There is a great macro zoom function on the Panasonic DVX-200 this is also helped by the superb 13x Leica 4K optical zoom lens made specially for this camera.
Double click to see this JPEG in full UHD 16:9. Shot with Scene file 5, at 0dB, UHD 50p. Note. Some of you will tell me 25p would be fine for a still picture like this but I prefer to get extra bonus of 150Mbps rather than 100Mbps (25p).
The single light source is from one Datavision LEDGO R332 LED ring light in front of the DVX-200 lens. I also tried out the interval timer record which works flawlessly.
A word of warning if you have a Panasonic PX-270 it comes with a VW-VBD58 battery pack which is the same battery that comes with the DVX-200. Some of you may also have the hahnel HL-D54 Lion battery used in the AC-90 and the PX270 but it won’t fit the DVX-200.
In the DVX-200 manual it tells us that FHD is 15.49 pixels leaving a further 4.51 MP margin confirming that the 200 is indeed sporting the Lumix GX8 sensor, this has been doubted by other readers. I only found this out today which is why I have also included this information in a previous “GX8 sensor” post.
I’ve thought for some time that the DVX-200 must use the same (or a VERY close relative) 20.3 Megapixel M4/3 sensor as used in the DMC-GX8.
After checking the (somewhat limited) previously released specifications of the DVX-200, what helped clinch it for me was the information contained in the DVX-200 lens data image you also showed in an earlier post:
http://www.hdwarrior.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/lens.jpg
Of note are the quoted Wide Angle focal lengths (35mm equivalents relative to the actual 12.8mm of the lens) from which we can calculate the effective crop factors for the DCI-4K 24P, UHD 25/30P, UHD 50/60P and FHD.
The Full HD crop factor of 2.18 (28/12.8 = ~2.18) is essentially identical to the known Full HD crop factor of the GH4 and suggests that, like the GH4, the camera is down-sampling the image from the full 17.3mm width of the M4/3 sensor.
Then we can see that the crop factors for the DCI-4K 24P, UHD 25/30P and UHD 50/60P are all of different values so different areas of the sensor must be being sampled in each case.
The crop factors for the DCI-4K (2.3x) and UHD 25/30P (2.4x) are actually lower than the same figures for the GH4 (2.5x and 2.6x respectively) so indicate that the DVX-200 must be sampling those modes from a larger physical area of the (higher pixel density) sensor then down-sampling the (over-sampled) image to the recorded video resolutions.
In the UHD 50/60P mode, the crop factor of 2.9x (37.2/12.8 = ~2.9) suggests the DVX-200 is sampling an area of the sensor which corresponds to a 100% pixel-for-pixel readout of 3840×2160 pixels (in the same way as the GH4 samples from the sensor in its UHD and DCI-4K modes). Because the DVX-200 has a higher pixel density than the GH4 the physical area of the sensor used (at 100% pixel-for-pixel readout) will be smaller and the crop factor correspondingly greater (2.6x for UHD in the GH4, 2.9x for UHD 50/60P in the DVX-200).
Calculating the UHD (100% 3840×2160 pixel) crop factor if applied to the known DMC-GX8 sensor also gives a crop factor of ~2.9 (rounded from 2.94) as follows:
Image sensor size: 17.3 x 13.0 mm (in 4:3 aspect ratio)
Camera effective pixels: 20.30 Megapixels
Still Image File size (Pixels):
[4:3] 5184×3888
[3:2] 5184×3456
[16:9] 5184×2920
Full sensor width = 5184 pixels over 17.3mm
UHD-4K (3840×2160)(16:9) at 100% pixel-for-pixel crop = 3840 pixels over 12.81mm crop of sensor width
3840/5184 = 0.7407 (~74.1%)
17.3mm x 0.7407 = 12.81mm
Area of sensor used in UHD-4K (16:9) = 12.81×7.21mm
Frame Diagonal = 14.7mm
Frame Diagonal Crop Factor:
(relative to 35mm Full Frame [36x24mm] with diagonal of 43.27mm):
43.27/14.7 = 2.94
Panasonic and other camera manufacturers use Frame Diagonal (= image circle to cover sensor regardless of aspect ratio) crop factors but for those who prefer the (easier to visualise) Frame Horizontal method this example would look like this:
Frame Horizontal Crop Factor:
(relative to 35mm Full Frame [36x24mm] with horizontal of 36mm):
36/12.81 = 2.81
Philip, if you get the chance to compare, I’d be interested to know if there is any obvious difference in DVX-200 image quality when in Full HD (down-sampled from sensor resolution), UHD 25/30P (down-sampled from sensor resolution) and UHD 50/60P (100% sensor resolution). The differing crop factors would require equalising the field of view by using the zoom but I doubt the codec differences would have a noticeable effect on a static subject as above.
In the GH4 the UHD image (100% sensor resolution) is noticeably superior to the Full HD (down-sampled from sensor width resolution) even when both viewed at only Full HD playback. Just wondering if the DVX-200 is making a better job of down-sampling or if is still preferable to use the 100% pixel readout mode where possible?
Wondering how the review is coming.
just noticed that this camera is going for about £3.5K in Preston Media, about £500 cheaper than everyone else!!!!