DVX aka Shanghai DVC180a

A

Andrej

New member
Hi everyone,

I'm taking another trip to China and realized that the cameras there cost considerably less than here in Europe - It's on the US level. Now, it seems tricky and risky to buy a camera in Shanghai, especially since they don't even have the same name there: its called dvc180a. Anyone got any insight in that?
http://www.camdv.com/images/camera/panasonic/dvc180a/

Eg. if its the improved a version or not (seems like)...should be pal too.

anyways, would be cool if anyone knows more. thanks in advance!
 
Well, it's PAL version and, judging by the available shutter speeds, it's not "A" unit, it's original DVX100. I don't know... I wouldn't risk, because you won't have warranty with that one. I myself was debating whether or not to try and get a cheaper NTSC unit in USA (they go for as low as 2800 after rebate with Magic Bullet and 2 year US warranty - it's just not fair! :( ), but in the end went with PAL one from authorised dealer here in Moscow, 3.460$ without MB and rebate, just to be able to repair camera, if need be, without having to send it out to other continent. That and the fact, that I couldn't wait any longer :)
 
I bought mine in the US. I payed $4000 total for a PAL dvx100a, ms100g mic and a 4 year mac warranty around september last year from bph. Why won't you try to find one in the US?
 
I would suggest buying the camera locally, too. I had to send mine in for repair less than 1 month after purchase, and I was glad that it was covered by warranty. They had to replace the record head and the headphone jack.
 
i bought that. the dvc180a is the same as the european dvx100ae

speaking of the shutter speeds, the one on the site is a dvc180, without the a, if you want to buy one, go for the a at all costs

the thing is that i live in europe but my mother lives in china, so there is no problem with warranty, i just have to wait a tad longer. it's worth a save of about 2000 dollars though. price in austria - ~4500 dollars, in china, 2500.

i recorded quite some footage already and everything worked just fine.
 
Thanks for the replies so far!!

Xax: Can you tell me where you got the camera? Because $2500 is well below the price I was expecting even for China. Can you get it for that price in Shanghai or is it a mailorder kind of thing?

Grüße nach Österreich ;)
 
Well I've found a Shanghai DVC180a, and I'm all set to buy!

But: Could you guys please tell me what Ihave to watch out for...

What does the shutter speed have to be? Cause I understand this is how you make out a DVX100a from a normal DVX100.

Are there other critical no no or yes yes? Apart from "the tape deck has to be actually screwed onto the camera"

Extras: I'll look out for a couple of extras, the most critical I guess a nice big battery and a wide angle lens. For my Canon XM2/GL2 I have a Canon Wide-Converter WD-58 .7x58 ...I like it a lot, gives more range without fisheye. Can you recommend that size for Panasonic? I understand from the thread I've read there is no need to go for the original panasonic one, right? So I just have to look out for a .7x wideangle lens that fits the DVX?

Any other important extras I should get? I know there's always extras you can get, but I mean the more critical stuff... i can live without a matte box for now.

Thanks so much!

Andrej
 
There are quite a few differences between DVX100 and 100a:

-Viewfinder peaking
-New prism - more realistic color reproduction
-More Gamma and Matrix settings
-Knee adjustment
-12bit DSP
-Audio synchronization fixed
-Squeeze mode
-Slow shutter (1/3, 1/6, 1/12)
-Zoom ring given more resistance
-More USER buttons/settings
-Auto Focus assist, Gain and SMPTE color bar generator in Progressive mode
-Separate LCD and EVF settings
-Raised headphone output
-Body paint color

And some other minor stuff. I pointed out shutter speed as that's the only thing I could decypher on chinese page.
 
thanks! ok, so i'll look out for the shutter speed - i just need to know some difference that i can make out on the camera or the box, in case theyre not truthful with their own signs.

anyone got more info on critical extras, like the wide angle lens?
 
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