Image Quality Issues - Panasonic NV-GS70

[mhorsman]

I recently purchased a Panasonic NV-GS70 and am experiencing what could best be described as extreme disappointment.

All footage I have taken to date looks OK on the LCD (as good as 2.5" can look) but when displayed on my TV (Grundig 76cm, 16:9, 100hz) via AV cable the image is very grainy. Colours and brightness are good bit the grainy image is very disappointing. I get the sam on my second TV (Grundig 68cm 4:3).

Is this common via the AV interface with DV cameras (ie do I need to use the S-Video or IEEE1394 connectors) to get the sort of quality I would expect from a 3CCD camera. Currently the picture is not much better than my old analogue camera.

I have checked the camera settings but apart from SP / LP there doesn't apear to be any settings that could cause this.

I am using a new tape and have tried cleaning the heads as well.

Any thoughts would be apreciated - if it doesn't get better I think I'll take it back.

Thanks in advance.

[Peter_AUS]

Graininess usually relates to low light conditions. Most video done indoors is with lighting and you don't get problems usually if done outdoors, so without that sort of info you might not get replies that help here.

[Skyman]

don't take it back, give it to me like peter said the most common problem with video cameras is in lo lighting conditions. you get what is know as "gain grain" where the cameras auto gain controls are set up higher than i would recommend. I own a gs 70 and have never had any problems with the footage however i think you are missing a few video fundamentals.

1.
3ccd will not make a noticable improvement in colour. ok this is a bold statement i know and i can hear the screams from the videophiles, but it is true to a point. i have shot footage on a canon xl1 and footage on a panasonic ds-38 for the same film. the film was screened at a cinema (non of this tv rubbish you heard correctly) and several industry experts COULD NOT pick the difference in the footage. now not everyone can do this. i spent hours in the edit suit colouring and grading the footage before the final print. however basically unless you have a wave form moniter, you cannot tell if a footage is from a 3ccd camera or not. so basically 3ccd = more controllable colour not better colour.

2. Sending any video signal through an analogue cable will degrade the quality of the signal. this is called generational loss and in the days of analogue editing this was a big problem. having said this, digital video should still look better than analogue through an analogue cable. it can be useful however to check the quality of your cable and connections from time to time.

3. take the camera off automatic. having a 3ccd camera will only give you better results if you learn how to use it. your camera has a colour bar generator to test its outputs, manaual exposure (to fix that gain grain problem) and manual white balance (to give you the best colour consistency)

so if none of that helps record some stuff outside on a brights sunny day and see how that looks when playing it back. if it is still stuffed contact your supplier

[mhorsman]

Thanks to both of you for your prompt replies... as you probably gathered from my post I'm a total "newbie" to video cameras. In hind sight, the issues with "grainy" images were all shot inside in the evening using the normal room lighting - not exactly bright.

Are there any good websites that you can recommend that contain information for newbies such as myself to gain information in how to use their DV camera... the Panasonic manual lacks basic details of the "In this scenario, use these settings" type. I spose basically a "Idiots guide to DV Cameras" is what I need.

In the meantime I'll have to spend some time trying different conditions and settings, but there are just so many of them - I'm so confused

[Skyman]

Glad to help. Think of this forumn as an online instruction manual. sometimes posts go unaswered for a little while but there is an invaluable wealth of experience in the members. as for instructions, depends a little bit on what you are filming, in Australia the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) puts out a book called "the complete guide to video production". it is a very good starting point, but i would imagine not available easily outside Australia. try a good bookstore, the larger ones have good (though expensive) collections of video and film based books. i guess topics to look out for are video camera techniques in particular and video production in general. Start playing with the manual white balance and manual exposure for starters. filming a running tap, creek or waterfall is a good place to start for shutter speeds, film it at various speeds and watch it back carefully to see how the moving water is affected. now play with apertures, a pool table is good for this one, put the camera on the table and see how the different apertures will affect the amount of the image that is in focus. once you have played a bit with the apertures and shutter speeds you will realise that together they determine how bright the image is. now for white balance. remembering to do this all the time is one of the hall marks of a proffessional. first off play with the auto or preset settings both inside and outside, notice especially how colours change when shifiting from inside to out and vice versa. now using a piece of white paper start playing with the white balance settings manually. at this point a little research will be required, we are working in degrees kelvin and an understanding of colour temperature would be handy. you can get this from good photography or video books. ok that should be enough to get you playing for now.
cheers
Simmo