DVX versus HVX

Z

zooroaster

Member
I have been saving up to purchase the AG DVX 100a since the summer. I am a beginner but am very serious about this purchase. I am buying this particular camera for some of the obvious reasons: I am interested in a cinema like look or as close to it as I can find for my relatively meager price restrictions. (to be more specific, I am buying this camera for a general interest in cinematography but I am also shooting short films.)

Now just as I thought I found the perfect camera, I have been reading a little bit on the HVX200, the HD update. My question: Should I worry about having the DVX, a wonderful but possible near obsolete "Standard Def." versus saving up further than I anticipated to purchase the HVX200 being the day and age represenitive of HD?

I am wondering if for my purposes, if HD is worth it since I am going of the fabled film look?

Thanks.
 
buy a dvx and shoot now you will be blown away with your camera once you get your hands on it the dvx still has alot of life in it
 
Consider the hmc150 as well. If you can save up for just a bit longer it might be worth it. But first look into the post production handling of avchd if you choose to do so.
 
Just remember to not spend ALL you money on the camera. You still need (good) sticks, lights, grip equip., lenses, etc.
 
Why would the DVX be obsolete?

Does it produce bad pictures all of the sudden now that the HVX, HMC, and HPX are out?

DVX produced films have been up for numerous Academy Awards amongst a host of other things. Of course we all want HD (heck I do!), but I constantly remind myself of what others have accomplished with this camera and until I am truly platued at the level of these professionals at the top of their game, there is still life in the DVX left for sure.

If your clients are requesting HD masters, that is one thing, but other then that (esp if it for personal use) I cannot tell you in good mind to not snatch up a DVX and just start shooting.
 
Get some proper lighting, and make sure you focus the lens before you shoot ;)

Other than that, William's got a point.

I got my DVX about 2 years ago, and I want to upgrade to HD (HVX) very badly. But I don't NEED to yet. I can wait another year or so before doing the change.

Although I'm ready or HD, I'll wait :)

Robbie
 
I'd second the DVX. It's still a fantastic piece of engineering. And figure you'll need some basic accessories which will bump up the cost. A tripod, UV filter, spare battery, and microphone would be the bare necessities.

Tripod: Davis & Sanford make a decent fluid head tripod for about $200 that comes with a dolly, available from B&H photo/video.

Filters: A basic filter to protect the lens. UV filters are about $25 for the cheaper ones. Get one. Heck, get two. A bottle of lens cleaning solution, a blower, and disposable lens cloths too. Neutral Density filters will help you control depth of field- Barry had a post suggesting 2 grades that would compliment the built in ND filters well, anyone know where this is? A polarizer, and I'd highly suggest a Tiffen Ultra contrast filter too, which I found out really helps to control highlights from blowing out: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread...=148348&page=2 You can't use more than two 72mm screw-on filters at a time on the DVX, they'll start to vignette in the corners. Look into the Cokin P Series square filters for anything other than a UV or Ultra Contrast filters.

Microphone, cables: You don't need a terribly expensive microphone, but you do need to know how to use it. Barry Green's "Sound for Film and Television" dvd is a great resource. Buy it!

Editing software: Wow where to start... It pays to shell out for the good stuff, but if you have a ton of time on your hands, have hair to spare, and want to do it on the cheap... If you're using an NTSC model you may want to remove the pulldown to work with actual 24p video. The cheapest way to do that is DVFilm Maker ($145 i think) and Quicktime Pro ($30?) A somewhat clunky all around solution, and you're stuck with only being able to do basic cuts with QT Pro, and it's a hassle to bring it back into something like iMovie after the fact. Of course I'm talking Mac here, so this may not apply to you. And if it's a PAL model there's no need to monkey with pulldown removal at all, so DVFilm and QT Pro aren't required.

Battery: Try talking five people into carrying 100ft of extension cord into the middle of a lake after you're only battery dies. Again, not a necessity, but you're insured, right?

Lights: A really good idea, but a lengthy subject somebody else could answer better...

Anyhow, that's the cheap list that had worked for me starting out. Maybe going with a DVX but figuring the cost of an HVX is a good plan.
 
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I got it but am new to this and having to verify my paypal account. I went to 1000 though but I still think thats good. Another thing though, now that I think of it. Should I be worried about fraud since the total is 1k? I haven't transferred the funds yet and I have had people telling me horror stories.

But beyond that...do people think it is a good price?
 
If you are the winning bidder you can pull up thier contact info including thier phone number and call them before you pay pal them the money. Pay pal will protect you but it could take 30 days to get your refund if it's a case of fraud. For $1k with a rating of 90 I'd do it but call them first them and if it checks out it's a great deal!

PS they have a 100% positive rating and this was a 7 day auction, account hijackers normaly do a 3 day auction. It looks good to me but still call them.
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I sent the funds through and have emailed the guy a couple of times. His user name was the name of a camera store that I checked online, so that assuaged my fears a good bit.

I kinda feel like this is a steal but now I just feel too lucky like the price was too good and I'll get and something will be wrong. Just natural guilt I guess. But even though I got it for 1K, should I really worry about 396 hours?

Thanks again guys.
 
Nope, the heads are good for 2,000 hours. I have heard of 2,400 hours on a few. Just don't ruin them by over cleaning them.

Congrats BTW, that is a good deal!
 
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