The same old Q's

[BillyHoyle]

I had finally talked myself into getting the XH-a1. Deep down I liked the look of the Panasonic HVX200 better, but had talked myself into wanting an a-1 because it was 2300 bucks cheaper. But after talking to 2 DPs on a film I am currently P.A.ing on I have realized that I should have gone with my gut--the HVX...but I still want to be sure and do the proper research, so I have some Q's that I know have been asked over 100 times on this site, but honestly I don't want to skim 1,000 threads so I hope you guys will answer these q's once again.

1.) Is the stretched 16:9 on the panasonic really look worse than true widescreen?
2.) I have heard the HVX has all these frame rate choices...can you shoot in slow/fast motion?
3.) is there a 35mm adapter that is known to produce a great picture in conjunction with it?...(I understand that each has its own pros and cons, I just want an opinion.)
4.) how expensive are the P2 cards?...will I save money on tape?...How many minutes of footage can I fit on one?
5.) How do you capture from P2 card to computer?
6.) will my Imac and FCP studio be enough to edit HDV?
7.) can I shoot SD footage on tape with the HVX?
*.) what do you guys think about the HVX compared strictly with the a1?

I know these are redundant...but thanks for dropping some knowledge and opinion if you have time.
--Billy HO

[VenezuelanD]

1. ??? the HVX is a true 16:9 chip there is no stretching.

2. yes, lots of choices 2fps (With a bit of work) all the way up to 60fps. Mainly available when shooting 720p

3. yes

4. p2 cards are expensive. Unless you are shooting long form you can make due with just 1. You can also rent them fairly cheap. $900 for 16gb, $600 for 8gb. Though you might be able to find them cheaper. I know of a company who is getting rid of their 8gb at $450. Then thing with tape and HDV is that if you buy the tape considered the "best" for HDV (the sony HDV quality tape) its almost $10 a tape. Of course people shoot with reuglar DV tapes all the time without problems.

5. P2 store connected via usb to the computer. HVX connected via firewire or usb to the computer. P2 card directly into a PCMCIA slot in the computer.

6. which Imac?

7. yes. You can shoot DVCPro 50 to p2 cards or DVCPro 25 (Standard dv format) to card or to tape. DVCPro 50 offers 4:2:2 color space.

8. its a better camera. But what are you using it for? Are you buying it for your own projects, are you buying it to make money with? I know that right now we can't keep the HVXs on the shelves at the store, they are renting like crazy. Most of the time we're out of p2cards and sub renting from anyone we can, Bexel, Wexler, Ablecine, EVS, and many times they're out of cards as well.

[David Saraceno]

As a heads up, the Panasonic shoots DVCProHD not HDV.

HDV is very processor intensive and to me it doesn't hold up in post very well.

I prefer the Panasonic to the HDV brands.

I'm somewhat unique because I've owned both.