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| Panasonic Pro AG-DVX100A 3-CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom | 
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| Brand: Panasonic
Category: Photography
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  (12 reviews)
Sales Rank: 7709
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 10
Display Size: 3.5
Maximum Focal Length: 45
Minimum Focal Length: 4.5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 8
Dimensions (in): 14.3 x 6.3 x 5.5
MPN: AGDVX100A
Model: AGDVX100A
UPC: 791871302378
EAN: 0791871302378
ASIN: B00024YOGU
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 11-12 of 12 | | « PREV | | |
 Great miniDV, but still can't hold a candle to film October 14, 2004
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
Let me begin by saying that I write this review primarily in rebuttal to the previous review, having taken great offense at the grandiose proclamation that this camera marks the end of 16mm production. I have used this camera on a few occasions (including shooting a side-by-side comparison against an Arri SR2 loaded with Kodak 7218) and, while it does offer superior image quality and more professional-grade features than most miniDV cameras on the market, the simple reality is that no miniDV camera in the foreseeable future can come close to matching the visual quality afforded by film. A few pertinent differences:
Resolution: The DVX100A is restricted to standard NTSC resolution of 640x480 lines. Super16 film shot using a Super 1.78 ground glass (HDTV standard 16x9) offers an effective resolution of 1400x2490 lines. See http://www.cinematechnic.com/super_16mm/resolution_of_super_16mm.html for an in-depth resolution comparison between Super16 and professional HD.
Exposure Latitude: I've seen tests of Kodak Vision2 500T (7218) shot to five stops overexposure and five stops underexposure that still showed information in the highlights and shadows. The DVX100A starts to bloom to white at about three stops overexposure and clipped completely around four. Underexposure performance was similarly unimpressive. For low light shooting the increased grain produced in film by moderate push processing is far less deleterious to the image quality than the degradation introduced by video gain.
Imager Size: The DVX100A uses a 1/3" 3CCD chip, which provides roughly twice the depth of field of 16mm. If you want a cinematic look, greater DoF is BAD because everything is in focus. This robs you of the ability to use focus to direct the audience's attention to pertinent points in your frame. Try doing a focus rack between two characters in a conversational setting using the DVX100A- you won't be able to get either character sufficiently out of focus even with the lens wide open. In this respect the Canon XL2 is a superior camera because its interchangeable lens system allows the mounting of cine-style lenses with superior optical performance.
Ergonomics: Aperture control on the DVX100A is electronic and visible only while looking through the viewfinder. Focus is servo controlled and the focus ring lacks end stops so you can't tell when you reached the short end or infinity without looking in the viewfinder. The viewfinder itself is a video viewfinder that can only display up to NTSC resolution. 16mm film cameras have manual iris, manual focus and a reflex optical viewfinder that lets you see exactly what the lens sees (and allows you to look through the camera without turning it on). Manual controls are better because they give you greater control over the image you're capturing and can be manipulated with finer dexterity than the clumsy servos.
This all being said the DVX100A is a great miniDV camera, improving over the DVX100 with the inclusion of color bars output in 24p mode, better close focus capacity, added color matrix functions and shutter settings. These, along with other useful features like XLR audio input, make the DVX100A altogether a great prosumer camera. Make no mistake, however: this is a PROSUMER camera. While more than suitable for home movies and adequate for documentary or industrial work, the DVX100A does not deliver the performance demanded for truly professional applications. To declare it the death knell of film as an origination medium betrays both ignorance and amateurishness.
 Improvement on the 16mm killer DV camera - the AG-DVX100a! September 7, 2004
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
The AG-DVX100 has killed 16mm motion picture camera systems and 16mm film stock except for the die-hard motion picture fans. The bottom line is - do not shoot 16mm or Super 16mm because this camera produces cine images that are better than 16mm and Super 16mm on DV, which means that it is also cheaper because you do not need to buy and process 16mm film stock. If you blow this video up to 35mm the image quality is still better than 16mm film formats.
However 35mm still rules... but the future for digital looks good.
The 'a' version has corrected problems with the AG-DVX100, not to mention adding on a few $$$ more to the price tag, so it looks like you must pay to correct the mistakes that Panasonic made, but I digress... this is still a 1st class DV camera. The corrections are probably major with nearly everything being added something extra to help get that right cine image.
You would also do well to get the AG-LA7200G anamorphic lens so that you can shoot in scope with a squeezed digital image (Just like a real anamorphic lens!)!
Bottom line. This is a top of the range domestic camcorder with pro qualities. 16mm motion picture camera users should use this in their productions instead. It is a waaaaay cheaper and looks better. The cine-switch technology in this camera is based on the same system that Lucas used to film his New Star Wars movies with. Also the PAL version does not have 24 fps but this does not matter because PAL is 25 fps and the difference can not be noticed with the naked eye alone and transfer to film is easy with 25 fps PAL but not so easy with 30 fps NTSC so the NTSC version of this camera can also shoot 24 fps for that. Also this camera is loaded with functions. Keep an eye out for the AG-DVX100 version although because it is the older model, a bit cheaper, but less in functionality but this should be no concern to those who had to shoot on expensive 16mm film equipment with expensive 16mm film stock and expensive 16mm processing and expensive 16mm to video transfers.
16mm is dead because this makes film making so cheap.
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