Panasonic AG-UX90 Overview
The Panasonic AG-UX90 4K/HD Professional Camcorder records UHD 4K at up to 30p, and FHD up to 60p in variable frame mode. The camera supports 59.94, which is analogous to NTSC, making the camera compatible with US broadcast standards. It features an integrated 15x optical zoom lens and a 1″-type sensor, and can record UHD 4K and Full HD in MOV and MP4. The camera is also capable of recording HD in the AVCHD format.
The AG-UX90 offers gamma settings for eight different scenarios, and manual control rings for iris, zoom, and focus. To monitor the status of all settings and perform critical focusing functions, the camcorder features both a high-quality 3.5″ LCD touch screen, and a full-color LCoS 0.24″ viewfinder with 1,560,000 dots of resolution. It incorporates two SD slots that allow for simultaneous recording in UHD and HD. You can also choose relay recording, which allows the recording to shift from one card slot to the other as the card fills up.
Panasonic Optical Technology
The integrated Leica Dicomar 15x zoom lens was designed specifically for professional HD video production, and features a 24.5mm equivalent focal length on the wide end of the zoom, when recording FHD for a 24.5-367.5mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range and a 35.4 to 531mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range when shooting in UHD. The lens combines four lens groups and incorporates Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). When shooting in HD, it supports 5-axis hybrid image stabilization.
Digital Zoom
The AG-UX90 is equipped with 2x, 5x, and 10x digital zoom. Using the 20x optical zoom and digital zoom together yields a 25x zoom factor.
Manual Control Rings
Three manual rings, mechanical (cam-driven) zoom, focus, and iris allow you to operate as if you’ve got an interchangeable-lens camcorder, able to adjust either focus, zoom, or iris directly without having to select a control surface.
Intelligent Auto Focus
Features high-speed focusing, high-precision focus tracking, and high-focusing stability.
Customizable Auto Focus
You can adjust the AF speed, sensitivity and area width to fine tune the AF functionality to your tastes or the needs of the shot. The speed can be set from 1 to 7, the higher the number the faster the AF. The sensitivity likewise can be adjusted in steps from 1 to 10, with the higher value corresponding to being able to track faster-moving subjects. The adjustable area width can be adjusted to fine tune the auto focus selection.
Manual Focus
To assist you in setting and confirming focus, the following features are included:
- Focus assist (expand and peaking): You can select from enlarging a part of the image to check the focus, or engaging focus peaking, which highlights the sharpest part of the image in a solid color. You can select to engage either or both functions simultaneously.
- One-push AF: Temporarily activates AF when you are in manual focus mode, when you press the Push AF button.
- Manual focus assist: For quick and accurate focus, this mode fine-tunes the focus adjustments you make using the focus ring.
- Area functions: Enables you to touch the LCD screen and have the camera adjust focus to make that area sharp (can also be used for Auto Iris and screen brightness)
ND Filter
The AG-UX90 features a four-position (OFF, 1/4 ND, 1/16 ND, 1/64 ND) optical neutral density filter wheel.
Skin Detail Adjustment
Skin Detail smooths out fine detail on the face of your subject.
Eight-Mode Gamma
Drawing upon the technology of the high-end VariCam line, the UX90 features eight selectable gamma modes, including two cine-like gammas:
- HD norm: For standard HD recording
- SD norm: For standard SD recording
- Filmlike 1: Reproduces more gradation in highlight areas than when shooting in HD
- Filmlike 2: Reproduces more gradation in highlight areas than when shooting in Filmlike 1
- Filmlike 3: Reproduces more gradation in highlight areas than when shooting in Filmlike 2
- Cine-like D: The Cine-like mode shifted to prioritize dynamic range
- Cine-like V: The Cine-like mode shifted to prioritize contrast
- Still-like: Setting to match images captured with still cameras
Three-Position Gain Selection
There is a three-position gain selector, with L, M, and H settings. To each setting you can assign a gain value of 0, +3, +6, +9, +12, and +18 dB. There is also a Super Gain of +24 dB and +30 dB, only accessible via a user button.
Other Camera Image Settings
Three values (A/B/Preset) of white balance are selectable with an auto-tracking white function. The preset can be set to 3200K, 5600K, and Variable, which ranges between P2.4K and P9.9K. As with gamma, matrix setting includes a cine-like mode. H/V detail levels are adjustable, as are detail coring and skin tone detail. Chroma level, chroma phase, color temperature, and master pedestal are all adjustable as well. The camera offers four settings for knee point: Auto, Low, Mid, and High.
High-Quality, Multi-Format Professional AVCHD PH Mode
The AG-UX90 uses the AVCHD recording format, and also supports the high-image-quality PH mode. AVCHD complies with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 high-profile motion picture compression technology. Boasting a compression efficiency that is more than twice that of the MPEG-2 system (such as HDV), this advanced video file format delivers superb image quality and low data rates. The PH mode was developed for AVCCAM by Panasonic exclusively for high-quality professional video production. This mode boasts a maximum AVCHD bit rate of 24 Mb/s (average: 21 Mb/s), and records 1920 x 1080 Full HD images. The AVCHD PH mode is also compatible with multiple HD formats, such as 1080i59.94, 1080p29.97, 1080p23.98, and 720p59.94.
Linear PCM Recording for High-Quality Sound
The AG-UX90 supports uncompressed 16-bit linear PCM 2-channel digital audio recording with PH mode for high-quality sound. Other modes employ Dolby Digital 2-channel audio recording.
Double-Slot SD Card System
Not only can you record continuously on two SD/SDHC/SDXC cards (up to 128 GB), relay recording lets you seamlessly record images onto two memory cards consecutively for added data security, and simultaneous recording records the same images onto two different memory cards to increase reliability when recording. The slot to be used can be switched during normal recording, and clips can also be copied between the two slots.
Note:
The AVCHD’s maximum consecutive recording length is 12 hours. This cannot be extended even by using the relay function. Simultaneous recording cannot be combined with relay recording, VFR recording, or interval recording. Also, Rec Check and Last Clip Delete will not operate during simultaneous recording.
Other Recording Modes
Pre-Rec continuously stores in standby mode up to four seconds of MOV/MP4 video, and three seconds of AVCHD video, and this pre-record cache is only recorded to the P2 card once you press Record. This helps you get the shot every time, even if you miss the crucial moment by a couple of seconds. Interval Rec gives you automatic intermittent recording based on a set interval and recording time (1 sec, 10 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min) only in 1080p24. Rec Check checks the beginning and end of the last recorded clip. If you don’t like it, Last Clip Delete enables one-button delete of that last clip. Scenes can be marked with up to 100 Index flags per clip (AVCHD mode only). Time Stamp appends the date and time onto recorded images, which is a crucial feature for evidential images.
Scene File / User File
The camera features a scene dial that allows you to choose an appropriate matrix of settings instantaneously. You can modify the six preset files if you’d like, one set of which can be stored internally in the camcorder. Up to eight sets can be stored on an SD memory card.
User Buttons
A total of 13 user buttons can be set to trigger any selection of 44 different camera functions.
High-Quality Color Viewfinder and LCD
The AG-UX90’s color EVF uses a 0.45″, approximately 1,560,000 dot-equivalent LCD display. It delivers bright, detailed, high-resolution images and a high response speed. The AG-UX90’s LCD monitor has a 3.5″, approximately 1,150,000-dot high-resolution panel. Various markers and grids can be displayed on the monitor/viewfinder, and with Mode Check, a list of the camera’s settings can also be displayed on both.
XLR Input for Pro-Quality Audio
In addition to the internal high-performance stereo microphone, the AG-UX90 comes equipped with two-channel XLR audio input terminals with a 48V phantom power supply. The internal microphone, external microphone, or line input can be selected for each channel. Large, easy-to-use level dials are also provided.
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