Low Light Streaks - Is my camera faulty?

[pjneese]

Dear sarcastic Ben,

If a camera cannot hold up to a simple Grey Card color/exposure test, how in the world do you think it will be something which you can stand behind and say it is a good quality product and produces a quality image. Guess what Kodak and Fuji do for testing stock. First they test...probably shoot some nice color charts and grey cards. Its called testing. You test all of your equipment before you use it. If this were a Audio device that suddenly morphed 13khz tones to 15khz at -5db you bet sound guys would complain. So heaven forbid a film/camera guy complain when a camera doesn't produce a clean/accurate image.

[Ben_B]

I would think most care more about the fact that the camera can put out such a wonderful image in most situations, can accept a huge variety of glass, and is capable of getting shallow DOF that used to cost thousands more and require an large, unwieldy setup...

[Barry_Green]

Yes, but it's still nice to know what the limitations are. Banding in flat underexposed area is a limitation, just like aliasing moire on the 7D/5D are, and it behooves the user to know when and where it happens. No good comes from the ostrich approach!

[jamesjjs]

Hi Pineese,

I understand completely how you feel. Like you, I was about to return the camera. I had the exact same problems. The streaking was horrendous - something I could not accept. I wrote to Panasonic and attached a clip (of the streaking) as well - they said "it was within specifications." Imagine that!

But, thanks to this forum - I discovered some users had various degrees of severity of this problem, with many reporting that after a few days of use, it went away. So, over 3 nights for 8 hours at a stretch, I left the camera on, pointed it at a blank wall, shot 1080, ISO 1600.

The streaking was greatly minimized. Some people have tried variations of this method, and have reported that it works. A few have said it did not work for them.

I think it was very good of the shop to take the camera back. Perhaps they might be willing to try this experiment?

My personal experience is that this camera is absolutely fantastic - once the streaking is under control. It is worth the pain. I get many great videos because people are not aware, so it looks very natural. The size / form factor is so friendly, and the zoom range is very useful.

Hope it works out for you!

cheers

[Kellar42]

Funny, it never ends! Guess what, I saw terrible streaking when I first got the camera, now I don't. My FD adapter has been missing me and following me around the world (hopefully I get it Friday!), so I've been stuck with the kit lens.

Why am I no longer plagued by banding? Some mysterious burn in? No! I no longer shoot in dark situations with an F4 lens! Barry was the first too say it! If you're more than two stops underexposed, you're going to see some banding. If you've got a broken up or dark background, you may get away with a little more than that, but if it's a white wall or something you're screwed.

Turn on a light, or get a faster lens!

[Car3o]

if you point me where i can print a grey card...i'll gladly do this test. or just give me a color code and i'll print one out tomorrow night and shoot. did you see the clip where a chimpanzee walked my dog? the sidewalks are grey. did you see banding in them?

i also want to point out. that white balancing to the right temperature seems to play a key role in banding. don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but the white balance on the gh1 seems different

also, anyone else, can someone send me where i can print out a color chart for white balance? i'd appreciate that.

[elementalracer]

Got my camera back from Panasonic, finally. And banding was still very much an issue. So there that is.

But, I was able to finally test out my new Nikon adapter. And after shooting for the past few days with my cheap old 50mm 1.8 lens, I've noticed a reduced level of banding...crazy right. I really think it's gonna be up to the user to work with the limitations to get the desired result. I do plan on trying the "burn in" to see if that kills the rest of the banding.

http://www.vimeo.com/7428407

[Ben_B]

Take a look at this shot:
http://people.ucsc.edu/~bbunch/Scree...lution%202.png

Yeah there banding in this shot, but its not shot ruining, and you really have to look for it IMO.

This was available light, ISO 800, with a fast lens.....this camera can do much better in low light than just about any dedicated video camera out there under $1500, and of course better than a $6000 HVX Letus combo.

[Revsta]

Sure there's banding, but I don't understand why people are bitching. If you have banding, it means 90% of your image is underexposed. Just get a faster lens or get some more light, light it high contrast, boost a bit of contrast in post and you're golden.

[Psynema]

I shot a still pic at 100 ISO...pixel peeped and the banding is visible...F THAT...this better go away.