HVX 200 Vs. JVC GY-Hd200

[K.lamont Bruce]

Hey Guys. I need some help on deciding between these two cameras.I am more of a "Post" Warrior and I have owned my DVX100b like forever and looking to switch to either the Panasonic HVX200 or the JVC GY-HD200 both around the same price. I need advice quick because i have been chosen to do a tour of south america for a local independent and need to make a purchase soon. I don't even have the time to rent...lol. All i'm looking for is people who have used both to give me some pro's and con's of each model. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP ALREADY

[Capt Quirk]

Just because of my recent experiences ith my HD100 and JVC, I'll tell you to go with the Panny. At least you can find a rep and support.

[Justyn]

Well I think we need to know more of what you'll be shooting.. how much.. your archival and post workflow, working conditions and all of that.


I've used both and I much rather prefer the HVX over the JVC.. UNLESS.. you were shooting tons and tons of footage and power was an issue and/or harddrives to back up. I really grew to hate the JVC but it's because I'm so in love with the P2 workflow and all of the extra options.. but the JVC might be the right tool depending uponw hat you are doing...

[Jon Neely]

It is really if you want HDV or solid State, I used the HD110 and i was impressed by it, but I have also rented a hvx and I liked the whole p2thing aslo, If you are going to be going out in the Sticks of Africa, It is really if you can afford enough p2 cards to get enough footage, the great thing about HDV is that you only need dv tapes and your set, P2 you need a comp, or a dump box, or alot of p2 cards to keep all you media, Both are very reliable cameras, The hvx is smaller so if you are doing alot of tight spaces you might like that, though the HD200 being shoulder mounted allready is a plus for films on the go. I dont know if this really matter, but you need ot remeber the 4:2:2 of the HVX is more manipulative in post, vs. the 4:2:0 of HDV, how much, for you being in an outside enviorment without any keying of green screen, not so much prob.

[John Godden]

Hey Guys. I need some help on deciding between these two cameras.I am more of a "Post" Warrior and I have owned my DVX100b like forever and looking to switch to either the Panasonic HVX200 or the JVC GY-HD200 both around the same price. I need advice quick because i have been chosen to do a tour of south america for a local independent and need to make a purchase soon. I don't even have the time to rent...lol. All i'm looking for is people who have used both to give me some pro's and con's of each model. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP ALREADY

Hmmmmmmmmm HDV........... :zombie_smiley:

You should really try HDV before you jump into this soup. My experience was non too good with it. YMMV.

JohnG

[ullanta]

I'll second Justin and say that WORKFLOW and data storage may be the deciding factor for you. Tapes are readily available and relatively robust; for P2 you'll either need enough cards for your shoot or will have to carry capture devices and hard drives (and, I'd suggest, backup to DVD or one or two more gard drives). If by tour you mean nice hotels, popular tourist areas, good areas to do backing up and such at night, with clean power, you may get away with P2 and a UPS pretty easily. If by tour you mean riding in trucks with llamas, staying in villages and archeological sites with questionable if any power, hiking the Inca trails, etc., then you may want to lean more towards the tape-based workflow...

I worked on a book hiking around Bolivia and Peru, backing up to floppies every day... and that was tricky enough. Dealing with irreplaceable footage, I'd be real careful!

-Barry

[ullanta]

P.S., from what I hear... "HDV" and JVC's "ProHD" version are not quite the same... that is, at 24p, the JVC achieves a higher effective data rate than other HDV cams, uses shorter GOPs, and thus has better image quality, better motion rendering, and shorter dropouts than other HDV cameras... so don't check out "HDV", actually try the JVC you're interested in...

[wgzn]

if you plan to do a lot of post/graphics overlay work. DVCproHD from the HVX holds up WAY the hell BETTER than whatever format of HDV the jvc shoots

- just a fact of life

i'm sure ive said this somewhere in the forum here (as ive blathered about it for over a year over at lafcpug) but i tested out all three big "pro" HDV cameras when they first came out. the sony Z1, jvc hd100, and the canon xlh1 - and i hated them all. hated the HDV format, and pretty much wrote off all "budget HD" as a whole. until one day the demo disc from panasonic full of p2 footage shot with the HVX arrived in my mailbox. i reluctantly gave it a lookover a few days later.

it looked GREAT and fit BEAUTIFULLY into my FCP/AfterEffects workflow. and resulted in one of the best looking SD dvds id ever seen.

sold ALL my SD gear the next week, bought an HVX and havent regretted it for a second!

[Outcaste]

i'm working through the same issue in this thread:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=109638

i however... will have a base of sorts in india.

[Noel Evans]

Whilst I agree at the outset HDV is not the best codec to work with in your NLE, there are many other options within any NLE. I would suggest people really look carefully at cameras and features and not judge purely on codec. Some of the previous iterations of HDV were not great - agreed. Which perpetuated a storm over its effectiveness.

[Capt Quirk]

You might also need to find work. I have seen hundreds of jobs for HVX/DVX users, one or two looking for a JVC user. Bottom line, go where they care about the customer, and that is not JVC.