Sony PMW-200 XDCAM camcorder

Many fans of Sony’s venerable PMW-EX1R looked at the introduction of the 50Mbps single-sensor PMW-100 and wondered when Sony would bring 50Mbps recording to their camera. Well, now it has… mostly. The new PMW-200 does have three half-inch Exmor CMOS sensors and full HD 4:2:2 5 50Mbps recording (as required by pretty much every broadcaster as the minimum bitrate for HD), but the form factor familiar to EX1 users has changed slightly. The PMW-200 is a somewhat more compact body, similar to the PMW-100, so it could take a little time to get used to new ergonomics.

Sony has taken a long time to offer 50Mbps in a decent lower-budget camera. Canon’s XF300/XF305 and Panasonic’s AG-HPX250 have had the field to themselves for a long time. It has meant that EX1 users have had to fit external recorders if they were shooting for broadcast. However, both the XF300/XF305 and the HPX250 use 1/3-inch sensors, but some broadcasters, such as Sky, believe half-inch chips are the minimum standard for HD (they often also ask for 100Mbps recording, so it may not be the end for all external recorders). The half-inch sensors should also deliver better low-light performance than their smaller rivals. Of course, if you already own an EX1R and an external recorder, the PMW-200 is not so much an improvement as a potential B-camera.

The XF range is currently the most popular for low-budget broadcast work, not just because it meets most broadcasters’ requirements, but also due to it using low-cost Compact Flash cards. The HPX250 uses Panasonic’s more expensive P2 cards, while the PMW-200 will primarily use SxS cards, which are only slightly cheaper than P2 – although at least the PMW-200 offers the option of using lower-cost SD, Memory Stick and XQD cards using an adaptor.

Besides 50Mbps, Sony covers all the legacy formats it is famous for, including 35Mbps MXF, 35Mbps/25Mbps MP4 and DVCAM. So if you still occasionally have to work in a Standard Definition environment and can’t edit in HD before outputting SD, then you are covered. Unfortunately, this flexibility uncovers one of the bugbears we’ve found using the PMW-100 – having to choose to format the cards using either UDF or FAT. Unhelpfully, the PMW-100 manual didn’t explain why you’d want to do that, so we had to work it out. If you want to record in 50Mbps (HD422) or 35Mbps (HQ), you have to choose UDF. You can’t record 50Mbps in FAT, but you can record 35Mbps (HQ) or 25Mbps (SP). It’s something you shouldn’t have to think about, but you do….

There is a slip-ring on the lens to switch between 

auto-focus (AF/MF - above) and full manual focus (below) 

Zoom lens: While the PMW-100 has a not-particularly-wide 10x zoom lens, the PMW-200 has a much better Fujinon 14x zoom, that goes from a very-nearly-wide 31.5mm to 440mm (35mm equivalent). You’ll still probably want a wide-angle adaptor for it, but you’ll probably only really need it in confined spaces.

The lens has three independent rings for zoom, focus and iris adjustment, plus greater precision through indications of ring positions on the 3.5-inch (852x480) LCD screen.

Recording: It has some frame rate flexibility with its Slow and Quick motion function which goes from one to 30 frames per second in 1080p, or 1fps to 60fps in 720p mode (but only if recording to an SxS Pro or SxS-1 card – and you can immediately play it back without using an external converter or processing on your editing system.

Most new professional camcorders now have cache record, which continually buffers what you are pointing at in its memory, but the PMW-200’s is longer than most at 15 seconds, which it will then write to your card once the record button is pressed, which is great for news or reality programmes – although it does assume you have the camera switched on eating battery power…

Other features: genlock and timecode interfaces for multi-camera operations; four-channel 24-bit Linear PCM 48kHz audio; dual XLR audio inputs; dual card slots; two ND filters (1/8ND and 1/64ND); optical SteadyShot; shutter angle as well as shutter speed settings; HD/SD-SDI, HDMI USB and iLink (IEEE1394 – HDV and DV) interfaces; five assign buttons.

Price/Availability: The PMW-200 weighs about 2.3kg (plus battery and cards, etc) and should be available from mid-September. There was no price in the press release, but CVP had it for pre-order at £5,160.00 + VAT (€6,580 or under $8,000 - essentially the same list prices as the EX1R is now).

There will also be a WiFi remote control from an iPad, iPhone or Android device (adaptor CBK-WA01 required), which is scheduled to be available by December with a free firmware upgrade (workflow above), including the ability to add metadata as used in Sony's successful XMPilot workflow.

“With the new PMW-200, we are putting one of the most versatile handheld camcorders we’ve ever developed onto the market,” said Bill Drummond, Strategic Marketing Manager, Professional Solutions, Sony Europe.

“The PMW-200 combines exceptional picture quality, seamless HD422 50Mbps workflow and a whole host of other useful features, with an ergonomic form factor. The result for users is an agile, lightweight solution that meets their varied needs and is the perfect partner for shoulder camcorders such as the popular PMW-500. It is also the ideal A-camera in its own right for HD broadcast production.”

Freelance cameraman, Alister Chapman, has done a good video overview of the PMW-200 and runs through the new features and how they can be used:


By David Fox

Panasonic HPX250 review

The BBC used to publish a list of approved cameras for HD production. It meant that users could buy a camera knowing it would be approved for use on anything they shoot for the BBC (and now pretty much any European public broadcaster as the list has been adopted by the European Broadcasting Union). It has certainly reduced levels of fear, uncertainty and doubt when faced with a major equipment investment and helped sales, especially of cameras at the budget end.

Before the list moved to the EBU, the last addition was the Panasonic AG-HPX250, which is retailing around £3,600 plus VAT. It is a direct rival to the Canon XF300 and XF305 (£4,400 and £5,040 +VAT respectively), and the lowest cost camera on the list. Its form factor makes it particularly suitable for observational documentaries. We have done a side-by-side comparison of the HPX250 and XF305 on our Canon XF Notebook site.

Panasonic AG-HPX250 Camera 

The HPX250 has three 1/3-inch, MOS sensors at full-HD 1920x1080 (2.2 megapixels). The HPX250 is 50Hz/60Hz switchable so you have a choice of 25p, 50i, 30p, 60i and 24p. It records AVC-Intra, DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO25 and, should you need it, DV on to P2 cards. This means it can record up to 10-bit 4:2:2 and 100Mbps. And if that is not enough, you have an HD-SDI output for even higher quality recording to a separate field recorder.

The camera’s form factor is nothing new compared to the typical camcorder of the last six years, with a viewfinder (EVF) at the rear and pop-out LCD screen on the side. The handle on the top houses most of the audio controls and the two XLR audio sockets. This camera neatly fits into the Panasonic range. If you are a HVX200 owner looking to upgrade or add to your kit, the HPX250 would feel familiar and be an easy transition.

It weighs 2.5kg (5.5lbs), a little lighter than the 2.7kg Canon XF305, but neither are shoulder mounted, which will mean the usual aching arms and shoulders on prolonged shoots.

Lens check

Most manufacturers have ditched the separate iris control on a little fiddly dial (as seen on Sony's Z1). Iris is where it should be – on the barrel of the lens behind the zoom and focus. The iris has a good positive feel to it and opens to F1.6, but as you zoom in it will ramp down to F3.2 at full telephoto.

Focus, Zoom and Iris control 

The camera has a good 22x optical zoom from 3.9mm-86mm, which is equivalent to a 28-616mm lens on a 35mm DSLR. There is also a 2x, 5x and 10x digital zoom.

The focus ring, however, was a bit of a disappointment, coming in a non-stop infinity ring mode only. I would have expected Panasonic to copy Sony (EX1) and Canon (XF300/305) and offer the option of a focus ring with hard end stops for a more repeatable focus pull. But, what is there is fine with no lag or stickiness.

If I have to be picky, one problem is that Peaking only comes in white. I always prefer to use a red peaking as it makes focusing so much more obvious and a lot easier.



That said, to help with focusing you do get the usual Push Auto button, which switches the camera from manual to auto focus while you press it down. Plus, there is a Focus Assist button that magnifies the centre of the screen to help you check your focus. This feature shouldn’t be confused with the MF ASSIST mode available in the menus, which increases the sensitivity of the focus ring for fine tuning your focus. If all that wasn’t enough, there is also the focus bar that indicates how sharp the image is – the longer the bar the more in focus you are. Nudge the focus ring too far and the bar starts to shorten as you go out of focus.

Gain control

Gain comes in the usual low, medium and high setting from 0dB to 18dB in 3dB increments. If you are in the dark with no possibility to use lights there are super gain options of 24 and 30dB.There is no negative gain, which seems to be pretty standard on most rival cameras, and there is no way to limit the auto gain, which is a bit disappointing.

Shutter framed

The shutter control design and implementation is a bit worrying. The shutter / F.rate dial is used to change the shutter speed and frame rate – this seems very dangerous. As you turn the dial it goes from shutter to synchro scan then Frame rate – and finally lock. Being lockable is useful to prevent accidentally changing anything, but the lock also activates after 12 seconds of inaction. This made changing things annoying and fiddly – hesitate too long and you have to unlock again.

Shutter and Frame rate on the same control 

But, I really do think it is a bad idea to have both shutter and frame rate on the same control - these two things need to be kept separate. If you weren’t paying attention or a beginner mixed up their shutter speeds with their frame rates – it could all end in tears.

There are, however, a wide range of frame rates to choose from, useful for off-speed (slow motion or fast motion) effects.

Frame rates

50Hz mode	59.97Hz Mode
1080p 1/2/4/6/9/12/15/18/20/21/ 22/23/24/25 frames per second 720p 1/2/4/6/9/12/15/18/20/21/ 22/23/24/25/26/27/28/30/ 32/34/37/42/45/48/50 fps	1080p 1/2/4/6/9/12/15/18/20/21/ 22/24/25/26/27/28/30 frames per second 720p 1/2/4/6/9/12/15/18/20/21/ 22/24/25/26/27/28/30/ 32/34/36/40/44/48/54/60 fps

ND filters

The HPX250 has the now almost standard three ND filters, coming in at 1/4ND, 1/16ND, and 1/64ND, controlled by a rotary dial (as pictured below).




Exposure

The HPX250 comes with two sets of zebras that can be set from 50% to 109% in 1% increments, which is nice. You can see Zebra1 and Zebra2 at the same time, just Zebra1 on its own, or you can choose the ‘spot’ option and see the level between Zebra1 and Zebra2. I’m not sure if I’d use the spot function but some may find it handy.

There is also a useful Y get function that you can assign to an assignable button. It will show the brightness at the centre of the screen – making the camera a useful spot meter.

New cameras now have a waveform monitor and vectorscope. I like to use my waveform to check on black and white crushing and the vectorscope can be handy when doing a white balance – to confirm you’ve done it right.

The camera does have a Full Auto Mode – or panic mode as I like to call it. In this mode the camera switches Focus, Iris, gain and white balance to Auto, but not Shutter and audio. This is different from Sony and Canon where the Auto Mode controls Iris, gain, shutter and white balance.

Full Auto or Manual 

If you are a wedding videographer or do red carpet events, you’re used to flash guns going off around you. Unfortunately, if you are recording video those flashes can cause problems. This is called Flash Banding and you’ll see the brightness at the top of the screen won’t match that at the bottom. The HPX250 does have a very interesting feature called Flash Band Compensation or FBC. This compensates for and minimises the banding when a flash photo is taken in the camera’s vicinity.

White Balance

The HPX250 has the usual preset white balances set to 3200K and 5600K – they have made it easy to toggle between them by pressing the AWB button. You also get the standard A and B manual white balance memories. However, the B memory can be assigned to do an Auto white balance or if you prefer you can assign auto to one of the user buttons.

The camera also has the option to do a black balance by holding down the AWB button for two seconds. I suspect a few operators will do this by accident – but it certainly won’t hurt to do an extra one every now and then.

Audio

There are no big surprises with the audio: two XLR sockets, which can be independently switched to line or mic input with switchable phantom power (+48v). It will do the usual 48KHz at 16 bits – but it is nice to see four channels are available, even if only to use as a back up.

Two XLR sockets on the HPX250 

Line and Mic level selection - with 48v Phantom power

Audio input/output selection 

Often the audio volume indicator is a bit small at the bottom on the screen – but you can assign MAG A.LVL to a user button and magnify the meters on the LCD screen – which is a nice touch.

Audio levels - loud and clear 

On the Menu

Moving around the menu is simple with the joystick like Operation lever on the side of the camera. Menus across all the manufacturers are fairly similarly laid out these days – which makes finding your way around pretty easy.

Easy joystick operation to navigate the menu 

Recording media

Two P2 card slots 

The HPX250 has two P2 card slots. P2 isn’t the cheapest recording media, but it is very reliable and unlike Compact Flash has “write protect” to stop you accidentally deleting your media.

However, you need to factor the cost of P2 into the purchase price. A 32GB P2 card is around £375 inc VAT while a 64GB card could set you back £550 inc VAT, although there are good deals if you buy a couple of 32GB P2 cards with the camera.

In comparison a 32GB Compact Flash card for Canon's XF305 would be about £95 inc VAT.

Recording times for HD 1080i, 720p

Recording Format	Recording time on 32GB card	Recording time on 64GB card
AVC-I 100 DVCPRO HD	32mins	64mins
AVC-I 50	64mins	128mins
Recording times are for HD 1080i and 720p

The camera works in relay recording mode – first recording onto one card and then on the next once the first is full. With hot swapping you could keep recording until your battery runs out.

The Pre-Rec option is one of my favourite features of tapeless recording. If you’re worried you’ll miss something then switch on the pre-rec and you will not only get the video after you’ve hit the record button but also the three seconds before too. Everyone will think you are psychic.

For those of you who want to do timelapse there is interval recording – plus one shot (frame recording) for animation.

The modes to be wary of are loop and one clip recording. In loop recording mode the empty space on card A is filled then it moves onto card B. When B is filled – the camera does not stop but goes back to card A again and overwrites what it  recorded earlier… then back to overwrite card B – ad infinitum. I can’t think of a use I would have for this. I suppose if you have no idea when an event will happen you could leave the camera in loop mode. But, you would have to ensure you had stopped loop recording once you’ve got what you want – otherwise the camera will head back and overwrite it.

I have had a few trainees who don’t like the fact their video is split into individual clips each time they start and stop recording. So, I guess the ‘one clip recording’ option is for them. In this mode the camera compiles all your video into a single clip.

This feature worries me a lot and I won’t be recommending it to my trainees. Imagine if you do 20 shots in the normal way and one is corrupt. That has happened to me. It is annoying, but at least I still have 19 healthy clips. I assume that if I used the one clip recording option, I would have had one large corrupted file. No, this just sounds like a bad idea.

As well as P2, the camera also uses SD/SDHC cards for recording and loading scene and user files and uploading metadata. This is handy if you have more than one camera and want to swap and synchronise settings. Or maybe your colleagues have sticky fingers and like to change camera settings – this way you can save your settings and load them each time you shoot.

Scene files

If you prefer to tweak the look of your images before the edit, then Panasonic offers six scene files. F1 is for normal everyday shooting; F2 for shooting under fluorescent lighting; F3 for increasing the range of resolution, colour and contrast; F4 increases the contrast in dark areas (increasing black stretch); F5 gives a film look with contrast tweaked; while F6 gives a film look with dynamic range tweaked.

Scene File options 

I must admit I prefer to do very little in the camera to change the look of my pictures. I think if possible you should do that sort of thing in post.

Time code

One advantage of the HPX250 is the inclusion of Timecode in/out connectors for synching timecode across cameras. If you regularly work with more than one camera and have to synch them up later in the edit – synching with time code speeds up the process.

Time code in/out and Genlock 

OK so when did you last use User Bits? I’m starting to wonder why manufacturers still include them as I don’t know anyone that uses them. But, at least Panasonic has found a good use for them – to record your frame rate choices. But if your NLE doesn’t import that information – then it is rather academic.

Who will buy

If you need 100Mbps in a small, relatively inexpensive camera. This is definitely worth a look.

I was training at a production company last week and they were shooting on a Sony EX3 and a NanoFlash because the broadcaster had stipulated recording at 100Mbps. Now the EX3 is a good camera (if a little old) and the NanoFlash does a good job – but for observational documentaries that was a lot of weight to be carrying around. The XF300/305 was no use – as they record at 50Mbps. In that case, the Panasonic HPX250 seems a no brainer. Not too heavy and no external recorder to worry about - although some broadcasters won't accept its 1/3-inch sensors as HD.

The Flash Band Compensation is a fantastic feature for wedding videographers or anyone covering red carpet events with lots of flash photography. 

The genlock and timecode in/out features are a boon for anyone thinking of working multicam either on location on in a studio through a vision mixer (its main rival, the Canon XF300 doesn't have them, you have to spend extra on an XF305).

The Panasonic HPX250 is an interesting camera and certainly worth shortlisting if your budget is less than £5,000.

[[UPDATE: Panasonic has released 18 new, free, downloadable scene styles for the HPX250]]

By Christina Fox

-------------------------- In response to comments  - some setting is currently preventing us from adding a comment below - so we're adding this comment here:

OnThePulse said it doesn't do 1080p, but according to Panasonic (in the HPX250 manual), the variable frame rates it does in 1080p are: 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25fps in 50Hz mode, and 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30fps in 60Hz mode.

Jonathan, thank you for your kind remarks. We agree about the price of P2, but given the cost of the camera, it can still make financial sense if you get a bundle deal and manage you media very carefully.

Panasonic AVCCAM HD camcorders

Panasonic unveiled two new AVCCAM HD handheld camcorders at NAB: the AG-AC160 and AG-AC130.

“These new AVCCAM handhelds offer the longer lensing that customers have been clamouring for in a small form factor with state-of-the art, high-bandwidth AVCCAM, Panasonic’s implementation of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 high-profile encoding,” said Jan Crittenden Livingston, Product Manager, Panasonic Solutions. “In addition, the AC160 adds the creative flexibility of Full HD off-speed recording and an HD-SDI out.”

They are similar to the new HPX250 (we now have a full review of the HPX250), but record AVCHD to SDXC cards instead of AVC-Intra to P2, with a maximum bit rate of 24Mbps. As they have two SD card slots, they can do relay or simultaneous recording (for instant back up). Both of the camcorders have have three 1/3-inch 2.2 megapixel CMOS sensors and 21x zoom lenses, with three independent rings for zoom, focus and iris, and a fairly wide angle of 28mm.

At 50Hz the cameras record 1080/50i and 1080/25p, 720/50p and 720/25p. At 60Hz, they record in 1080/59.94i, 1080/29.97p, 1080/23.98pN, 720/59.94p, 720/29.97p, 720/23.98pN, as well as in standard definition (DV). The AC160 is 50Hz/60Hz switchable for worldwide use.

The AC160 (pictured above) also features variable frame rates, two channels of Linear PCM audio and HD-SDI output.

The AG-AC160 and the AG-AC130 will be available this Autumn with expected list prices under €4,600/$5500 and €3,900/$4000 respectively.

[[UPDATE: Panasonic has released 18 new, free, downloadable scene styles for both the AG-AC130 and the AG-AC160]]

By David Fox

Panasonic HPX250 records 10-bit 422

Panasonic's new AG-HPX250 handheld camcorder records 10-bit, 4:2:2 1920x1080 images to P2 cards using the high-quality AVC-Intra codec at 100 or 50Mbps.

[UPDATE: We now have a comprehensive review of the HPX250 on this site, as well as a side-by-side comparison of the HPX250 and Canon XF305 on our Canon XF Notebook site]

It is the most compact camera using AVC-Intra, and the lightest at 2.5kg. It can also record DVCPRO HD, as well as standard definition recording in DVCPRO50, DVCPRO and DV, making it particularly versatile.

In AVC-Intra and DVCPRO HD it records in 1080 at 59.94i, 29.97p(N), 23.98p(N), 50i and 25p(N) and in 720p at 23.98p(N), 29.97p(N), 59.94p, 50p and 25p(N). It can record at variable frame rates (up to 30 frames per second in 1080p and up to 60fps in 720p) to create fast or slow-motion effects.

There are two P2 card slots and can record for up to 320 minutes in AVC-Intra 100 at 720/24p, 160 minutes in AVC-Intra 100 at 1080/24p and 128 minutes in other AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD formats on two 64GB cards.

It uses three 1/3-inch 2.2 megapixel CMOS sensors, with a 20 bit digital signal processor. The 21x lens starts at a reasonably wide 28mm, going to 588mm (35mm equivalent), and has three independent rings for focus, zoom and iris control. It also has an Optical Image Stabilizer. There is a 3.45-inch LCD monitor and high-res viewfinder.

Other features include: Dynamic Range Stretch to help compensate for wide variations in lighting; a waveform monitor and vector scope display; and two focus assist functions – a picture expanding function and a focus bar. It also has genlock/timecode input for multi-camera operation, as well as an HD-SDI output, an HDMI output, and FireWire in/out.

Although P2 cards are more expensive than non-proprietary media, such as Compact Flash or SD cards, they are well liked by broadcasters (where P2 is widely used, especially for news). Features include: instant recording start-up; clip thumbnail view for immediate access to video on all cards; and various time-saving recording modes including continuous recording, card slot selection, hot swapping, loop, pre-record (three seconds in HD and seven seconds in SD), one-shot and interval recording. The camera also has an SD memory card slot for saving or loading scene files and user settings.

[UPDATED: 2/12/11 - The BBC has now approved the HPX250 as an HD camcorder for shooting HD for use by both in-house and independent productions. This makes it the most obvious rival for Canon's XF305 for lower-cost HD shooting - although the P2 cards are more expensive than Compact Flash, but the XF305 costs about the same.]

The AG-HPX250 is available for less than £4,500/€5,500/$6,500.

[[UPDATE: Panasonic has released 18 new, free, downloadable scene styles for the HPX250]]

By David Fox