Hpx 600

[Myles Williams]

Oh no worries. For me coming from a JVC 700/750 which is a 1/3inch CCD chip to this 2/3inch just made me realize how much I wish I had sprung for say a USED HPX500 back in 2010 when I bought the JVC.

I like this camera very much. Its low light performance is also impressive but I have nothing to show for that claim/opinion.

I head out next week so I should be able to get more shots and post.

Hope that helps people get a better feel for the camera. This is my first time giving feedback to other shooters on a new camera. Normally I am reading on here about a camera that I want to buy getting OTHERS feedback !

Myles

[Glen Vandermolen]

I used to own an HPX500. It was a pretty good camera, but the uprezzed CCD chips didn't give the sharpest picture. In fact, I sold the camera when I was able to view the images on my (then) new 57" LCD TV. I was disappointed. I sold it and bought a Canon XF305, which had a very sharp picture.
But I did make money off the 500, and that's what really mattered. It was a bit heavy to shoulder mount!

I kept all of my P2 cards, Canon B4 lens and my batteries, so you can see my interest in the HPX600. All I need is a camera body and EVF and I'm GTG.

Please post more updates and videos, and good luck with your shoot!
BTW, your racing videos on Vimeo look awesome!

And are you renting the camera, or testing it for someone?

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

We know, you think Panasonic sucks. We got that. I swear, do you have some kind of bizarre fixation against Panasonics? God, you're so predictable!

Glen, I really think you should reflect before you post, and you may like to consider whether you should edit your previous post - you're not doing yourself any favours. As for "we know you think Panasonic sucks", then well, it's not true, and I thought I'd made that clear in my last post, let alone the previous ones. I'll try again. I said "I wouldn't expect anything costing over $15,000 to yield results which could be even remotely described as "bad" - ........ That is far, far from describing the HPX600 (let alone Panasonic in general) as "it sucks".

One thing which really irritates me on forums is that debates so often descend into black and white terms, and that is normally nonsense. If cameras got marked out of ten, I may give the HPX600 7½, may give the PMW400 8 or 8½, and I've tried to give solid reasons for why I think how I do. Yes, I think the PMW400 has the edge - but that is nowhere near like saying "this camera sucks" or thinking it grounds for describing me as "having some kind of bizarre fixation against Panasonics", and it's ridiculous to say so.

I'm referring to slightly different shades of grey, not black and white references, and please don't try to present anything I say as such.

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

Did we ask for a comparison? Did you see anyone ask you for a comparison?

Glen, whatever you think, when you're considering the technical merits of any camera, then comparisons are inevitable and (at least IMO) valuable. It's not just me, and as reference Sanjin Svajger was drawing comparisons in post 73, Gary Nattrass also thought comparisons were relevant (post 79).

Same with many other products, cars or whatever. Individual product reviews can only tell you so much, direct comparisons I find so much more useful from a potential purchasing point of view. So "performs well in low light" tells you what? Nothing really, and depends heavily on what any reviewer has been used to beforehand. "Performed a stop better than the xyz" is far more descriptive and useful.

And really, it's quite amusing that you yourself start your last post with talk of an HPX500 and then an XF305!! One moment you talk of only wanting to talk directly about the HPX600, period - the next moment you're talking comparisons yourself!

[Glen Vandermolen]

Please quit quoting me.
Go away. Please.
We're talking about the Panasonic HPX600 here. You're interrupting Myles. Let him finish.

[Myles Williams]

you guys crack me up. It reminds me of the automotive forums !

Myles

[Glen Vandermolen]

Sorry again, Myles.

Did you get any shooting in this weekend with the 600?

[Myles Williams]

I am editing most of this weekend. I will wait until the wifey dozes off and maybe try to skip out with the camera. I'm 6'3 but normally when I do some night shoots I take my friend who was a Seal with me as a precaution. No Seal tonight means risking things with a camera thats not mine !

We'll see though.

M.

[Glen Vandermolen]

LOL!
I don't know what's more dangerous - venturing into an area without your SEAL protection, or an angry wife!
Take it easy out there!

[Myles Williams]

The places in Baltimore to get good night shots are deserted. Not like detroit, but no one really around. So when you do see someone its not a good thing I have learned.

If the weather is decent tomorrow I will try to get out and get some shots.

M.

[Myles Williams]

NIGHT SHOTS

PANASONIC HPX600 NIGHT SHOTS on Vimeo

[Glen Vandermolen]

Very nice, Myles!
The 6db gain looks very usable. 12db would work as well.

The images are sharp, the colors look nice.
I like it!

[Sam Lee]

Originally Posted by Myles Williams

NIGHT SHOTS

PANASONIC HPX600 NIGHT SHOTS on Vimeo

I found that anything beyond 3 dB gain for all night shots w/ the HPX-3700, 3100 is just too grainy for my taste & tolerance. At 0 dB, it's quite sensitive and useable. Vimeo pretty much conceals a lot of grain noise.

I'll give the HPX-600 benefit of the doubt here and when I actually have my hands on it to evaluate, I can't say for sure that it's much better or worse than than HPX3### series yet.

[Myles Williams]

Fair enough. I can go in and do some frame grabs if that helps.....

[Myles Williams]

A few frame grabs.....

[Sam Lee]

Thanks for the grab. Indeed there's noise if you look closely, especially at 6 dB and 12 dB grab. The noise will move if the clip is moving. For EFP, it's just unacceptable for me. However, for ENG, it's OK since content matters more than quality of the footage.

Judging from this, I suspect that it's roughly the same as the HPX3#### series cam which claims f/13 @ 2000 lux. I shot quite a few night time shots w/ the HPX3100 series and have been using 0 dB w/ pretty decent results. I'll grab some frames for evaluation. At 3 dB noise starts to get quite noticeable for dark scenes. If the night scene has a lot of ambient light, then I can go up to 3 dB max. This guideline holds true for the clip of the couple walking in the shopping area that you provided. But when the scene gets dark overall (no light on the grass and ground), ugly noise really starts to pop out. From 6-12 dB, way too much once the clip is playing its normal speed. It's like a swarm of noise insect invading the scene, especially the non-lit region.