Digital Breakthrough

As a professional cinematographer/cameraman for the last 19 years, I've extensively shot every film and video format from 16mm and 35mm to BetaCam and High-Definition 24p. I could not believe how well the footage I shot with the Panasonic AG-DVX100 looked in all of the conditions I put it through.

I did multiple lighting setups including portrait, still life, interview, dramatic scene and product beauty scenes. The AG-DVX100's ability to dig into the shadows and hold onto the highlights is very comparable to Sony's HDW-F900 (basically the camera Star Wars: Episode II was photographed with). I've been shooting with the Sony since its debut over two years ago and when I edited footage from the AG-DVX100 against that stuff - in standard def, mind you - the results were truly amazing. The image tonality was far closer than I expected. The Panasonic has definitely inherited a lot of good traits from its HD big brother, the AJ-HDC27 VariCam. The details in the shadows and highlights are better than I've seen in a DV camera until now. In lighting, when you treat this camera like a film camera, it responds like one. I even shot a green screen composite test, which is usually pretty tough for DV cameras to pull-off well and the results - again - were incredible: The composite held the tiniest hairs on the test subject and there weren't any visible compression artifacts in the composite. The person doing the composite told me that from a technical standpoint it worked "perfectly."

Part of my testing included shooting in available light situations and right out of the box this little camera outperforms many of the professional video systems out there. Granted, it may not have the super-precise lens, extensive camera remote or the year-in, year-out durability of a BetaCam or the like - but for $3000 I don't see how you can beat it. The Sony HDW-F900 rents starting for at least $1500/day, and a complete Digital BetaCam package goes for around $900/day, the AG-DVX100 can perform just about any industrial/broadcast task there is for far less cost. And if a cinema-style film look is what you're after, the AG-DVX100 makes it completely accessible and affordable. I honestly believe the AG-DVX100's 24p mode and film-like response settings effectively replace the "16mm transferred to video" approach for a fraction of the price. And there's no post work needed to convert the 24 frame rate footage to 30 for playback - the 3:2 pull-down is added while recording (and there's a smoother, enhanced 3:2 method that can be internally selected). The tape can readily be played back in any MiniDV camcorder/deck, or streamed right into a computer for editing.

The zoom control has three speeds, which is nice, but I suppose I wish it was infinitely variable like the top of the line cameras; it's not as easy to make complex camera moves as it could be. An interchangeable lens would also be a plus for unlimited shooting potential. The onboard scene files are great as you can store presets and quickly change between camera settings such as frame rate and exposure latitude without rebooting the device. The viewfinder monitoring of audio tracks and exposure are especially handy. The AG-DVX100 can even roll a slave DV camcorder so you have a safety tape of everything you shoot without having to pull a dub afterwards.

A video engineer might debate me on the finer technical details - that's expected - but most of your clients will simply love the great footage you're giving them far within or below their budget. For the money, the Panasonic AG-DVX100 is an outstanding camera.