HPX370 in Standard Definition at DVinfo.net

Mark Chafe · December 11th, 2012, 11:41 PM

Hello,

I currently have a Panasonic HPX370 on loan from a friend of mine. I am very happy with the camera so far and I may purchase it, however there are a few questions I have that may or may not be specific to the this camera, but as this is my first professional style camera I do have a few questions.

I notice that when doing Standard definition over SDI, that it is much more soft than a standard definition camera with SDI out. Are their any recommended settings for SD-SDI that can help make the picture stand out more? It is in focus and colours are fine, however it just doesn't look as good as other standard def cameras that I have used. Also, when I am zoomed in on a subject, the chroma is very vibrant, however if I am zoomed out all the way, the chroma is not as strong. I understand that lighting would affect this, however, is there a feature in the camera that can help keep the chroma level stable? I know I could boost the chroma level, however it would be too strong when I zoom in, unless there are other adjustments that can help.

I understand there are a lot of features on this camera. I just wanted to know if these are issues to this camera, or to all cameras, and if so how to compensate for them.

Thanks
M

Sanjin Svajger · December 13th, 2012, 03:15 PM

I don't know about in-camera settings but I can tell you this: when you're acquiring SD from an natively HD camera the results are usually going to be sub-par. Why? Because the camera first creates an 1080p (or i) image and then it down converts the image internally in real time to SD. This internal in-camera down conversion is never good. If you want good SD from the HPX370 record 1080p and then down convert to SD in post!

Gary Nattrass · December 14th, 2012, 02:29 AM

My BBC SD settings:

<F3>
SCENE NAME :BBC-SD
00005000: 1 ; VFR : OFF
00005001: 25 ; FRAME RATE: 25 FRAME
00005002: 021C0708 ; (SYNCHRO SCAN):
00005003: 12 ; DETAIL LEVEL: 4
00005004: 8 ; V DETAIL LEVEL: 0
00005005: 13 ; DETAIL CORING : 5
00005006: 8 ; CHROMA LEVEL: 0
00005007: 8 ; CHROMA PHASE: 0
00005008: 8 ; COLOR TEMP Ach: 0
00005009: 8 ; COLOR TEMP Bch: 0
0000500A: 128 ; MASTER PED: 0
0000500B: 16 ; A.IRIS LEVEL: 0
0000500C: 2 ; DRS EFFECT: 3
0000500D: 2 ; GAMMA : SD NORM
0000500E: 2 ; KNEE: LOW
0000500F: 1 ; MATRIX: NORM2
00005010: 0 ; SKIN TONE DTL : ON
00005011: 0 ; V DETAIL FREQ : THIN

Adjust frame rate for NTSC and an example of DVC Pro 50 footage using these settings here:

December 11th, 2012, 11:41 PM	#1
Mark Chafe Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 162	HPX370 in Standard Definition Hello, I currently have a Panasonic HPX370 on loan from a friend of mine. I am very happy with the camera so far and I may purchase it, however there are a few questions I have that may or may not be specific to the this camera, but as this is my first professional style camera I do have a few questions. I notice that when doing Standard definition over SDI, that it is much more soft than a standard definition camera with SDI out. Are their any recommended settings for SD-SDI that can help make the picture stand out more? It is in focus and colours are fine, however it just doesn't look as good as other standard def cameras that I have used. Also, when I am zoomed in on a subject, the chroma is very vibrant, however if I am zoomed out all the way, the chroma is not as strong. I understand that lighting would affect this, however, is there a feature in the camera that can help keep the chroma level stable? I know I could boost the chroma level, however it would be too strong when I zoom in, unless there are other adjustments that can help. I understand there are a lot of features on this camera. I just wanted to know if these are issues to this camera, or to all cameras, and if so how to compensate for them. Thanks M

December 13th, 2012, 03:15 PM	#2
Sanjin Svajger Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Slovenia Posts: 356	Re: HPX370 in Standard Definition I don't know about in-camera settings but I can tell you this: when you're acquiring SD from an natively HD camera the results are usually going to be sub-par. Why? Because the camera first creates an 1080p (or i) image and then it down converts the image internally in real time to SD. This internal in-camera down conversion is never good. If you want good SD from the HPX370 record 1080p and then down convert to SD in post!

December 14th, 2012, 02:29 AM	#3
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	Re: HPX370 in Standard Definition My BBC SD settings: <F3> SCENE NAME :BBC-SD 00005000: 1 ; VFR : OFF 00005001: 25 ; FRAME RATE: 25 FRAME 00005002: 021C0708 ; (SYNCHRO SCAN): 00005003: 12 ; DETAIL LEVEL: 4 00005004: 8 ; V DETAIL LEVEL: 0 00005005: 13 ; DETAIL CORING : 5 00005006: 8 ; CHROMA LEVEL: 0 00005007: 8 ; CHROMA PHASE: 0 00005008: 8 ; COLOR TEMP Ach: 0 00005009: 8 ; COLOR TEMP Bch: 0 0000500A: 128 ; MASTER PED: 0 0000500B: 16 ; A.IRIS LEVEL: 0 0000500C: 2 ; DRS EFFECT: 3 0000500D: 2 ; GAMMA : SD NORM 0000500E: 2 ; KNEE: LOW 0000500F: 1 ; MATRIX: NORM2 00005010: 0 ; SKIN TONE DTL : ON 00005011: 0 ; V DETAIL FREQ : THIN Adjust frame rate for NTSC and an example of DVC Pro 50 footage using these settings here: Aj-MC700MC ENG mic FX - YouTube __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/