Review: Panasonic AJ-HPX2700

he Panasonic AJ-HPX2700 P2 Varicam offers an excellent balance of features, resolutions, operational advantages, and good performance in low-light situations.

Few professional broadcast cameras have achieved the vaulted status and battle-hardened reputation of the original Panasonic Varicam. Introduced at NAB 2001, the initial model provided many diehard film shooters like myself a much welcome and relatively easy transition to electronic image capture. Now I find myself looking through the eyepiece of a tapeless Varicam.

Needless to say, the migration of the Varicam to the P2 stable has been long awaited, as many industry developments have portended the promise of a new breed of Varicam: metadata, AVC-Intra, 10-bit recording, the benefits of the tapeless format, and the vast improvements in the imager and processing. Documentary and nonfiction shooters have reason to celebrate with the introduction of the reborn Varicam; there is simply no better-performing camera that is as versatile and relevant to the challenges facing today's broadcast shooter. At less than $40,000 MSRP, the Panasonic AJ-HPX2700 P2 Varicam is a veritable revolution in a box.

The AJ-HPX2700 P2 Varicam is a full-raster native 720p camcorder that features a simple and proven workflow. The camera is extremely rugged and produces near-D5-quality images at variable frame rates from 1fps to 60fps. Shooters can rely on the HPX2700 to produce startling pictures under a variety of conditions.

Thanks largely to the P2 flash-memory system, there is no longer the same physical limitation of videotape with respect to delivering bits to the recording medium. In addition to recording traditional DVCPRO HD, the AJ-HPX2700 enables capture of 4:2:2 images at 10 bits using AVC-Intra 100, effectively delivering for the first time at this price point a master-quality camcorder à la HD-D5 to the broadcast shooter.

The impact on screen is immediately apparent to me, with more accurate color rendition and extremely smooth gradients. These two factors are especially evident in facial shadows and smooth monochromatic areas of the frame, such as the sky or an actor's wardrobe. Shooting in 10 bits in AVC-Intra, there is little risk of seeing dreaded compression contours or banding, which have long plagued traditional 8-bit video codecs.

In my field evaluation of the HPX2700 conducted over the summer of 2008, I shot a good portion of a new documentary The Making of Bottle Rocket for The Criterion Collection and director Wes Anderson. Anderson had asked me to direct and shoot a half-hour show that would capture the recollections of the principal players (including myself) who had participated in the realization of the cult classic in the mid-1990s. I had shot the original 16mm version of the movie in 1992, and now I was given the chance to shoot the retrospective documentary using, in part, the AJ-HPX2700.

A couple of things stood out in the course of the shoot, such as how sharp and smooth the images were — even with the camera detail cranked down to as low as 5 in some cases. The inherent dynamic range was evident in the camera, particularly in Film_Rec mode at 600 percent. The enhanced dynamic range from 500 percent to 600 percent in the updated Varicam drew more than a few “oohs” and “aahs” from the project producers. I like that from my employers, as it often leads to more work — and the HPX2700 certainly was a big factor in that.

The P2 system facilitates instant playback of takes on the set.

I used a Joker Bug 400W through a softbox and a Fujinon HA22X7.3 for most of the interviews and B-roll. The HPX2700, owing to its sophistication and level of quality, is not a camera that looks kindly on mediocre or sub-standard optics. The resolving power of this camera's imager and processing (with its 14-bit A/D and recording to 10 bits) is simply too great, and all this from a 720p-native imager.

Given the performance of the AJ-HPX2000 and now the HPX2700 Varicam, I would wonder why any nonfiction shooter in the broadcast realm would need higher-resolution imaging. As with any imager, there are inherent compromises with higher-resolution, higher-density imagers. Also, native 1080p, 2K, and 4K camera systems come with severe (read: expensive) lens requirements. Remember that the higher-definition imagers capture greater picture detail, which most of us say we want, but they also capture more serious lens defects, which we certainly don't want. More native resolution does not a better or more suitable camera make.

Following the lead of the AJ-HPX3000 and AJ-HPX500 camcorders, the AJ-HPX2700 incorporates Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC) which aims to correct defects in select CAC lenses whose profiles have been uploaded to the camera's onboard library. The compensating strategy accomplished in the image processing enables low- and mid-level lenses to perform much better than might be expected. Fringing is reduced, especially in long telephoto scenes where chromatic aberration tends to be most apparent. Remember that chromatic aberration is the principal reason why cheap lenses look cheap. The HPX2700 with CAC houses the lookup tables for eight widely used lenses from Fujinon and Canon. Additional profiles are to be added to the roster as new lens models are introduced.

The ability to delete undesirable material on set can be reassuring to many actors.

Of course, some broadcasters express a bias with respect to the suitability of 720p for broadcast. My sense is this is becoming more of a non-issue, as broadcast entities better understand the nature of the numbers game with respect to resolution — or, should I say, the resolution as perceived by the viewer. The fact is that perceived resolution is determined by many factors, of which the native resolution of a camera imager is only one. Given the high performance of the 720p-native AJ-HPX2700, it's not necessarily a significant one.

The shooter's own craft and ability to maintain satisfactory contrast in the image is also a major consideration; high-end optics that are low in flare and chromatic aberration will produce more professional-looking images with corresponding better contrast. The use of an appropriate matte box or sunshade and polarizer can also help maintain good contrast. The absence of such basic tools does more to sacrifice perceived resolution than does the supposed raw numbers disadvantage of native-720 imaging.

The AJ-HPX2700 supports a maximum runtime of 390 minutes when fitted with five 32GB cards running AVC-Intra 100 at 720p/24pN. The advent of 64GB cards effectively doubles the available runtime to more than 13 hours.

And finally, there is the not-too-small issue of compression. In practical terms, very high-resolution imagers are also subject to very high compression and thus offer little, if any, ultimate advantage when it comes to delivering increased perceived resolution to the viewer. The shooter and producers simply suffer the increased cost and burden of managing the mammoth amounts of data from very high-resolution imagers without much to show for it.

Recording in 10 bits using AVC-Intra 100, the HPX2700 applies sophisticated yet gentle compression within the codec. Even when shooting at 1080p, the HPX2700 offers an excellent balance of key parameters (including resolution) that matter most to shooters in practical terms, with respect to low-light sensitivity, operation, versatility, and the convenience and economy of the P2 workflow.

A dual filter wheel devoid of the cross filter has returned in the HPX2700.

Shooters would do well to note the Varicam's new operational features we tend to use every day to produce the compelling images that keep us working.

In addition to the 24 different frame rates offered at 720p/1080p/1080i resolution and a variety of frame rates at 50Hz/60Hz, the HPX2700 can also output 23.98PsF for integration into pro-level facilities that contain multiple manufacturers' cameras and gear. Along these lines, the HPX2700 also allows recording at true 24fps — a feature of particular interest to shooters looking for easy integration of the AJ-HPX2700 into a 24fps film-based workflow.

The new Varicam features seven distinct Gamma settings: HD; SD; Film_Rec; Video_Rec; and Filmlike1, 2, and 3. The camera has a scan-reverse feature for use with a cine-style lens adapter, as well as a nifty retro-style old/new dual filter wheel. Adios to the long-uncool cross filter that had become something of a running joke.

The camera can hold up to five 32GB P2 cards, which will provide 6.5 hours of continuous running at AVC-Intra 100 at 24pN. Note that the new P2 Varicam can capture variable frame rates from 1fps to 60fps in native mode or at the more traditional 60fps, which had been the case for years in tape-based camcorders. The advantage of going native is, of course, that only the desired frames inherent to the frame rate are recorded. The padded frames that filled out the 60fps reference are no longer necessary or desired in order to take maximum advantage of the P2 card storage.

With the imminent introduction of 64GB media, P2 card capacity has now grown large enough that onboard recording capacity is no longer a limit for most shooters. Even at 1080p24 — a favorite for filmmakers looking ahead to film out or digital-cinema presentation — the total running time for a camera fitted with five 64GB cards will be more than 5 hours.

A new reinforced, multi-drilled handle can now support of variety of camera trimmings—including a monitor, light, and cooling fan for an overheated operator.

A few caveats when considering the AJ-HPX2700: This is high-definition camera only; it cannot shoot standard definition in any shape or form. Also, AVC-Intra 50 (albeit still at 10 bits) records a reduced raster size of 960×540 at 4:2:0.

Finally, one of my pet peeves: The AJ-HPX2700 menu array is way too convoluted. Many settings are spread illogically across several pages. Perhaps in a future update, the layout of the menus can be reconfigured to something a bit more sensible and user-friendly.

Tale of the Tape vs. the P2 Card
Click image to enlarge.

Owing to conflicting demands, every new camera design and feature set is a study in compromises. Higher-density imagers at 1080p, 2K, or 4K resolutions, for example, usually result in correspondingly poorer low-light response and dynamic range. Higher-density imagers can also be notorious power hogs. They can be extremely demanding with respect to optics and prone to problems inherent to the capture and transfer of massive files.

The new P2 Varicam skirts many of these issues by offering an excellent balance of features, resolution, operational advantages, and low-light performance. For broadcast-level shooters, this is a camera that gets the job done — and done extremely well across a multitude of genres and shooting styles.

So is the new Panasonic P2 Varicam AJ-HPX2700 the perfect camera? For this shooter, it's awfully close.

Vitals

Company: Panasonic panasonic.com/broadcast

Product: AJ-HPX2700

Assets: 10-bit recording using AVC-Intra.

Caveats: Confusing menus.

Demographic: Pro shooters.

Price: $39,950