Imagers are the light pickup device in a camera. The two most common ways to make an imager are CMOS or CCD technology. CMOS imagers are the more common and inexpensive of the two. Unlike CCD imagers that capture light an entire frame at a time, CMOS imagers "scan" and can exhibit visual artifacts related to the time lag between pixels (Sony, JVC, Panasonic, RED).

The two most common artifacts are "flashband" (see image below) and "picket-fence". Flashband will show when a heavy burst of light paints a video recorder scene (flash strobe example in the photo). Note the bright patch of light on the women's back in foreground.

Panasonic's first contemporary camera using a CMOS imager (called a 3MOS) is the AG-HPX300. At 2.2 Mega pixel this camera offers full native 1080p recording. Until recently the Flashband problem was still an issue with it's CMOS imaging.

Great news - Panasonic has released a firmware update to compensation for the Flashband effect. Essentially the update senses the flashband effect and corrects by duplicating the correct exposure portions of the frame over the "half flashed" frame(s).

The update takes just a few minutes to install into the HPX300 and really works! It also has the updater for the E series card (newest generation P2 card) and the engineers improved the noise floor a little as well. Check it out! Download page

Contact  an EAR product specialist today for complete details and special "pro" pricing. Stop by for a demo today! 800-473-6914