Panasonic AG-DVX100 ???

[sn-films]

Here's a long-shot...

I'm torn between buying another Sony PD-150 and the following camera from Panasonic:

http://www.panasonic.com/PBDS/subcat...ag-dvx100.html

Has anyone used and/or seen footage off of the Panasonic "Cinema" cameras? They claim to have to film-like gamma capabilities, etc., but I really don't want to rely on sales brochures. Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Alex]

I'm not sure what they mean by more gamma, do they mean more contrast?

I'm not sure I believe this gamma stuff. Video only has so much lattiude, and that's it. It's actually better to have less contrast and make your final black level adjustments when you edit.

The more contrast that is created at the time of shooting, the less you can undo later.

[Alex]

The irony is you may want high-contrast for your final master, but if you shoot high-contrast in the beginning, you can't undo it later when you edit, but you can increase contrast later when you edit.

here is a link that has "gamma commentary"

http://home.inforamp.net/~poynton/no.../GammaFQA.html

Even if a camera has improved dynamic range, the limiting factor is going to be what you record it on.

[sn-films]

I completely agree. One of the dead giveaways that a movie was shot on video instead of film is the nature of the contrast. If you watch low-budget horror flicks, or some of the movies on the SciFi channel, there is a huge migration away from film due to the associated costs. But even with the high-end Sony DSR570's (retail for approx. $18,000 less accessories), there is still the tell-tale high contrast.

I know Tiffen and a few other manufacturers make low contrast filters for video cameras to help simulate film-like qualities, but it looks like Panasonic is working toward overcoming the contrast issue by doing some tweaks inside the camera rather than on the front. I was just curious if it looks good or not. Either way, it looks like a respectable video camera.