The Panasonic AC160 really surprised me, and not because I wasn't
expecting such high quality -- I was -- but because for the price
point (between $4100 and $4799), I was sort of expecting a small camera,
like the Sony NX5U or some of the smaller Canons. This is a
larger, but not heavy, handheld camera that's about the same size as
the Panasonic HPX250. Images are crisp in full HD 1080p, the controls
are simple to use and it does well in low light with its 1/3-inch
3-MOS sensors, and you easily can customize looks. The multiple
frame rate and recording options are also superb, helping make this a
quality camera for shooters involved with film, run-and-gun video,
documentaries and more.
Since the Panasonic AC160 is an AVCCAM, essentially AVCHD for pros, the
recording modes include PH (21 Mbps, VBR, but max of 24 Mbps), PM
(8 Mbps, VBR), HA (17 Mbps, VBR) and HE (6 Mbps, VBR). Of course,
the higher the number means less compression, and bigger file sizes, but
higher quality video. Panasonic recommends you use a Class4 or
faster SD card when recording in PH or HA modes.
Speaking of SD cards, this is one of my favorite features with the pro
(and consumer) AVCHD cameras, the ability to record to fast SD,
SDHC or SDXC cards. These are very affordable and can hit up to 64GB in
size. In some cases, you may want to work a dedicated SD card into
the budget and, after making a copy onto a hard drive, give your client
the SD card, much like you would with a tape. Panasonic P2 cards
helped change things, as did Sony's SxS cards, but both are very
expensive for a limited amount of available space. SD cards are the best
option for shooting, and the AC160 supports it.
Getting back to recording modes, the Panasonic AC160 supports
multiple frame rates and two types of HD shooting, 1080i/p and
720p. Frame rates include 1080i60, 1080i50, 1080p30, 1080p24 and
multiple frame rates for slow or fast motion, from 2 frames per
second (fps) up to 60, depending on if you're in 60 Hz or 50 Hz mode.
With 720p, you get 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p and multiple frame rates
for slow or fast motion.
The gain starts at 0, and includes
+3, +6, +9, +12, +15, +18, +24 and +30. I wouldn't recommend going
over +12, and really, +9 is the cleanest before video noise (grain)
creeps into the recorded image. In fact, Panasonic has done really well
with keeping the video noise to a minimum, giving a pretty clean
image at +9 dB of gain. The 1/3-inch 3-MOS sensors really hold up well
in both the light and dark, and colors are gorgeous, plus the AC160
handles highlights well. The built-in ND filter is set at off, 1/4,
1/16, and 1/64.
The shutter speeds vary with the frame rate,
of course, but you can get it as high as 1/2000 sec., and, for cool
'slow-mo' effects, down to 1/6 sec. You can select either seconds or
the angle, 3-359.5� in 0.5� increments.
Audio recorded by
the onboard mic is pretty good, but I always recommend using a wireless
or boom mic, which you connect via the two XLR ports. Audio is
recorded in Dolby Digital 2-channel or Linear PCM. The bit rate
varies on the video recording mode you select, but PH gives you 384
kb/s, and PM, HA and HE modes record at 256 kb/s.
As
mentioned above, the camera is a great size, a little more than 17
inches long, 7 inches wide and 7.69 inches high, and weighs in at 5
lbs. This is important, because if you're like me, you do a mixture of
production, from tripod shots to handheld and run-and-gun. I was
able to walk around with the camera without any discomfort.
You can connect the camera via HDMI, USB2, composite, Timecode, camera remote, some small jacks and FireWire.
As
far as editing goes, Panasonic AVCCAM is supported by all the major
NLEs, but I only tested it with Final Cut Pro X, my NLE of choice.
FCP X had no problems recognizing the camera and importing the footage
for editing. See the video below for day and night samples,
down-converted to standard definition, including gain changes.
