Setting up Panasonic Varicam

Livegrade comes with support for the Panasonic Varicam. Livegrade can send CDL values and 3D LUTs that are applied on the live image and recordings in the camera using a network connection (LAN and WiFi depending on camera hardware and setup).

The following Varicam models are supported:

  • Varicam 35
  • Varicam Pure
  • Varicam LT
  • Varicam HS

A list of all the Panasonic Varicam cameras supported can be found in the Knowledge Base article All Supported Devices in Livegrade.

Setting up the camera

In order to receive look information from Livegrade the Varicam needs to have a working network connection with the Mac where Livegrade is running on. The grading mode on the Varicam 35 has to be enabled.

 

SETUP NETWORK

  • Go to Varicam Menu -> Peripheral -> Network Sel.
  • Choose Lan or Wlan depending on your setup
  • Go to Varicam Menu -> Peripheral -> Lan Property to see the IP Address if using DHCP or set an IP Address if DHPC is disabled (see Picture)
  • Note the IP Address. We will need it later in Livegrade

 

Varicam 35 network settings

 

ENABLE GRADING

  • From the home screen press the Color button (upper middle)
  • Set the main color to V-Log by pressing the upper left button until Main Color reads V-Log
  • Turn on grading by pressing the Grading SEL (upper middle) button until it reads On
  • If CDL grading is Off, enable CDL grading by pressing the CDL button (lower middle) and pressing the upper right CDL button until the title reads On => go back to the color view.
  • Set the 3D Lut setting to V-709 (for other setups see advanced Lut modes below) by pressing the lower left button. In the 3D Lut view press the upper left button 3D Lut Sel until it reads V-709
  • Back in the grading view press Mon Set (lower right) to configure on which output you want to see the graded image instead of the log image. For example to see the graded image on the Mon Out 1, press the Mon Out 1 (upper left) button until it reads Graded
  • The final settings are shown in the next image:

 

figure 2: enabling grading on the Varicam 35

Enabling the grading mode on the Varicam 35

 

ADVANCED LUT MODES

There are three 3D LUT modes you can use.

  1. Off: no LUT is applied to the V-Log image (not recommended)
  2. V-709: the default log to video LUT is applied by the camera (recommended)
  3. Loaded File: the LUT can be configured in Livegrade (more flexibility but slower)

 

figure 3: Advanced LUT modes on the Varicam 35

Advanced LUT modes on the Varicam 35

 

 

The LUT mode you want to use depends on your workflow and needs to be specified in the Livegrade device configuration:

 

figure 6: Varicam 35 settings

Varicam 35 settings

 

Setting Up Livegrade

Once a correct connection is established, launch Livegrade and you can proceed to add the Varicam as a device. In order to do that, you can choose “Slots” in the main menu and then “Add Device”. Alternatively, you can add the device through the Device Manager.

After that, a configuration window opens:

figure 5: Varicam 35 configuration

Varicam 35 configuration

  • Enter the IP address of the Varicam as well as user name and password
  • Optional: choose the LUT mode if you want to use an advanced LUT mode
  • Click on “Add Varicam”

Livegrade will check the connection and show a green “connected” message if the camera was successfully added.
You can now use the CDL grading mode of Livegrade to control the live image of the Varicam Mon Out 1. While using the default LUT workflow option the 3D LUT section in Livegrade shows the default V-709 LUT applied by the camera. If you want to use a custom LUT or want to add a custom curve you will have to set the camera to loaded file and change the setting using the device manager.