The HPX3100 has a similar menu structure to the entire line of Panasonic 2/3"HD cameras, including the HPX3000, HPX2000 and VariCam HPX2700 and HPX3700. These cameras have a user-definable matrix; color correction tables; gamma,knee and black stretch functions; pedestal; and individual channel gain. These elements can be used to create looks, which are a part of the total scene file for these cameras.
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, and each file can be stored in the camera or read from a card in the camera. If stored in the camera's internal memory, up to four may be stored at any one time. If written to a card, eight may be stored at any one time.
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.
For proper use of the following scene files, your camera must be white-balanced to the "A" channel.
Many of the files below 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 can 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 2Deffect on the image, consistent with the flattening of the three-dimensional form. Lighting choices on the set and variation from "normal"exposure further enhance or reduce this effect.
All of these files are primarily color files, although knee, gamma settings, gain, master pedestal and detail have all been used to contribute to the looks.
Tweaking the look to your needs is recommended. Shutter speed, DRS, and frame rate choices make a significant difference in most looks. Overall chroma adjustment in the knee menu is desirable. Gamma is integral to many looks but not so much to others. Trial and error will produce many interesting variations.
Concerning the screen grabs: Some of the frame grabs of the models appear similar because these images do not include the full range of colors in the DSC color chart, and were selected just to show the effect on skin tones. To a great degree, humans are the subjects of most shots. To help illustrate the differences in the "looks", the DSC chart and vectorscope screen grabs are included, along with the frame grab from the HD footage of the models.
It is also important to note that, while many of these files have names that have been used for color scene files for other cameras in the Panasonic line, they may or may not "match" other cameras according to file names. The scene files "CLEAN", "COLD", "COMEDY", "DRAMA", "DSLR", "FLAT", "HOLLYWD", "HOT", "NIGHT", "PORTRAIT", "RICH", "SOFTBLAK", "SOFTWHYT", "STYLIN" AND "SUPER8" will largely match the AG-AF100, AG-HPX250, AG-HPX370, AG-AC130 or AG-AC160 when using the same-named scene file. The scene files named "BOBWA", "CITILIFE", "DIGINEG", "MANFIRE", "MATRIX", "MUSIKVID", "NEGCOLOR", "SEPIA", "SUNSHINE", AND "TRUGRIT" should all match well against the HPX3000 scene files of the same name, but may not match other cameras even if the scene file name is similar or the same. These scene files are subjective approaches to the use of color and differences between these files and older files for other model cameras reflect changes in the author's thinking about the use of color for specific applications. Those of you who have become enamored of some of the "older" looks may or may not prefer the updated versions. Nevertheless, we encourage you to modify these looks and make them your own.