Glad to see this site arrive. Sad to see so few members so far.
Still not sure if I'll buy. Given the Nikon D90 at only $150 more, a Casio "anything" seems too expensive at $1000. Perhaps Casio -- as do Japanese companies -- only ordered a small number built to test the market. Which means CES could see a revised unit. Or, given our horrible economy, they could just let it die. How many folks are going to buy a "speciality" camera in this economy. I write and sell books on camcorders and not only are my orders down, the video sites that I visit are very very quiet compared to last year. No "new" camera buyers.
My questions for F1 owners.
1. HD movies are made in "AUTO" mode. At minimum that means AE is controlling shutter and iris. ISO, as part of the AE system, is also in AUTO.
2. But, some previously settings are used:
a) Is WB set to AWB or is the last WB set used for an HD movie?
b) Is the currently set Dynamic Range used for an HD movie?
c) IMAGE AS can be chosen for movies. How about Saturation and Sharpness?
d) Some BS modes are used for movies:
Supposedly one can choose a BS mode and SEE what settings it uses. If this is true, are there any BS modes that limit ISO and/or lock the shutter at 1/60th? If so, what other functions to they modify? (Hopefully, none!)
3. Is the current EV used for HD movies?
4. Although AE is enabled -- can you use the AE/AF Lock button on the lens to lock it before recording an HD movie?
5) Although AF is enabled, can one use the menu to select MF (and assign it to the ring) and then manually focus before starting shooting?
6. If only AF can be used for movies -- can you use the AE/AF Lock button on the lens to lock it before recording an HD movie?
7) There's two ways AE can function. It can try to keep the shutter at 1/60th and use the iris for exposure control. (This is good.) Or, it can try to keep the iris at about f/4 and use the shutter for exposure control. This is very bad for 720p30 because in bright light the shutter may move up to 1/250th which causes motion judder. The shutter needs to stay at 1/60th for 720p30!!!
In case it's not clear, I'm not looking for the F1 to behave like most camcorders. I want it to behave like a film movie camera where all is set before starting to shoot. The rocket test I've seen looked like it could be fully locked.
Sorry for all the questions, but the manual is horrible. (The D90 is even worse when it comes to video. 3-pages.)
