Is there any reason not to buy the panasonic hvx100a right now?

N

nlouvel

New member
Hi all,

I'm about to make the big investment - i'm going to buy the hvx200a so i can continue various freelance operations at an HD up to speed level. I spent a lot getting my mac ready for HD so now it's time for the cam. Does anybody know of any news that would make buying the panasonic hvx200a as of November 28, 2008 a bad idea. It's my favorite cam on the market now, i just wanted to make sure i wasn't missing any info on some technology coming out in a month or something like that.

Thank you very much,

Nick
 
Do you need the DV tape deck in the HVX? If you're only interested in HD, you might want to consider the HPX-170. It's a HD only version of the HVX and more. (It'll still record SD, but only to P2 cards)
 
The most important part of your question is missing. What are you making money with right now?

If you are still making money with SD, I would strongly consider the HVX 200A.
It is still the most versatile camera on the market. NO HDV! Any flavor of SD, i.e. 3X4 or 16X9. Any flavor of HD.

And as much as I dissed mini-dv, we paid for the HVX with jobs that came in once we had mini-dv.

We live in a world of producers needing a multitude of recording formats. As a freelancer you can't afford to turn down a job just because you can't record in the format that they need. And too often renting is a pain.

As I entered the HD world a couple years back, the HVX with all it's capabilities was a no brainer. We now own 2 and I doubt I'll be needing anything else for years to come.

But if you must have the best low light camera available or will never need mini-dv, there are other options. Just don't go HDV! :shocked:
 
THANKS -- I'm off to B&H

THANKS -- I'm off to B&H

Thank you both for the responses. I think it's clear that the hvx200A is a good investment right now and is not about to be obsolete. I need to finish a project i started with the 100B so I definitely need the mini-DV format. I'm off to B&H in a few minutes to make the jump.

Nick
 
Another thing to consider, a lot of people are not aware that the HPX170 records to DV format (on P2 cards). I recently shot a multi-camera job with my DVX100A, and a car mounted small camera and used my HPX170 as the third camera angle. There was absolutely no reason to shoot HD so I shot DV using the 170. Got it home, hooked up to my old DSR-40 and ran off all of the footage to Mini DV tapes. Also, if you have an old DV recorder or camcorder with FW input, you can also use that to record the 170's output directly to a DV deck.

The reason I say is that is because the 170 has a few key features that the 200A lacks so you should consider carefully.

170 features the 200A doesn't have...
SDI output
Waveform/Vectorscope
wider lens
six pin Firewire
Metal headphone jack (I am not positive but doesn't the 200A still have the crappy plastic one like the 200?)
Much better component analog connection
weighs less by 1.2 lbs

There are more reasons, but off of the top of my head, these are a few.

Also, most people don't know but in DV mode, the P2 cards gave me 8GB = 33 minutes and 16GB cards = 66 minutes.

200A is a great camera but you should make an informed decision.

Dan
 
I would still prefer the built in DV Deck. But those are good points to help people make informed decisions. Thanks Dan.
 
i don't like that stupid stick control.. that's the only think keeping me from getting the HPX
 
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