General And Features; Features Of The Camera Section - Panasonic AJ-PD900WP Operating Instructions Manual

General and Features

Features of the Camera Section

The AJ-PD900W combines a color video camera, which features a 520,000-pixel high-sensitivity
M-FIT 3-CCD configuration and an on-chip lens, with a DVCPRO format VTR which in turn fea-
tures the latest compression technology in a single unit.
In addition to the existing interlace signals (525i), progressive signals (525P) can also be record-
ed. Either 16:9 or 4:3 can be selected as the screen aspect ratio, and the rate at which the sig-
nals are recorded onto the VTR tape can be set to 50 Mbps for a higher picture quality or
25 Mbps for longer recording duration. (Six recording modes are available for selection.)
The AJ-PD900W is compact and light weight with low power consumption, and realizes the opti-
mal functions and performance for an electronic news gathering (ENG) VTR-integrated camera
such as high picture quality and sensitivity, mobility, dustproofing and dampproofing, etc. In ad-
dition, both the camera section and the VTR employ a digital signal processing system which
further improves picture quality and realizes a system for controlling setting menu and subject
data by using world standard memory cards.
The camera section of the AJ-PD900W has the following features.
¡High sensitivity: 2000 lux (F8)
¡High S/N ratio: 60 dB
¡Ultra-low smear
¡Ultra-low flare
Digital signal processing
Signal processing is digitized by a 36 MHz (typ.) 10-bit AD/DA converter. This improves picture
quality, stability and reliability, and allows the viewfinder screen displays as well as numerous
adjustment and setup items to be converted to menus.
Setting menu
The setting menu is displayed on the viewfinder screen, and controls the status displays, mes-
sages, marker displays, etc. Whether or not to display each item, as well as the display condi-
tions when items are to be displayed, can be selected according to the user's convenience. For
example, display ON/OFF for the ! lamp display which informs the user that the unit has entered
irregular status can be selected for 6 different conditions.
The setting menu is also used to select various settings and functions and execute memory card
operations, etc.
Setup cards
Setting menu and subject data can be stored on SRAM memory cards with a capacity of 64 kilo-
bytes or greater which conform to PCMCIA standard ratings as setup cards. Stored data can be
saved individually or according to the shooting conditions, allowing the same setup conditions to
be easily reproduced and assisting in standardizing setup conditions between individual data.
High-function electronic shutter
Using the built-in electronic shutter achieves steady images even of quickly moving subjects. In
addition, the following special operation modes can also be selected.
¡Synchro scan mode: This mode is suited for shooting personal computer and workstation mon-
itor screens, and provides images with little horizontal stripe noise.
Wide range of video gain selections
Gain values can be selected from p3 dB to o30 dB using the setting menu and the GAIN
switch. The high S/N ratio allows images with little noise to be obtained even when the gain is
increased for shooting in dark locations. Using the SUPER GAIN switch provided specially to
implement the super gain function, the video gain can be set to 30 dB.
Automatic adjustment and memory functions for black balance/white balance
The black set, black balance and white balance can be automatically adjusted by simple switch
operations. Adjustment values are held in the memory even if the power for the unit is turned off,
so there is no need to readjust the balance each time the power is turned on.
There are two memory systems for white balance which can hold four adjustment values each
for the CC and ND filters, making a total of eight adjustment values. When adjustment values
matching the illumination conditions are selected from among the values stored in the memory,
the unit is automatically adjusted to the corresponding white balance. (A menu setting also al-
lows adjustment of only two values instead of the values for each filter.) In addition, when the
unit is shipped from the factory, the white balance value for 3200K is stored in the memory as a
preset value. This value can be called when there is no time to adjust the white balance, etc.
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