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Shoot Review — Panasonic AJ-SDX900

Jul 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Barry Braverman

Versatile new camcorder is a dual-format DV workhorse.

Panasonic's AG-DVX100 camera was pretty much the digital video story of 2002 as it burst upon the scene with the force of a 20-ton bunker buster. In the last nine months, this camera has transformed the DV camera landscape, delivering a hitherto unseen level of performance for a camcorder at the $3,500 price point. The camera wasn't just a little better than anything else in its price range — it was a lot better. And that's before taking into account its widely touted 24p capability.

Now, the AJ-SDX900 represents a major step up on the professional camera food chain. At $25,000 MSRP, Panasonic is clearly attempting to bridge the gap in its 24p product line, anchored on either side by the DVX100 and the Varicam.

At its basic level, the SDX900 is a lightweight but extremely rugged 16:9 progressive-scan camera utilizing the latest-generation 520,000-pixel, 2/3in. CCD imager. We've seen a proliferation of increased-density CCD imagers recently, and it is perhaps this development more than anything else that is fueling the dramatically increased performance in DV-based cameras across the board.

Versatility is the SDX900’s calling card. It’s capable of shooting native 4:3 or 16:9 at 30p, 60i, or 24p—in either DVCPRO 25 or DVCPRO 50 formats.

The SDX900's calling card is its versatility. Capable of recording at 24p, 30p, and 60i in native 16:9 or 4:3, the camera is a marvel of possibilities as it can do all of these things in both DVCPRO 50 (4:2:2) and DVCPRO 25 (4:1:1) recording modes.

DVCPRO 50 is the functional equivalent of Sony's DigiBeta format, and thus this camera is potentially great news for universities and colleges that wish to use a single camera for widely varying EFP and ENG applications. For DV shooters and producers who work in both 50Mbps and 25Mbps formats, the SDX900 is the ultimate choice for standard-definition programming.

In a nonscientific side-by-side comparison at a local L.A. rental house, the output from Panasonic's SDX900 and Sony's DVW-709WS appeared virtually indistinguishable in front of a standard test chart. This may be explained in part by the two cameras' sharing a 12-bit DSP and the current-generation 520,000-pixel CCD.

The Panasonic model has some notable strengths, not the least of which is its price tag. The SDX900 also offers the ability to store four profiles in the camera, with two pre-configured film-like gamma settings. And at 8.5lbs., it is nearly 3lbs. lighter than the DigiBeta model — not an insignificant amount.

Features Galore

Over the course of my evaluation I shot both interior and exterior scenes, including a wedding. I appreciated the camera's unique operational touches, like the sliding shoulder mount and the 2X magnifier in the viewfinder, a fantastic focusing aid in low-contrast scenes. One has to wonder what took the camera manufacturers so long to implement such a useful capability.

Another nice feature, the Zebra Spot Level is in fact a throwback to the Arri SR-2 metering system that I loved so much during my film-shooting days at National Geographic. The center-weighted system in the SDX900 allows the shooter to use the camera and zoom as a kind of sophisticated spot meter, an essential tool for the Vermeer-inspired cinematographer who “paints” with light.

Underlying the substantial thought that went into the camera's design is the high-capacity 12V DC plug on the rear deck. With its robust 1-amp capacity, shooters finally have sufficient power on board to support a bevy of wireless mics and accessories. This is a sore point on many shoots, as power utilization by those scoundrels in the sound department often exceeds what a camera can safely output without the risk of blowing an internal fuse. The risk is still there, of course, but at least it's smaller now.

Thus the SDX900 is designed to be a team player — and a shooter's best friend. One reason I say this is the camera's extremely quick response time, entering record mode from standby in a fraction of a second. Shooters have lamented this lag for decades as the delay has sadly resulted in more than a few missed shots and trashed reputations.

The SDX900 addresses this issue head-on, however. When the camera is in standby, an optional prerecording function automatically stores in memory up to 15 seconds of audio and video. Shooters swearing to themselves or others about missing a critical shot will find their curse words unnecessary, as the SDX900 transfers this chip-buffered material to tape before picking up the realtime recording.

Nature shooters like me can appreciate this feature. I can recall waiting for hours (or days!) for a humpback whale to breach the surface of the bay off Alaska's Admiralty Island, only to blow it in the end when I'd reach for a tissue to wipe my nose. With the SDX900, there's no chance of clipping off the head of a shot as you reach for the REC button. I like that a lot. For this peace of mind, the RAM buffer board adds about $1,100 to the package.

The SDX900's so-called iREC function also allows interesting application of the camera's built-in intervalometer. The shooter can record single frames in RAM over prolonged periods without substantially draining the camera battery or subjecting the camera's tape transport to an obscene amount of wear and tear.

And speaking of shooting such time-lapse footage, one option that might prove useful is the on-board global positioning system. While you wouldn't use the SDX900 to navigate from the airport to a hotel in a strange city, the GPS can document in metadata the camera's precise geographic location. Panasonic touts this feature as potentially useful for certain scientific or military applications. For me, its obvious use is for pre-positioning the camera and long lens, aiming at the horizon to precisely capture the sun rising into frame. I can recall on occasion working in the predawn darkness, flashlight in hand, consulting the Farmer's Almanac and a star chart to gauge the sun's anticipated position. Now, that expertise gained from years of chasing sunrises (and sunsets) has become, sadly, largely irrelevant as GPS-equipped cameras like the SDX900 have taken the romance and most of the intrigue out of the process.

But enough of the sob story. There are other useful features that I can appreciate in the SDX900. The SDX900 has the ability to re-record precisely over a previous take — a potentially useful option for stand-up news folks who would rather keep their many flubs to themselves.

Everything on the Menu

Borrowing heavily from its Varicam big brother, the setup menus in the SDX900 are extensive for a camera in this price range. Shooters have the ability to vary and tweak virtually every parameter imaginable, from matrix setting and gamma correction to knee level and flare. And shooters would be wise to become familiar with the most critical settings.

For example, at 50Mbps the SDX900 performed impressively under a tough midday Southern California sun, but I did note a mild hue shift in brightly saturated red tones in 25Mbps mode. (I was working with a prototype, and a Panasonic spokesperson says that there should be no difference between 25 and 50Mbps modes in production units.) The shift to yellow was easily remedied, however, in the appropriate Paint menu setting. While this level of control may seem daunting to some shooters, the ability to precisely control a camera's response is essential if one is to realize maximum benefit from a camera with the potential of the SDX900.

Incidentally, your preferred camera settings need not be a secret if, perchance, you want a cameraman doing pickups in some distant city to match your footage precisely. This in fact happens quite often, as out-of-town producers who are unwilling to pay for a crew's travel will simply hire local camera people as needed on location. The settings contained in the original scene file may be easily downloaded and emailed ahead to multiple shooters in different cities who can then easily configure their cameras to match the pre-existing footage. I'm not crazy about this new trend of shooter-turned-commodity, but at least the technology of downloadable scene files is permitting some control over the process. Four such scene files may be stored in the camera memory itself, with an additional eight on an SD Memory Card.

The New DV Workhorse

Just as the DV market currently places a premium on the digital craftsman and shooter who can do it all, so does the market value cost-effective cameras that can similarly do it all. The versatility of Panasonic's new SDX900 cannot be overstated. Now that DVCPRO 50 streams can be imported directly into popular NLE programs like Final Cut Pro 4, this is a camera whose time has clearly come. With the ease and economy now afforded by 4:2:2 on the desktop, 50Mbps production is about to explode in the digital marketplace.

Of course, some shooters will want to stick exclusively with 25Mbps and continue to shoot their consumer DV with reckless abandon. But for the rest of us, the SDX900 is a veritable stealth fighter able to deliver both DV formats in a single rugged and reliable package.

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BOTTOM LINE

Company: Panasonic
Los Angeles, (323) 436-3500
www.panasonic.com/broadcast

Product: AJ-SDX900

Assets: 25Mbps and 50Mbps recording in either 16:9 or 4:3 at 60i, 30p, or 24p; optional RAM buffer board prerecords 15 seconds while in standby; iREC function shoots time-lapse footage with little wear and tear.

Caveats: Learn the extensive menu structure well to get the most out of the camcorder's shooting parameters.

Demographic: Universities that need one camera for EFP and ENG applications; DV shooters and producers who work in both 25Mbps and 50Mbps.

Price: $25,000

© 2009 Penton Media, Inc.