HDX200 v JVC comparison for a feature film

Patryk_Rebisz

Patryk_Rebisz

Veteran
I'm getting ready for a low budget feature film and was asked whether the new range of small affordable HD/HDV cameras would suite our needs. I was really excited about the new cameras telling my friends about the new Panasonic's HD camera as a "holly grail of indie filmmaking" still i was open fo other options as i wasn't sold on the P2 workflow. I did some comparisons with some help from Abel Cine Tech guys here in NYC. None of the test were scientific -- only what i would do/shoot. At the same time being heavily involved in the post of all the projects i have worked on i knew what "problem" areas to look for.

We shot some footage with HDX200 and JVC GY-HD100U at night (in low light); during the day with small branches lightly waving in the air; some wide shots with fast moving cars; handheld wearing nast red in front of brick wall.

Verdict: I won't be using any of the cameras on that feature.

There is simply too much noise and compression artifacts. HDX200 is a bit less compressed then the JVC camera but still the noise was just unacceptable -- that said i'm scheduled to shoot another poject where we are trying to "destroy" the footage as much as possible and noise is very much welcome. Still in normal shooting conditions it was not what i was looking for. I'm sure there is gonna be some great projects coming out shot with this new technology it's just in my humble opinion there are better options out there. We'll probably end up shooting with SDX900 or Vericam instead.
 
Heck, if I had a choice between the Varicam or the Hvx200, I'd choose the Varicam any day (just based on reports... I've never used one).

For the less fortunate (poor) among us, the Hvx200 is probably good enough.
 
Helpful post Patryck!

Patryk_Rebisz said:
(...) but still the noise was just unacceptable (...) We'll probably end up shooting with SDX900 or Varicam instead.
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And what about HDV's (& uncompressed HD-SDI too) Canon XL-H1?

Or Sony's 24p XDCAM-HD PDW-F330/350 series?
 
Well the question was whether to spend 10g to buy new camera or rent one. So yeah you do have a choice between Vericam and HVX200.
 
Steve Shovlar said:
The new Sony PDW-F330 or 350 look fantastic. That may fit you better, and they cost way less than a Varicam.
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Yeah!

So, Patryk (or Steve -- why not?), do you think test any PDW-F330 or 350 for narrative filmmaking?

EDIT -- And about the XL-H1 or even the Z1U to de-interlace (if you didn't approve the noise issue...) ? Check this LINK
 
Wow ... that movie is a perfect example of having the right know how ...

It was shot with the Sony Z1 and the trailer is an excellent example of what can be done with these "low end HD cameras".
 
I played with PDW-F330. Nice cam, but we have settled on Vericam now. We didn't concider film as we simply can't afford it.
 
RENT! RENT! RENT! I can't stress that enough. rent the camera and put it through the paces. Because right now there is so much development going on that there are NO or very little standards, the only way is to test and make you own detemination, rather than leaving the choice up to a well written magazine ad.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
I played with PDW-F330. Nice cam
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What's your report about that PDW-F330 hands-on approach? It will be helpful hear your because I'm thinking to buy one to 35mm film-out purposes.

but we have settled on Vericam now. We didn't consider film as we simply can't afford it.
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Yeah! I can follow your reasons but the 720p isn't it low rez if there is already 1080p cameras that can give you higher resolution, specially to narrative work in order to go to the big screen?
 
I didn't play with it long enough to be able to say it's good or not really. I did do a test o fshaking the camera while past mocing objects moved in front and judging from 20" monitor i didn't see any compression artifacts. I also loved the really slow shutter speed (like 1/3...).

Without doing much research i would still be hesitant about the MPEG encoding. BI had high hopes before doing the tests with the JVC but all the worries i had about it proved to be there with that camera so i assume thos emight be there with teh SOny's cam too.
 
You may be interested in auditioning either the Arriflex D20, Dalsa Origin, Thomson Viper or Panavision Genesis. If you are not starting principle photography until next year, the Red Digital Cinema may be worth waiting for, as well.

Reportedly 4K x 2K (1.2 Gb/sec). Problem is, a terabyte of RAID would only give you 15 minutes.
 
I played with Panavision Genesis when i was in Sundance. WOW! WOW! WOW!
THe only problem is the rental price. $13.000 a week for body and regular lens.
...So $52.000 a month....
 
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