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CNET editors' rating:
4.0 stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 16 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
The good: Real 24P at an affordable price for serious videographers; produces filmic look; professional controls; phantom power and two-channel audio control.
The bad: High-contrast artifacting; noisy zoom and autofocus mechanisms; lack of gain adjustment and autofocus in progressive mode; only 10X optical zoom.
The bottom line: This professional 24P camera in compact dress raises the bar for its semipro price class.
Specifications: Video input type: Camcorder; Optical zoom: 10 x; Media type: Mini DV See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 12/11/2002
- Updated on:12/18/2002
- Released on: 10/10/2002
Panasonic brings 24P to the masses. If you're a low-budget producer of narrative features for theatrical distribution, why shoot PAL when the AG-DVX100 delivers professional features--excepting interchangeable lenses--in a MiniDV camcorder that provides both interlaced and 24fps progressive modes?
The DVX100 follows design conventions established by Sony's PD150A that have since (with the release of Canon's GL series) become standard in compact professional cameras. Such conventions include an overhead handle supporting a microphone and a secondary zoom control; a primary zoom control and a cassette hatch on the right side; a rear battery well that accommodates cells of varying capacities; a flip-out, color LCD and image-quality controls on the left side; and manual focus and zoom rings on a fixed lens with a removable hood.
 The viewfinder features a large eyecup, and since it's placed at the center of the camera, you can use it with either eye. |
 The cassette hatch consolidates the two-step closing mechanisms usually found in other cameras into one simple action--just press the exterior cover closed. |
After the release of Stars Wars Episode II, which was filmed in 24P, this mode caught on with digital filmmakers because it lets them begin with a digital medium, move footage seamlessly into digital postproduction, then transfer it to 16mm or 35mm film for theatrical distribution with even less fuss than using a PAL camera requires. The DVX100 is the only camera in its price range to offer true progressive capture at 24fps; it can also shoot 30fps progressive or 60fps interlaced video.
 Behind the flip-out LCD, you'll find audio controls and other useful features. |
 A wealth of shooting adjustments are easily accessible through physical controls. |
The only feature that we missed was the ability to boost the gain in progressive mode to lighten a dark shot while retaining the depth of field that we wanted. Gain adjustments can be made in interlaced mode only. There is no digital zoom, and you won't find a flash-media option for capturing high-quality stills, but we don't think that this camera's audience will miss those features much. Although the DVX100 lets you connect professional microphones, it comes equipped with a top-mounted onboard stereo mike as well. Unfortunately, noise from both the zoom motor and the autofocus mechanism were significant enough to be recorded through that onboard mike. We've never encountered such a noisy autofocus in a high-end camera. When we used the autofocus and the zoom servo, we had to resort to attaching a shotgun microphone pointed at a recording angle narrow enough to exclude such unwanted noise.
 You can attach pro-audio equipment via the XLR ports and select servo-controlled or cam-driven manual zoom by flipping the switch under the lens. |
The color viewfinder and the large LCD display two-digit reference numbers reflecting zoom and focus settings that you can note during rehearsal, then return to during your shoot for rapid, accurate zoom and focal changes. That's especially important since there's no autofocus available in progressive mode. This system is not as good as having focus marks on the lens barrel, but it's better than competitive offerings from Canon and Sony. The DVX100 produces pleasing images, some of which we saw blown up to 35mm to stunning effect. But even if you opt to distribute your material on video, the camera's extensive image controls and 24fps capture rate can still imbue your work with a filmic look. The Leica Dicomar lens, mated to three 1/3-inch CCDs, gives good color reproduction, yet images suffer from significant moiré artifacting in areas of high contrast, such as where bands of dissimilar colors intersect.
 The camera captures ample detail in both highlights and shadow areas. Image shown at 50 percent. |
White balance and black-point settings are both adjustable. The default white setting yielded a somewhat warm image, in the vein popularized by Canon's XL1 and carried over to the XL1S and the GL2. Gain up to 18dB is available in interlaced mode only, and, as expected, boosting it produces a moderate degree of noise in dark colors and blacks.
User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 16 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
