Panasonic AJ-PX230 Series User manual

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V1.01E
Understanding Scene files

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--- Table of contents ---
1. Understanding Scene files ............................................................................................................................................ 4
1. Selecting scene file .................................................................................................................................................. 5
1-1. Scene Files and their features ............................................................................................................................. 5
1-2. Table of Factory Default Settings ........................................................................................................................ 6
2. Expressing the texture of ob ects ............................................................................................................................ 8
2-1. Detail enhancement ............................................................................................................................................. 8
2-2. Basic settings for Detail ...................................................................................................................................... 10
2-3. Technical description : Detail ............................................................................................................................. 11
2-4. More advanced settings for Detail : Detail Coring, Skin Tone Detail .............................................................. 12
3. Expressing the gradation of a picture (Knee, Gamma) ....................................................................................... 15
3-1. Knee ad ustment ................................................................................................................................................ 15
3-2. Technical description : Knee .............................................................................................................................. 16
3-3. KNEE APE control ............................................................................................................................................. 17
3-4. White Clip ............................................................................................................................................................ 17
3-5. Gamma ad ustment ........................................................................................................................................... 18
3-6. Technical description : Gamma ......................................................................................................................... 21
3-7. DRS: Useful for shooting the scene with large contrast between bright and dark areas ............................. 22
4. Controlling the color (Chroma Level, Phase, Color Correction) ......................................................................... 23
4-1. Ad ustments of Chroma Level (color saturation) and Chroma Phase (hue) .................................................. 23
4-2. Technical description: About color saturation and hue .................................................................................... 25
4-3. Color correction .................................................................................................................................................. 25
4-4. Using a preset color look : Matrix settings ........................................................................................................ 26
4-5. Ad ustment of color temperature 1: Color Temp ad ustment ........................................................................... 27
4-6. Ad ustment of color temperature 2: R, B Gain control ..................................................................................... 28
5. Enhancing the level of expression for dark areas (Master Ped, RBG Black Control) ...................................... 29
5-1. Pedestal (Master Pedestal) ad ustment ........................................................................................................... 29
5-2. Technical description : About Pedestal ............................................................................................................. 30
2. MENU settings ............................................................................................................................................................. 31
1. Opening MENU ...................................................................................................................................................... 32
2. MENU structure ...................................................................................................................................................... 33
SCENE FILE menu ................................................................................................................................................... 34
SYSTEM MODE menu ............................................................................................................................................. 38
USER SW menu ....................................................................................................................................................... 38
SW MODE menu....................................................................................................................................................... 39
AUTO SW menu........................................................................................................................................................ 41
RECORDING SETUP menu .................................................................................................................................... 42
CLIP menu ................................................................................................................................................................. 45
AUDIO SETUP menu ............................................................................................................................................... 47
OUTPUT SEL menu ................................................................................................................................................. 49
USB SETUP menu .................................................................................................................................................... 49
DISPLAY SETUP menu ............................................................................................................................................ 50
CARD FUNCTIONS menu ....................................................................................................................................... 54
OTHER FUNCTIONS menu .................................................................................................................................... 55
MAINTENANCE screen ........................................................................................................................................... 55
DIAGNOSTIC screen ................................................................................................................................................ 55

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AREA SELECT menu (OPTION MENU) ................................................................................................................ 56
AWB PRE CONTROL menu (OPTION MENU) ..................................................................................................... 56
CAM REMOTE ADJ menu (OPTION MENU) ........................................................................................................ 56
LCD SUB BRIGHTNESS menu (OPTION MENU) ............................................................................................... 56
ENG SECURITY menu (OPTION MENU).............................................................................................................. 57
3. Understanding USER button operation ................................................................................................................. 58
1. USER button layout ............................................................................................................................................... 59
2. USER assignable functions ................................................................................................................................... 60
Revision history .............................................................................................................................................................. 63

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1. Selecting scene file
1-1. Scene Files and their features
In AJ-PX230, setting values for adjusting the i age quality are preset in advance as Scene Files of six types.
With Main Menu [SCENE FILE] > [FILE SELECT], Suitable Scene Files for recording conditions or operator’s
intended i ages can be called. Also, by assigning [SCENE FILE SEL] to one of the USER buttons, Scene files can
rapidly recalled with it.
F1:
Suitable for nor al recording.
Ga a is “HD NORMAL” and the other para eters are factory default settings.
F2: FLUO.
Suitable for recording where the characteristics of fluorescent la ps are taken into consideration
(e.g. shooting indoors).
Most of the para eters are equal to Nor al but the MATRIX is for fluorescent lighting.
This is not particularly necessary under the fluorescent lighting close to the natural light.
But it is suitable for the recording conditions under which the color reproduction is poor due to
blue-intense fluorescent la ps.
F3: SPARK
Suitable for recording in SD resolution with richer color level and sharper contrast.
The picture will be showy with vivid colors and give a bright i pression.
F4: B-STR
Suitable for recording where the gradation is expanded on dark parts of the i age (e.g. shooting
a sunset scene).
This is effective if being used when dark parts are difficult to see or both bright and dark scenes
need to be seen in detail in shooting at sunset, in the theater or at a wedding.
F5: C NE V
Suitable for ovie-like recording where i portance is placed on contrast.
This has the Ga a curve to ake a ovie-like picture using a video ca era (V).
F6: C NE D
Suitable for ovie-like recording where i portance is placed on the Dyna ic Range.
This Ga a gives priority to the Dyna ic (D) Range and aintains the gradation that ranges
evenly fro low to high level.
If the post-production editing or the kinescope is planned, this can be selected because
recording in this ode will ake such post-processing easier and s oother. Also, it will create
a unique at osphere which is so eti es used as an effect.
* Even if the Scene File is changed, [SYSTEM MODE] will not be changed.

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1-2. Table of Factory Default Settings
Menu ite s F1: F2:FLUO. F3:SPARK F4:B-STR F5:CINE V F6:CINE D
VFR OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF
SYNC SCAN TYPE sec sec sec sec sec sec
MASTER DTL 0 0 4 0 -8 -8
DTL CORING 1 1 3 1 1 1
SKIN TONE DTL A OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF
SKIN TONE DTL B OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF
SKIN TONE DTL C OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF
CHROMA LEVEL 0% 0% 0% 0% -10% -10%
CHROMA PHASE 0 0 0 0 0 0
COLOR TEMP Ach 3200K 3200K 3200K 3200K 3200K 3200K
COLOR TEMP Bch 3200K 3200K 3200K 3200K 3200K 3200K
MATRIX NORM 1 FLUO. NORM2 NORM1
CINE LIKE CINE LIKE
MASTER PED 16 16 16 16 16 16
GAMMA MODE SEL HD HD HD HD
FILM LIKE3 FILM REC
MASTER GAMMA 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45
F-REC DYNAMIC LVL - - - - - 600%
F-REC BLACK STR LVL - - - - - 0%
V-REC KNEE SLOPE - - - - - -
V-REC KNEE POINT - - - - - -
BLACK GAMMA OFF OFF -4 6 OFF OFF
B.GAMMA RANGE 1 1 2 2 1 1
KNEE MODE AUTO AUTO AUTO AUTO AUTO AUTO
A.KNEE RESPONSE 4 4 4 4 4 4
KNEE MASTER POINT 93.0% 93.0% 93.0% 93.0% 93.0% 93.0%
KNEE MASTER SLOPE 85 85 85 85 85 85
KNEE MASTER SLOPE Rch
0 0 0 0 0 0
KNEE MASTER SLOPE Bch
0 0 0 0 0 0
HI-COLOR SW ON ON ON ON ON ON
HI-COLOR LVL 32 32 32 32 32 32
WHITE CLIP ON ON ON ON ON ON
WHITE CLIP LVL 109% 109% 109% 109% 109% 109%
Rch CLIP LVL 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bch CLIP LVL 0 0 0 0 0 0
DRS OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF
DRS EFFECT DEPTH 1 1 1 1 1 1

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* Setting values of each Scene File can also be overwritten as you like and saved.
With Main Menu > [SCENE FILE] > [FILE SELECT], select one of Scene Files [F1] – [F6] and change any of [SCENE
FILE] Menu ite s. The current values of selected Scene File will be overwritten.
Further, with [SCENE FILE] > [LOAD/SAVE/INITIALIZE], execute [SAVE].
The overwritten values of selected Scene File will be saved in the e ory of the ca era.
Moreover, Scene Files [F1:] – [F6:] can be saved all together in an SD e ory card.
(With [CARD FUNCTIONS] > [SCENE FILE], execute [SAVE].)
How to restore scene files to default settings
With [SCENE FILE] > [LOAD/SAVE/INITIALIZE], select [INITIALIZE].

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2. Expressing the texture of objects
2-1. Detail enhancement
When expressing the outline or surface texture of an object, faint reflection of light ay be intensified or, to the contrary,
the picture ay look blurred. This is a pheno enon caused by the strength / weakness of Detail signal to intensify
the video signal for the object’s outline. Adjust ent of Detail signal can ake the object’s luster or texture look ore
natural.
MASTER DTL: +31
MASTER DTL: -31

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For AJ-PX230 ca era, the adjust ent of Detail is usually ade by setting MASTER DETAIL (intensity of the effect)
and DETAIL CORING. DETAIL CORING is a function to set the level of signal (including noise) which suppresses
the Detail effect.
For further infor ation, please refer to “2-4. More advanced settings for Detail”.
On the other hand, as an advanced setting, DETAIL (both horizontal and vertical directions) and V DETAIL (vertical
direction) are ainly used. Within a certain range of levels of outline signal, the adjust ent can be ade balancing
the horizontal and vertical effects against each other.
If the setting value is set to a positive value, which is greater than the center value “0” (zero), that is, if the Detail level is
increased, the edges of video signal will be intensified horizontally and vertically and the picture will look sharper with
an enhanced outline of an object. To the contrary, if it is set to a negative value, that is, if the Detail level is decreased,
the outline enhance ent will be suppressed and the picture will look softer.
After the Detail is adjusted, if there is a noticeable difference in sense of resolution between the horizontal and vertical
directions, use V DETAIL to ake adjust ents to the vertical Detail only.
VDTL
(Ve tical Di ection)
In this pictu e, the
adjustment in the
positive di ection can
make the eyes look
clea e .
HDTL
(Ho izontal Di ection)
In this pictu e, the
adjustment in the
positive di ection can
make the outline of the
neck look sha pe .

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2-2. Basic settings for Detail
General Settings: Main Menu  [SCENE FILE] (Factory default settings underlined)
[MASTER DTL] -31 - - - 0 - - - 31
Adjusts the level of overall Detail effect.
[DTL COR NG] 0 - - - 1 - - - 60
Sets the level of signal (including noise) that suppresses the Detail effect.
More Detailed Settings: Main Menu  [SCENE FILE]  [DETAIL SETTING]
[DETA L] ON / OFF
Selects whether to add the Detail or not.
[V.DTL LEVEL］ -7 - - - 0 - - - 7
Sets the intensity of Detail level in the vertical direction.
[H.DTL FREQ.］ -7 - - - 0 - - - 7
Sets the thickness of Detail in the horizontal direction.
[V.DTL FREQ.］ 0 - - - 1 - - - 2
Sets the thickness of Detail in the vertical direction.
[LEVEL DEPEND.］ -7 - - - 0 - - - 7
When the Detail of lu inance signal is intensified, the Details of darker areas are co pressed.
If this setting value is larger, the Details of brighter areas will also be co pressed.
[KNEE APELVL］ 0 - - - 2 - - - 5
Sets the Detail level of high-lu inance areas (very bright areas).
[DTL GA N（+）］ -31 - - - 0 - - - 31
Sets the Detail level in the positive (brightening) direction separately.
[DTL GA N（−）］ -31 - - - 0 - - - 31
Sets the Detail level in the negative (darkening) direction separately.

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2-3. Technical description : Detail
This is an outline signal which is added to a video signal.
If the Detail level is increased, the edges of video signal will be intensified and outlines in the picture will look sharper.
If the Detail level is decreased, the edges of video signal will be weakened and the picture will look softer with its
outline enhance ent suppressed.
Difference of video i age and wavefor with different MASTER DETAIL settings
MASTER DETAIL +31 (I age is sharper)
MASTER DETAIL
MASTER DETAIL -31 (I age is softer)
Luminance signal with no
Detail signal added
Luminance signal with
Detail signal added
Detail Level: LOW Detail Level: HIGH
Black and white chart
Luminance
signal level
Time (1line)
Waveform for one line
Brightness
Detail level is fully
increased

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2- . More advanced settings for Detail : Detail Coring, Skin Tone Detail
Detail Coring
Outline co pensation can be perfor ed by adjusting the Detail, and enhanced outlines enable clear representation of
i ages. But at the sa e ti e it ay ake a whole picture look coarse. This is because added Detail signal will
also work on low-level signals including noise.
Detail Coring function can adjust the range of adding the Detail signal and reduce the noise caused by adjusting the
Detail.
Noise is a low-level signal. So, when the Detail Coring is set to a higher level than noise signals, the Detail signal will
work only on high-brightness signals to be intensified, not on the noise. By this adjust ent, the outline of an object
will be enhanced and its texture will look the sa e while the increase of coarseness on the whole picture is
suppressed.
In so e cases, this adjust ent of Detail range by Detail Coring is effective to reduce the noise that has beco e
noticeable due to GAMMA setting. Moreover, with the Skin Detail turned ON, graininess of hu an skin color can be
lowered and, also in representing the i ages of people, it is possible to ake the texture look natural depending on
the situation.
Idea of Detail Coring
Detail Level: LOW Detail Level: HIGH
If the amount of Detail
is increased, noise
components will also
be intensified.
Detail will not be added
to the signal of a level
within a range set up by
Detail Coring.
Range set up by
Detail Coring
Intensified noise components
Black and white chart
Luminance
signal level
Time (1line)
Waveform for one line

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Skin Tone Detail
When there is grainy noise on hu an skin color areas, Skin Detail function can decrease the Detail of those areas to
lower their graininess.
However, depending on the situation, setting the Skin Detail or Detail Coring ay even affect natural light and shade,
which characterize the hu an skin or the texture of an object, and, as a result, the natural representation ay beco e
i possible. So it needs to be checked every ti e this adjust ent is ade.
General Settings: Main Menu  [SCENE FILE] (Factory default settings underlined)
[SK N TONE DTL A], [SK N TONE DTL ]B, [SK N TONE DTL C]: ON / OFF for each
Select the type of skin color on which the Skin Tone Detail works. These three settings can be set either
separately or in co bination.
[SK N TONE ZEBRA]: ON / OFF
Displays the zebra pattern on a selected skin color area. This zebra pattern indicates an area selected by
[SKIN TONE DTL SETTING].
More Advanced Settings: Main Menu  [SCENE FILE]  [SKIN TONE DTL SETTING]
[DETECT TABLE］ A / B / C
Selects the skin color table of the object to apply the Skin Tone table to.
[SK N TONE GET］
Acquires the color infor ation of [A], [B] or [C] selected in [DETECT TABLE] fro the area around the center
arker.
By executing this enu, the data fro [I CENTER] to [Q PHASE] are acquired auto atically.
[SK N DTL EFFECT］ 0 - - - 16 - - - 31
Sets the effect level of Skin Tone Detail.

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* Data acquired by [SKIN TONE GET]
When the color co position of video signal (R/G/B) is converted to color difference signal (R-Y/B-Y), it can be
represented as the figure below. On this diagra , using the axes across Red-Cyan and Green-Magenta phases
(I axis and Q axis, respectively), set the following areas to apply Skin Tone.
[ CENTER］ 0 - - - 35 - - - 255
Sets the center position on the I axis (the area to apply Skin Tone).
[ W DTH］ 0 - - - 55 - - - 255
Sets the area width to apply Skin Tone along the I axis with [I CENTER] as the center.
[Q W DTH］ 0 - - - 10 - - - 90
Sets the area width to apply Skin Tone along the Q axis with [I CENTER] as the center.
[Q PHASE］ -180 - - - 0 - - - 179
Sets the area phase to apply Skin Tone with the Q axis as a reference.
If so e areas on the background, etc. are close to skin-colored, they will also look s oother after this function is used.
When the brightness is not enough, the effect ay not be easily recognized. Also, if people are fil ed in a reduced
size, their faces ay be blurred.
Effect and adjustmet range of SKIN TONE DTL settings on vector scope
Q Axis
I Axis

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3. Expressing the gradation of a picture (Knee, Gamma
3-1. Knee adjustment
Due to the sunny weather or the lighting, “blown-out highlights” so eti es occur, where bright areas look co pletely
white.
This is a pheno enon caused by the lu inance signals that are out of the ca era’s Dyna ic Range (processing
range). In order to put such high-brightness input signals within the Dyna ic Range, Knee function can be used to
co press the gradation. However, the color gradation is also co pressed at the sa e ti e by this function. So,
depending on the scene, the color ay beco e lighter. In that case, setting [KNEE MASTER SLOPE Rch] and
[KNEE MASTER SLOPE Bch] will enable the adjust ent of color.
KNEE MASTER POINT: 70%
KNEE MASTER POINT: 93%
KNEE MASTER POINT: 107%

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3-2. Technical description : Knee
Knee is a function to co press the lu inance signal of a certain level or higher so that it can be output at a level of
about less than 109% (white clip) in order to put the brightness of an object within the Dyna ic Range.
Knee Point is a setting about which level to start the co pression fro . It is said that the brightness of hu an skin is
about 85%, so professional video ca eras are designed so that their settings can be set for the brightness of the
sa e level as hu an skin or higher. That is, without affecting uch the gradation expression of hu an skin, the
gradation of brighter areas like clouds in the sky can be expressed well by using Knee.
Knee Slope indicates how uch to be co pressed, which eans a slope of the brightness curve fro Knee Point to
the axi u of Dyna ic Range. Generally, when a scene includes high-brightness areas, the Knee Point is set to
a lower value to prevent blown-out highlights. On the other hand, when a scene does not include such areas, the
Knee Point is set to a higher value to prevent the gradation of iddle-brightness areas fro being co pressed.
Adjust ent Ite s for Knee: Main Menu > [SCENE FILE] > [KNEE SETTING] (Factory default settings underlined)
[A.KNEE RESPONSE］ 1 - - - 4 - - - 8
Sets the response speed. A s aller setting value allows a faster response speed. (* Enabled when KNEE
MODE is AUTO)
[KNEE MASTER PO NT］ 70.0% - - - 93.0% - - - 107.0%
Sets the position of Knee Point in units of 0.5%. (* Enabled when KNEE MODE is MANUAL)
[KNEE MASTER SLOPE］ 0 - - - 85 - - - 99
Sets the slope of Knee. (* Enabled when KNEE MODE is MANUAL)
[KNEE MASTER SLOPE Rch］ -31 - - - 0 - - - 31
Sets the Knee slope of Rch. (* Enabled when KNEE MODE is MANUAL)
[KNEE MASTER SLOPE Bch］ -31 - - - 0 - - - 31
Sets the Knee slope of Bch. (* Enabled when KNEE MODE is MANUAL)
This is an example for explanation only and may be different from actual measurements.
nee Point
nee Slope
100%
80%
90%
109%
Output Signal Level
Input Brightness Level
Knee Point: A point to start the
co pression
Knee Slope: A slope of the brightness
fro Knee Point to the axi u of
Dyna ic Range

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Concept of detail co pensation for highlight areas with KNEE APE LEVEL control
3-3. KNEE APE control
When co pressing highlight portions with KNEE control to avoid overexposed i age (blown-out highlights), detail signal
will also be co pressed and it ay cause softening in highlight areas. This can be co pensated by using KNEE APE
LEVEL control.
MENU > SCENE FILE > (Factory default settings underlined)
[KNEE APE LEVEL］ 0 - - - 2 - - - 5
Sets enhance ent level of detail signal for highlight areas
3- . White Clip
Adjust ent Ite s for White Clip:
Main Menu  [SCENE FILE]  [WHITE CLIP SETTING] (Factory default settings underlined)
[WH TE CL P LVL］ 90% - - - 109% Sets the White Clip level.
[Rch CL P LVL］ -31 - - - 0 - - - 31 Sets the clip level of Rch against White Clip.
[Bch CL P LVL］ -31 - - - 0 - - - 31 Sets the clip level of Bch against White Clip.
Detail signals added to
highlight areas
Co pressed gradations caused
by Knee control, and detail signal
(= detail enhance level is LOW).
Detail signal enhanced by
Knee APE control.
Wavefor i age
Video signal level
High

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3-5. Gamma adjustment
There are cases where the color and contrast, which look natural to the eye, are not fully reproduced on the picture.
An effective way for these cases is to adjust the gradation of output signal. Select a suitable Ga a curve according
to the scene. AJ-PX230 offers seven types of Ga a curves.
(Main Menu  [SCENE FILE]  [GAMMA MODE SEL])
HD:
This is a video Ga a characteristic for HD (High Definition).
This Ga a co plies with the standards defined by ARIB, EBU, SMPTE, etc. Use this for the purpose of
nor al HD shooting.
SD:
Gain is increased for dark areas ore than HD Ga a.
This Ga a curve can be used for shooting in SD ode, or for HD shooting that needs the sa e Ga a
as used in SD shooting.
F LM L KE 1:
Co pared with HD Ga a, this has the characteristics by which the gradation of the highlights can be
reproduced better. Using this Ga a curve which gently slopes for the low-brightness area akes the
picture look cal . Contrast beco es sharper and the gradation expression of the iddle- and
high-brightness areas (face, etc.) is extended.
F LM L KE 2:
Co pared with FILM LIKE 1, this has the characteristics by which the gradation of the highlights can be
reproduces better.
F LM L KE 3:
Co pared with FILM LIKE 2, this has the characteristics by which the gradation of the highlights can be
reproduce better.
F LM-REC:
Fil -use cine Ga a characteristics.
This Ga a gives priority to the Dyna ic Range and aintains the gradation that ranges evenly fro low to
high level. It creates a unique at osphere which is so eti es used as an effect.
V DEO-REC:
Video-use cine Ga a characteristics.
This is a Ga a curve to ake a ovie-like picture using a video ca era. It creates a picture where ore
i portance is placed on contrast than in nor al video ode recording.

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GAMMA: HD
GAMMA: SD
GAMMA: FILM LIKE1
GAMMA: FILM LIKE2

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GAMMA: FILM LIKE3
GAMMA: FILM -REC
GAMMA: VIDEO-REC