Panasonic AG-UX90NTSC UX Series Tech Brief LEICA Dicomar Lens Explained - Page 5

petitor offered a 31.4mm wide-angle equivalent). On these cameras, it was fairly common to use an add-on wide-angle conversion lens, usually providing about a 0.8x magnification, in order to get an appropriately-usable field of view in tight quarters. On the UX90 and UX180, Panasonic's given it a wider wide-angle field of view, which is about the same as what that 0.8x wide-angle converter used to offer! Above, this scene was shot at the 31.4mm equivalent wide angle of a common and popular ENG camera. Above, this scene was shot on the AG-UX90 at its widest wide-angle view, 24.5mm equivalent. The standard lens on the UX90 provides an equivalent of a 24.5mm lens's field of view, and the UX180 in Cinema 4K has the equivalent of a 24.0mm lens's field of view. This is a great advantage for the videographer; not only can they now get the shot, but they can do so without having to buy an expensive add-on wide-angle conversion lens. Nor will the videographer have to deal with the potential image artifacts that could sometimes accompany such accessory lenses, like chromatic aberrations or distorted perspective, because the wide-angle field of view is part and parcel of the built-in Leica-certified Dicomar lens. Zoom Control Another practical aspect for the videographer is the controllability of the power zoom feature. In cameras of the past, there was limited controllability; Panasonic's own AG-160A, for example, had only three speeds the lens could zoom at: slow-ish, medium, and fast-ish. With the UX90 and UX180, the lens control has been greatly expanded. The power zoom is capable of incredibly smooth, extremely slow zooms; at minimum speed it can take as long as two and a half minutes to traverse the zoom range from wide angle to full telephoto. On the other hand, you can execute a high-speed zoom from wide-angle to full telephoto in as little as about two seconds. The slow-speed zoom eases in extremely gently, so you can now feather in the start of a zoom move that should be undetectable by the viewer. Or, you can set it on Fast Zoom and rocket from the wide angle to telephoto extremely quickly. With the pressure-sensitive main zoom rocker, you can modulate the zoom speed on the fly; pressing harder results in faster speed, pressing more gently results in slower zoom speed, so a skilled operator can feather into a fast move gently, and ease out of the zoom move to a very nice ramp-off when reaching the desired focal length. The zoom control possible on the UX90 and UX180 far exceeds the previous cameras, while still maintaining compatibility with external zoom controllers or even providing for entirely wireless remote control operation with the use of an optional wi-fi adapter and the free AG ROP remote-control app for Apple iPad tablets. 6