Panasonic HVX200 Camera Basic Overview

Zoom
– Manu/Servo: underneath lens the zoom switch
Manu: The zoom ring on the lens controls the zoom
Servo: The zoom rocker on top right of the camera is used
Handle Zoom: the rocker on top of the handle will zoom at varying speeds: 1 (slowest), 2, or 3 (fastest).  The speeds are located on the side of the handle.

Focus
 – left side, Auto/Manual/Infinity
Infinity allows for objects far away to be focused as clear as possible – this is not a setting, but a momentary switch.  After activating it, the camera returns to manual focus.

EVF DTL – back of camera – Electronic Viewfinder Focus Assist – will provide a thin white outline around objects that are completely in focus. 

*Depth of Field - to achieve the shallowest depth of field with this camera, it is recommended to stick the zoom at the maximum telephoto setting and maintain your f-stop at f/2.8. If the shot is overexposed, adjust ND filter; not the iris. In order to frame a shot, you must physically move the camera.

Other shallow DOF tips: move subject as far away from background as possible and camera as close to the subject as possible.

Iris
– lower left side of camera closest to lens
Iris button – toggles between Auto and Manual
Iris Dial – lets you select F-Stops manually:  Open = allowing most light / Close = no light emitted
2.4, 2.8, 3.4, 4.0, 4.8, 5.6, 6.8, 8.0, etc

Zebra
– Exposure Guide to make sure Iris levels are correct
Zebra 1 – 80% - show lines on the brightest spots of the picture: light bulbs, foreheads, sky
Zebra 2 – 100% - protects against blowouts.  There should be few zebras in this mode.
Marker – helps calculate how even lighting is – good for use with green screens

ND Filter – Neutral Density Filter
– left side next to focus – “sunglasses for the camera”
Off – use for regular indoor lighting
1/8 – common outdoor use
1/64 – bright situations – very sunny, snow reflecting sun, etc.

Gain
 – located next to iris on lower left side
Low, Mid, High
The higher you go, the brighter the picture.  Downside is more noise will enter the picture.
Low should be the used most often and delivers greatest quality picture.

White Balance
– switch located next to gain, button located under lens on front of camera
Switch Settings:
PRST = Preset – can be toggled between 3.2 (3200K Indoor lighting) and 5.6 (5600k outdoor lighting)
Not the most accurate
A & B provide manual white balances (both channels do the same thing)
Once the camera is in the right WB switch, tap the AWB button until viewfinder reads AWB (ACH) or (BCH) OK

Black Balance
– hold down AWB and black balance will activate.  You need to black balance first.

Shutter
– located on inside of viewfinder door (Synchro-Scan speeds in Film Mode)
180.d = 180 degrees (360 means the shutter is completely open, while 10 degrees a very small opening)
Frame rate will affect exposure of "film" because the shutter must make one full rotation per frame. 24fps will for shutter to move faster than 60fps. Cinematographers must compensate by adjusting iris to let in more light at faster speeds.

Shutter speed effects motion blur (scan lines when shooting an old computer monitor)
Shutter “off” provides you the default speed selected for mode you are in.

(the lower the number, the more motion blur)
(the higher the number, the more stutter)
Ex. 1/500 – computer monitors will pulse; 1/60 will not

OIS – Optical Image Stabilizer
- located inside viewfinder door
- stabilizer for hand held.  Only recommended to use when zoomed in 100% and hand-held.  Needs to be off at all other times.

Bars
– button on the inside of viewfinder door.  Always important to record 30 seconds of bars in front of the tape for calibration purposes.

Audio
 – 3 possible inputs
Internal Mic (house mic)
XLR 1, XLR 2
Controls located on inside of viewfinder door
CH1 Select: Internal Mic, XLR Input 1, XLR Input 2
CH2 Select: Internal Mic, XLR Input 2

- Input 1 and Input 2 ‘Mic Power’
Can supply up to 48V of Phantom Power when turned on
Not needed for most dyanamics, however Condensers without batteries will need the power

-Audio dials in back of camera control volumes for what CH1 and CH2 are set to
Generally, levels should be peaking at the second line on the VU meter at the bottom of the viewfinder

Headphones – Jack located on far back right side

P2 Cards
-Two slots located in the back of camera
-Each card holds 40 minutes of footage in 720p/24PN
-Transfer footage to computer or hard drive via USB cable (Windows)

Media Switch
 – back of camera
Will swap recording media between tape and P2
Button will toggle between CAM and VCR
VCR controls are on top of the camera for reviewing tapes

HVX AUTO/MANUAL SWITCH
Lower left side of the camera close to the back of the camera
Should always be switched to Manual

Record
Top of handle, on power switch

Outputs
Firewire on tab with headphones jack
USB2 above that
S-video & HD15 (Component) – right side near front of lens
RCA Composite – right side near front of lens

 

Menu Settings

Menu button on top of the camera near VCR buttons:

Scene File Menu Desciption Setting Example
Operation Type Film Cam or Video Cam Film Cam will preserve 24pn film setting
Detail edge enhancement & overall sharpness of image -7 can be blurry, +7 can appear unnatural
V Detail enhances the sharpness of image in terms of contrast edges of white become brighter, darks become darker
Detail Coring offsets the sharpness of "noise" created by Detail High levels of detail coring can offset the noise enhanced by high levels of Detail
Chroma Level amount of color saturation in the picture -7 least amount of saturation, +7 high saturation
(*-7 is not Black and White)
Chroma Phase adjusts "tint" -7 shifts picture to yellow/green hues, +7 to purple/magenta hues
Color Temp further adjusts "tint" +7 makes picture warmer (reds & oranges), -7 make the picture colder (blues)
Master Pedestal contrast control, especially for darker sections of the picture lower settings will create harsher contrast and a loss of detail in dark areas, higher settings will offer little contrast and more greys, but will preserve detail
Auto Iris Level can only be used with auto iris feature and can establish a preset range not recommended
News Gamma helps retain proper contrast during moving camera shots OFF is recommended setting
Gamma controls how brightness is distributed throughout picture. It crushes brights and expands darks so as to offset televisions that expand brights and crush darks. HD Norm is the typical gamma to use
Knee helps prevent overexposure by rolling off intensity of brightest parts of picture LOW = 80% brightness
Mid= 90%
High=100% (ideal)
Auto = may change at any time during a shot.
Matrix preset patterns of overall color response Normal = least saturated, ideal for outdoor shooting
Enriched = brings down brightness & saturation, making colors a little truer than Normal. Blues get boosted, Greens lowered.
Fluo = colors are brighter and more vibrant. Reds & Blues get boosted, Greens lowered. Designed for flourescent lighting. (many fluo lights emit a green tone)
Cine-like = all colors are strongly saturated. Emphasis on Greens & Magenta.
Skin Tone Detail designed to smooth the appearance of mild imperfections on people's skin ON= avoids sharpening anything the camera perceives as skin tones. OFF is recommended.
V Detail Freq only available in standard definition  
Save/Init Scene files are only preserved until you turn the camera off. Save scene files with this function. Or return camera to factory settings with "Initial" function.  


Camera Setup
-Normal – (4x3)
-Letterbox – (4x3 with black bars to simulate widescreen)
-Squeeze – (16x9) CHOOSE THIS SETTING
-Setup should be left at 0 for black, not 7.5 IRE…this is only used if the camera was providing a live feed to an analog deck

Recording Setup
-REC Format – 720p/ 24PN (native format, no wasted duplicate frames, saves space on card)

AV IN/OUT Setup
-HP Mode – LIVE (no delay)