Panasonic’s latest full-bodied camcorder combines the sensor from the HPX3000 and the body of the HPX370, making it a small form factor camera with a beautiful 2/3″ 1080P 3-CCD sensor. The camera has all the features of the HPX3000, and a couple from the HPX3700 as well, including FilmRec up to 600% and dual color filter wheels. The HPX3100 maintains the high quality of the Panasonic P2 lineup with AVC-Intra 100 recording, but is also sleek and compact. Check out the camera and Panasonic’s new B&W viewfinder (AJ-HVF21KG) in the video above.
]]> http://blog.abelcine.com/2010/11/10/at-the-bench-with-the-panasonic-hpx3100/feed/ 1 http://blog.abelcine.com/2010/07/09/using-white-balance-offsets-to-create-a-look/ http://blog.abelcine.com/2010/07/09/using-white-balance-offsets-to-create-a-look/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 01:35:11 +0000 Andy Shipsides http://blog.abelcine.com/?p=6495 Many cinematographers use warm and cool cards, like the DSCLabs White N’ Warm cards, to create a look in camera. By white balancing your camera on a card with warm (red) color the camera will produce a cooler (blue) balance. The opposite is also true; a cool (blue) card will give a warm (red) white balance. If you white balance off the same card in different lighting environments, then you can consistently achieve the same warm or cool look. What many people don’t know is that this same method can also be achieved in camera through white balance offsets. This option is available in many pro cameras and is simple to set. Depending on the camera, an offset can be applied to the preset, A or B white balance settings. The offset works simply by adjusting the white balance to be cooler or warmer. Just like using the same warm/cool card, the offset will be applied to any white balance that you run. The advantage to using the offset over using the cards is that you can white balance off any white surface and still get the look you are after (of course a nice white card is still advised, if available). Here are a couple examples of how this is set in different cameras.

On the Panasonic HPX370, HPX300, HPX170 and HVX200, the white balance offset is found in the Scene Menu.

HPX370 with a Cool Offset

HPX370 with a Warm Offset

On the EX1, EX1R and EX3, the white balance offset is found under the Picture Profile -> White Menu. Notice below that the warm and cool looks have opposite values when compared to the Panasonic cameras.

EX3 with a Warm Offset

EX3 with a Cool Offset

On the HDX900, HPX2000, HPX2700, HPX3000 and HPX3700, the white balance offset is under the Paint -> RB Gain Control. Here you can adjust both a red and blue value for each white balance setting (preset, A and B). The reason it is called “Gain Control” is because an offset is really a very subtle gain increase in one color channel, but not to worry, it won’t add an noticeable noise to your image.

Offsets are under Gain Control

On the PDW700 and PDWF800, the white balance offset is under the Paint -> White. Here they allow you to set an offset for both red and blue for A and B. The Preset white balance can also be adjusted in another menu.

Offsets are in the White Menu

For some dramatic shots of the car idling on a tarmac then peeling out onto the track, the production shot with the Phantom HD. However, for interior shots, Panasonic’s HPX3700 VariCam was the camera of choice. “While we needed an ultra high-speed camera for exteriors, the VariCam 3700 integrated beautifully into our specialized workflow…shooting with the HPX3700 at full-raster 1920×1080 resolution in AVC-Intra 100, we achieved images that fully convey the passenger luxury inside the car,” explained Long. In addition, the production deployed the HPX170 to get even more detail in smaller interior spaces.

Rounding out their workflow were Panasonic’s HMR10 compact field recorder/player, the HPG20 P2 HD recorder for real-time back-up, and the HCK10 POVCam for use on car-mounts. Says Long of the ultra-compact camera, “Considering its minute size and weight – a little more than ½ a pound – the POVCam is a big performer. We shot in the highest-quality PH mode, using a long lens, and recorded 1080/30p to the HMR10. The car mounts were all about singling out detail, and we got a really nice looking defocused background with the HCK10.”

To watch the full video which premiered at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, click here.

For the second part of the ENG Essentials – Camera Matching Series, I will be adjusting the gamma settings on the VariCam 3700 (HPX3700) to match the gamma curves on the EX3. The HPX3700 has more gamma adjustability, so I chose to set the EX3 to a setting I liked and then adjust the HPX3700 to match. Every manufacturer has different gamma curves, so my goal is to set the two gamma curves to match as closely as possible using a DSC Labs ChromaDuMonde chart and Leader scope.

On the EX3, I set the gamma to CINE1 and black gamma to -60 in Picture Profile. After reviewing the curve on the scope, I adjusted the HPX3700 to the same exposure and tried different gamma settings, using the EX3 curve as a reference on the scope. In the HPX3700 gamma settings, I adjusted the GAMMA MODE SEL to VIDEO-REC, V-REC KNEE SLOPE to 500% and the V-REC KNEE POINT to 54% and found a very close match.

Watch my video below to see how I matched the Gamma Curves.

Another important step after white shading a camera is to match white balance values. All pro cameras have preset and user defined white balance values – the P,A,B switch. If you run a white balance on two cameras looking at the same white card, in the same lighting environment, you will get very similar results. But if you plan to use the preset values (3200K,5600K) we need to be sure that both camera actually produce the same color white. Different lenses produce different white values, so even though the camera thinks you are at 3200K, it may be completely wrong. This can be corrected for by adjusting offset values in the camera, and making sure that both cameras have matching white values.

Watch my video below to see how these two steps are done.