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View Full Version : Combining HVX200 in SD 16x9 with two DVX's.



ericcosh
05-29-2006, 05:11 PM
Hi all:

Just wanted to give those of you considering using the HVX along with the DVX cameras some observations.

Yesterday I shot a wedding using my two DVX100's (1 -100 and 1-100A) using my anamorphic adapters in conjunction with my HVX200 in the 16x9 mode SD.

Several years ago, I started shooting weddings in 16x9 with the DVX's and finally had to cease because as many of you are aware, you can't zoom in the anamorphic adapters unless you have plenty of light, and even then, you have to be very careful unless you use the chart designed by Adam Wilt and Barry Green.

Shooting in a dark church was just plain out of the question.

My solution was to wait until the HVX200 came out.
Yesterday was my first time to use this method. For those of you who have used the anamorphic adapters under ideal situations in the past were no doubt fairly pleased with the results, especially over the "squeeze mode".

Shooting with the HVX200 in SD in 16x9 surpassed all of my expectations. The quality was just beautiful. I was surprised how well the DVX's fared with the anamorphic adapters. One of my rules for the other cameras was that I didn't want my operators to exceed 50Z and to close the iris as much as possible to give me more DOF.

Although the HVX requires alittle more than twice the light as my DVX's, I haven't found that it's a problem for me so far. For on camera lights, I use the Cool-Lux Tri light with two 35watt floods and one 35 watt spot. Anything within a 15-20 foot range looks really good, especially when using 6db of gain. In a darker room, anything past that and you're going to have to use an exterior light setup.

Another real plus by using the HVX200 for weddings, etc... is the use of the P2 card in conjunction with your inboard tape. I shot some really cool scenes of the bride and groom at 720PN 48 overcrank. When I got back to the studio, I just dubbed those scenes to the tape in my camera and now it's in 16x9 SD ready for capture.

Since I use a minimum of 3 cameras on all my shoots, making use of my 2 DVX's (with anamorphic adapters) along with the HVX makes for a perfect match for events.

Boomerang
05-29-2006, 05:16 PM
Sounds good, post some clips when you can.

Rick Meyer
05-29-2006, 07:39 PM
Wow. That sounds like a great setup. I'd be anxious to see a clip of that footage as well.

By the way, if you don't mind me asking, what would you charge for a 3 camera set up like that?
Rick

ericcosh
05-31-2006, 09:51 AM
It will probably be at least 3 weeks until I edit this project, but as soon as I do, I will post some of the clips.
Rick:
My package prices of course vary, depending on all the things that they want, but for most of those packages, I charge $3295 which includes 3 cameras and 2 operators and six hours of coverage. I'll be charging more for 16x9 packages. For those of us used to shooting and editing weddings, 16x9 is the perfect format. Now that the HVX200 is here, it sure will make our job of shooting 16x9 much easier and far superior to the past.

My personal feeling right now is that the 200 is the most versatile camera in its price range.

Rick Meyer
05-31-2006, 03:35 PM
That sounds great. For 3 cameras, two operators, pro edit, nice.

I appreciate the breakdown and will really be looking forward to seeing some footage when you get her edited down.