considering purchasing a HVX200. how much will i spend? what are necessities

P

PIMP

Well-known member
I am considering purchasing the HVX200

I realize its expensive. But i want to know how much i am looking to spend. Someone told me at least 10 thousand. I am looking to spend the least i can. What can i get away with. I just want to buy the camera and have the ability to transfer the footage into my computer. Probably the external hardrive to store the info from the cards is a necessity.

thanks

pimp
 
It is hard to tell you how much you are going to spend without knowing what you will be using the camera for. Will you be needed a tele extender, a wide angle adapter, or a shoulder mount, tripod, 35mm lens adapter, how many cards you will need for your purposes? Will you need lights? Sound? ect.

The bill can certainly add up to 10 thousand or beyond, depending on what you will be using it for.
 
If that's all you want, an HVX with a single 4gb P2 card would get the job done. I'd strongly recommend two cards though.
 
I just want the camera and probably two cards. And the ability to swap those two cards for shooting longer periods of time then 20 minutes. Do i need to do anything to my computer to be able to edit the hd footage. I own a mac G5 and i use final cut pro hd. do i need anything else?

so barry or anyone. can i get away with just buying the camera plus two cards, and external hardrive?

thank s

pimp
 
PIMP said:
I just want the camera and probably two cards. And the ability to swap those two cards for shooting longer periods of time then 20 minutes. Do i need to do anything to my computer to be able to edit the hd footage. I own a mac G5 and i use final cut pro hd. do i need anything else?

so barry or anyone. can i get away with just buying the camera plus two cards, and external hardrive?

thank s

pimp
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forgot to mention i am using the camera to shoot a film. i own two dvx 100s at the moment. But this damn HD technology is taking over the world

pimp
 
PIMP said:
I just want the camera and probably two cards. And the ability to swap those two cards for shooting longer periods of time then 20 minutes. Do i need to do anything to my computer to be able to edit the hd footage. I own a mac G5 and i use final cut pro hd. do i need anything else?

so barry or anyone. can i get away with just buying the camera plus two cards, and external hardrive?

thank s

pimp
Click to expand...

If you're talking about keeping two 4GB cards in for twenty minutes of record time (720pn), AND being able to swap out, you might need another 4GB card.
 
Just to clarify. To start shooting right now and editing footage what would i need. Now tell me if i am wrong.

1) the camera (without a doubt)
2) 2 8gb cards
3)upgrading final cut
4) external hardrive

thanks

PIMP
 
If you are shooting a film with ample downtime between set-ups.. then you'd be cool with just transfering to a laptop with a PCMCIA slot.. and then keeping a backup on an external drive and also on DVD.

If you were more of a run and gun type guy shooting all over the place in harsh locations.. then I'd recommend the P2store. I love mine and it's definitely more designed for location than a laptop.



I think you'd be able to put together everything you NEED for 8k. Now getting everything you want would easily put you over that.... Besides the Cam and 2 cards, I'd recommend 4 batteries, 4 chargers, and then the other necessary gear...

Do you have mikes and lighting and tripods and all that jack already?
 
Go with the 4 gig cards. Much cheaper.. Easier to archive and for a feature, the run times won't get in the way too much...



I went with 1 card for a while.. was a pain, but I had to save for the 2nd card and the P2store....
 
I was told you need that. Because say i am filming something and after say ten minutes the card is full. How do is discard that footage into something to clear the card, so i can fill it up again with more footage? If i dont need the external hardrive i will be happier, seeing as how that is money saved.

thanks

o.r
 
David S. said:
That drive has to be powered. A buspowered drive won't work.

Is that your understanding?
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I dont know if i understand. You probably know more then i do. I want to film for a longer amount of time. If the cards run out of space after ten twenty minute times. What will i need to unload the footage so i can start recording with an empty card? I keep hearing about P2STORE. Is that my option?

thanks

o.r
 
If you have a G5 and dont mind having the camera tied up while you download the p2 you can do it with just a 4pin to 6pin firewire cable (which you will have to supply yourself, but I assume you already have since you own the dvx). 2 8gb cards at 720 24pn would give you 40 minutes of recording time before you have to dump to the G5.

But again this doesnt really answer the question of extra gear, are you shooting the film or do you have a DP? is the lighting package already in a separate budget or is it part of the camera package? Do you need that "film" look and shallow DOF that something like the redrock m2 35 mm lens adapter gives you? What about tripod?

You can certainly get away with the camera 2 cards and an external harddrive (though you might need more than one) but wether its optimal or not depends on your film's budget.

Personally I'd say if you dont have sound/lighting equipment instead of spending the roughly $7500 on a HVX (~$5500) and 2 8gb sticks (~$2000) (I know those are slightly higher than the best deals you can get but this is an estimate) and use it on lighting and grip and sound equipment for your film.

I'm not sure if this helps, I've just been seeing alot of posts that focus so much on the camera while forgetting about all the other facets of a film. lighting/grip equipment (dollies, flags, gels, c-stands, ect) and sound are essential for adding production value to a film that simply purchasing a better camera will never achieve.
 
to download the footage you have 4 options basically.
1st you can have a PCMCIA laptop (such as a g4powerbook) and slip the card into that and download straight to that laptop (And the nthe an external hd and DVD)

2nd you can buy p2store which is basically as I understand allows you to plug cardrs to it directly and copy them to its internal harddrive

3rd if you have a firewire (or usb2.0 i believe) harddrive with an external powersuply (as in it plugs into the wall as in order to turn on, it doesnt get power via the firewire or usb cable) I believe you can plug it directly to the HVX200 and have it dubbed directly to that harddrive.

4th You cna buy a Firestore 100 which would allow you to record directly to a firewire hardrive of i believe 100gigs? though it could as well be 250, not sure, but you can't record in native mode this way (So no slow motion) the upside is you get a lot more storage space non stop without having to stop filming. I'm sure others can fill you in on this option since I dont own a firestore and can't tell you all the ups and downs associated with this option.
 
Barry_Green said:
P2 Store is an option, but a laptop computer is usually the much better choice and far less expensive.
Click to expand...

what kind of laptop is acceptable?

i have a toshiba laptop
 
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