By Jay Holben, July 27, 2007
The AG-HPX500, introduced by Panasonic at NAB this past April, is the new big brother to the popular AG-HVX200 P2 camera. The full shoulder-mount HPX500 is a 2/3-inch 3-CCD (interline, progressive capable) high-definition camera with a 14-bit A/D converter with 19-bit internal processing. Like its little sibling, the tapeless camera utilizes solid-state P2 cards—in this case, four of them of capacities up to 16GB each. The camera can record 1080-, 720- or 480-line resolutions in DVCPRO HD (100Mb/s), DVCPRO50, DVCPRO or DV.
The HPX500 is also a true “world” camera that can be switched easily between 59.94 and 50Hz systems with a simple menu adjustment. In 720-line resolution, the camera features VariCam-like variable frame rates from 12 to 60fps. Four discrete 16-bit 48kHz audio channels are available via four XLR inputs (two rear, two front), each featuring line or mic settings and +48V phantom power.
Testing
My very first impression of the camera, pulling it out of the case, was that it is heavy for a camera without a tape drive mechanism—about 15 lb. with a Fujinon 17x (XA17x7.6BERM-M58B) lens and Anton/Bauer Dionic battery. It’s a bit of an odd distribution of weight—not entirely unbalanced, but not entirely comfortable, either. As I moved around with the 500 for a while, it seemed to settle in, but it never rested as comfortably as a Betacam or HDCAM on my shoulder.
As far as settings, the HPX500 delivers everything I want in a relatively inexpensive HD camera. It can shoot everything from DVCPRO HD 1080 (4:2:2) down to standard-def 480. It can shoot off-speed, like the VariCam, in 1280x720 mode, with several gamma selections and a focus-assist system that blew me away.
I put all cameras through the same set of tests whenever I do a review. Working first with my favorite color chart, Gamma & Density’s Gamma=2U Cinematographer's Control Chart , I check for color fidelity and camera sensitivity (ISO/EI).
As a former cinematographer, I’m generally looking at scripted applications for cameras—not ENG or video applications—so I’ll nearly always set my defaults to 24p. In the case of the HPX500, I started with 1920x1080 24p, normal HD gamma, “mid” knee, normal matrix and 180-degree shutter. The Panasonic unit can switch between “film camera” and “video camera” modes, which translates shutter angles to fractions of a second and sets the timecode base to 30 frames (except in 24pN mode or 25 frames at 50Hz).
The HPX500 performed extremely well in color fidelity, with tight representation of colors on the waveform and little bleed. Monitoring through HD-SDI into the Panasonic BT-LH2600W 26-inch LCD monitor, I found the reds and greens to be slightly desaturated, but the effect was hardly noticeable.
I changed the gamma setting from “HD Norm” to “Cinelike D,” which compressed the gamma range slightly to bring the blacks up and the whites down (as expected). “Cinelike V” raised the blacks and lowered the highlights but kept a very pleasing contrast and didn’t compromise the blacks as much as “Cinelike D” did. To my taste, I preferred the “Cinelike V” setting. Moving into the “Cinelike” gammas, the color saturation increased slightly and was nearly dead-on to my eye when comparing the Gamma & Density chart—with the reds slightly oversaturated in the higher contrast “Cinelike V” mode.
After testing, I put the camera’s base ISO/EI at 500. In the “HD Normal” gamma setting, I found the camera’s latitude to be 8 1/2 stops, with 5 stops underexposure to loss of detail and 2 1/2 stops overexposure to loss of detail. At 5 stops under, it was very noisy, too much so for my taste. In the “Cinelike D” gamma setting, I found the same 8 1/2 stop overall latitude, but with a more even dispersement of 3 1/4 stops overexposure and 4 1/4 stops underexposure range. “Cinelike V” mode, quickly becoming my favorite, yielded the same total 8 1/2 stops, but slightly more high end at 3 1/2 stops overexposure detail and 4 stops underexposure. From this point forward, I left the gamma at “Cinelike V.” In the “Cinelike” modes, even at 4 and 4 1/4 stops underexposed, the image remains very clean with very little noise.
All of these tests were, of course, conducted with 0 dB of gain. There is no negative gain setting on the camera, which is somewhat disappointing. The low gain switch cannot be assigned—it is always at 0 dB. One minor quibble on this camera is a setting parameter I’ve seen on many other cameras, and I’ve never understood it. The gain selector switch runs counterintuitive: the high-gain setting is at the low point of the switch and the low-gain setting is at the high position. When I find this, I merely assign low as high, and vice versa, ignoring the labeling—but as the low setting is un-assignable on the HPX500, I didn’t have that choice here. Mid and high gain are both assignable and can be set from +3 to +12 dB. Surprisingly, +12 dB is not nearly as noisy as I’ve seen on many other cameras; it’s a setting I may actually use in a given situation. In addition, +18 dB is available when shooting in 60i/p or 50i/p modes.
The HPX500’s image is clean and sharp. Just like the HVX200, the camera employs a spatial-offset algorithm to achieve full 1920x1080 resolution, but with the larger chip size and 4:2:2 sampling, there is no discernable degradation of the image.
Settings and Controls
Switches and controls are easy to reach and well placed—though I would have liked to see some kind of safety cover on the standby switch, which is positioned precariously next to the gain switch. (The camera will continue to record if you accidentally hit the standby switch while shooting.) Sliding doors conceal another three user-assignable buttons.
A six-scene preset dial provides quick access to up to six different “looks” set in the scene file menu. An SD memory card slot is available to save and load scene file settings.
While the menu structure may take some getting used to, the degree of control is exceptional. Of particular note is the ability to easily adjust white balance settings in 15 steps (-7 to +7) for each of the two assignable white balance settings. In addition, when you set the white balance, the camera represents the white point in Kelvin temperature numbers—which, as a cinematographer, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate. The preset white balance is assignable only to 3,200 K or 5,600 K; I would have liked a few more selections from 2,900 to 3,400 K and 5,000 to 6,500 K, but I’ll take what I can get here. Seeing the actual color temp numbers on custom white balance gets me a long way toward more control over my white points.
The camera has an ND filter wheel, which is actually a series optical filters. It’s a really nice feature I respect, although I’d rather the filters be designated by their density numbers (0.3, 0.6, 0.9, etc.) instead of the video lingo of 1/4, 1/16 and 1/64—which always gives me a headache when trying to convert back to densities.
I really appreciate the fact that the focal plane is indicated on the camera. This is one of those small considerations for traditional scripted filmmaking that you rarely see on ENG-style cameras.
Monitoring
The 1 1/2-inch CRT viewfinder is somewhat disappointing. Not only is it black and white, but it’s small. I appreciate the fact that I can flip up the viewfinder magnifier and look directly at the CRT, but it’s so tiny and so far recessed into the viewfinder tube that it’s impractical to use in this manner.
The rubber eyecup is surprisingly uncomfortable. Operating without my glasses, I would need to have a chamois on at all times. The contrast and brightness range of the viewfinder are pretty good. I found the peaking range to be somewhat lacking—not horrible, but not as much as I would prefer.
For what the viewfinder is lacking, two additional features on the HPX500 more than make up for it. The first is a 3 1/2-inch flip-out LCD screen positioned in the rear portion of the operator’s side of the camera. From here you can easily see the menu options and even use the LCD as a viewfinder to operate from when the camera is on a tripod or dolly. Nearly all of the information available in the viewfinder is available on the LCD screen. The positioning of this screen makes it viable for a camera assistant or audio engineer to utilize while shooting in handheld mode, as it pops out right behind the operator’s neck when the camera is shoulder-mounted.
Secondly, the HPX500’s focus-assist system is the most exceptional I have ever used. Instead of being an overblown colored peaking system—as other cameras feature these days—the new Panasonic focus assist brings up a histogram-like display of frequency distribution that represents the area of the frame in sharp focus.
Going Native
I was working in 1080/24p for the majority of my technical tests but switched down to 720/24p to play with variable frame rates. The HPX500 features 11 speeds from 12 to 60fps. Recording straight to the P2 cards offers a new feature, “pN” frame speeds, which are progressive “native” frames. Instead of constantly running at 60fps and “flagging” frames for a given rate—as is required by a tape system such as the VariCam— “native” mode records only the given frames for a selected speed, thereby eliminating redundant information and drastically expanding the record times on the P2 drives. In 1080/24p (60i), each 16GB P2 drive yields about 16 minutes of footage (64 minutes total with four 16GB cards). In 720/24p “native” (pN) mode, each 16GB card yields 40 minutes of recording time (160 minutes with four cards).
As with all P2 technology, the cards are “hot swappable,” meaning that you can pull a full card out and replace it with an empty one while the camera is recording to a separate P2 drive—thereby extending your recording time infinitely (that is, over as many P2 cards as you can cycle through). The camera also includes an internal intervalometer for time-lapse photography and a one-frame setting for animation.
Working for my first time with P2, I was pleasantly surprised at how simple the solid-state technology is. Playback in the camera is incredibly quick and easy. Every time you start or stop the camera, a “clip” and a representative thumbnail are generated. Surfing through the clips is fast and intuitive.
Integrating footage into Final Cut Pro v5.0.4 on an Apple Power Mac G5 system (dual 2GHz PowerPC processors) was clean and simple. Hooking the camera directly to the system via IEEE 1394 6-pin FireWire 400, the transfer of both 1080 DVCPRO HD and 720 DVCPRO HD footage was seamless. Final Cut controlled the camera and, depending on the setting, went directly to the 720 or 1080 footage on the cards without prompting. I captured footage onto a LaCie d2 Extreme drive and played back with no problems at all.
Conclusion
Possibly the most exciting feature of the Panasonic AG-HPX500 is its price point. With the package I tested (four 16GB P2 cards and a Fujinon XA17x7.6BRM-M58B lens) available at a double-take-low asking price of $27,815, I can see these things flying off the shelves. The camera’s versatility—recording in more than 32 HD and SD formats—and excellent performance set it apart in its price range. This is definitely a package I don’t want to send back!
STATS:
Pros: Thirty-two recording formats in HD and SD, P2 recording technology, “native” frame rates, 11 gamma settings, four-channel audio input, incredible focus assist, and excellent image quality and color fidelity.
Cons: Small B&W viewfinder, slightly heavy for tapeless camera.
Bottom line: No other package available at this price point offers such quality and versatility.
Price: $27,575-$32,915
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