jrd456 Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 How well does the panasonic ag-af100 hold timecode when jammed and with battery change----did a search and couldn't find anything. J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searey81 Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Without using a syncbox, not great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 You can't use a sync box on an AF100. You can input or output time code on the (yellow) video jack. It's only active for time code while you're in the menu setting. You select MASTER (outputting time code), or SLAVE (for jamming the camera -- you press the button marked TCSET to jam and it confirms the jam). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gilchrist Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Some of the AF100's I've seen don't do so well at holding timecode especially when changing batteries. It's been a while, but I think I remember switching between camera and playback had the same effect. It's been some time since I've seen one on a job other than as a b camera for interviews where it was on external power, fed with a hard line, jammed and left on for each setup. Best regards, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I just ran a test for you for a couple of hours and the results were actually pretty good. I didn't change between record/playback, etc. but with the camera sitting static, the results I got (I used a Denecke GR-1 Master Clock), interpolate to about 1.2 to 1.25 frames variation over a six hour period, which is about the same as Zaxcom specs, but not as tight as my Denecke gear. I did one battery swap test and the time code jumped a good bit, but, in all fairness, I don't trust any camera past a battery change -- Alexa, Red, Sony, etc. After I jammed the camera, the time code reading coming back was about 2-1/2 frames shifted, but that doesn't really tell you how the files are stamped. Even if there is some shift (which there might not be) the important thing is how stable the code remains over time. In that test it looked pretty good. Sometime (probably not today) I'll do a test with recording, switching between modes, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 I have to make a new T-shirt: I HATE THESE TOY CAMERAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 One thing I failed to mention is that the AF100 uses 29.97 time code, even if recording in 23.976 mode. I did some quick tests, and yes, the time code jumps frames when switching to playback mode and back to record mode. However, with just going into and out of record it doesn't seem to shift. These are quick tests, mind you, but it seems to parallel what Jim said. A time code slate can be your best friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze Frias Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 I have to make a new T-shirt: I HATE THESE TOY CAMERAS. I'll take two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 Ironically, these days the prosumer level gear is not really any more convoluted to work with than the top level digital offerings such as Red, Sony, and even Alexa. While, for several reasons, my favorite high end camera is still the Alexa, even it has its own digital "gotchas." We live in a time when, if you don't know the unique particulars of any given camera you could have issues. The further irony is that, if you do know the camera's idiosyncrasies, you'll probably be better informed than many experienced A.C.s. I've been in numerous circumstances where the A.C. (or D.P.) came to me to learn about the inner geekness of the camera being used (often even more so with the high end devices). Remember back when some sages were predicting that when digital took over everything would be standardized and life would be simpler. May you live in interesting times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gilchrist Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 John brings up a good point about the 29.97FPS timecode. This is one of the Panasonic cameras where where 24 FPS operation is mentioned in the manual, it really means 29.97 FPS electronically pulled down to 23.98 and when 30 FPS operation is mentioned it really means 29.97 FPS operation. Regarding timecode stability, I've noticed some variability between units although I'm unsure about the relative age or firmware versions of the units involved. Best regards, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 It's the same time code vs time base situation that applies to many cameras. There are several ways cameras deal with the 23.976 cadence. Quite a few of the Panasonics, including the Varicam, share the same time base of 59.94 and like to see 29.97 time code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searey81 Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 Apologies for the missinformation re the sync box, after using the camera on one project in 2011 the scratch track was invaluable with the sync after using sync n link, since then I have gotten editors to use pluraleyes to sync rushes, I've found this method to work best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crussell Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 You must rejam after battery changes and any time you switch to HFR. (Even if you bump the knob by accident) So it only really has to stay in sync as long as a battery lasts, which it seems to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 J.D., Was any of this helpful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrd456 Posted November 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 J.D., Was any of this helpful? Thanks, Extremely helpful.I just jammed after every batt. change and there was no complaints.I guess they have a half-assed TC system to save on cost of cam. J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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