7d better for feature then hvx200?

P

PIMP

Well-known member
I ve managed to test out the 7d and i was amazed by its imagery. So my question is this. If you were to shoot a indie feature which camera would you choose the hvx200 with adaptor. Or the 7d? (and i know about the sound issues with the 7d)
 
hmm, well depends on your budget i guess.

But since i have super low budget im shooting with a DSLR (d90) and going to purcahse a seperate recorder for sound (h4n probably + a few boom mics later).

i mean the 7D is obviously cheaper, and smaller. You can probably get away with shooting in more places with the 7D because if your good at handheld people will just assume your snapping photos.

+ SD is way cheaper than P2 cards
 
If you have a good sound man I'd go with the 7D. Having the camera freed up from audio is a great advantage, and you will be able to save alot of time without having to light for a 160 ISO HVX with an adapter in addition to having extra room for gear in your van(s).

Theres some drawbacks of course, but with care the 7D is an amazing camera for a feature, I only wish I had one a year ago when I shot mine with an HVX/Brevis.
 
They are both great cameras and neither will disappoint.

If you already have the hvx200 + adapter then that's what you should shoot your indie film with because that is the tool you have mastered. But rent a 7D and compare the two to see which look and workflow you prefer for your film. If you've got lots of action, quick pans, etc then the hvx would probably be the better answer- the ccd and codec are more forgiving. If you've got the time to learn the 7D (and you're going to need it because it is tricky) then go for it. I've owned the hvx and its bulletproof- it produces a filmic look even without an adapter. We have two 7Ds now and they are turning out to be amazing pieces of equipment.

Whatever you decide, don't do anything without PERSONALLY trying them out first.

I demoed the JVC HD100 a few months ago for some people in Houston. The idea behind the camera is fantastic (drop & play in fcp on sdhc) however the overall execution was not up to par (poor lowlight among other things). Had I known these quirks without demoing the rig firsthand? No. I read several reviews of people singing praises for the camera but they barely mentioned the kung fu you have to master to get the camera to function in lowlight. I'm not saying the HD100 is bad, just not my cup of tee. Never buy before you try!

Story is what counts.

Ash
www.iniosante.com
 
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If you already have it in the budget for a sound guy and plan on syncing on post, I don't see why the 7D would be a problem.

But what kind of shots does the film call for?
 
One more thing I would consider in using the 7D is post. If you're into heavy CC, I'm not sure how well the 7D footy will hold up. I've been able to do some simple stuff, like applying a film curve, without any incident, but if you're someone who likes a lot of flexibility in post, you should test it first. I read one review that said the footage fell apart pretty quickly.

My last short, EVIE, was heavily colored, but it was shot on RED, which has insane resilience in post.

But I agree with the poster who said you're really going to have to make the decision from personal experience with both cams.
 
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Kinda depends what's most important- the HVX200 has a better/higher bandwidth codec. You'll notice this more in an HD comparison than on DVD or web. The HVX also has controls much more friendly to making movies than the 7D but the HVX200 cannot compete photographically out of the box/stock lens with the huge array of Canon optics. You'd have a spend a lot more not just for the camera, but for a 35mm adapter and for the cinema lenses to get a comparable looking image with the HVX. And that's why they cannot keep the 7Ds in stock..

Noah
 
....then I would suggest to shoot for the look "in cam" as much as you can. That's the cool thing about cameras like this. It doesn't shoot RAW for videos but it does have a tool you can use off camera to help with this. Sort of like how the guys who shot "Crank 2" went about it with the A1's. Different cams different types of workflow...that's all.
 
I would say go with the 7D. Double the bit rate of HDV which makes color grading really great. Extremely light sensitive, no need for adapters. More dynamic range, better skin color rendition. And just record sound the good ol fashion way.
 
I'd go hvx200a plus sgblade. the aliasing is really bad on the 7d and not good for a feature which i am assuming will be shown on the big screen?
Also the hvx200a is 4:2:2 which will fit any greenscreen needs nicely. It also has a really great film look to it when paired with an adapter.. check the trailor for this one that some dude shot with an hvx200+brevis.. you'd think it was film.. http://www.theon.no/index.php/Theon-Featured/the-cover.html

oh yeah, but what i'd really do before making a decision is to wait this month for Red's announcemenet for the scarlet release dates..
 
PaPa said:
I would say go with the 7D. Double the bit rate of HDV which makes color grading really great.
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I haven't used the 7D so I can't really provide an opinion, but just to make sure no one is mistaken -- the HVX is NOT an HDV camera. It records to DVCPro HD, which is 422 color, compared to the 420 color space of HDV and the 7D. This would suggest that the HVX footage might be better for substantial color correcting, although again I not used the 7D (yet).

Kevin
 
astigmatic said:
I'd go hvx200a plus sgblade. the aliasing is really bad on the 7d and not good for a feature which i am assuming will be shown on the big screen?
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While I agree with you somewhat on color correcting, I do disagree with you on aliasing and showing footage on the big screen. I haven't been able to detect any aliasing on my 7d.

I also used to shoot with an hvx and had a couple of my films screen at a film festival with a 2k projector. There were several other shorts shot on hdv cameras and the resolution difference was clear. Although my footage often had better colors, it simply wasn't as sharp. After shooting with the 7d, my hvx seems even less sharp.
 
kwoff said:
I haven't used the 7D so I can't really provide an opinion, but just to make sure no one is mistaken -- the HVX is NOT an HDV camera. It records to DVCPro HD, which is 422 color, compared to the 420 color space of HDV and the 7D. This would suggest that the HVX footage might be better for substantial color correcting, although again I not used the 7D (yet).

Kevin
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Sorry, wasn't trying to suggest that he HVX is HDV. Was simply saying that the color information is more than sufficient for even some decently heavy grading on the 7D.
 
dvollrath said:
While I agree with you somewhat on color correcting, I do disagree with you on aliasing and showing footage on the big screen. I haven't been able to detect any aliasing on my 7d.

I also used to shoot with an hvx and had a couple of my films screen at a film festival with a 2k projector. There were several other shorts shot on hdv cameras and the resolution difference was clear. Although my footage often had better colors, it simply wasn't as sharp. After shooting with the 7d, my hvx seems even less sharp.
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was that an hvx200 or 200a? the 200a is supposed to be sharper.. but if the 7d is sharper than the 200a I may indeed get one as a b-cam and lowl light cam.
 
astigmatic said:
was that an hvx200 or 200a? the 200a is supposed to be sharper.. but if the 7d is sharper than the 200a I may indeed get one as a b-cam and lowl light cam.
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It was just the 200 actually. I've shot with the hpx-170 which I believe has the same chip and everything as the A, which definitely makes it a bit sharper, but I still believe the 7d is more sharp. I mean we're still talking 1920X1080 vs. 1280X1080. I just shot my first test with the 7d and was blown away by the sharpness. You can download a full 1920X1080 version of it here: http://vimeo.com/6965575 (Should be to the lower right underneath the video statistics). All of the color stuff in that video was unfortunately shot in almost no light but the bathroom stuff definitely looked just as sharp in color though.
 
I would assume since i was told the 7d has better resolution then the ex1 that the 7d would be good for a feature. They used the ex1 a little on public enemies
 
PIMP said:
since i was told the 7d has better resolution then the ex1
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I don't believe that's true. It depends on whose charts you believe, but I'd say that the 7D is slightly inferior in terms of resolution to the EX-1. At best, it is on par.

The 7D experiences a great deal of chroma and luma artifacts resulting in the moire pattern and as well as aliasing issues.
 
I'm doing some VFX shots on footage shot with an HVX at night. The low light noise is horrible. If the project had used a 7D I don't think it would have been a big issue. I'll find out when my 7D shows up tomorrow. : )
 
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