HVX200 build quality concerns for in the field use.

S

Steve55

Active member
Okay, not really a technical question, but this appears to be the best place to post this.

I am about to buy a HVX200 to use in a production, well at least I was until a couple of people in the UK have told me about the terrible build quality of the HVX200. My internet research has come up with the overall suggestion that the image quality produced by the HVX200 is better than Z1 and people are very impressed overall. However, after speaking to a few people here who have had their hands on one, I’ve been told it feels very flimsy and very very plasticky indeed. This concerns me a little as I really don’t want to have to handle a camcorder with ‘kid gloves’ and I don’t want to have to worry about cheap plastic bits breaking off in the field.

So, is the HVX200 built in such a way that it really should not be taken out of the house. Is it poorly built and is it likely to break in the hands of a professional lighting cameraman for example?

Not meaning to stir up a hornets nest here as it is a Panny site, it is a question out of genuine concern. In the past I’ve had my hands on a DVX100 and I personally felt that it was very poorly built indeed, in fact I cracked the base of the loaner one I had just by putting it down on a flat concrete surface, in a bit of a hurry admittedly, but this is bad in my opinion.
 
maybe you should just go rent one and see for yourself. P2 is mor durable than any optical disc or tape format..as there are no moving parts to wear out (other than DV..but c'mon....whos' shooting that with this camera?)

Go research this site..there are plenty of threads and info about this camera.
 
Dosn't really answer my question does it, I'm not talking about formats, I'm talking about overall build quality before you even plug a battery to it. Why should I have to hire one, surely there are a bunch of chaps around here that own one that could tell me.
 
Upon buying my HVX, I had the exact opposite impression. I had expected it to feel flimsy and plastic, from looking at the pictures online. Still, I'd mostly be using it in controlled areas, so I figured it wouldn't matter. I was pleased to discover that when I got it, however, it was very solid. Just heavy enough to fell steady, and the "plastic" parts seemed very durable.
 
Hi Steve:

Is my HVX-200 built as well as my Sony BVWD-600 was? No

Is the HVX-200 built well? Yes, for a $5,500.00 piece of gear, built very well. We just shot a TV pilot with three of them, running all over Northern California for a week in the rain, sun, wind and snow. No problems, no breakdowns.

OTOH, I was picking up some monitors at an authorized Panny service center last week and asked their Panny repair tech the exact same question that you are posing here. His reply was that he has already seen quite a few for service and repair but when I probed further, it all sounded like operators being heavy-handed and lunkheaded. For instance, he has seen two with the XLR cable ports ripped out. Okay, what kind of stress was present on the XLR cable to actually rip the port out of the camera body?

He said he has had one with the LCD monitor ripped off. Again, seems like abuse to me, it didn't fall off.

He has seen two also with the handle on top cracked and a few with the tape door ripped off by the cloth handle. Once again, sounds like klutzy operators to me.

I also have a DVX-100A and I cannot imagine anything on it breaking unless I was abusive. Ever since I professionally raced motocross growing up and had to wrench for myself, I have always thought it is incredibly stupid to buy expensive gear and abuse it. Some people are different (my brother for one) and just abuse stuff and don't take care of it.

Any camcorder, no matter the price, will break when dropped, sat on, or something is ripped from it.

The HVX is better in build than a consumer camera, not as good as a broadcast camera, it's about what I expected. Since I baby my gear and really mantain it well, I have little to worry about. We did a shoot last year with three of our DVX-100A's and were caught in a sandstorm in the desert. Those cameras, even after cleaning and service, will never be the same. The zoom and focus rings are still "crunchy" and the lenses also ended up with some minor pitting. Oh well, we should have had protective gear but we weren't planning on being caught in a sandstorm, it's nobody's fault but our own.

You sound as if you may be happier with a more rugged camcorder but I think anything that you buy that will be more rugged will cost at least double to triple the price of the HVX.

Best,

Dan
 
The only weak link, (for normal people, not idiots), would be the LCD monitor. But that is the same for any camera with an LCD sticking out. Panasonic wisely gave it some play though.
So in other words, if you don't do something stupid, we've found it to be built pretty darned solid.
Shlt happens, but the HVX is NOT built poorly.
Don't forget a clear lens and a hard case though! JMHO.
 
Steve55 said:
Okay, not really a technical question, but this appears to be the best place to post this.

I am about to buy a HVX200 to use in a production, well at least I was until a couple of people in the UK have told me about the terrible build quality of the HVX200. My internet research has come up with the overall suggestion that the image quality produced by the HVX200 is better than Z1 and people are very impressed overall. However, after speaking to a few people here who have had their hands on one, I’ve been told it feels very flimsy and very very plasticky indeed. This concerns me a little as I really don’t want to have to handle a camcorder with ‘kid gloves’ and I don’t want to have to worry about cheap plastic bits breaking off in the field.

So, is the HVX200 built in such a way that it really should not be taken out of the house. Is it poorly built and is it likely to break in the hands of a professional lighting cameraman for example?

Not meaning to stir up a hornets nest here as it is a Panny site, it is a question out of genuine concern. In the past I’ve had my hands on a DVX100 and I personally felt that it was very poorly built indeed, in fact I cracked the base of the loaner one I had just by putting it down on a flat concrete surface, in a bit of a hurry admittedly, but this is bad in my opinion.
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No, problem. I understand your concern. You should have no worries as the HVX is designed very well. Solid, for what it is. It's funny because I was also thinking of the military excerises that another film maker had posted and how his HVX went through some intense situations.
 
Steve55 said:
CMessineo, see what you mean about the link, thanks for that, I'm convinced.
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Cool. I'm sure you will like the camera.

TedRR said:
The only weak link, (for normal people, not idiots), would be the LCD monitor. But that is the same for any camera with an LCD sticking out. Panasonic wisely gave it some play though.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing an early demonstration of the HVX at the Javitz Center in NYC and I could swear that on the prototype the lcd swung a full 180 degrees and went flush against the front of the camera (just in case). At least that's the way I remember it, I could be wrong though. :huh:

Chris
 
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