A series of newbie questions!

T

troopercooper

Active member
Good evening all :) I've scanned the search function and not readily found answers to my questions, so please be gentle!

I am a newbie film maker currently bringing together cash monies for a fan-film project set in the universe of the Doom movie and computer games. But enough about that - we have camera questions to ask!

I want to buy a camera that will be used for this project as well as later projects, which I can learn on and learn all the nuances of and thus, theory has it, know how to use it at least semi-properly come the time the film reaches a state of preparedness for filming (which is expected to be around Autumn 2009). I was recommended the Sony Z1 or perhaps the Panasonic HVX200 as good mid-range cameras with fantastic picture quality - the HVX200 is currently the camera I am particularly interested in purchasing for the project.

So questions!

Do you think this is a necessarily good idea? Is the HVX200 the sort of camera you would let a newbie to film making play with?

Would I suffer, living in the UK, if I were to buy a cheaper HVX from the US, or would the only issue be the power supplies? The prices of second hand HVX200As can be significantly higher here, hence my question.

Is PAL/NTSC that big an issue for editting on computers from solid state media?

Any help would be greatly appreciated - thanks!

Peter
 
1. Several low-budget movies have been made with the HVX200. What matters most is not the camera, but how you use it. A true professional can make an HVX look like an F23 (or something like that).
2. I think that the only issue would be power--an easy workaround, but still, if you're paying $5000 USD for a camera, you'd want it to work with your power standard.
3. The fact that it's P2-based means that as long as your NLE supports DVCPRO HD (some do), and is NTSC/PAL switchable (almost all are), then it doesn't matter if you get an NTSC or PAL model. If I'm not mistaken, the PAL model shoots 25p while the NTSC model shoots 24p. While 24p may be your desired destination framerate, it's hard to work with--pulldown and all that. 25p can be slowed down by 4% to 24p, no problem. It all depends on what works for you.

Hope this helps!
 
Heya - thanks for the reply :)

Currently all I am trying to do is suss out options as the budget for this film will be tight, hence needing to probably buy second hand. Buying a power converter, for example, is an inconvenience that I can make without feeling too hassled.

The HVX definitely looks to be a great camera for the job I'll need it to do, and I could always look to rent a second for the shoots.

So to clarift point 3, the PAL HVX is both easier to work with and, having read a similar thread, records in a marginally better resolution?

I've still got a lot to learn on this stuff, so please bear with me :)
 
1. I'm also a newbie in the film making world and I'm getting an HVX200A--hopefully it was ordered yesterday, I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to working with it.

2. Based on the wording of your second question, I'm guessing you plan to buy a used camera? In that cause, sure--go for one from the U.S. Check the boards here and check E-Bay (but beware of scams on E-Bay--if you don't have experience with E-Bay, then don't let this be your first purchase!!). If, however, you're planning on buying a new camera, then just be aware that if you buy one from the U.S., it'll have a U.S. warranty which means you'll have to ship it back to a service center in the U.S. if it ever breaks.

3. Don't have enough experience to answer that one, sorry! :-)

On the issue of the HVX vs. the Z1--The biggest difference in cameras is the chroma sub-sampling. The HVX is 4:2:2 while the Z1 is 4:1:1. The Z1 is also an HDV codec while the HVX is DVCProHD. Do some wikipedia searches for chroma subsampling and digital video codecs to learn more about those differences. Based on numbers alone, I would go with the HVX any day of the week.

Good luck and enjoy your shooting!
 
troopercooper said:
So to clarift point 3, the PAL HVX is both easier to work with and, having read a similar thread, records in a marginally better resolution?
Click to expand...
For you, the PAL version would be easier to work with--especially if you're working in 1080 lines of resolution. If the NLE accepts DVCPRO HD, then working with 720/24p won't be that hard either. However, if you plan to use 1080p resolution, you'll have to muck around with a pulldown, as opposed to 720/24pN, which is why the PAL version would be easier for you.
Also, I don't see how the PAL version would have better resolution. PAL HD is 1920x1080, or 1280x720, just like NTSC, the only difference being framerates. You might have been thinking of standard-def PAL or NTSC. PAL has 576 lines of vertical resolution, while NTSC has 480.
 
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