To buy or not to buy a HVX200

G

Green Shamrock

New member
This is my first post to DVXUser so apologises for any erros. I've worked/played with 8mm and 16mm for years and have now sold all gear. Now fairly stressed listening to conflicting advice from sales agents. Have it down to Sony HVR-Z7E or the Panasonic HVX200. I much prefer the look and feel of the HVX200 but hardly a sound reason for choosing. My main concern is workflow. Is P2 here to stay and does it make sense for a sole operator like me to have a Laptop with me to offload P2 to an external drive. All sounds messy and cumbersome eg while I'm transferring P2 to external drive, whose watching the camera? Also the Duel adaptors for PCMC1A slot to Expresscard to allow use with a newish Laptop seem to get a very mixed press? Any help at all will be really welcome. Best wishes from Ireland.
 
In this forum, I think you're going to see an overwhelming bias toward the HVX200, so it might not be the best place to ask :) . After all, most of us posting in this section own it or plan to buy it.

RE: being a solo operator - what kind of recording are you doing? Weddings? Sports? Commercials? I would assume weddings or something similiar, but you mention using 8mm and 16mm - who watched the camera while you changed and loaded new mags for 16mm? The p2 workflow is not all that dissimilar.

Many folks have been able to utilize the HVX for long-form events by using a Firestore, for example. Two 32GB cards will give you over 4 hours of record time in SD mode too, and that should cover most long events. And 64GB cards are coming later this year.

You can read plenty about the disadvantages of HDV, so I won't get into it here. My $.02 is that if you make the jump to the HVX and P2, you won't ever want to use tape again.
 
You know I love P2. I use a single 16 gig card and it is so simple. I shoot 17 min of 1080P and quickly hook my usb cable to the HVX, it pops up on my laptop as a folder. I drag the footage to my desktop and in about 8-12 min Im ready to shoot again on the same card. Buy 2 16 gig cards and you can hot swap them with out ever stopping shooting because you get more record time than it takes to offload a filled card.

Besides that, you dont have to worry ever again about dropped frames in offloading like you do with tape.

Another great feature is being able to instantly view your shots regardless of what order they were shot in.

Thats only part of the reason I love P2.
 
robertwerden said:
You know I love P2. I use a single 16 gig card and it is so simple. I shoot 17 min of 1080P and quickly hook my usb cable to the HVX, it pops up on my laptop as a folder. I drag the footage to my desktop and in about 8-12 min Im ready to shoot again on the same card. Buy 2 16 gig cards and you can hot swap them with out ever stopping shooting because you get more record time than it takes to offload a filled card.

Besides that, you dont have to worry ever again about dropped frames in offloading like you do with tape.

Another great feature is being able to instantly view your shots regardless of what order they were shot in.
Click to expand...

Think I'll go git me anotha P2 card.
 
I believe all of us HVX200 users came from tape.

For me at least, I would never go back.

Two 16 GB cards shooting 720/24pn will hold 84 minutes. 32 GB cards are available, and 64 GB cards will soon be available.

Do the math.

And remember the time it takes to ingest tape and the need for a deck to it.
 
I was skeptical myself of P2, fearing lost data and that, but once that initial caveat proved a non-issue, I've really come to embrace the format. No waits for digitizing and all the clips already being organized has saved me countless hours of transferring, really allowing me to get the most out of my time. The MiniDV tape option also provides a familiar cushion should you be in a pinch and need to keep the camera rolling for audio or other purposes. The best part is that the cameras will age well, as it already has in the last two years. As digital storage mediums catch up with the HD technology, cameras like this will only seem more enticing. Cheaper prices for cards, more storage and better systems to edit your raw footage on. The HVX is amazing now, and as far as I can see, it's only getting better.
 
Green Shamrock said:
Is P2 here to stay
Click to expand...
Panasonic's transitioning their entire lineup to go solid-state. They're currently capturing about 80% of the broadcast market, all P2. P2 is way here to stay.

and does it make sense for a sole operator like me to have a Laptop with me to offload P2 to an external drive.
Click to expand...
Do you even have to? With two 16GB cards you'll have 85 minutes of recording time in-camera. How much footage do you plan on shooting per day? I rarely ever have to offload in the field anymore. If you need more recording time, get 32GB cards instead of 16's; two 32's would give you over three hours of continuous recording time without swapping. If that's not enough, the 64's are coming out this year and that'll give you over six hours of continuous recording in-camera, with no swapping. Swapping and field offloading -- that's old school, and is becoming less and less relevant in today's P2 world.

If you do need to offload, it takes about 5 seconds using P2 Genie, and about 20 seconds using P2CMS. Plug in the card, select the files, say "export" and then walk away. It's really no big deal.

Also the Duel adaptors for PCMC1A slot to Expresscard to allow use with a newish Laptop seem to get a very mixed press?
Click to expand...
Screw that, just get a laptop with a PCMCIA slot. Lots and lots of them are available, including from some of the best brands like Lenovo. A cheap Windows laptop with a PCMCIA slot makes for the most cost-efficient, best transfer device you could hope for.
 
Screw that, just get a laptop with a PCMCIA slot. Lots and lots of them are available, including from some of the best brands like Lenovo. A cheap Windows laptop with a PCMCIA slot makes for the most cost-efficient, best transfer device you could hope for.
Click to expand...


On this, since i ordered 3 hvx200 cameras, I needed a fast way to transfer to my hard drives, so we went out and got ourselves 3 $399 laptops that actually got pcmcia slot on it, and it works wonder. we almost got our workflow down to the tee...

I am also one of those who will not wanting to use tape anymore when tapeless is really fast and easy for me...
 
i extensively tested the sony model and the hvx. the choice was HANDS DOWN hvx ALL THE WAY. there are about a dozen reasons that i prefer the hvx. the two most important were that the dvcprohd codec is WAY easier to work with (and holds up better while shooting) and the P2 workflow is SOOOOO much more efficient than tape.
 
Really keen to know the other reasons ? Also as worklfow is what worries me, can I ask do off load from P2 to PC or Mac ? A lot of advice suggests how easy it all is, but I understand a lot relies on whether files transferred via USB or PCMC1A slot. All the new Laptops here mainly have Express slots and most sites reports endless problems trying to use adaptors be it cable or plug-in? Have you any experience of ? Appreciate any advice ? Mike
 
When you say buy a Laptop with PCMC1A, most makes in Ireland and UK only have Express slot, but that aside, is you advice to just have a Laptop exclusively for file transfers ie a vehicle to get the files say to an external drive or to use the Laptop for editing ie a high spec machine ?
Thanks, Mike
 
i keep my old mac laptop (g4 17" powerbook) around for dumping p2 contents. also works just fine for field editing.

p2/fcp workflow is super simple. its literally about the same as using an external hard drive. the camera (connected via firewire) shows up on desktop. drag the contents to your hard drive and edit as you normally would - BUT you get to skip the pain of traditional log and capture!
 
Green Shamrock said:
When you say buy a Laptop with PCMC1A, most makes in Ireland and UK only have Express slot
Click to expand...
Well, the biggest brands in the world have to be there somewhere, right? Sony, Lenovo, Dell, and Panasonic Toughbooks all have regular PCMCIA slots.

is your advice to just have a Laptop exclusively for file transfers ie a vehicle to get the files say to an external drive or to use the Laptop for editing ie a high spec machine ?
Click to expand...
Either way. If you're a Mac user, I say buy a $399 laptop and use it for offloading to an external drive, which you can then plug into your Mac and edit.

If you're a windows user, you can get a pretty powerful 2.4GHz dual-core system with both ExpressCard and PCMCIA slots and WinXP Pro SP2 and a few gigs of ram and a decent 160GB hard disk that runs very well, for about US$1000 (check out the Lenovo R61 series).
 
Green Shamrock said:
All the new Laptops here mainly have Express slots and most sites reports endless problems trying to use adaptors be it cable or plug-in?
Click to expand...
Well, you can either buy into trouble, or you can avoid trouble - your choice. I prefer to avoid it.

An inexpensive Windows laptop with a PCMCIA slot is all you need, and will avoid *all* difficulties. If you insist on using a Macbook Pro, that means having to have an adapter, and some people report that working fine and others have issues.

Or, if you insist on getting a windows laptop without the PCMCIA slot, that means using an adapter too (addonics or Duel). Same issue applies.

So you have three choices:
1) Get a laptop without the slot, and have to buy an adapter, and wrangle more gear and deal with drivers and firmware and all sorts of hassle, or

2) Get a laptop without the slot, and get a Panasonic P2 reader (which range from about $1600 to $2000), and have no hassles with compatibility, but still spend more and carry around more gear, or

3) just get a laptop with the slot in the first place and avoid all pain.

I vote for #3.
 
Green Shamrock said:
This is my first post to DVXUser so apologises for any erros. I've worked/played with 8mm and 16mm for years and have now sold all gear. Now fairly stressed listening to conflicting advice from sales agents. Have it down to Sony HVR-Z7E or the Panasonic HVX200. I much prefer the look and feel of the HVX200 but hardly a sound reason for choosing. My main concern is workflow. Is P2 here to stay and does it make sense for a sole operator like me to have a Laptop with me to offload P2 to an external drive. All sounds messy and cumbersome eg while I'm transferring P2 to external drive, whose watching the camera? Also the Duel adaptors for PCMC1A slot to Expresscard to allow use with a newish Laptop seem to get a very mixed press? Any help at all will be really welcome. Best wishes from Ireland.
Click to expand...

The whole P2 transfer process sounds a little scary before you've done it, but it's really not a big deal. It's actually less of a pain than capturing tape. Also, if you can afford it just get a couple of 32GB cards. 170 minutes of record time @ 720p/n. (both cards)
 
doondoon said:
The whole P2 transfer process sounds a little scary before you've done it, but it's really not a big deal.
Click to expand...

I agree. After 30 years of comfort with the tape workflow, I actually laughed at the NAB Panasonic booth when I saw this "funky idea". :)
Two years later I bought into thier "funky idea" and love the workflow.

Of course, you CAN get more than 2 gig cards now. Maybe that was what made me laugh at the show. Yeh, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)
 
Now I cringe every time a client asks me to use tape. Think of the total amount of time you'll get back, not having to do realtime capture and log!
 
yeah - don't ever send me back to tape... it was a dark dark time... ;)
I bought my HVX last year... i went through all the same thoughts you are now... Is there something better out there.. is there something better coming up??

honestly? yes - there always will be something better on the horizon.
I felt alot better with my decision when I asked myself a different question. Does it do what I want it to do? My answer. Yes. I've not regretted buying my panny. I adore it.

Sure, a little way down the line, I'll upgrade again, but for now, I'm over the moon.
Now... how the hell do I make it pay for itself!! ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top