Although I've yet to use the Varicam I have extensive experience with the Panasonic ADJ700P. The 700 is a DVCPRO cam that only shoots at 29.97fps in 4:3. Its very popular amongst videojournalists because it is lightweight, fairly simple to master, and has superior detail and color reproduction. I used it with a Fujinon zoom lens and I was amazed at how "true to life" the colors were, when balanced properly. I usually shot with a pol to increase contrast, traditionally something video does not capture well. What I found frustrating on this camera, and many others, was that they lacked the ability to manually white balance. There were times, especially in mixed light situations, where I need a balance of say 4.4k. But the camera, when balancing to white paper, would bounce between apx 5.6 and 3.7k. The camera really needed the ability to either pre-program and store multiple balances, it could store two pre-sets, or in a more ideal case, simply allow the user to input a specific number. I wonder if the varicam has answered this problem? Of course the challenge with these cameras as a videojournalist, is the viewfinder is B&W so you need to learn from experience what is the right white balance, otherwise you might blow it. Additionally I have noticed that many, many video cameras cannot handle fine lines and patterns. The patterns break up and create a weird sea-like motion that is distracting, to say the least. On more than one occasion I had to ask my reporter to change ties or dresses so they don't look like they fell out of a Hunter S. Thompson novel. Does the varicam solve this? Or is it also an effect of the monitors?

There's a lot here but I'll try to get to as much as I can.

First of all, you shouldn't be white balancing with a piece of paper. you should be using some object produced under conditions that allow you confidence in its neutral density. You should be using a chip chart, for instance. How "white" is that piece of paper? Find 10 pieces of paper from different sources. Lay them one on top of the other. You will probably see a farily good range of "whites."

I'm not sure what you mean about the AJ-D700P not having a "manual" white balance. The camera has 2 white balance memories and a preset for 3200 degrees Kelvin. What might be confusing you is that the camera two white balance memories ("A" and "B") for each filter position.


Check:

http://www.usersmanualguide.com/panasonic/digital_camera/aj-d700p/

Page 15

The pattern you're talking about is moire. This is related to the limited number of lines (525) created by the NTSC format signal you're recording. the only real solution is to record more lines (High Def or film) or avoid tight patterns in front of the screen.

Thanks Professor. Good to know. I probably would have saved myself a lot of grief if I knew these things three years ago. What I mean by manual white balance is something like a menu feature that would allow me to scroll through the various balances point by point: 3.2 to 3.3 to 3.4 and so on up and down. I was sitting there with a shot with sunlight streaming through the windows and fluorescents keying my subject. I knew, from past mistakes, that if I balanced for sun at 5.2-5.6k, my fluorescents would go orange. And if I balanced for my fluorescents at 3.2k, my sunlight would go blue. I knew I needed a balance somewhere between 4.0-4.9k to get the color. But the camera, on an indoor filter, would either balance for the sunlight or the fluorescents, but not both. I would eventually get it, after many tries, when I would hold my white card in just the right spot where it could reflect both temperatures.

On a side note, I was once shooting a candlelight vigil and I balanced the camera to the light of the candles. I think the balance the camera achieved was like 1.9k, really warm. Well when I got back to the station I found that I shifted the yellow sodium vapor streetlights to the cool side, a sort of reddish purple. But the flames of the candles lost all color and were completely white! Considering the subject matter, I think it was about victims of domestic abuse; the white light of the candles took on this ethereal quality. Like the way a flame would look in heaven. Anyway I've always taken note of it because I know it is something I'll use one day in my digital cinematography. I’ll just have to remember to correct any other sources so they don't go the wrong color.

I also learned, the hard way, what happens to fluorescents when you kick on the shutter on these cameras. Late in my career I became a fan of shallow depths of field to better guide my viewer to the important parts of the image. (Whether or not this is ethical from a journalistic standpoint is up for debate) I was once shooting an interview under fluorescents and put on the shutter, so I could open up and loose focus on the background. It was nearly impossible to see in the finder, but when I put the tape on the color monitor I was horrified. You could see the light changing color from white to orange and losing and gaining intensity as the camera captured the fluorescents’ cycle. I wanted to shoot the interview again. But as you know, there are very few second chances in journalism and documentary.