Can someone please help me here

A

asr85

New member
Hi guys, great forum with some really talented filmakers!

I am after some assistance. I am buying my first 'serious' camera. I will be filmming docs and short films with the intent of being displayed at film festivals here in aus.

I have done alot, alot, ALOT of searching and finding. I have narrowed down what suits my current budget. The infamous DVX202be (PAL) or the Sony FX1E HDV. I am dismissing the PD170 and anything else.

My question is is it worth getting the FX1 so I can shoot HD. Is it that much better? I want to shoot filmic docs, but the i feel i might miss the boat with the DVX, and everyone going HD. Is it that important?

If there is any other camera around this price that i should get please mention it. Otherwise just tell me which camera of these to get.

Much appreciation in advance.

Al
 
ive seen many people like yourself ask this question and so have i and the response i always come across is: are your clients or viewers asking for hd? eventually we will all need to go hd but rite now the demand is not all that high so the window for sd is still there.
 
I was in your situation about 5 months ago. I went ahead and got the DVX100 and didn't make the leap to HD. Like the guy before said, the window is still open with SD. And assuming you don't have any other HD equipment, there's more money you have to invest.
 
For narrative films, a lot of people have reservations about the HDV cameras, due to quality. They are holding back jumping into HD until there is a workable intra-frame solution with good quality. For some people, the HVX is the solution.

However, if you are shooting docs, you probably need long runtimes anway, and the HVX might not be the thing for you, but one of the HDV cameras might do the trick. You can't overlook the convenience of miniDV tapes and long runtimes.

The DVX will certainly have a more filmlike look with better controls to achieve that end, but if you are shooting docs and want a reality feel, that may not even be a concern for you.
 
I think everyone on this forum, who is serious about investing in a pro camera (or pro-sumer camera), has been in your situation.

For me, the toss-up was between the Canon XL2, and the DVX100b. Back in August / September of this year, the HDX200 was just breaking through to the marketplace, and I was hesitant with the HD jump, as I am still so that wasn't even an option. I figure, let the industry work out the bugs first, then maybe I'll go HD. I think there is more of a market for higher-end camera phones, than there is for moderately priced HD cameras, so I'm holding off for at least a few years. That's just my opinion.

I can say that this forum, and all the help I've received with my stupid little questions, helped me decide on the Panasonic. Nobody likes to feel "alone" with just a manual... well, at least I don't like that feeling.

From my experiences so far, the DVX family of users here, pretty much experienced the same problems and had the same questions that I had, so a simple search can usually either solve your problem, give you a work-a-round solution, or answer your questions.

The camera (DVX100b) is a great piece of equipment, capable of really giving you a multitude of "feels" for your imagery. Yes, there are things that you'll wish it had, like a 20X lense for deeper depth of field. But climbing in the back of a taxi, and being able to capture excellent, non-distorted wide angle footage is a great trade off if you're looking to shoot "on the go".

Only you know how/what you need to shoot, and how you envision it in your mind... so only you know what you'll be satisfied with...

I hope this didn't confuse you even more as that wasn't my intention.

Cheers -
Matt
 
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