3D Workhorse Arrives, Panasonic Z10000 Review... But is the Third Dimension Here to Stay?

It was not too long ago in the bygone era of iphone 4's and $300 ps3's; a time when everyone was eagerly anticipating the Nintendo 3ds and Amy Winehouse's latest LP. It was the year 2010.

Almost every camera, TV and electronic manufacturer who attended CES that year was showing off their latest 3d gear... after all, how could they not, Avatar was only a year old, with its blu-ray copies still being shipped and prominently displayed on store shelves right next to the front door where it was impossible to overlook. Hollywood was clamoring to convert every big budget movie they were releasing into glorious 3d in order to bring in a few extra bucks per ticket. And Panasonic was no different, alongside all of their 3d TV's, they had something no one was expecting... a "pro" 3d camcorder.

It was the AG-3da1 and it was going to make it into "consumers" hands within the year, but only by special order. Wait a minute "special order" that sounds expensive! The price, a cool 22 large. But as it turns out the 3da1 was not really a mass market camera it was a prototype for the true "next generation" camera which would not be announced until June of 2011, The Panasonic HDC-Z10000. But before I delve into this game changing camera let me first examine its origins and the $22,000 3d-a1. It looked like a prototype with a somewhat stodgy front lens housing with exposed screws. It did not have 3d display, nor a single 3d outputted file format, instead opting for a a dual recording setup where the left and right eyes were recorded separately to 2 SD cards. All of these issues were to be repaired with the Z10000.

When Panasonic first made the announcement of the HDC-Z10000 I eagerly read over the spec sheet and was impressed; .MVC codec, check; 3d screen, check; manual controls of everything, check. I was happy to read all of this after being led-on then completely disappointed by the Sony NX3D1 which, despite being very nice looking, had no manual control of video gain, which makes it almost useless for any purpose despite as B-camera and especially not for its $3,000 price tag... but I digress. The one big looming rain cloud that was still hanging over the Z10000 was its price tag, but that rainy day quickly tuned into a Caribbean summer as the Amazon Pre-orders went up. It was going to be $3500... now things are heating up!

Now, I am sure a lot of my readers are children of the DSLR film-making revolution. For a lot of you the Canon 5dMKII, or "the funf" as I affectionately call it, was tantamount to the second coming of Jesus... and the T3i was the first opportunity many young filmmakers had to get there feet wet since it does a pretty good job of making movies and costs a only a few hundred dollars. But all video DSLR's have one fatal flaw... they handle like cameras. For many this brought on a bit of nostalgia for the old 16mm film days when you really had to massage the cameras to get them work for you, they had to be loaded carefully, handled carefully, focused carefully... and if you did all that, and bought them dinner afterwards, the old 16mm's would reward you with an amazing image. DSLR's are no different, but unless you have a huge crew, all of that hand holding can result in problems... Which is why many end up switching back to "old-fashioned" video cameras, like myself.

Before the advent of the DSLR's the going rate for video cameras was between 2 and 6 large. When the DVX first came out it was this price, and the HVX, as well as the legendary Canon Xh-a1. So this is my basis of comparison when it comes to the Z10000, and why I think it will carry the torch that the DVX and XH have carried before it, as the de-facto 3d camera for working videographers... despite the absolutely ridiculous name (four zeros, what the frick!)

The first thing I am sure everyone is anxious to know about is the video performance. Well since the Z10000 is not for sale yet, we don't have charts and so-forth, but what we do have is info on the optical system. It uses a 3-cmos system with 2.07mp imagers. The low pixel count is a good thing. HD video is 1920x1080 which is 2073600 pixels, exactly the same count as the imagers, which means this was made for video, the parts are not being recycled from one of Panasonics still camera. There is a pretty good chance that this is the same imaging block as the HDC-TM700 which is currently on of the highest rated camcorders on camcorderinfo.com with extremely good Resolution Performance. It produces a full 1000 lines of vertical resolution, Assuming that the .MVC compressions does not make too big of a dent in these numbers, this puts it to within striking distance of the defacto standard camera for American cable TV the Sony EX1/EX3. Although I really wish they would go back to CCD imagers as the rolling shutter artifacting with CMOS is almost unacceptable, which is why most Hollywood movies use the Sony F23 instead of RED.

The camera is also using the new AVCHD progressive codec which allows for 1080/60p video... which is great for slow motion... but 1080/60p only works in 2d mode, which is a significant shortcoming. I can only assume this is a 3d coded limitation, but still quite disappointing, since I cant imagine anyone buying the Z10000 and switching it into 3d mode. This is one area where the cameras Frankensteinian uncle the 3D-A1 has a leg up, since it is capable of doing 720/60p... Again, I can only guess that this is a limitation of the 3d .mvc codec (Multi-video-codec). Anyone needing to do a little 3d slo-mo will have to switch into 60i and de-interlace from there, not ideal, but not terrible either.

Convergence v. Parallax - Are you with James Cameron on this?

Another one of the biggest differences between the Panasonic HDC-Z10000 and the aforementioned Sony NX3D1 as well as JVC's GY-HMZ1U is that the former achieves 3d control through toe-in (cross-eyed) while the latter achieves 3d through convergence (distance between eyes). I should note that the GY-HMZ1U is not out yet and there is a very real possibility that it could have full manual controls (including gain). If it does it will make the perfect companion to the Panny Z. Many 3d filmmakers argue that parallax should be kept fixed and the convergence should be adjustable. This makes sense from a post-production perspective since the convergence can be adjusted in post, while parallax can not. However the film Avatar changed all that because James Cameron and his protege Vincent Pace decided to only adjust convergence. And if audiences reactions to the film were any indicator Cameron and Pace got it right. If you think about the way the human eye works, the convergence is fixed, your eyes do not move close together and further apart, they cross in order to center the subject. If you hold your hand out in front of your face and move it further and closer you will notice that the background changes dramatically, but your hand remains the same. The verdict is still out on which one is better but it is a crucial difference worth noting if you are thinking of buying a 3d camera.

The Panasonic HDC-Z10000 also has a the standard assortment of dials and knobs, including 3-rings around the lens. It also records to standard SD cards... Hurray to the death of proprietary media! It has two card slots and can record redundantly or switch fro one card to the other once it is full. The LCD screen slides out from under the handle and swivels around, very unusual, I hope this design will hold up to repeated use. The LCD is the standard 3.5 inches, all new camcorders seem to have this size screen, it also does glasses-less 3d through either a parallax barrier, like the Nintendo 3DS, or through lenticular screen, like a holographic post card. Its also worth noting that it does not appear to have filter rings around the lenses, so accessory filters could be problematic(think big) and accessory lens attachment could be impossible(think hack-saw). It does however have a 10x zoom in 3d mode which is pretty standard, as well as a 32mm wide angle lens, which is not super-wide, but should be usable inside standard sized houses.

So the bottom line is, with 3d becoming this easy to use, why not shoot with it. Side by side and mirror 3d camera rigs are cumbersome and difficult to set up. The 3DA1 recorded separate files, which made it difficult to use from a post-production perspective. But this new generation of 3d camera is seamless, you could theoretically shot, edit and distribute your entire film/project in 2d, and then when the time comes, flip a switch to 3d. The fact of the matter is in 10 years most TV sets are going to be 3d, like it or not. The deplorable 3d shutter glasses make almost any TV 3D capable, all the manufacturer has to do is attach a 5 cent emitter, update the firmware and voila 3D. Vizio and LG are also investing in passive 3d sets (like the theater) and while they may be more expensive now, they wont be in a few years.