Casio EX-F1 720p30 video- impressive!

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Graham Hickling

So I just checked and the sensor is 7.18mm by 5.32mm (maybe not all used for video though). Is that big enough to .. um... be excited about? Micro 4/3 will be MUCH bigger, right?

I can never remember. Is 1/1.8 really saying about 1/2-inch? Is the 1.8 rounded up to 2? I really wish they would use inches or cm. Or, decimal inches. Like 0.5-inches.

Yes, a smaller area seems to be used for video, but no one seems to know how much smaller. And, no one has published the resolution.

PS: None of the reviews seem to have been done by videographers!

So one can't focus or zoom while shooting. Big deal. Anyone who shot with a 16mm Bolex with 3 primes knows these aren't real limitations.

[Daniel Thornton]

1) So we can set EV to prevent highlight blow-out. What about using EV=0 and adjusting Dynamic Range down by 1 or 2. In general it's OK to have signal levels go to 105 as long as pure black goes to zero. That would allow EV to adjust Exposure. (I can believe there is no exposure dial or no ability to set the lens ring. Casio seems assume AE will be perfect.
Answer:
I shot a play over the weekend and in many of the scenes the highlights were well above 100. I shot in Movie mode Portrait, EV0 ( the default when the camera turns on ). When looking at the video in Sony Vegas my highlights were way above 100. I applied the levels filter and brought the highlights down to 100 then used DVDPrepInstaller to render the shot Film 24p widescreen. I am very satisfied with the finished look.

4) One can frame a subject and press Still Shutter half way to get AF and AE and then press AE/AF LOCK.
Answer:Auto focus only:
Different things happen depending on HD or SD mode. In HD mode 1080 x 720, you frame the shot wide and the let the camera auto focus, then lock the focus. This is because in HD the shot zooms in slightly when you start recording. Also I have found that auto focus works best most of the time. In SD mode, you frame the shot, let auto focus do its thing and then lock the focus. The framing in SD does not zoom in after you start recording.
The camera is setting the AE, I think by adjusting the shutter.

4a)But, can one switch to MF and not have the camera switch back to AF when you start recording a movie?
Answer:
No, manual focus does not work in recording movies or I havn’t learned how to make it work yet. You think that it does because the camera accepts the input but then when you start recording it switches back to auto focus.

4b)If the camera will stay in MF, then one simply zooms in fully and uses the lens ring to adjust focus. Then zoom-back.
Answer:
I have not been able to get the camera to stay in manual focus. I believe Casio needs a firmware upgrade to do this.

6) Supposedly you can use some of the BS modes with Movie. Can you report the internal settings for: Portrait, Night Portrait, Night, Fireworks, and Twilight.
Answer:
There are about 15 BS modes. Some work with photos and others work with Movies. When you change from Portrait to Night Portrait, the settings on the side of the Lcd change. (iso, WB, ect.) This appears to set the camera to different settings. You can even manually change Iso to 400. It accepts this change but when I start recording, I believe the camera does not use these.

7) Lastly, how bad do you find the narrow field of view when you switch to Movie mode? Supposedly, Wide becomes 45mm which is not wide at all. On a 35mm camera it is Normal.
Answer:
I not sure. Do you mean what is still in frame or the dept of focus? I will test this.

PS: Where did you get it for $900?????????
Answer:
Just a ball park figure, not accurate

[Daniel Thornton]

I copied this from Casio website. This may be what is happening in the different movie mode settings.

Best Shot Mode

BEST SHOT- EXILIM
Tipps & Tricks- EXILIM

1. Fireworks
Select the function, your camera will automatically set up a daylight white balance with the focus on infinity.*
2. Portrait
The natural tone of the complexion is emphasized advantageously to achieve the best possible, flattering result.

3. Scenery
When taking photographs of scenery, the same level of sharpness, stronger contrast and high colour saturation is important. "Scenery" automatically sets the camera to these requirements.*

4. Night Scene
The Movie BEST SHOT-motif program "Night Scene" sets a high level of sensitivity - letting you take photographs with a low level of background brightness.* With this setting, you must hold the camera still, since especially in night photography, slight movements can cause blurred pictures.*
ect...
This seems to be what is happening in the camera when I change modes

[Steve Mullen]

The descriptions are zen.

The WINTER FESTIVAL setting seems to prevent blur and limits gain.

According to the manual after you choose a BS mode you can see what settings it has made. That's the way you can see what it really does.

Sort of the reverse of making your own BS.

[Daniel Thornton]

Steve Mullen do you live in the Atlanta area? If so, email me at Daniel_Thornton@douglas.k12.ga.us and I will loan you the camera for a few days to try out.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Daniel Thornton

Steve Mullen do you live in the Atlanta area? If so, email me at Daniel_Thornton@douglas.k12.ga.us and I will loan you the camera for a few days to try out.

Alas, I live in Las Vegas. But, that's a very kind offer. Thank you!

There is a company that allows unlimited time before a return. You pay $200 more, however. I think I may go this way.

I wonder if anyone is buying the F1? However, if you look at the "reviews" by buyers, they are really positive. Reviews by reviewers are mixed.

Are you REALLY REALLY happy with your F1?

PS: No way can I afford a Canon. Plus, I want 720p. And, the Nikon seems to be very complex and offer poor video.

[Daniel Thornton]

The more I use this camera and learn how to adjust the settings, the more I love it. But when I first got the F1, I thought I had wasted my money. This is because I shoot most of my video inside under lights. From the first I could get excellent video outdoors. I could set the camera in just about any setting and get great video. There was plenty of light so the video look better than any camera three times its price. But when I shot indoors the video was full of noise in the shadows. This was unacceptable for my purposes. After about a week of adjusting the camera trying to eliminate the noise I was ready to sell it. Then I set the camera in Movie Mode Portrait and the noise disappeared. I was astonished, great looking video. I believe that Casio processes the video differently in this setting. The blacks are crushed so the noise doesn’t show as much.
Just yesterday after reading some posts about the auto focus, I decided to spend some time adjusting and locking the focus and I learned something new. When pushing the photo button half way to focus in some of the settings, you get an orange read out. This means that the camera didn’t adjust correctly. When pushing the photo button half way you need to get a white settings read out and the green light stops blinking. This is the camera adjusting exposure and auto focus correctly. Then lock focus and the picture looks great. It would be helpful if Casio would explain this. Now I will use the photo button to focus and watch the colors that are displayed. Also I started using the histogram. I can now tell if I need to lower the EV value.
A big drawback in this camera is no monitoring of the audio signal. I can record audio but I have not found a way to monitor the signal to tell what the camera is hearing.
At first, I didn’t like the F1 but now I would not sell it. I am also looking at the Samsung SC HMX20c as another tool. It contains the same chip as the F1 at only $630.00. Its video picture quality is supposed to be better than the Canon HV30.

[Robert Kingwood]

Daniel, did you buy the F1 with a particular application in mind?

PS: Thanks for your posts.

[Jay Birch]

Steve.... I have both the d90 and ex-f1... unless you are desperate for the "film look" then go with the casio.

The nikon is just crap in my opinion... people who own it rock on about how the footage looks, but I don't think it comes close to decent 720p except for a few tripoded shots here and there. The jello effect is unusable and that is only the first of many problems.

The Casio, you can pretty much gauruntee 720p quality in most conditions. It is alot more video looking though, but at $1000 or so, it's quality is very, very good... not too far off my hvx200, especially in good light.

[Daniel Thornton]

Robert...I am doing Historical family interviews plus whatever comes along. This is my first venture with a HD camera. I would love to get a Sony PMW-EX1 but I can't afford it at this time. My goal has been to have better picture quality. My normal video camera is the Panasonic DVX 100a.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Daniel Thornton

Then I set the camera in Movie Mode Portrait and the noise disappeared. I was astonished, great looking video. I believe that Casio processes the video differently in this setting. The blacks are crushed so the noise doesn’t show as much.

When pushing the photo button half way you need to get a white settings read out and the green light stops blinking. This is the camera adjusting exposure and auto focus correctly. Then lock focus and the picture looks great.

It would be helpful if Casio would explain this.

I suspect that in Portrait Mode gain is limited which keeps noise low. I assume EITHER the shutter is pushed higher forcing the iris full open to minimize DOF -- or -- the iris is opened fully to minimize DOF which forces the shutter-higher. In any case, motion blur is prevented. Saturation is increased and DYNAMIC RANGE set at -2 which crushes black and prevents over-exposure.

Is WB forced to Indoors in Portrait Mode?

PS: I'll bet if you menu switch to MF -- when you press the shutter half-way it will set only exposre and not alter the focus you manually set. Then, when you press Lock AE/AF, you'll lock the current MF.

Remember the 5 steps: fast zoom-in on subject; MF; press shutter to get exposure of subject; press Lock AE/AF; zoom-back to frame; shoot.

[Daniel Thornton]

Ok, I think I found out how to zoom in, set focus, and then zoom out to frame the shot and the focus does not change. Set the camera in Movie mode- Night shot, this lets you use the focus button on the side of the camera to change the different ways of focus. When you push this side focus button, it changes from AF, Macro, infinity, and Manual (p43 in the owners manual). Two ways to set the focus, Use AF then press the Shutter button half way to gain focus then push the side focus button to MF so the camera stays in MF then reframe or just leave the camera in MF and adjust the focus , then reframe the shot. The camera seems to stay in MF for the shot. Also I have noticed that the F1 changes some internal settings when I change the Continious Shutter dial. So here are all my settings for MF working.
Mode dial-BestShot-Night Scene
CS Button- High-Speed Setting(this may not matter)
Movie Mode switch- SD ( the camera responds differently in SD and HD in some settings)
The Lock focus and Lock AE work also.
I have noticed that if I change settings too often and to quickly, the camera holds on to some old settings. If this happens, I turn off the camera to clear out the memory buffers and then restart the camera.
It would be nice if someone else would check me on this to confirm the MF settings

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Daniel Thornton

Two ways to set the focus:

I suspect the camera operates in to modes: VIEW and PICTURE. Until you press the shutter-button the VIEW image is best for framing. Upon the shutter-button is pressed, the camera doesn't go into PICTURE mode. PICTURE mode gets optimal focus and exposure.

1) IN AF MODE, use AF then press the Shutter button half way to gain focus then push the side lock button to MF so the camera stays in MF then reframe. Pressing shutter button half-way ALSO sets exposure. Pressing side AF/AE button also locks exposure. (If you set the button to AE & AF.) This prevents unwanted exposure fluctuations.

2) Set the camera in MF MODE and adjust the focus then reframe the shot.

AE is still operating so, if necessary, the camera will adjust exposure during the shot.

I'm not sure what happens if you just press record. Does it stay in VIEW or go into PICTURE?


So you now have two BS settings: Portrait and Night mode.

What WB settings do these use?

Do they force AWB? Or, if you set your own WB, do they use it? If they force a WB, what does each force? (Night, I'll bet, uses Tungsten? Portrait -- I have no idea.)

How steady does the IMAGE AS hold the pix?

Happy T-day!

[Andy Tejral]

Originally Posted by Jay Birch

The timelapse feature is pretty handy too.

What time lapse functions does it have? I looked through the manual and didn't see anything.

[Gilles Debord]

Hi everybody

Question: Is it possible to remote the camera through a computer or only with the remote control ?

Best regards

Gilles