Final Decision

olsonbock623

olsonbock623

Active member
Ok so I'm 17 years old and I am buying the dvx sometime in the next few days after nearly a year of dreaming and saving up. I've never spent this much money on something in my entire life so its a pretty big deal and I'm crazy excited. So first of all...BH or EVS? As far as I can see they are both authorized and they are both very reliable. I think that at either place I will get the free dvx book and the free magic bullet software. Is that correct? And because they are both authorized I can get the $300 mail in rebate with the 10 tapes and extra battery, right? I think the only difference that I can see is it will cost about $50 more at evs. But then there is the dvxuser discount that I keep hearing about. Can anybody tell me how much this discount is, exactly? Other than that, is there any reason to choose one store over the other?

I also plan to buy Vegas 6.0 + DVD for $300 from academicsuperstore.com. I already have a tripod. Once I have enough money I'm gonna order the AT897 shotgun mic. And then I'll get some lights. And the list goes on... I can't wait. So basically I'm looking for any last tips or advice. Am I making any bad decisions as far as what I'm about to purchase?
 
Hey, good going! You'll have a production company in your hands by the time your 25 if your not careful.
 
Welcome to the club! I would say that, dealing with both B&H and EVS, both companies offer exceptional customer service.But yes there is a dvxuser discount from EVS.Everyone I have dealt with have been great.Just ask the salesman what the discount is.And ask about the rebate and everything that your supposed to get with it.You seem very eager to get your gear and start shooting, that's great.
You seem to be on the right track here in terms of what you want for your gear, just don't go crazy and charge it all! Pay with your own cash if you can, you can get into a heap of trouble really quick. I would recommend the dvxuser batteries sold on this site, they are about half the price as the panasonic longer use batteries and have the same amount of juice.If not more.Make sure you get a good screw on lens polarizer to protect that lens on your new camera! Vegas 6 for 300 bucks? Wish I was a student again. You'll love that program. I bought Vegas 5 last fall and haven't looked back.And I have edited on Avid for the last 8 years. I dont know much about that shotgun mic you want (AT897), but from what I hear it is very good for the dvx. I have a sennheiser me66 but only because I already had it. I may eventually get a different one.Best of luck to you.

David
 
B&H vs. EVS

B&H vs. EVS

I just bought $10K in gear over the last month.
Started with B&H before I knew about EVS and now I shop with them.

My advice = Shop on B&H website. Put all the items you want in your basket online. Then call EVS and order the items from EVS. Make sure you tell them you are a DVXuser and you will get that discount or they will generally match or beat the B&H price.

Basically, EVS will probably be excited about helping a young guy get the stuff he needs at an affordable price. B&H won't care who you are or what the camera means to you personally.

Here's a comparison / contrast breakdown:
B&H and EVS = quality, new, not grey market, not B stock, A stock gear.

B&H = guys who take bazillions of calls a day, work in a giant call center, and won't remember you next time you call, or five minutes after your call, and have a good general knowledge on DV.

EVS = a bunch of California guys, who sound like they surf and smoke pot, have probably read or are aware of the discussions on this forum that matter most to DVXusers, and would like nothing better than to talk you about how cool the camera is and help you trick it out, and will GENUINELY be as excited as you about how cool all this crap is. They are also likely remember you next time you call, and certainly will of there is any problem with your order as they will track any issues through the person that originally helped you.

B&H = better return policy, though EVS is okay. The return policy and quality must be the reason people say B&H's customer service is good, because otherwise they act like you would expect a bunch of harried New Yorkers in a stressful high volume call center to act "Yeah, like I have time for you and your problems." "Yes. It's an excellent camera. NEXT!" (not actual quotes, seems to be their subtext however). Especially if you sound young, they may be impatient with you. They intimidate me and I’m 33, and lived in NYC for 3 years.

EVS = but as I said you will get the same quality A stock at EVS, just be firm if you need a return and feel you shouldn't pay a restock fee. They need to keep any losses to a minimum obviously as they are smaller than B&H, but they will work with you. It's just not a forgone conclusion that you can return anything like at B&H because of the volume.

EVS= If you get in a worst case scenario situation -which you won't- but if you did and you threatened to ***** about some problem you had with them in this forum, that would mean something to EVS - a lot. But B&H wouldn't give a damn because they are so big and are not a part of the DVXuser community. So you would have some leverage even if EVS wasn't cool, which they are. Their participation in this community is just another guarantee - for the same reason two people stand up in front of a community to get married (supposedly) - they are accountable to all those folks they took their vows in front of. EVS is similarly beholden to DVXuser.com

EVS website = hard to find anything but the big items, and frequent accessories like tapes.

EVS = again, if you call them and say something like "I need some of those plastic film thingies I read about on DVXuser.com that you can put over your LCD screen to mask it out with letterbox dimensions so you frame for 16X9 when you shoot and letterbox in post." And they will say "Sure". B&H would be clueless.

Welcome to the club. You will learn a lot about the camera and DV in general around here. You will probably also learn a few things that will put a few extra hairs on your chest.

check out my post in this thread for a list of typical DVXuser topics
http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthrea...light=canadians

check out my site for a list of cheap resources for beginning DVXers.
http://live-theater.org/jdandvlinks.html
I actually set it up for people I'm working with to check out and get excited about working with me. I'll revamp it as a cool link / resource page soon.
:thumbsup:
 
I am also considering to buy this camcorder soon. I was looking for some time on www.buydig.com They offer the lowest price, and I heard that people were receiving their rebates so that mean their camcorders are Panasonic authroized.
 
shinnik said:
I am also considering to buy this camcorder soon. I was looking for some time on www.buydig.com They offer the lowest price, and I heard that people were receiving their rebates so that mean their camcorders are Panasonic authroized.
Click to expand...

Yeah its only a $300 difference, than the EVS price and that's BEFORE your DVXuser discount, or even seeing if they can match the Buydif price. If that difference closes at all, then go with EVS. I say "only" $300 which would buy a sweet tripod, or some other cool accessories, but ask yourself how much its worth to you to have a longterm relationship with a seller who knows the product and will get to know you and helo you make choices based on your shooting goals.

Just a thought.
 
olsonbock623,

Dude, I'm 17 too and got my DVX like a month ago. I've given it much love and I love it myself. Get some 72mm filters, at least a clear/UV filter and possibly a polarizer. I *always* shoot w/a polarizer because for some reason it just makes my images sooo much sexier. Supposedly it increases contrast. I always have it on because I'm too lazy to take it off and put it on in a hurry, and it doesn't do much harm to keep it on. Probably a higher risk of scratching it taking it on/off. Plus I put a UV filter on top of that. OMG such a sexy combo.

The DVX100, such a great camera. I started using one shooting weddings with my previous employer. She stopped doing weddings altogether so I bought a DVX from her with some of the money I earned from her and started my own wedding production company. As the owner of this company, I'd hire someone who owned a DVX. Right now I have someone who uses a VX2000. Anyone have a DVX100 and wanna freelance some weddings in San Diego? Anyways, dude try to find some wedding gigs with a local video production company using your camera and it'll pay for itself in no time.

Take care of the heads. If you read this forum you should know pretty well that it's really important to take care of your heads.

Congradulations on your purchase.
 
well. bh is really good and reliable I ordered. my century optics .3x fisheye from them. let me tell you they did a good job keeping it safe and wrapped up.
 
B&H is an excellent dealer, and I've ordered many thousands of $$$ of gear from them. But recently I've switched almost all my business over to EVS, simply because they offer excellent, personal service. B&H is a superb seller, but it's kind of a faceless monolith, whereas Rush at EVS participates here in the forum with us nearly every day. And, as Brian said, EVS even sponsors prizes for the DVXFest, etc. And, I've found (being in Vegas) that I get my gear quicker, with cheaper shipping, since EVS is in L.A. vs. B&H being clear across the country.

I highly recommend both sellers. I just recommend EVS higher, is all -- I think they do a better job and I like the attention and support they give. It seems like that support should be rewarded with more business; seems like the fair thing to do.
 
I also have to agree with Barry ... I too have always bought all my equipment from B&H. They are a top notch dealer who has always been very helpful, informative, and trusting with great service. These things cannot be overlooked, especially when what you are buying runs in the thousands of dollars range ...

But I recently just preordered the HVX200 with EVS this time around. Why? Well, I've heard nothing but good things about Rush and his company on this forum and I dropped him an email inquiring on information and he was prompt and personal with his response ... enough so for me to want to order the camera from him instead of from B&H.

Although I love B&H and will continue to buy stuff from them (its convenient that I practically pass by them everyday going to work), EVS looks like another company that I can order from with peace in mind. Rush's prompt attention and the personal service given is truly a welcome thing, as B&H, although superb, really is a faceless monolith of all things video and you won't receive that same type of attention from a smaller dealer like EVS.
 
I'm impressed, secretpickle. I hadn't really figured that owning a video production company at 17 was feasible. How'd you go about doing that? You must have some connections or something. It gives me hope that maybe I can actually make a few bucks doing this stuff. I think I've been convinced that EVS is the way to go. Thanks for the advice everyone.
 
olsonbock623 said:
I'm impressed, secretpickle. I hadn't really figured that owning a video production company at 17 was feasible. How'd you go about doing that? You must have some connections or something. It gives me hope that maybe I can actually make a few bucks doing this stuff. I think I've been convinced that EVS is the way to go. Thanks for the advice everyone.
Click to expand...
No ... wait ... don't go ... we want to tell you about EVS over and over and over again.

(chanting)
"one of us
one of us
one of us
one of us
one of us
one of us
one of us" :shocked:
 
Ok so the damage is done. I ordered the camera from evs. It was a woman named Debby who helped me and not a pot smoking surfer but she was still very nice and helpful. I ordered a UV filter to go with it. I can't wait to post some footage on this site once I get the camera and have you people rip it apart.
 
Olson I envy you. I'll be in Glendale this weekend and am going to check out the store. I'm not suppose to buy because things are kinda tight right now, but I've been known to do stupid things with my $.

Is it possible to get all warm and fuzzy over a piece of technology?
 
jdanstan that was the neatest post describing differences fairly and accurately. I'm gonna hang onto this thread. :grin:

..... up to the whole "pot" thing... :laugh:

jdanstan, Barry, Brian, Galvan, thank you very much for your continued business. :thumbsup: Your loyalty makes EVS a reality...
 
Yeah.. when i finish my move to LA its really gonna suck being so close to EVS. My closet will get alot fuller and my bank will get alot emptier :)
 
olsonbock623 said:
Ok so the damage is done. I ordered the camera from evs. It was a woman named Debby who helped me and not a pot smoking surfer but she was still very nice and helpful. I ordered a UV filter to go with it. I can't wait to post some footage on this site once I get the camera and have you people rip it apart.
Click to expand...
So how much this camcorder costed for you? Any discaunts were given or price match?
 
Hi Shinnik, all DVxusers pay the same price, $3397.95 by Credit card, $3327.95 by Cash/Wire/Check. It's a flat $25 fedex shipping anywhere in the U.S, and $15 for shipping insurance. :)

Local LA buyers get an additional discount to compensate them for tax, so the out-the-door price is $3395 using cash (tax included). :laugh:
 
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