The AG-HVX200A, AG-HPX170 and the AG-HPX500 are cameras that have a similar menu structure that is unique among the Panasonic line of cameras because each of these cameras has a scene file dial allowing the operator to choose one of six scene files, also referred to as "looks." In reality, the look is only a portion of the total scene file. A look changes the way the camera sees tones and color, but a scene file can change everything about the way a camera performs.
Each of these scene files contains only one look, rather than six different looks that customarily change with each turn of the scene file dial.
To change a look, you must change the scene file's parameters for tone and color. Panasonic has done that for you by creating many different scene files for each of these cameras.
There are 18 SCENE files for the HPX170. Each one contains a "look" with six variations of the shutter speed that change with the rotation of the scene file dial on the rear of the camera (F1-F6). When taken together with the factory defaults, these increase the number of available looks to 24.
Many of the files have color spaces that are not "legal" by NTSC standards. This is because the colors are oversaturated. Because HD has no such "legal" limits, these colors are able to be captured by the camera but will be clipped in an NTSC transmission. However, they are useful when used in HD display or in a filmout. Nevertheless, it must be understood that oversaturation produces a diminished sense of form in the oversaturated colors that tend to emphasize a graphic or 2D effect on the image consistent with the flattening of the three-dimensional form. These effects are further enhanced or diminished by lighting choices on the set.
One of the new features in the 170 is the menu option to assign frame rate incrementation to a user button on the exterior of the camera. For this reason, files like those for the HVX200A and HPX500 cameras that facilitate simple frame rate manipulation have not been included for the HPX170.