Versatile HD.
The Panasonic HVX is a 3 chip camera. It shoots multiple formats and variable frame rates.
The HVX can shoot high definition and standard definition direct to drive. The drive holds an hour of
DVCPRO HD footage. Full resolution HD without the need for a P2 store or to change cards during a shot.
Consider the hard drive a 100 gig P2 card. Convenient.
It shoots variable frame rates. Emulate the look of film when shot in 24 frames a second. Shoot television
transmission in 30 frames a second. The HVX variable frame rate enable the user to shoot slow motion
and time lapse for stunning images.
What follows is a technical brief of the HVX.
The Panasonic AG HVX200 is a professional fixed lens HD camera released in December 2005 (NTSC)
and April 2006 (PAL). By utilizing solid state P2 cards for high-bitrate recording instead of a MiniDV drive
for DV recording, the HVX200 is able to offer unique abilities, like variable frame rates (used for slow
motion & fast motion cinematography) and a 4x higher bit rate (100 Mbit/s) than HDV mini-DV.
The camera uses three 1/3" 960x540 pixel progressive scan CCD's to capture the image, and although
the resolution seems low, it manages to achieve HD resolution by employing both horizontal and vertical
spatial offset (aka. pixel shift). The green CCD in the array is physically shifted 1/2 pixel biaxially to achieve
up to 50% higher horizontal and vertical resolution. This would make the theoretical maximum resolution of
the image, 1440 x 810 pixels, even though each CCD has only 960 x 540 photosites. Regardless of the
physical resolution of the CCD's and the recording format, the analog output of the CCD's are always
1920x1080, which is then used by the DSP for the Offset image reconstruction.
The HVX200's resolution is recorded at 960 x 720 for 720P mode, and 1280 x 1080 for 1080p mode in
60Hz territories; in 50Hz (PAL) regions it is recorded at 1440x1080. The sensors employ variable
scanning rates from 2Hz to 50Hz (NTSC version) or 60Hz (PAL version) and are always capturing
progressive images. The images are always scanned from the chips at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Those
images are then downsampled to a size appropriate for the recording format (for DVCPRO or DVCPRO
that means 720x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL; for DVCPRO HD it means 960 x 720 for 720p or 1280 x
1080 for US/NTSC 1080i/p, or 1440x1080 for EU/PAL 1080i/p.
HD resolution is generally defined as 1280x720 and above. The good thing about a lower res imager is
improved sensitivity, greater dynamic range and better color reproduction, all properties which can be
limited on a small size sensor.
* 1 Features
o 1.1 Competitors
o 1.2 Digital Cinema and Videography
The successor to the Panasonic DVX100 supports:
* Variable frame rates and resolutions, including (in the NTSC version):
o 1080: 60i, 30p, 24p
o 720: 60p, 48p, 36p, 32p, 30p, 26p, 24p, 22p, 20p, 18p, 12p
o 480: 60i, 30p, 24p
o the camera also contains the following unsupported frame rates that can be reached with a hack ([1] [2]):
+ 720: 2,3,4,6,8,10,14,16,23,24.9,27,28,34,38,40,42,44,46,50,52,54,56,58 fps.
+ Beware, though: unsupported may mean that unexpected behaviour might occur when using the outlined
procedures.
* Professional/Robust format (DVCPRO-HD)
* Tapeless recording (P2 memory cards) and Hardisk recording device
* Professional Audio (48 kHz 16-bit 4-channel PCM audio, 2xXLR)
Based on the specs provided by Panasonic, this camcorder's recording format DVCPROHD seems vastly
superior to HDV format recorded by current crop of prosumer HD cameras. HDV with its limit of 25 Mbit/s
recording limit with DV tapes is inherently limited in terms of quality and frame rates.
The Panasonic HVX is a 3 chip camera. It shoots multiple formats and variable frame rates.
The HVX can shoot high definition and standard definition direct to drive. The drive holds an hour of
DVCPRO HD footage. Full resolution HD without the need for a P2 store or to change cards during a shot.
Consider the hard drive a 100 gig P2 card. Convenient.
It shoots variable frame rates. Emulate the look of film when shot in 24 frames a second. Shoot television
transmission in 30 frames a second. The HVX variable frame rate enable the user to shoot slow motion
and time lapse for stunning images.
What follows is a technical brief of the HVX.
The Panasonic AG HVX200 is a professional fixed lens HD camera released in December 2005 (NTSC)
and April 2006 (PAL). By utilizing solid state P2 cards for high-bitrate recording instead of a MiniDV drive
for DV recording, the HVX200 is able to offer unique abilities, like variable frame rates (used for slow
motion & fast motion cinematography) and a 4x higher bit rate (100 Mbit/s) than HDV mini-DV.
The camera uses three 1/3" 960x540 pixel progressive scan CCD's to capture the image, and although
the resolution seems low, it manages to achieve HD resolution by employing both horizontal and vertical
spatial offset (aka. pixel shift). The green CCD in the array is physically shifted 1/2 pixel biaxially to achieve
up to 50% higher horizontal and vertical resolution. This would make the theoretical maximum resolution of
the image, 1440 x 810 pixels, even though each CCD has only 960 x 540 photosites. Regardless of the
physical resolution of the CCD's and the recording format, the analog output of the CCD's are always
1920x1080, which is then used by the DSP for the Offset image reconstruction.
The HVX200's resolution is recorded at 960 x 720 for 720P mode, and 1280 x 1080 for 1080p mode in
60Hz territories; in 50Hz (PAL) regions it is recorded at 1440x1080. The sensors employ variable
scanning rates from 2Hz to 50Hz (NTSC version) or 60Hz (PAL version) and are always capturing
progressive images. The images are always scanned from the chips at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Those
images are then downsampled to a size appropriate for the recording format (for DVCPRO or DVCPRO
that means 720x480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL; for DVCPRO HD it means 960 x 720 for 720p or 1280 x
1080 for US/NTSC 1080i/p, or 1440x1080 for EU/PAL 1080i/p.
HD resolution is generally defined as 1280x720 and above. The good thing about a lower res imager is
improved sensitivity, greater dynamic range and better color reproduction, all properties which can be
limited on a small size sensor.
* 1 Features
o 1.1 Competitors
o 1.2 Digital Cinema and Videography
The successor to the Panasonic DVX100 supports:
* Variable frame rates and resolutions, including (in the NTSC version):
o 1080: 60i, 30p, 24p
o 720: 60p, 48p, 36p, 32p, 30p, 26p, 24p, 22p, 20p, 18p, 12p
o 480: 60i, 30p, 24p
o the camera also contains the following unsupported frame rates that can be reached with a hack ([1] [2]):
+ 720: 2,3,4,6,8,10,14,16,23,24.9,27,28,34,38,40,42,44,46,50,52,54,56,58 fps.
+ Beware, though: unsupported may mean that unexpected behaviour might occur when using the outlined
procedures.
* Professional/Robust format (DVCPRO-HD)
* Tapeless recording (P2 memory cards) and Hardisk recording device
* Professional Audio (48 kHz 16-bit 4-channel PCM audio, 2xXLR)
Based on the specs provided by Panasonic, this camcorder's recording format DVCPROHD seems vastly
superior to HDV format recorded by current crop of prosumer HD cameras. HDV with its limit of 25 Mbit/s
recording limit with DV tapes is inherently limited in terms of quality and frame rates.
Complete HD camera system
Panasonic HVX-200
Firestore FS-100
Manfrotto head and tripod
Mattebox
Panasonic HVX-200
Firestore FS-100
Manfrotto head and tripod
Mattebox
