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2700 VS 3700


Frank DiBugnara

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I have a 3-Day shoot coming up in about a month. It's kind of high-end documentary style: Lit interviews, staged and lit recreations, daytime exterior, and some run-and-gun stuff. The final output is Blu Ray, SD DVDs, and web. There will probably be a few HD screenings as well.

 

A few hours of online research and some past experiences have led me to choose Panasonic for this job. The most convenient rental geographically seems to be with a 2700 Varicam, yet I'm wondering if there is any reason to try to push for a 3700? I might want to do some off-speed stuff--not sure yet.

 

Also, (assuming I go with the 2700) I probably won't get a lot of prep time to experiment with the camera. I have a lot of hours with the original Varicam and the HDX-900 and SDX-900. Would someone be able to offer some suggestions as to how to best configure the camera for a good "out of the box" look? I won't be painting images on set (no time) so I'll want to default to Panasonic's "Film Rec" (or equivalent on the 2700) mode and probably turn on this camera's dynamic range stretching, etc. to capture the most information while shooting and color correct later in post. Are there any other settings or configuration options anyone can suggest?

 

Thanks.

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Frank,

 

I had an HDX900 and currently have an HPX2700. Advantages that an HPX3700 would provide are the native, full raster 1080/1920 CCD's vs. native 720X1280 CCD's of the 2700. Disadvantages of the 3700 would be no shooting over 30 fps(no over cranking), a bit slower in low light, higher power consumption, no 720P modes.

 

The 2700 and 3700 have Film-Rec up to 600% dynamic range, which records all the latitude the CCD's can provide. If you use DRS, this will override any other gamma, including Film-Rec. DRS 1, 2 , 3 are dynamic versions of Film-Rec as far as highlight handling, ie; DRS 3 is the same as Film-Rec 600% for highlights, but DRS changes shadow detail scene by scene. Film-Rec and DRS can lower sensitivity a bit and add a little noise, but the latitude of Film-Rec 600% with AVC-Intra 100 is 10-11 stops. I sometimes use black stretch with Film-Rec, which is similar to what DRS would provide for shadow detail. Leave High Color off if using Film-Rec.

 

Panasonic 2/3" cameras tend to be optimized for Asian skin tones, and are a bit green and cyan deficient. It is best to use the matrix and color correction circuits, along with a Chroma Du Monde chart and HD vectorscope in expanded mode to set correct color points for REC 709. Or have someone email you scene files if the camera you're using is at factory settings.

 

With the 2700, if I want to do off speed easily, with ramping during a take, I set a User switch for VFR and a second user switch for Frame Rate, and preset one for 24 or 48 fps, another for 48 or 60 fps, depending on what effect I want. It is important to set the shutter at a fractional rate of 1/60th or 1/100th vs. 180 degree or half so that you don't see an exposure change when changing frame rate during a take.

 

Jeff Regan

Shooting Star Video

www.ssv.com

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  • 2 months later...

Hello Jeff!

 

I'm ready to shoot a short movie with HDX 900.Could you suggest me any good scene files,out of the factory settings.As I see you have used before HDX 900.

 

Thanks

Gavrosh

 

Frank,

 

I had an HDX900 and currently have an HPX2700. Advantages that an HPX3700 would provide are the native, full raster 1080/1920 CCD's vs. native 720X1280 CCD's of the 2700. Disadvantages of the 3700 would be no shooting over 30 fps(no over cranking), a bit slower in low light, higher power consumption, no 720P modes.

 

The 2700 and 3700 have Film-Rec up to 600% dynamic range, which records all the latitude the CCD's can provide. If you use DRS, this will override any other gamma, including Film-Rec. DRS 1, 2 , 3 are dynamic versions of Film-Rec as far as highlight handling, ie; DRS 3 is the same as Film-Rec 600% for highlights, but DRS changes shadow detail scene by scene. Film-Rec and DRS can lower sensitivity a bit and add a little noise, but the latitude of Film-Rec 600% with AVC-Intra 100 is 10-11 stops. I sometimes use black stretch with Film-Rec, which is similar to what DRS would provide for shadow detail. Leave High Color off if using Film-Rec.

 

Panasonic 2/3" cameras tend to be optimized for Asian skin tones, and are a bit green and cyan deficient. It is best to use the matrix and color correction circuits, along with a Chroma Du Monde chart and HD vectorscope in expanded mode to set correct color points for REC 709. Or have someone email you scene files if the camera you're using is at factory settings.

 

With the 2700, if I want to do off speed easily, with ramping during a take, I set a User switch for VFR and a second user switch for Frame Rate, and preset one for 24 or 48 fps, another for 48 or 60 fps, depending on what effect I want. It is important to set the shutter at a fractional rate of 1/60th or 1/100th vs. 180 degree or half so that you don't see an exposure change when changing frame rate during a take.

 

Jeff Regan

Shooting Star Video

www.ssv.com

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Hello Jeff!

 

I'm ready to shoot a short movie with HDX 900.Could you suggest me any good scene files,out of the factory settings.As I see you have used before HDX 900.

 

Thanks

Gavrosh

 

Gavrosh,

 

That depends upon the look you are after and whether or not you want to "bake it in" on set vs. post. The best starting point would be to download "Digineg" scene file that is set up for REC 709 color using Chroma Du Monde chart, this will give you proper color points for primaries and secondaries. Beyond that, any scene file available from Panasonic is an aesthetic choice based upon what serves the look you are after. Remember, if you go for a real stylized look in-camera, you are committed to it vs. shooting a flat, neutral setup that would lend itself to post grading and color correction.

 

I don't think Panasonic offers downloadable scene files for the HDX900, last I checked. You could, however use HPX2000 matrix and color correction values for Digineg to get you pretty close, I would think.

 

http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/scene_files.asp?model=HPX2000

 

Jeff Regan

Shooting Star Video

www.ssv.com

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