panasonic 3d camera field test

[karlsch]

I am going to be testing the engineering prototype of the new panasonic 3d camera next week. will update with throughts on this after testing

[dale]

Awesome. Let us all know how it goes

[karlsch]

At first glance, I am impressed with this camera. Obviously its limited in what it can do, but for an engineering prototype, this camera is certainly off to a good start.
Good things about it include, its light. Anybody who has shot with a beamsplitter rig will understand this.
Its lens, focus and iris settings are all synced up. This saves huge amounts of time in set up.
If youre familiar with the panasonic camera setup, then you can navigate yourself around fairly easily.
Its got a mix function so see two images which enables you to understand your 3d.
Its got a 3d guide setting which gives you guidance on your 3d for both a 42 inch and 200 foot screen. This however needs to be understood better byt hose using it.
Playback. Its got instant syncronous 3d playback. This is fantastic. 3D instant playback has been one of the hardest things to do within a budget.
3D monitoring via an external monitor. This function I didnt get to experiment with though as my 3D monitor didnt work with it. Will have to test more to see why.But when I do get it working, I am really looking forward to using it.

bad things
Inter ocular distance is fixed at 600mm. This makes further away 3d impossible and closer then 2m impossible.
You have your convergence setting. I am of the camp that likes to shoot parallel and fix the convergence in post in case of window violations.
Its easy to use out of the box, why dont I like this? Because it gives those who dont understand 3D the ability to pick up the camera, film and shoot something really painful without knowing why they are making mistakes.
2 x 1/4 inch chips. No more needing to be said
No ND.or at least not one which is under our control This makes shooting in bright conditions hard. I am sure this will be rectified in the future.
A focus/convergence button which you could use to adjust both together or switch off would be useful.

I will post more info Later such as post , but suffice to say that this is a huge leap forward with this camera. It is obviously not a replacement for a beam splitter or higher end 3d system, but within its limitations I am exited about this and look forward to seeing developments happening here.