Hi! I'm new! HVX200 or Nikon D600 for short?

G

GregVelo

Member
Hi! I recently discovered this forum and I think it's a great place to share knowledge!My name is Greg, I’m 21 and I’m currently on the pre-production stage for a short. My brother will be the director and I’ll deal with the technical aspect, just to be clear! We’ve already shot a short last year, collaborating with a school, that won a prize as best short for kids.
So, new year, new ideas! This time I’d really like to shoot it to the most cinematic look possible, but on a budget!

I have these two possibilities by now:
  • Panasonic HVX200
  • Nikon D600 Full Frame Camera (Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G or Nikkor AF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 G)
As far as I experienced and tried I find the Nikon with the 35mm to be sharper and with a shallower DOF than the HVX, that is noisier too.

What would you choose and why? I’m considering to buy the Letus 35mm Adapter for the HVX and mount on of my Nikon lenses, but I am really confused.
The scenes I’ll be shooting will be for the most part dialogues, some runs, and wide shots.
I’d really appreciate any kind of help and suggestions from you guys who know! I thank you for your your time.
If you need some more details, just tell me ands I'll give you them right away! I really want to get the best out of what I have. :-9

See you soon

Greg
 
Having purchased the HVX200 with Redrock Micro System back in 06....its really a big, heavy, rig. Yes, it has the ability to give you a good image, but the sensor size, low light (especially knocked down with the 35 mil adapter) is really bad, noise, DR, and over all look is really dated these days.

Having been an early adopter of the HVX...its great for when it came out. It changed the scene really...but you will capture more modern, better looking footage, with the other camera. If anything...just go with a larger sensor size, light weight, better low light camera. You will be happier with your result.

Hope this helps.
 
ReelWorksMedia said:
Having purchased the HVX200 with Redrock Micro System back in 06....its really a big, heavy, rig. Yes, it has the ability to give you a good image, but the sensor size, low light (especially knocked down with the 35 mil adapter) is really bad, noise, DR, and over all look is really dated these days.

Having been an early adopter of the HVX...its great for when it came out. It changed the scene really...but you will capture more modern, better looking footage, with the other camera. If anything...just go with a larger sensor size, light weight, better low light camera. You will be happier with your result.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the quick reply. You've been helpful, you made your point. Thanks man :)
 
Best of luck with your project. I treasure my early works. As you move forward...you will love the first few you create. Have fun with it. If you need advice on lenses...

Best bang for the buck....Sigma ART series. You'll love 'em.
 
Okay. So, as I said, I have a Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G and a Nikkor AF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 G What do you say? My budget would let me buy a lens if necessary, so which lens do you recommend? Obviously, I can't spend some thousand bucks on as lens! My budget might be around 300-500 bucks. Again, thank you for your precious time. Appreciate it.
 
Your 35mm wont cover the FX camera?

Usually to make a film you need a wide a medium and a long

24 or (cheaper) 28 2.8

50 1.8

105 or 135

Any manual nikkors are great, any age.

S
 
morgan_moore said:
Your 35mm wont cover the FX camera?

Usually to make a film you need a wide a medium and a long

24 or (cheaper) 28 2.8

50 1.8

105 or 135

Any manual nikkors are great, any age.

S
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.
After some research I found these lenses, that I could buy for about 200 bucks. Could it be a good deal? Thank you again.

Nikon 28mm F/2.8 AI http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/28mm-f28-ai.htm
Nikon 50mm F/1.8 (E Series) http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/50f18E.htm
Nikon 135mm F/2.8 AI http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/135f28.htm
 
Lenses are important, but don't forget about audio. A microphone mounted on the camera isn't going to capture good sound. Get a good mic, or two, or three & get them up close to the sound the mis is supposed to be capturing.

The Nikon doesn't have XLR inputs, so either find a JuicedLink (or similar) XLR adapter or get something like a Zoom H4n to record audio & sync in post (a pain IMO but many people don't mind if you have PluraEyes plugin / software).

Lots of info in the DSLR sections.
 
zijital said:
Lenses are important, but don't forget about audio. A microphone mounted on the camera isn't going to capture good sound. Get a good mic, or two, or three & get them up close to the sound the mis is supposed to be capturing.

The Nikon doesn't have XLR inputs, so either find a JuicedLink (or similar) XLR adapter or get something like a Zoom H4n to record audio & sync in post (a pain IMO but many people don't mind if you have PluraEyes plugin / software).

Lots of info in the DSLR sections.
Click to expand...

Yes! Absolutely! I just wanted to concentrate on the video aspect before going into the audio! But I have already something in mind: I'm going to rent a good mic and I'll be capturing the audio close to where it is from with a stand and a boom. The problem comes here: how do I go into the D600? The pre amp built in the camera sucks, so here's what I'd do, tell me if I'm wrong: get a Tascam dr-40, plug mic into it, Tascam headphone audio out into the Nikon. Does it make any sense? Appreciate your help.
 
Usually one would synch the audio in post.

use a clap - to get an edit point between the sound recording and on camera audio (internal mic)

If possible use a clap board and write scene take numbers on it (and say them on the audtio track!)

S
 
morgan_moore said:
Usually one would synch the audio in post.

use a clap - to get an edit point between the sound recording and on camera audio (internal mic)

If possible use a clap board and write scene take numbers on it (and say them on the audtio track!)

S
Click to expand...

Okay. Thanks. A Zoom H4n would do the job in your opinion?
 
On a budget yep - bring a load of spare batteries.

Main thing about good audio is getting the mic close!

You may be able to frame your wide shots so wide that you can nick audio from the CU shots.

IMO do a CU shot of every spoken line with the boom right in on the actor!

S
 
one of the better things going right now for budget but high-quality sound is a tascam dr60 (WAY better than the zoom stuff IMO) and an external usb power supply.
i use this one and it will power the dr60 all day:
http://www.ravpower.com/13000mah-portable-charger-power-bank-black.html

and as a side note, the two cameras you originally compared were two very different tools for very different uses. and the hvx200 has been updated at least twice. the hpx170 would be its most reasonable (though discontinued now for a couple years at least) big brother.

what the hvx/hpx(up to the 170) gave you was CCD instead of CMOS sensors which would allow you to do whip pans without the "jello" of just about ALL modern cameras. and the camcorder footprint (as compared to DSLRs) has the advantage of servo zooms and usually, pro-level XLR sound inputs.

basically it boils down to a camcorder is usually a better choice for sports, events and eng type work. but a dslr is better suited to "feature" type projects.

done.
 
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