Topic: Panasonic ZS-7 and ZS-10: Ideal settings for concert video?

[justink]

i've played with both of my cameras quite a bit, but i can never seem to get over the low light, and overall tough stage lighting of concerts.  outdoors on a sunny day, video is amazing.  but for some reason, my concert footage tends to be soft edged, less crisp and pixelated (if that makes sense).

i've mostly used Ai but have tried out other manual settings (with not so great results).  What works best for you?

[JonG]

Using the semi-manual mode:

intelligent exposure on
continuous-AF off - AF at start of clip only

Dark and indoors at a concert won't come out spectacular, but well enough and better than cheaper P&S cameras.

[justink]

Using the semi-manual mode:

intelligent exposure on
continuous-AF off - AF at start of clip only

Dark and indoors at a concert won't come out spectacular, but well enough and better than cheaper P&S cameras.

this is exactly what i'm needing.  i'm new to photog stuff in general.  i have a basic understanding but i'm a total noob.  thanks!

[surf1div1]

Please post your results of how the settings worked for you. I just reviewed a show I got this weekend and using AI it was a disaster.

Using the semi-manual mode:

intelligent exposure on
continuous-AF off - AF at start of clip only

Dark and indoors at a concert won't come out spectacular, but well enough and better than cheaper P&S cameras.

this is exactly what i'm needing.  i'm new to photog stuff in general.  i have a basic understanding but i'm a total noob.  thanks!

[Colin Liston]

ZS10 $250 today


http://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox

[tree]

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-Z7 (I think), anyway I generally use the automatic mode but have recently discovered if I make a custom setting with the light a bit lower my videos turn out much better ie less white washed.

[genesisoh]

I used to just use the intelligent (auto) mode and got some great shots, but they often suffered from white out and lighting saturation.  Then I switched to the normal picture mode and manually set the exposure to the lowest setting.  This resulted in some great concert video with no more white out and a nice balance of colors.  If the concert lighting is dark and/or you are at a distance, you will probably need to up the exposure some.  Or you could set it to auto mode since you won't have to worry about white out and let the camera do all the work.  I should mention that I own a ZS-3.  I LOVE this camera not only for the great HD concert footage it takes, but it also takes awesome pictures and is a fine camera for use with the family and vacations etc.  (sorry that is a poorly worded sentence)

[Gregster138]

I have used exactly the same settings as genesisof with very good results.  I picked up a used Lumix DMC-ZS3 recently and am very happy with the performance, especially the audio quality.  It seems to tolorate high sound pressure levels well.  A friend of mine has a ZS7 which has decent audio in most cases but the auto-level seems to be tripped up by mixes that have a lot of bass.  The high end disappears when the bass booms.  My ZS3 doesn't seem to have this problem.  The sound is fairly well-balenced even at louder shows.

[JonG]

I've not got a ZS10 and tried it out for the first time a couple weeks ago at the Fox Theatre in Oakland.

I tried out the 1080p mode, and although I like the slight increase in quality and (obviously) size over 720p, the 30 minute limit is a huge pain in the ass. One more thing to juggle along with batteries and song length.

I've uploaded videos from the show here.

Picture quality is noticeably better than that of the ZS3, and I agree that the mics are just a bit more sensitive than those on the ZS3/7. The only bit I'm disappointed with is that, like the ZS3, the picture still goes out of focus when zooming in or out. The best compromise seems to be zooming in half-way between your anticipated maximum-wide and maximum-tele points. This way, the closer you are to the initial auto-focus when you hit record the clearer the picture, and the quality loss is lessened the further away you go. Staying zoomed out or zooming all the way in before recording makes everything very blurry very quickly as soon as you start to move away from that point.

Settings:
Program AE
i-ISO
Auto white balance
Q-AF: On
C-AF: Off
Digi-zoom: Off
AF assist: On
Stabilizer: On
Quality: FSH (1080p) or SH (720p)
Active Mode (image stabilizer): On

[hellawaits77]

I've had some of the same issues.  Will be using my ZS-10 for the 1st time at a concert next week.  So it looks like the best way to do it is use the manual exposure method?  Am I right?

[justink]

so, can someone explain to me what all the files in the AVCHD folder is for?  the only files you really need are the .mts files, right?  what are all the other folders and files for?

[exxile]

Essentially it's just the .mts files that you need. The other files contain additional information such as playlist, title, thumbnail, clip info metadata etc. sometimes needed by other software for playback, not essential though.

More info here http://www.avchduser.com/articles/avchd_to_bluray.jsp

[justink]

Essentially it's just the .mts files that you need. The other files contain additional information such as playlist, title, thumbnail, clip info metadata etc. sometimes needed by other software for playback, not essential though.

More info here http://www.avchduser.com/articles/avchd_to_bluray.jsp

thanks!

[guitard]

Essentially it's just the .mts files that you need. The other files contain additional information such as playlist, title, thumbnail, clip info metadata etc. sometimes needed by other software for playback, not essential though.

More info here http://www.avchduser.com/articles/avchd_to_bluray.jsp

For example - if I put only the .mts files on an SD card and put the card into my blu-ray player and try to play them - it's hit or miss whether they'll play.  But if I take the chip out of my camera - they'll all play nicely because of the information found in those other folders.

[shoestringconcerts]

if you are at a show with heavy spotlights on the singer, lower the exposure -1 or -2 until the singers face looks like a face

If you are at a show that is just really dark, like in a small club,  get as close the the stage as possible

I dont specifically know all the internal settings of the ZS line, the above is general advice. I can tell you the following cameras are MUCH better in various concert settings:

Sony HX9V (real small)
Canon SX40 (big zoom)
Panasonic FZ150 (even has a mic input)

Here is a clip with a couple Panasonic SD600 using manual exposure and a HX9v in AI at a HOB gig
Hx9v is the close cam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsiR9fNb0ns

[mec111272]

Now I know there is talk of adjusting the ZS7 settings by adjusting exposure, but I just can't seem to figure this out.  I have the mode set to "P" and can adjust the "exposure compensation" for pictures but the change does not carry to video.  It seems that I am stuck at intelligent auto.  Anybody have any ideas?

[beatkilla]

Well i dont have that specific camera but on the sony point and shoot i have when the mode dial is set to video if i press the menu button i can scroll to ev value and change it.  Are you trying in video mode?

[hellawaits77]

Well, after filming my 1st show (Hatebreed  ) w/ the Lumix (and just taking some clips at an earlier show at a different venue), I will give my pointers:

-Lumix does not handle low light well.  It's definately not poor, but remember, it's a point and shoot digicam, not a legit camcorder, and will not get the video said camcorder will.  Well lighted venues, such as most stadiums, the Lumix will pick up great video.  Search 'Machine Head Munich 2011' on YT and you will see.
-The Intelligent Auto mode may have worked for some, but it does not work well in low light.  Ugh, I tried it out for an opening band and it was atrocious.  Continuously went in and out of focus, colors blurred, couldn't detect a face (even w/ the setting 'on'), just bad.
-So, I found at this extremely low lighted venue, the best setting was manual exposure method, w/ shutter speed set @ 1/400, and the apeture turned all the way down.  The video wasn't great, but it's not terrible.  The front of the stage was dark and the video suffered, but the back near the drums was well lit, and the video looked great.  Of course, that area was obstructed most of the time, so I was forced to film mostly near the front.  Again, not great, but I will still watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JykjFEpANo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpsDJTaAHMI

I'm sure I'll get better after I use it a few times (I'll only use it at venues where I know a camcorder will be easily seen and get me busted), but these are my pointers for any Lumix noobs like myself.  This probably isn't the best way, but at a low lighted venue, this got me a decent video.

[justink]

definitely turn auto focus off.  i figured that out.

[mec111272]

http://www.youtube.com/user/mec111272?feature=mhee

I have gotten some pretty good video. But it seems to me that changing the settings do not really change the results. 

[robeti]

I use the 'sunset' preset. Gives me great results.

[mec111272]

I use the 'sunset' preset. Gives me great results.

I'll give that a try.  I also added a Canon camcorder.  Not the high end model but, the ZS-7 takes comparable video all things considered.

[robeti]

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/15/official-tz10-hack-project-discussion/p1

[exxile]

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/15/official-tz10-hack-project-discussion/p1

Interesting. Especially the 30min rec limit override.