Best 2nd camcorder to a DVX100B?

T

Tobus

Active member
The DVX is great (though I don't have a telephoto lens, is that why I can't focus while all the way zoomed in objects ~1 ft away? I've been meaning to look into that...), but it's too heavy to carry around all the time.

I'd like to get a crazy-lightweight camera that I can literally bring everywhere and film spur of the moment. I was looking at an HV20, which weighs 1.2 lbs to the DVX's 4+, but I don't really need HD for YouTube (and the harddrive space required would be bad), so I was thinking I'd just capture in SD...?

Or! The GS500 - 3CCD's and ~$700 price tag max. It weighs 1.5 pounds, and the video quality looks pretty good. The manual features lack supposedly compared to the GS400, but the GS400 has a widespread severe problem with some of the mechanics, so I' m staying away from it. It's also over $1k.

The GS80 is crazy cheap - I could get it for $180ish - but the quality is also crazy bad. But! It also weighs .99 lbs.

Does capturing in SD on the HV20 compare to the GS500? I think the GS500 probably picks up better colors... but I hear the battery life is lacking.

Sorry if this was confusing - let me know if you got anything from it! :)
 
One of my buddies has the GS500 and I think the picture is amazing. Most of the other footage on my computer is from a GL1 and the GS footage kills it. Yes, the camera lacks manual features but for a lightweight, handheld.. I think it works great. I've worked with some of the other GS models and the 500 is my favorite by far. He has two batteries and we've yet to have any problems with running out of power. Just my .02.
 
Awesome! Thanks for the comment. I hear good things about the GS as well. Sounds perfect. It's like 1.5 lbs right? Seems like it'd feel light. I want it.
 
I think the DVC30 or whatever that like mini DVX is is a pretty dope camera. Also look into the Canon Elura series (the higher end models). They are AWESOME for a small, carry around camera. Love those things so much!
 
Dope? Never heard of a Dope Camera. Maybe that is the new Dope100b I heard about. I saw a Mini-Dope for sale also.
 
I have the GS500 and love it. It likes a lot of light but with proper lighting the picture quality is just amazing. I own both a DVX and HVX but do not hesitate to use the little GS under good light, especially outdoors. In broad daylight you can't tell the difference between it and the DVX.
 
Sweet! Oh man, also, my DVX has a scratch on the lens (even though I did have a glass lens guard on top o fit, no idea when or how it happened), and I asked around for a pricecheck on replacing the lens, they said it'd be cheaper to sell my DVX on eBay saying it had a little scratch, then buy a new one.

Wot de hell
 
Tobus said:
I was looking at an HV20, which weighs 1.2 lbs to the DVX's 4+, but I don't really need HD for YouTube (and the harddrive space required would be bad), so I was thinking I'd just capture in SD...?
Click to expand...

if you are going to work in sd then yeah, capture in sd or capture then compress. BUT just so you know HDV footage doesn't really take up any more space then normal DV.

If I were you I would go for the HV20 becaue it has 24p.
 
It doesn't take up more footage than normal DV? I thought HDV took like a gig per minute of footage or something..? I just don't have too much HD space (though I could always capture onto an external...).
 
Tobus said:
It doesn't take up more footage than normal DV? I thought HDV took like a gig per minute of footage or something..? I just don't have too much HD space (though I could always capture onto an external...).
Click to expand...

HDV shot on a miniDV tape is at the most 25mb/s, the same data rate as DV.
Just think of it this way, if you can fit an hour of HDV on a 60min DV tape then it's taking up the same amount of space.
 
I gotcha. I thought the file size increase came when I'd capture it as HDV. If there's really no difference in file size, I'm all for it! I was just wanting to have as good quality in as little HD space as possible, so I could burn most of the raw footage I use to DVD.

Should I just sell my DVX and tweak my HV20 with the extra money (with a Breve.. whatever)? I know the mic won't be as good... I have an ME66 on the DVX, and the HV20 doesn't have XLR... hm.

This looks really good - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACVZp-UMD0Y
 
I like my DVX100B, but I wouldn't mind parting with it to improve an HV20 (or whatever I end up getting), but I hear the only boom mics compatible with the HV20 are iffy.
 
i wouldn't downgrade. If you are looking for a 2nd camera for live events or just a back up camera go with the HV20 or another DVX. Don't get rid of your DVX for an HV20. Not a good move IMO.
 
Any idea what it might cost to get a DVX lens repaired? It's got a scratch about 1 cm long... :( I usually don't see it in the shot, but sometimes it shows.

Also - I'm unable to zoom way in and focus on things like... a cell phone. What would fix that? A different lens?
 
not sure how much it would cost, depends on how deep the scratch is I guess. Most likely you would be better off selling it and getting a new one. Would be a good idea for you to buy a protective filter to prevent your lens from getting scratched.

Your focus is probably just normal. If you need to focus in on small items to fill the screen you will need a macro lens adapter.

Lastly, in the future you may want to start a different thread for questions like this.
 
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Hahah, true. Thanks.

I forget if this was answered also, but on the HV-20 subject - if I capture HDV onto my harddrive, will it be about the same size as the video from my DVX, or much bigger? I usually store my raw video files on DVD, but with HDV I was thinking that wouldn't be possible.
 
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