Henry Doorly Zoo HD part II Panasonic AG HMC40 TEST Omaha, Nebraska, WegenerImages.com

[NiteLiter]

I have this cam (see my videos) and loveit,JUST like any camera,PRACTICE,experiment with the settings,and the software that came with it "Edius Neo 2.5 Booster" gives a GREAT quality movie output,there are much better cameras out there,but THIS one is great for the average non production shooter,the key is in the settings,TIP,get a Zoom H2,or a Rode Video Mic for the audio.

[JimiHenbricks]

I have an AG-DVX100B camcorder and need a second camera for weddings. It has o be HD. I was thinking this camcorder strongly because of the price. But the lighting issue and smaller chip size or sensor in this case has me wondering. WOULD this be a good camcorder for a wedding business?

[mwegener2]

@JimiHenbricks - I've used it to shoot weddings but of course with any issue as long as the church has light you can manipulate the settings and get a very nice result. It would work just fine as a second camera. The reception might prove a challenge however, but again if there is NO light it doesn't matter what camcorder you have.

[Pilsenaaa]

great camera but the music selection transported my spirit over to the land of Alladin and not a tropical rain forest

[nafunkdegroove]

THANKS for this video

[brighteyefilms]

I have this cam and I am still trying to get used to it since I have beena sony guy for a while. I like warm looking images out of my shots, but for some reason I cannot get what Iike out of it yet with the cam settngs. What do you normally keep your cam on if you do not mind telling me. Do you use any gamma or chroma? etc.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

[mwegener2]

well this video was shot mostly on automatic. I haven't really dug into the camera quite that far just yet but I have been leaving it on 'cinema-gamma.' What I usually do if I want to change anything is i'll mess around with the raw footage in Apple's 'color' that's part of Final Cut Pro/Studio. of course you can always change the image really quickly with intentionally setting a different white balance too.

[mwegener2]

@brighteyefilms I have started to experiment with the chroma and gamma quite a bit as I got really tied of manipulating the values in post. The easiest way to get a 'warm' look would be to of course 'trick' the camera into using a different white balance IE don't balance the light just go for the 56K that's the easiest. otherwise miss around with the color setting in the menu and let us know what you come up with - sorry of the late response

[StuartHaight]

@mwegener2

No, simply white balence normally, go to scene files: color temp - 5 and if you must chroma level +2 or 3. Don't over do it or else correcting it in post can be really annoying.

[mwegener2]

@StuartHaight Yep that's basically what I've been doing lately. Seems to work great so far.

[norsknerd]

Hi, I bought this camera a few weeks ago, but I am having a few problems when filming in low light conditions, And I can't seem to be able to adjust the shutter speed in the menu (I can't find it) I know it is possible, cause I have done it before.

Do you know where to find it?

And I am not talking about the Iris dial.

[mwegener2]

touch the lower left corner of the LCD screen. That'll put you in the 'quick menu' you should see an arrow appear in that corner. Then touch the 'SHTR' button in the lower middle of the screen. scroll arrows will appear on the left side where the shutter indicator is and scroll away to open or close. touch the lower left corner again to close and all your setting should be adjusted (don't forget to be in manual) let me know if that works for you :)

[norsknerd]

Thanks dude, that worked.=D

I found out what the problem was, the camera was in full auto, so didn't allow me to adjust the shutter speed, and that was why I couldn't see it. But thanks anyway, wouldn't have realized it without you:)

[mwegener2]

Congratulations! I'm glad I could help. Now the world will really open up on the lower light level. I'm not noticing any 'real' grain around 1/60th shutter and anything lower than 18db gain. Don't forget you can also play with the gamma to get more light in the camera too (but it's really tricky)

If I can help more let me know - check out the time lapse I did too that really shows the low light capability

[lvlik9]

how is this camera so far...

[mwegener2]

I'm enjoying it very much. lightweight easy to use, learning something new everyday. love the ability to use just the SD cards for recording. still working around the low light capabilities (iris VS gain etc) the gain issue is tricky however after around 12 to 15 DB noise becomes really apparent in extreme low light

[lvlik9]

What do you think about the JVC GY-100U?

[mwegener2]

I can't really comment on the image quality but I love the idea that the files can be loaded straight into final cut and I've heard good things. However it's easily $1000 US more. The features that it has compared to the Panasonic were not worth the extra price . . . for me.