The What: The latest firmware upgrade to Panasonic’s AW-UE150 4K/HD HDR-capable pan/tilt/zoom camera has added V-Log support. V-Log enables the easy integration of the AW-UE150 into sophisticated production environments where uncompromised image capture and full creative control over the image can be done later in post.
The What Else: Working in V-Log, the AW-UE150 enables easy post-production matching to Panasonic’s other V-Log capable cameras: the renowned 4K s35mm VariCams, the newer s35mm AU-EVA1 5.7K handheld and the 2/3” 4K / HD AK-UC4000 studio/field camera system.
Conventional “709”-style video recordings, although perfect for real-time use, can easily clip highlights or limit later post production capabilities. With the AW-UE150 in the V-Log mode, the camera will output 4K and HD signals as V-Log, which can then be recorded. For ease of operator use, an optional V709 monitoring LUT may be added to the HD monitor output, which adds “normal” contrast permitting focus and exposure control. The use of an appropriate LUT box will provide an easy means of adding a desired “look” to the V-Log for use in IMAG or Realtime video display.
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As part of the V-Log capable Panasonic camera family, the AW-UE150 can take advantage of the V-Log/V-Gamut based VariCam LUT Library of prebuilt image options: these are universally applicable across the AW-UE150, the ubiquitous VariCams, the EVA1 and the AK-UC4000 studio camera by means of a simple external LUT box, thus assuring continuity of image matching across all cameras for in-field monitoring or display. The same LUTs or a specifically created show-look LUT is easily applied in post-production to obtain the desired image look and format. Thus, V-Log is a means of acquiring and post-producing camera originals to generate HD, UHD, or even HDR deliverables, all from any of the V-Log capable Panasonic cameras.
The free Ver. 2.28 upgrade delivers several additional improvements to the AW-UE150, including RTMPS support for live streaming (a protocol now required for live video uploads to social media platforms like Facebook), a preset iris mode, HDMI status menu, a real-time camera data update
ON/OFF mode in the web browser, a dedicated preset thumbnail page in the web browser, additional crop frames on the web GUI, and a TLS1.0/1.1 disable mode to facilitate secure communications.
The Bottom Line: Suited for streaming platforms’ demanding criteria, V-Log processing preserves the full scene tonality and color palette of the camera’s imager by means of a very low-contrast signal format (it will look like a very flat image if observed on a standard monitor). However, V-Log enables full control over the image when creatively adjusted in the post-production and grading processes.
