Best HVX200 picture upgrade for the money?

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nick_m_777

Member
I currently have an older model HVX200 (HVX200P) and am making some equipment upgrades before my next documentary. Just looking for suggestions or comments from others with more experience than I on how I can improve these area with the most "bang for the buck"...

AUDIO
I'm significantly upgrading my audio setup. Have always used just the lavs that came with my Sennheiser EW100 wireless setups for interviews. So I'm thinking I'll step up to an excellent shotgun (like the Neumann KMR81i) and Tram TR-50 lav's as backup for interviews (hard wired whenever possible, wireless when necessary) running into Sound Devices 302 mixer. My shotgun operator is not very experienced, hence backing it up with lavs. Suggestions/comments?

IMAGE
But I also wanted to do something to upgrade my image quality. I understand that lighting is a major make or brake factor.

LIGHTING
I have been lacking in this area due to budget and experience (basically a couple Lowel Pro lights, the smallest Rifa, and some reflectors). So I will be upgrading lights and I'm trying to continually improve with my lighting technique. Will probably get a fresnel (650 watt?) and maybe an omni? More than that? Suggestions/comments?

CAMERA
I've been out of touch with the camera market since my HVX200 arrived. So I've been looking around and find that it looks like they improved some of the areas I've had concerns with--noise and low light performance (but especially the noise) in the HVX200a. I also see the intro of the HPX170 (essentially a tapeless HVX200a with some nice pro features) and the HPX300 (full res chips, more pro features, improved sharpness and less noise). I have also been thinking long and hard about a 35mm adapter as I have had such a difficult time getting that shallower DOF with my stock HVX200.

Here's my question...(If you were in my shoes) would I get the most bang for my buck in improving the image by going with a 35mm adapter on my current older model HVX200, or by going with the HPX170 without the adapter (no budget for both right now). Or do you think I should just save my $$ until I could go with the HPX300? Or just stick with what I have and put a ton of $$ in lights & accessories?

Many thanks for your suggestions!
 
the answer to ALL your questions hinge on another question. how much money do you have to spend?

a 35mm adapter isnt going to improve your image. just give you another artistic option. and an adapter isnt just about the adapter, you'll need baseplate and rails, follow focus, lens suport, maybe a mattebox. not to mention a small squadron of lenses. you wont get an even bare-bones functioning adapter setup for less than about $3500 MINIMUM.

i have the sennheiser evolution set, but i upgraded the mics to countryman B3s. i like them fine. sound decent and have never let me down...

as far as lighting goes. ive become a big fan of florescent lights. when budget allows i rent a setup of 2 kinoflo diva 400 and one diva 200. they are fully dimmable and work great for a basic 3 point interview kit. but good florescents are expen$ive. that 3 piece kit is nearly $4000. it rents for about $350

if youre budget constrained, i keep a cheap britek kit around. it has 3 heads, 3 stands and 3 softboxes. the lighting quality is decent and selectably dimmable. the downsides are that they are a pain in the ass to bulb and build the softboxes on set and the boom stand SUCKS. you will also have to buy about $200 worth of gels to adapt the daylight bulbs to tungsten (and a tube to carry them in. so that full kit ends up just under a grand.

you might be well advised to just get a couple arri 300/600s and a bunch of scrims and flags to add to your existing arsenal. i wouldnt go lowell tota or omni. i just find them cumbersome and hard to control. AND you should look into a source4 or two, and a few patterns and a couple of lenses. those are SUPERB for effect lighting. and they are relatively cheap.

as far as the camera upgrade goes, there is a HUGE price jump from a 170/200a to a 300. if you can afford a 300, maybe you should hold out for one of the variations of the red scarlet. rumored to be coming out later this year...

for me, with the various red products and the DSLR buzz, i wouldnt drop money on a big ENG format camera (300) unless i was uber-confident i could make my money back on it within a year.
 
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Thanks WGZN! Good info. I do realize that a 35mm adapter with everything else will be min 3,500 but I do like that look. Maybe not as extreme as some use it nor as often but it is nice to have that option. But that is a lot of money and could almost buy a new HPX170.

Also, thanks for the heads up about the RED Scarlet. Any ideas on what price range it might be?
 
thanks for the heads up about the RED Scarlet. Any ideas on what price range it might be?
Click to expand...

its all speculation right now. last i heard i think the fixed lens version was slated for spring at under $4000 and the removable lens version later in the year, reasonably rigged for about $12k

but like i say, its all speculation and rumors for now. even when the red one first came out, it was about 6months or more before you could actually take delivery of it. so who knows.

go over to reduser.com. thats where the straightest dope will be found...

but back to your question. a lot of folks ask the same question and my typical advice is:
if you have BILLABLE work you can be doing right now. get the best camera you can truly AFFORD and get busy working. most even quasi-professional videographers can make back the cost of say an hpx170 in a matter of a few months (days in some cases)

you can give yourself ulcers always worrying about the next bigger better thing...
 
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