, although it's important to know that the GL2, with a miniplug stereo, has total manual audio level controls, also with 2 knobs. Then there's the XLR adapter, if it's really important.

-I'd like the GL2 had a zoom ring like the sony vx2000's, but its zoom is key driven like most prosumer camcorders.

-The DVC80 has a 3.5 inch LCD screen, and the GL2 has a 2.5 (like sony 150/2000)

-The DVC80 is very pretty for the video market. The GL2 looks a bit fancy to me. since 'image is everything' there are cases when this is important.



I'd like to have all the features from the GL2 in a DVC80 black body, but at the end of the road I prefer the GL2.

Emilio

[Barry Goyette]

Carlos,

Yes I have shot several scenes with both cameras (A-B situation, not comparisons of the same shot.) Surprisingly, the cameras have distinctly different renderings of color, and it was impossible in one situation to make them match under a typical interior daylight situation, to say one is better at color would be going too far, just that they definitely have different pallettes. In editing I was able to color correct enough to bring them into line.

Unfortunately the compression eats up the quality of both images, but you can view the scene at

http://www.ladyxfilms.com/theater/e15/episode_15.shtml

It's the third scene, with two characters having a conversation in a diner

The remainder of the film was shot with the DVX.

Barry

[Rob Easler]

Barry I'll take a shot at guessing which cam is which. The tight shots of the guy in the green shirt was with the GL2?

[Steve Nunez]

Today's unseasonably warm 65 degree temp led me outside to my favorite video hunting grounds, Crotona Park, Bronx NYC....to gather footage of hawks who have settled in NYC and made it their home...

...no 24P, no Cinegamma, just 60i large 3-chip DVC80 camcorder in hand (not even a tele lens add-on- just a Haze -1 fliter).....

...clicked the onboard 1/64 ND filter and setup with 1/500th shutter speed and waited.....spotted a few hawks when I noticed a single hawk that seemed to pick out her next prey......which appeared to be not more than 30 feet from me....some sort of bird.....sitting on a rock with DVC80 in hand and sitting there with my wife, this is what I got today.......

http://stevenunez.com/video/rtnov03.mov

To me, this personifies consumer DV....shoot what you want and remember it forever!

(I actually got the actual animal consumption but left it out in this case~!)

[Peter Jefferson]

wheres the gore?? LOL

the music is erfect as well mate! good stuff..

nature is amazing

[Steve Nunez]

Thanks Peter.....the music is from one of the After Effects tutorials from a book's CD-rom......I believe it's an Art Beats sampler aiff.

For us non-pro's, this is what shooting is about.

[George Vallejo]

After shooting 3 weddings with my new DVC-80, in varying locations and conditions, I can now report without hesitation that this camcorder surpasses my VX-2000 in several ways:

Imagery: Factory setting is cooler, more neutral, some say duller, but once you learn how to tweak settings imagery can match and surpass the Sony. To my eyes the Panny has "cleaner" video.

Low Light: Toss up. The Sony performs better in full Auto. The Panny will match the Sony's low light performance if you take the time to learn how to use it manually.

Lens: The Leica wide-angle zoom is ideal for tight spots, like 3-shot ceremony coverage, and small reception halls. With a manual/servo switch, the Leica performs more like a broadcast lens. Snap zooms anybody?

Audio: No contest here. The Panny wins hands down. Audio quality and control is superb. Using a combo of on-board mike and wireless set at 12 o'clock, audio never peaked once, even at close proximity to DJ speakers!

More Pros: All-black and very pro-looking; ergonomic and perfectly balanced; superior vtr control; great built-in microphone; scene-files; large (3.5") and very sharp built-in LCD screen.

Cons: Dull, unsharp, consumer-class viewfinder; useless headphone amplifier; 24 hour (military) time only; 10X zoom not long enough; sub-standard battery technology (Compared to Sony).

Price: Feature for feature, pound for pound, at $2,300 street price you just cannot beat the DVC-80 for the money. Like the ad says the DVC-80 gives you MORE BANG!

P.S. No, I do not work for Panasonic.

[Yang Wen]

I'd much perfer the Sony's VTR control over the Panny's stupid joystick anyday!

[Steve Nunez]

No way- the Pan's "joystick" is an absolute joy to use....it's a plus in my book!

The DVC80 is awesome- I can't wait for the DVC30 with it's 16X zoom lens!!

[Tim Borek]

<<<--

Audio: No contest here. The Panny wins hands down. Audio quality and control is superb. Using a combo of on-board mike and wireless set at 12 o'clock, audio never peaked once, even at close proximity to DJ speakers!

-->>>

How did you mix the wireless mic with the built-in mic signal without an external mixer? Is one panned right and the other panned left?

I'm thinking about buying the DVC80, but I want stereo sound, which requires a separate external stereo, my wireless receiver (mono), and a small mixer. Either that, or drop $400 on a Sony MP3 MiniDisc recorder at Guitar Center.

[George Vallejo]

Tim,

The beauty of the Audio on the DVC80 is that you can assign the left channel, for example, to the excellent built-in mike, and your right channel to an external mike or line source. This arrangement will give you stereo audio without the aid of an external mixer.