Should I buy a DVX-100b

I love the dvx camera but I would still go another way mainly due to my expierince with panasonic. If you have an accident with the dvx you might have to wait about 4 months till you get it back. Their customer service is horrible. I feel as if they discontinued it even though it's still being sold. Had a problem with my 16x9 rear lense. Till now I have been told they would call me when the glass would be available and nothing. They even sent me the wrong part. If I knew about this sooner I would have went enywhere but not panisonic. From what I saw on other forums I am not the only one. You don't just buy the product you buy the warentee. If the warentee stinks then go elsewhere. Just my two cents.
 
i wouldn't buy a new dvx100b. you can get a used dvx100a for around $2000, or a new xha1 for $3250 after rebate. there will always be new cameras coming out, so i guess it depends on how urgently you need to start shooting.
 
If I had the money, I would probably lean towards the A1. The HD capabilities make this camcorder more future proof.

The DVX, which I will sooner or later purchase (when my scammer refunds my money) is a budget SD camcorder with stunning quality.

I started out with a AG-DVC30, the little brother of the DVX, it produced decent quality footage, but not that impressive. I've decided to move up to a DVX for now. Once I get a solid job, and I start raking in some $$, I'll think about HD.

Let's not forget, just about any camcorder can be used to make a feature film. Just cuz one person has a $20k camcorder doesn't mean his film is better then a person who shot with a $2k camcorder.
 
Eh. Forget about HD. just use plug-ins.
Or.
Spend the extra extra grand on one of those nifty SLR lens attachments and blow everyone with an HD camera away. Yippy!
 
DVX = 4:3, XHA1 = 16:9. Make the DVX shoot proper 16:9 and suddenly it costs exactly the same as the XHA1, only it can't do HD.

And I think the audio sucks on both cameras; it's a lot more realistic to get good audio with separate gear that's not recording onto video tape.
 
I was looking at the prosumer hdvs, but the lack of manuel controls will kill ya. It may have a hd image, but it's not like it's that great. Would you rather have amazing SD cam with complete manuel control or a hdv cam that is ment for Uncle Joe to shoot your cousins soccer games and then watch em on his hd tv.
 
I say, whatever you buy, shoot widescreen. I am saying this as a viewer. Does not have to be HD, but must be widescreen.
SPZ said:
Can't afford HD? Shoot HD, than do a downconversion to Mini-DV when you stream trough firewire! You keep the HD master untill you have the budget for a capable edit computer.
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What software allows creating DV timeline with effects, transitions et all, then saving this project, then applying project settings to reimported HDV footage? This would be a great workflow if the only thing that has to be done is simply reimporting in HDV and building using existing timeline.
DerrickTempleton said:
DVX = 4:3, XHA1 = 16:9. Make the DVX shoot proper 16:9 and suddenly it costs exactly the same as the XHA1, only it can't do HD.
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Are you saying that DVX WS sucks without anamorphic adaptor? Like, really really sucks? That's a downer.
renegadewill said:
I was looking at the prosumer hdvs, but the lack of manuel controls will kill ya. It may have a hd image, but it's not like it's that great. Would you rather have amazing SD cam with complete manuel control or a hdv cam that is ment for Uncle Joe to shoot your cousins soccer games and then watch em on his hd tv.
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HV20 has sort of quasi-manual controls in terms that shutter and aperture/gain can be locked and can be assessed before/during shoot. But it is chitzy, just does not look as nice, big and professional as DVX :) Also I suppose that 72mm lens provides better low-level image and shallower DOF than 43mm lens.
 
I have a DVX100b and love it. Got the HV20 and can make it work w settings, etc. But the HDV workflow! Ugh, huge files, capture problems, slowwwww to do anything, must be 4x as slow. Just takes all the fun out unless I'm willing to blow $4k for a new system.
 
fake widescreen is not nearly as good as native 16x9. The field of view remains the same if you letterbox or squeeze, and your compositions will suffer. Widescreen compositions are more pleasing not just because there is black on the top and bottom, but because you can see further to the left and right! $2600 DVX+$800 16x9 adapter=$3200; $3200=XHA1. No contest.
 
DerrickTempleton said:
fake widescreen is not nearly as good as native 16x9. The field of view remains the same if you letterbox or squeeze, and your compositions will suffer. Widescreen compositions are more pleasing not just because there is black on the top and bottom, but because you can see further to the left and right! $2600 DVX+$800 16x9 adapter=$3200; $3200=XHA1. No contest.
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What do you mean by not good? 100b displays WS as WS, so composition is preserved. I am curious about actual video quality. Also, I do not see black bars on top and bottom, I see them on left and right :)
 
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