Hvx200?

[RimidAlv_tRkv]

Hi,

This is my first post here, I own two DVXs but planing on purchasing an HD.
Deciding between the HVX200, Sony FX1, or something I dont have money for the XL-H1. Your thoughts on this issue would help.

I know all technical aspects of these cameras, I just wanted some insight from people that have used them.

What problems did you encounter,
how is the sound (cause it aint to good on the DVX) etc?

One question (might be a stupid one) does the HVX record HD only to P2 cards.

Thanks.

[ericcosh]

how is the sound (cause it aint to good on the DVX) etc?

Compared to what????

You mentioned that you know all the technical aspects of these cameras and yet you ask if the HVX only shoots HD to P2?

I think that the very first question you should be asking yourself is what are you going to use these cameras for versus your DVX's? Are you going to be shooting SD & HD? Widescreen versus standard? Events versus controlled commercial shoots? Controlled lighting versus run and gun?

The HVX is a wonderful camera but it does have it's limitations. If you have to shoot HD weddings, this might not be the ideal camera for you, at least not right now.

My best advise to anyone wanting to make a purchase of any new camera is to first rent or borrow one. Shoot with it under all kinds of conditions, and then compare camera to camera.

This is a DVX(HVX) site. Most of us own these cameras and therefore are at least alittle bias.

Hope this helps,

eric

[cinemakinoeye]

[...] how is the sound (cause it aint to good on the DVX) etc?
[...]
My experience with the HVX is that the audio is excellent, I've had the same experience with the HVX as I've had with the DVX in terms of audio quality.

I'm puzzled to hear you say "it aint good" regarding DVX audio. My experience with the DVX is that it's audio input section has one of the best pre-amps and A/D converters of any consumer camcorder I've worked with and I've been running pro-audio mics and mixers into consumer cameras ever since the Beactek adapters were first introduced into the marketplace.

[cinemakinoeye]

[...] Deciding between the HVX200, Sony FX1, or something [...] You will find that the HVX200 gives you more format options than the FX1 or Z1U, and if progressive is important to you, you'll find the HVX a winner in that category. When I was trying to decide for myelf between the four major contenders in the prosumer HD camera race, I made a comparison chart: http://kino-eye.com/docs/ProsumerHD-Comparison.html to help me think about the cameras. The chart is far from definitive, but it's a start.

[RimidAlv_tRkv]

how is the sound (cause it aint to good on the DVX) etc?

Compared to what????

I might have phrased it wrong, but I was actually talking about hardware wise, my second XLR input wont work on my dvx, thats on one camera only, even though I did not have any other issues with the sound on the DVX, my instructor did, and pointed out that thats one of the only reasons why he wouldnt have purchased a DVX the second time around.

You mentioned that you know all the technical aspects of these cameras and yet you ask if the HVX only shoots HD to P2?

I do know all the tech, I did research before coming here, Ive used DV cameras up till now and studied with DV cams, HD is new to me and Ive just gotten into it, I couldnt find the answer to that question, cause I know the XLH1 records to both, wasnt sure about about the HVX. The reason I added that line was so that you dont waste time explaining to me what the cam is capable of technically, instead I was interested in hands on experience you might have had with the cam.

Hope this helps,

Not really, I asked you what issues or problems you had with this cam, not your insight about what I know or dont, I could have asked my instructors but since I was here and there are more people using these cams than in school I thought Id give it a shot, but I gues I was wrong coming here, smart ass.

(Im only talking to eric, not the rest of you , your insight was helpful, especially the chart, those were the exact cameras I was comparing, thanks)

[westerndirector]

We are making a feature indie Western. We are using studio condenser microphones in some scenes and plugging them directly into the XLR jacks on the camera. The camera has the phantom power to drive those mics. The audio is absolutely studio quality. It is amazing! The onboard camera microphone quality is not spectacular but the audio circuitry of the camera when combined with a good external microphone IS spectacular.

Few people seem to acknowledge how miraculous this camera is because it is dead quiet shooting to P2 cards and has its own world-class digital audio for live production sound.

[RandyRosenthal]

If you cannot afford the 9K for the XL-H1 then the HVX will be out of your range as well. To begin to utilize the HVX's abilities asnd use it in most working situations you should budget for two P2 cards, a P2 store or laptop, and / or a Firestore FS-100. A decent investment is at least 10K.

[maverickstunts]

I went to Birns and Sawyer in L.A. to scope out all of the differences between the JVC, the XL1h, the hvx and of course the Sony. The two top cameras that I saw were XL1h and HVX. The Jvc and the sony were a distant 3rd and 4th. The clarity of the lens on the Canon was the best of all. The two problems that I saw were it doesn't shoot 24 p and it is still hdv, whereas the HVX is true hd. Also the cost is 1/3 more than the HVX with two p2 4 gig cards. I shot on a movie that I was stunt coordinating, The Trail of the Dead". They were shooting varicam and my footage matched up so well they wanted to use it as a third camera.
The audio is just as good as it was with my Dvx's, that is superb.
The best thing you can do is decide what you're going to use it for and buy it for that application.
My company just won a "Telly award" for one of the commercials that we shot last year. We shot it on DVX and we will never look back. We are moving forward with HVX.

[maverickstunts]

BTW, you don't need the firestore or the P2 store, just use a laptop and hard drives. It is pretty simple and a bit time consuming, but I am sure will get better in the future. The P2 store and firestore are just too expensive for what they are. Planning and optimization of time is key.

[DavidBeier]

It comes down to what you want to shoot.

If you want to shoot mainly weddings and other stuff where the image doesn't need to look filmic, then the Z1 will give you very clean, sharp video-ish stuff.

If you want to shoot narrative stuff the HVX200 will give you a much prettier image with richer colors, better motion, and a much more filmish gamma.

If you want something kind of in between which can shoot HDV tapes but still looks pretty nice then try the JVC HD100 (not as pretty as the HVX200 in my book but leagues better than the Z1).

The XLH1 quite nice. If it's too expensive for you now then you probably can't afford a SDI out and deck to capture. Assuming you are shooting on HDV with the XLH1, it will give you higher resolution than the HVX200 but only half the color depth, interframe encoding (i.e. more motion artifacts), and a less filmish gamma curve. It depends on what you want.

[cinemakinoeye]

BTW, you don't need the firestore or the P2 store, just use a laptop and hard drives. [...] P2 store and firestore are just too expensive for what they are. Planning and optimization of time is key.
I think maverickstunts makes a very good point here worth pondering over... if you're shooting in a manner in which you can deal with the "card shuffle" as I like to call it (rotating a set of cards between the camera and laptop on the set used for ingest and backup) you can maximize your bang for the buck by avoiding the P2 Store. I feel it's valuable to get things right onto a computer right away if you can manage it, on the other hand, if you're on the run, the P2 Store has some advantages.

[...] Planning and optimization of time is key.
Very wise words, especially when it comes to P2 workflow. For example, on a recent shoot I copied cards to a mirrored drive pair. One of the drives failed. No sweat, I simply rebuilt the mirrored pair. Had I been using a single disk and it happened to fail, I would have had to explain to the producer why 3 days of impossible to repeat footage had been lost. maverickstunts comments bear repeating (with apologies for slightly misquoting intentionally): " planning and optimization of [workflow] is key!"

[RimidAlv_tRkv]

Thanks, guys!

Youve been a great help. Im gonna go with the HVX, but I cant afford the P2 cards right now, so I'll continue shooting DV until I make enough to buy P2 cards, I dont need the HD right now, I will need it for a shoot at the end of the year, waiting for winter again.

Thanks...

[mcgeedigital]

Thanks, guys!

Youve been a great help. Im gonna go with the HVX, but I cant afford the P2 cards right now, so I'll continue shooting DV until I make enough to buy P2 cards, I dont need the HD right now, I will need it for a shoot at the end of the year, waiting for winter again.

Thanks...

Good choice. Even in SD I perceived the HVX to be sharper than my DVX.