By Staff, July 21, 2006
The Panasonic AG-DVX100A has been around for a couple of years. An upgrade of the original DVX100 released in 2000, it does everything you want a Mini DV camcorder to do (especially 24p) and then some. Now there's an upgraded model, the AG-DVX100B, which lists for a little more money ($3,995) but promises even more functionality. According to Panasonic, production of the 100A ended in December, although several dealers may still have them in stock. The important question is, Does the 100B live up to the reputation of its predecessors?
New features include increased resolution on both viewfinder (to 230,000 pixels) and LCD panel (to 210,000 pixels). The viewfinder and LCD are capable of full-frame viewing. The camera's imager is native 4:3; to achieve 16:9 capture, the camera offers the option of letterbox or squeeze mode. When shooting in squeeze mode, the camera allows unsqueezing of the image in the viewfinder so that widescreen images do not appear distorted. Scene and camera setup files may be transferred between DVX100Bs over FireWire. Additionally, the DVX100B is able to sync to external timecode. The DVX100B ships with a more powerful battery (CGR-D54) that can drive the camera for nearly five and a half hours. The camera also features dedicated remote focus and iris connectors.
On the outside, the cameras are practically identical. When you open the 3.5-inch LCD screen, the DVX100A is gray inside with fewer buttons. Housed in a classy black (called Black Sapphire) magnesium alloy chassis, the 100B features a Display Off button, which suspends information display on the viewfinder and LCD. An improved LCD screen hinge is sturdier and features a breakaway point of 120 degrees. The two-button VCR record function lets you record a video signal input from an external source. Panasonic has relocated the speaker to the top of the camera from its previous location behind the LCD panel.
I wish Panasonic would have beefed up the little menu toggle stick. It's still the only way to access many of the functions, such as the camcorder's VCR mode, and I don't like it. On the back of the camera, the scene file knob is smaller and more recessed. I guess this is streamlining, but I'm glad my fingers aren't getting bigger. Any smaller and the dial would be hard to adjust. Panasonic has become more generous in the battery department. The 100A came with a CGR-D16 battery, while the 100B has the beefier, longer lasting CGR-D54 battery. It takes almost four hours to charge, but it lasts a lot longer.
I had an opportunity to test the 100B alongside the 100A in a multi-camera shoot for PBS
. I could have used two 100As from our collection, but I wanted to see if the 100B would offer noticeably superior footage.
The 100B has an RGB imaging system comprising three 1/3-inch, 410,000-pixel progressive CCDs, the same as its predecessor. And when you already have a great camera, you don't change the lens (72mm diameter Leica Dicomar 10x zoom lens) or the 24p capability. The camera records 24p, 30p and 60i. In 24p mode, images can be 2:3 pull-down-converted (24p Mode) or 2:3:3:2 pull-down-converted (24p Advance Mode) and recorded onto tape in the standard 60i TV format. The tape can then be played back or edited using an ordinary DV system. True 24p editing can be achieved by uploading 2:3:3:2 pull-down-converted images via an IEEE 1394 DV interface to a compatible nonlinear editing system, including Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid Xpress Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro and Sony Vegas. The 24p Advance Mode allows 60i/24p conversion with minimal picture degradation and on-the-fly 24-frame extraction.
One of the new features of the 100B is that you can synchronize the timecode and other camera functions through the FireWire connection, so all cameras on the shoot will be matched. Regarding low-light performance, both the 100A and 100B have a low end of 3 lux with a F1.6 lens. While the signal-to-noise ratio has been improved for better low-light shooting, I didn't notice any improvement in my footage.
I decided to use the 100B as the close-up camera and the 100A for the wide master shot. The menu text is slightly smaller and sharper on the 100B, allowing more items to fit on the page with less scrolling. The 100B features a revamped, easy-to-read, easier-to-navigate menu system.
While on the shoot, the image on the LCD screen looked slightly sharper on the 100B, although the internal settings were identical to that of the 100A. Turns out the LCD screen is now 210,000 pixels. The viewfinder has also been improved. Both cameras have the same CCD specs, but Panasonic has improved image processing and video signal-to-noise ratio to deliver a slight but noticeable improvement in picture quality over the 100A.
Is the 100B better than the 100A? Certainly. You get improved picture quality and better functionality. In fact, Panasonic officials noted more than two dozen changes, though most are minor upgrades and tweaks.
Are the differences so extreme that they warrant replacing your entire stock of perfectly good 100 or 100A camcorders? No, but it's good to know that when it's time to replace your current stock, something even better is available.
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