Understanding Panasonic Travel Zoom Cameras Part 5 - Shooting Video
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- In this tutorial I look at the aspects of shooting video with the travel zoom cameras from Panasonic. in particular concentrating on the newer models with touch screens. I look at video quality choices and frame size considerations. I show you how to achieve 'focus pulls' using the touch screen and consider low light level shooting and offer some tips to get better video for your viewers
Your tutorials are the best! There some amazing cameras on the market now. Hard to have any excuses for poor results. Now video is a differant story and your video tips were right on. I don't know why I am so intrigued with zooming while recording. It must be just the ability to do so.
Great video shots Graham. Someday it would be fascinating to see a simplified description of the easiest way to convert video to BluRay DVD format or just a simple computer playable file for home viewing on a large screen monitor hooked directly to one's computer.
Top quality there Graham! some very useful tips for anyone shooting video there, really enjoying this series you are doing, must admit I am very tempted with the tz30 as a travel cam to go with the 60d, thanks for all the work you do, there must be a lot of hours go into each one of these, well done.
Sean
Due to youtube copyright I am not able to show the software on screen without the permission of the copyright holder. I'll make some enquiries.
Hi, you can do a manual focus shift using the manual focusing option however it does not give you a particularly smooth pull and it is too slow compared to the camera doing the operation. Yes you need the touch screen tz20 or tz30 ( zs10 or zs20) to achieve it. Shallowest depth of field is obtained if you can use a wide aperture however with these samll sensors the DOF is large anyway that's why its best to use a telephoto setting which also gives shallow DOF for this trick to work.
Glad you didn't take my critic personally Graham. :-) On another note, I can highly recommend anyone not having a powerful enough PC for editing AVCHD (.mts) or MOV (h.264) format videos to convert copies of their videos to small SD version and then do what's known as Proxy editing on these conversions prior to replacing them with the HD original (fooling the software) prior to rendering. I find something like MediaConverter 7.5 ideal for this.
Yes the 50p mode on this model was worth the wait.
Thanks, it's a little tip I discovered playing with the camera - it is not mentioned in any manual or other review as far as I know.
Hi, my trick of shooting a still in video only works as with the touch to shoot enabled the camera is forced to refocus before shooting, even in video. Without this the touch screen only allows you to set the position of the focus square before you press the shutter release.
With this camera some modes the camera can select modes which aren't available in any other. The candlelight mode is one. In most cases iA video is the best option as the camera will use additional tricks to give good video
Hi, thanks for viewing. If you have the photofunstudio software loaded it is really a simple process to master a blueray dvd or write back to a sdhc card to play in your sdhc enabled player or tv. I might think about doing this but copyright of the program might be an issue with youtube police- I'll have to check this out.
Thanks a lot. I'm actually considering purchasing this camera. Having seen the tutorials only motivates the already made decision :-)
Thanks again for the extended tutorial!
The focus pulls are amazing! Nearly impossible for me and my DSLR to manually change the focus point exactly with this speed. An interesting video again, Graham. Thanks for uploading :)
Thank you Graham, the camera was steady on a tripod, but it was dim light with a white background, I'll try it again with a bright and steady light.
Thanks for the great video series. I have the newer US ZS30, and while the controls were somewhat different, all the rest of the information was very informative. I had a general understanding of the various camera setting and how to use them, but now I think I know enough to begin using them. Thanks for the time and effort you put in to make these videos.
Thank you for commenting on the prouction
many thanks.
Hi, thanks for viewing. Most of these small compacts suffer from noise in low light and I've found that the canon sx240hs gave better low light video than the TZ30 however the stills were not quite as good. Video/stills is always a compromise one is always better than the other.
Hi a zoom has it's place - just like another scene cut but people overdo it and it justs adds nothing to the veiwer expeience. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks Sean, yes the TZ30 is a useful companion when you want pictures and can't be bothered going out with a dslr and bag of lenses. It does give incredible images and the IS at x20 is better than I have come across. The sony HX20 can't come anywhere near it. Video is really smooth and for a camera of this class fantastic.
Yes the HX9 in ACT mode is superb for this kind of action. The Panasonic doesn't have the enhanced OIS that the HX9 has.
Hi, I use sony vegas to upload and the the 1920x1080 or 1280 x 720 internet profile which is mp4 format and I use the default bit rates.
I'll put the idea on my white board and see if i can put something together on this topic.
These compact cameras are so capable for shooting video - it's amazing how good the results are!
Fantastic
Thanks for the prompt reply. For my serious video shoots I have a similar Panasonic TM700 to yourself. It just doesn't fit in my pocket like the compacts which go everywhere with me. If you ever fancy a trip to my hometown of Scarborough I would love to meet up for a chat. Mike.
Great! Thanks! Always learning new things from you :D
Hi, the later TZ30 (ZS20) can be charged via USB however I'm not sure if the camera can be powered directly from the usb supplied power. None of these camera feature any remote control for doing time lapse directly the shutter would need to be fired by a mechanical device such as a servo motor and controlled by a arduino or similar.
thanks!
Hi Graham, I have now bought the TZ30 and I also own the Sony HX9. I have done tests on AVCHD video with both and I feel that the O.I.S. on the Sony is far better than the Panasonic when shooting whilst walking, hand held with no accessory.. Mike
Hi I used to go to Scarborough quite often when I was a Kodak engineer servicing customer photographic equipment. I wonder if it has changed from 20 years ago? Might revisit one day and take a trip down amnesia lane LOL.
If you have already done something like this, then forgive me, but it would also be great to have a brief video on how to shoot a specific scene, in this case if you are shooting some wildlife - maybe you went out for the day to see various creatures and want to take some great shots of them. I always find that I can take good static scenery shots and close-ups of flowers, but taking pictures of even slow-moving animals, they come out badly for some reason.
Excellent video Graham, some very useful information. I'm really enjoying the series.
The colours looks very saturated, but not in a bad way. Can you tell me what format & quality you are rendering to after editing for upload to TH-cam?
I hope when you make the final purchase you are pleased with the results
Perhaps you can do a video on how to use Photofunshop sometime soon, it's not an easy programme to use so that would be great. Thanks
I don't have this camera now so it is not possible to do more tutorials, sorry
PSH is the full avchd 50p format. Are you using an apple imac? If so it doesn't allow you to play this format without conversion to a quicktime or similar mac friendly format. Just "google" for free convertor programs for mac. If you are using a pc then the photofunstudio software supplied with the camera will allow you to view and edit it if you install it.
Hi the stylus should come with the camera otherwise you can use any stylus for pda gameboy etc - most of the discount retail stores have them very cheap.
Thanks for the reply. I will have to find someone else now to follow i guess - shame as i was enjoying your videos.
Hi, normally when you do a conversion to another format the original file is always left untouched and the converted file is saved with the same name and different extension depending upon the file type of the conversion i.e. .mp4 or .mpeg. So I doubt if you have lost your file. Did you copy the file to the pc or convert if direct from the card reader? What program did you use to make the quicktime format with so I can check further for you
Andrea, try placing the camera on a steady surface and repeat the test. The camera looks as though it might be hunting for focus. In bright light this shouldn't be the case - in dim light the camera will hunt for focus in certain lighting situations where there is no definite contrast in the subject .
Oh dear Graham, I hate to be critical (and appear to be the only one being so) because I appreciate how much time and effort you invest in producing them. That said, this video disappointed me somewhat because I felt the presentation wasn't up to your usual high quality and also that some areas were skipped over or not touched upon at all. For example, very little was mentioned with regard to high speed video whilst the topic of push-pull occupied more than 2 mins of video - unnecessary I feel.
What is the maximum movie recording time for a fully charged battery ?
I love your videos, thanks.
Hi, point taken. I had taken footage in the high speed video mode however as it was qvga size it didn't really fit this HD presentation. I suppose I could have displayed it superimposed on the camera back. I think my aim was to put over the point of the fact that the TZ30 can shoot great video in avchd or mpeg4 and using the touch screen add an extra dimension to filmaking - its not mentioned in the manual or on any other review of the camera as far as I can see. I'll try harder for the next
That focus pull trick is neat! Can you do that without a touch-screen and also, do I really need to click the Touch-to-Shoot option?
And is it possible to do focus-pull using widest aperture setting (sorry, I know you mentioned but I'm still quite confused since in a previous example setting to f8.0 created less blurred background). Thanks very much!
Hey, great videos.Really interested in this camera but I wanted to know if there is anyway of recording with it while it is connected (to ac or usb) so the battery doesn´t die in the middle of a very long timelapse.
Thanks.
Great tutorials, i'm thinking to buy this camera for my aunt wedding, does this camera do good
on low light video recording? and which sd card would you recommend, thanks.
Thanks! What I mean is, by default doesn't the camera allow you to focus on an object when you touch the screen? Or does it use a different method when you click the Touch-to-Shoot option?
And in low-light video, I always use iAuto because it gives the brightest result for me (it goes to candlelight mode). Do you have tips to achieve a bright result for P or other modes?
And also thanks! I understand now the DoF part.
Hi Graham
I have been exploring with my Lumix Z30 and pretty happy with it. Your videos have definitely helped me optimise many of the features. However, I am still having a diabolical time taking night sky shots, especially with a bright moon. I have tried numerous settings in several modes but totally unsuccessful. Any possibility of a brief guide on night shots with this camera?
Some good information in this video, perhaps would have been better presented in a "standalone" video as to the casual viewer who has no interest in the Panasonic tz they wouldnt be viewing. I refer mainly to the top tips for
Where can i get a stylus, reasonably priced please, so i can do the focus pull back thing. I waited for your accessories video but you didn't mention this so maybe there are other accessories that can be got.
The original file was also altered when i converted it to Quicktime hoping i could play it from that programme. It now tells me it is a RAW file format. I copied the file to my PC then tried to watch it on Windows media player but n luck so i opened with Quicktime I don't care for Photofunshop. I like an easy to view programme like Windows media player - is that possible? What other AVCHD do you recommend for ease of watching. I am not that computer literate really so easy is for me. Thanks.
Thanks. I am using a PC. I converted teh file to quicktime but ti still wouldn't play. Since it is now in quicktime format will it play in the photofunstudio? If not how d i get it to play? Maybe best to stick with the other format in future eh?
you will get just over an hours worth of video with moderate zooms included
OK, i used the PSH video format to take my first video. Didn't know how to play it so converted it to quicktime. Now i cannot get it to play at all even with the photofunstudio disk. Have i lost my video all together or is there a way to save and convert it to MP4?
Can't find anymore videos for the TZ30 which i have and need a lot more help with. Would love a DSLR but way too expensive for me. How do you have so many cameras?
Producing video. I'm going to add a point to the list. .... Transitions, don't use them unless absolutely neccassary. Loads of tacky transitions make videos look like so
Etching from you been framed. Liking the focus pull tip on the tz ;/)
My camera didn't come with a stylus - should it have?
I videoed in PSH and now i cannot view it - what programme do i use to see my video please?
Morning Graham, I was wondering if I could pick your brains? My TZ30 in intelligent auto mode keeps going into macro mode when it shouldn’t be. So I could be focusing on a room in my house and the flower icon will pop up in the top right. It also appears to have issues trying to focus when recording video, also in IA mode. I can be recording in good light, I’ll zoom in a little and it seems really slow to properly focus resulting in blurred videos etc. I’m confused what to do about this. I was wondering where the sensor is on the body of the camera for the intelligent Auto and perhaps I could clean it with something to enable the IA to work better and stop selecting Macro and also fix the video focusing issue.
Hi, great video thank you, I've just bought the TZ30, great camera! I've just one problem, sometimes shooting video, every few seconds I have a little blur, it's like the camera is losing the focus. Is it normal with an irregular light, or am I doing something wrong?
Thank you!
Andrea
Hi Graham,
The fz200 and the tz40 video specifications seem very similar. Have you noticed any difference in the quality between them?
Thanks for your time,
-Camel
You are right there is little difference in performance in good lighting, the FZ200 achieves better results as light levels fall as it can use the f2.8 lens even at full telephoto, the TZ40 would be at f6.3 in this situation and much noisier as the iso is increased