DVX100B of HVX200 for Tight Budget

R

ReilWezie

Active member
I was curious to hear some people's opinions about the following question:

I have enough money to buy a new DVX100B but am about $1,500 short from being able to afford the HVX. Would you reccomend me taking out a $1,500 loan to buy the HVX because of the fast progression of HD, or buy the DVX and learn all the roots of 24p before I go HD?

I am currently working with a MacBook Pro, with 2GB of ram, and I dont know how the HVX will work with it.

I really want the HVX because I want to be a step ahead of the game being familiar with HD, but i can't exactly afford it.

Thanks for the advice,
Jon
 
You have to realize that editing HD will require alot from your system, I'm not sure you can even edit it on your MacBook Pro... The P2 cards also cost alot... So when you're going HD, you're just halfway with the HVX, you'll also need an editing system upgrade...
However, you can start using the HVX' SD capabilities just using tapes...
 
With an HVX, you'd be able to make $1500 easily... and it also shoots in regular SD for your learning privileges ;)

Keep in mind, though, that a lot more equipment is needed to go along with the HVX than just the basic camera. Search the HVX sections of the forum, and you'll quickly see what I'm talking about.

If it were me, at this point I'd hold out for an HVX... but it all depends on how bad/fast you need a camera.

Search around to see what's available in your area to make some money back off your purchase. Craiglist is always a good place to start.

http://orlando.craigslist.org/tfr/

Also, do you already have a tripod?
 
The sticker price of the HVX presents a false economy - at the sticker price for the base unit, you can only record DV, until you spend additional thousands on a reasonable amount of storage, be it P2 cards or a FireStor or the like.

And yes, the editing requirements are higher for HD editing, although any recent system should be able to handle it.

But if you're $1500 short now, you're really more like $3000 short. Stop, buy the DVX100B, and be happy with it. When you've got an HD budget, THEN buy an HD camera.

OR consider a different HD camera, like the Sony or JVC HDV camcorders.
 
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haha thanks alot for the advice, I now realize that the HVX is going to cost A LOT more than I thought. I think i'm going to ge the DVXb, try to learn as much as I can about it within a year, then sell it and upgrade to the HVX.
 
ReilWezie said:
I think i'm going to ge the DVXb, try to learn as much as I can about it within a year, then sell it and upgrade to the HVX.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea, and good luck. Let us know how it goes.

-brown
 
Actually, doesn't Panasonic offer that free 8gb P2 card still? I'm also a film student and our department uses DVX100's (regular, A, and B) and with my limited experience in using the DVX100B I still crave HD and, more importantly than anything else, a native widescreen image.

Trust me, most of your work will indeed be in SD in any case since I'm sure you'll have to show it to your fellow students for study and criticism, which in my case, usually ends up on an SDTV or SD connection to a projector (which coincidentally has HD component but that isn't hooked up? That's my film department for ya). Plus it's not that you have to use HD but at least you'll have the option and with this free 8gb P2 card offer on at the moment it would be, in my opinion, the better future-proof buy.
 
ReilWezie said:
I think i'm going to ge the DVXb, try to learn as much as I can about it within a year, then sell it and upgrade to the HVX.
Click to expand...

you might want to check out what a dvx is selling for today if you are already planning to sell yours in a year. you may not be able to get what you want out of it money-wise.

i have the dvx100b and i love it. it's awesome. that being said, with what i know now, i think i would have gone with the hvx and gradually added the accessories i needed. i picked my dvx up just as the hvx was being released, so it wasn't really an option for me. but now that there is a big user base and plenty of info out there, do yourself a favor and at least do a little extra research so you know the differences between the two. and that's more than just the hvx offers hd too.

if you get the dvx, you won't regret it though. i definitely don't. also, i've read several posts saying that a mac book pro will be good for the hvx. you would have to do some searching on the forums though.

either way, good luck.
 
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