A1 vs DVX100B in standard definition.

K

Krunko

Well-known member
In standard def, will the A1 give as good as or a better picture than the DVX100B? I'm going to be getting a camera soon. I'm wondering if I should get a new DVX100B or try to find a used A1 in my area. I've seen them for $2800 used. Is the overall image quality in standard definition as good on the A1? Will it achieve as much of a 'film look' in 24p? Thanks for all your help.]

-Chance
 
If you are sure you're going to strictly shoot SD go with the 100B. It's better in low light, got a great palette, great ergonomics, and an LCD that blows away the A1's. But are you really positive you'll never want to shoot in HD? If I didn't need to, I'd have held on to my dvx for sure, but hd is a reality, so I swapped my dvx for an A1.
 
I own an A1 and a DVX 100. While HD from the A1 is fantastic I have never quite got the same quality image in SD as I do from the DVX. I've shot SD in camera, shot HD and down converted in camera, shot HD and put it into an SD timeline but it never seems to look as good as the DVX footage. Thats not to say its bad by any means.

However, when I 'm doing a shoot for a customer wanting SD I always shoot with the DVX unless they want the ability to ungrade to HD at a later date.
 
The A1 shoots a sharp 16:9 SD picture in 24p mode that blows away the squeeze mode on the DVX. In 4:3 mode the DVX probably wins. Except for the low light thing and the nice zoom/focus control there's little reason to go for a DVX unless you aren't going to use HD ever.
 
Couple of Grabs. One DVX, one XH A1.

The DVX was at night with a lower shutter speed, so it may not be the best comparison.

DVX 30P Squeeze mode
DVXcopy.jpg




And the Canon SD 16:9
Canoncopy.jpg
 
You really need a day comparison and then a night comparison. The focus also needs to be crisp.

Here are two SD DVX100b shots from my movie Stricken. They have noise reduction on them to give them a smooth look so imagine they had some details smoothed out. Also we were shooting with the M2 adapter. With a Nikon 50mm lens F 2.8

Stef_Scared_copy.jpg


Stef_Mad_copy.jpg


Final_Frame_2_copy.jpg
 
Wow, the A1 Standard Def 16:9 looks awesome. I'm just shooting SD for this particular project...but what I'm noticing is that for the price of a new DVX100b I could probably look very hard and find a slightly used A1 for sale.

Also how does the warranty stuff work with Canon. Is it like the DVX where it only has a warranty when sold by an authorized dealer?

-chance
 
Also, do you think the A1 has worse low light performance than the HVX? I know the HVX doesn't do great in low light, just curious to whether it's similar or better than that.
 
i've owned the dvx 100b and i now own the canon a1 and i'll honestly tell you that my wife who knows very little about these cameras wondered why my canon sd footage looked so much sharper and nicer then my old dvx footage.for me image wise its no comparison
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top