The Panasonic TM900 Users Thread

[Clayton Moore]

This is cool. I just found this thread. I have had two Canon HV cameras and at the end of last year started a small business with someone using a Canon T2i and 60D. So far the results are stellar.

Having said that, I have been waning to go tapeless with my "video" cameras. So I go into Fry's Electronics and pow there is a little floor model HDC-TM900 for $380. SOLD! It was in great shape and had all the accessories except for the battery (that just got here today).

I am amazed at the work folks are getting from these cameras. It looks like I have lots to catch up on in this thread. :-)

[Luc Spencer]

Here is my second short movie made entirely with the TM900. The one thing that surprised me was the shallow DOF I managed to get on some of the close shots, really nice :) what I didn't like, however, was the low light performance. Even though I had multiple lights turned on, the camera struggled. Most of the footage had to be taken at +6dB iris and even then it was a bit dark. Everything you see in the movie has been lighted up a bit in Premiere - a process which brought out even more noise.

As a sidenote, I filmed at 1/50 shutter, even though you guys recommended filming at 1/100 if you know you'll want to slow it down at 50% speed. Even though most of the clip is at 50% speed, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Maybe I could have gotten away with using 1/25 shutter and therefore solve the +6db problem too? :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy the clip, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Pancake Day - YouTube

[Adrian Lepki]

Nicely done. I wonder if softer lighing (i.e. china lantern) would help some shots.
This piece made me hungry :)

[Luc Spencer]

Haha Adrian, then my mission is accomplished :)

[David Mabe]

Nothing elaberate, but I use my TM900 a lot while storm chasing. Here is a video I shot a couple weeks ago.

Tornado and Cows, April 14 2012, southwest of Salina near Langley KS. - YouTube

[Adrian Lepki]

Originally Posted by David Mabe

Nothing elaberate, but I use my TM900 a lot while storm chasing. Here is a video I shot a couple weeks ago.

Not an easy subject to capture.
I see too much zooming in this video. If you are putting so much effort into storm chasing why not shoot with two TM900s mounted in a camera cage? One camera set for a wide angle shot, and another zoomed-in; that way you'll have two shots of the same event ready for editing. You could even show them using P-I-P (picture in picture) technique so the viewer won't miss details and have the look at the overall situation at the same time. Frequent zoom-ins and zoom-outs don't add drama, they are just sloppy camera work.

[Luc Spencer]

David, I found the video fascinating. Never saw a tornado in real life before, so to see one in full HD and filmed so close was awesome!

I was surprised to see the TM900 having some tiny focus issues in daylight, it must have been confused (or scared) by the large grey ominous moving object. Also, I agree with Adrian, the frequent zoom play just makes it harder to watch, especially since the image was shaking a lot - didn't you have the stabilizer on? I find this camera has excellent image stabilization, there is very little shaking even at 20x zoom.

Thanks for sharing this!

[Luc Spencer]

Bringing you more footage shot entirely with the TM900! This time you get to see some lovely ladies! This little camera is amazing, absolutely everyone is impressed with the quality it delivers. Would have loved a button for instant access to the backlight exposure function, and perhaps one for manual focus. I'm probably getting a bit greedy now.

Enjoy, let me know what you think!

Floral Photo Shoot - Noree Anne Celine - YouTube

[David Mabe]

While chasing, time is very limited on setting up multiple cameras and such, especially when you have to set up and operate them all by yourself.. You have to be ready to move at a moments notice. I'm working on a solution for having multiple cameras though, one for wide and one for a close shot. I'll have one mounted to the vehicle for my wide......and attempt to tripod the other for my close shot if there is time. Storm chasing requires "run and gun" style shooting for the most part, its not in a controled setting after all. Getting 60+ mph wind also doesnt help with some of the shakiness......even mounted on a heavy tripod you will get a lot of vibration in strong wind. This is Raw video, I could have edited it where you dont actually see the zoom in or out.

[Les Wilson]

Luc: I notice the blacks have a purple hue to them. Is it that way right out of the camera?

[Luc Spencer]

Les, no, I used the three-way color corrector in Premiere, shifted the shadows towards purple and the midtones towards orange. The original colors that came out of the camera were good, but considering this was a fashion photo shoot I decided to make everything a bit more interesting and play around :)

[Tom Hardwick]

Luc - loved it. Brave staccato editing built on jump cuts, and it works very well indeed. Hand held - and using the little 'hand' OIS for extra stability? Only tiny downer is the oft infinite dof, but what's one to do with less than ¼'' chips? Even so - your selective focus is beautifully used. Congrats - bet the girls loved it more than the stills.

tom.

[Luc Spencer]

Tom, thank you very much! I always forget to use the little hand icon for extra stability, fortunately the TM900 is great even without it. I tried to use a lot of zoom to create some DOF, on some shots it worked. A ND filter might help there, the F-value was almost always somewhere around 6 - 8.0 so that didn't help (used 1/100 shutter outside, as I learned I should from this topic). And, you are right, one of the girls said she can't stop admiring herself! Tiny wonder this camera :)

[Tom Hardwick]

If you're shooting at 1/100th sec then I wouldn't think extra ND would be needed unless it was very bright indeed. Remember in the movie mode an f/5.6 readout means the lens is actually shooting at f/2.8, which is max aperture on full tele anyway.

tom.

[Luc Spencer]

I was using 1/100 because 1/50 caused blown highlights, the camera was shooting at its max (auto) value of F 8.0. You guys said not to exceed F 8.0 because I lose resolution beyond that.