Adam Wilt Review at DV Magazine Online

David Saraceno

David Saraceno

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Anyone interested in reading Adam's review should visit http://www.dv.com/ or buy the print edition. It may be necessary for you to register at their website in order to read the review.

One comment about variable frame rates: "simply too cool for words."

Major concern: "Coarse, low-res CCDs with noticeable aliasing."
 
<<<<Major concern: "Coarse, low-res CCDs with noticeable aliasing.">>>>

That's the strange problem that occurs when you sit one inch from a monitor; the images never quite look right. Can't understand why... Hmmmmm


Pappas
 
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Well done review for the most part. The one thing that kind of bugs me is how so much time is focused on the lower rez CCDs (which, from what I've seen end up producing just as much detail as a JVC HD100 with a standard lense) and describing the softness of the image but doesn't really talk as much about the joys of DVCPro HD over HDV. Really, as much as I initially was ticked at the cost of P2s, DVCPro recording is SO worth it and makes mini-DV or HDV impossible to go back to. I tried to help a friend color correction some HD100 footage and we ended up giving up and going with a pretty unpleasing image. The data simply wasn't there to mess with without causing everything to break up. On the other hand, I'm constantly amazed how far I can push my HVX200 footage in CC. It's really astounding.
 
Yeah, the HVX might not be the sharpest cranked up detailed camera, however it produces a more accurate tonal image though. More pixels doesn't mean better picture. The HVX has the best dynamic range/latitude, color, and gamma response of them all. With exception, the JVC HD100 is quite good too; However Mpeg-2 ( HDV ) is it's curse and not offering a 1080/24 over 60i as the HVX offers is not good either. You just can't beat DVCproHD 4:2:2 for under 10k.

The HVX could have offered more res ccd's, however there would be bitching how the dynamic range/latitude and highlight handling sucked then. The H1 suffers from this; 1/3 ccd's have there limitations when the pixel count climes, it's physics. I liked images I got from my XLH1. It produced an amazing large frame that if shot right was very good, however there was stuff I didn't like too.. There is no perfect camera either. All have their own issues, one must just choose the best for them.

The HVX was designed to have an overall balance of resolution-dynamic range-highlight control etc to achieve the best possible film-like response from a 1/3 ccd.



Pappas
 
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well said pappas, when people tend to review things, they sometimes miss out on what the manufacturer had in mind. The hvx in the right hands can produce pro results, end of story
 
From AWs conclusion on www.dv.com :
" (...) On the other hand, its HD pictures could be sharper, and as an image-quality freak I fret about aliasing—but see Panasonic's explanation at www.dvxuser.com as to why they went with the pixel counts they did, and remember that we've suffered aliasing on the Canon XL1 and Sony PD150, PD170, FX1, and Z1, and nobody besides me seems to mind much.

Baby VariCam or Big Brother DVX? Does it matter? Just pick a frame rate and a format, and go shoot it. That's freedom, isn't it?"

nuff said...
 
Pappas, I'd kill to see you write a comparison between the HVX200, XL H1, and the HD100. Part of the problem with a lot of the comparisons I've seen is they're based off one or two days of shooting in the exact same conditions and tend to try to make the cameras look like each other. This just strikes a sour note with me because I find that the footage these things produce are always pretty weak. I've seen the XLH1, HD100, and the HXV200 produce much better images than I saw from the various shootouts.

What I love about what you've done Pappas is that you spent a very good portion of time with each camera and got it to produce some of the best results it could. I think someone like you is in a much better position to write a good comparison article and I'm sure a lot of people who still haven't got cameras would love to read it.
 
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Every article, post, thread, buzz etc. I read, ear or see, gives me the reazon: I could not have a better HD cinema / Dv TV tool for what I have paid, $ 7k for one HVX200p and two 4 GB cards.

:love4: :dankk2: :)
 
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