HPX250: How much of an upgrade is the HPX250 over the HVX200a?

B

bigox

Well-known member
We use a HVX200a. Have for a few years now!
We use it mainly for shooting low budget feature films & commercials. We shoot almost 100 percent of the time using 720x24fps.
Under these circumstances, how much of an upgrade would you consider the HPX250 to be over the HVX200a?
 
Well I just sold my pair of HVX-200s today actually. Got two PX-270s.

I've been shooting Red for the past couple years and used to crisp transcoded 1080 files from that. When I looked back at my HVX footage it was night and day, it's hardly an HD camera…960x540 sensor in reality. So I knew I needed to move past that. The 270 seems to fit my needs for live and event work. Can't talk about the 250, but the 270 is just like my HVX but true HD, more DR and higher sensitivity. Not to mention HDMI and SDI are a big part of what I need.
 
I have a lot of experience with the 200 and own the 250. The difference is substantial. The last I looked on eBay low-mileage units could be had for around $3K. If you're looking for new the 270 is the route to go.
 
I read in some other threads that there were some people who had an issue with the HPX250 over the HVX200a because the 250 is CMOS and will sometimes have a jello effect that the HVX does not give? Is this a legitimate concern or a minor thing, for the majority of the usage that I mentioned in the original post.
Also I'd like to hear anyone's comparing of the HPX to the HVX in sharpness in 720 mode. And how are the LCD comparisons? Similar or different? And is there anything the HVX offers that the HPX does not?
I appreciate all this info!
 
Not to hijack the thread but this seems to fit in:

Is there any difference in the lenses between the 250 and 270?

Grant
 
Can't say about the 250, but the chroma aberration is pretty terrible at full zoom. Though, I just think they made the zoom bigger for the sake of numbers. If you limit your zoom to 75% then it's pretty great, and still much longer than the 13x on the HVX200.

Zoom motor is ace though, probably my favorite thing about the camera. The slow crawl is awesome.
 
I haven't noticed any wiggly video. I watched for it for a while then forgot about the possibility. I imagine swish pans will exhibit some but I don't do many of those. I haven't done any scientific comparisons but the HPX seems just fine in 720P24 mode. I do a lot of shooting in that mode and it's plenty sharp. The 250's LCD is MUCH improved compared to the 200, plus the 250's viewfinder is also nice - not up to the 270, but still nice. The 200 can record to DV tape. Does anyone still do that? I'm not comparing the spec sheets but there MAY be recording modes on the 200 which are not on the 250 (but I don't think so). The HVX was a great camera for its time - we shot an entire feature film on it - but it has been surpassed by two generations of Panny cameras. I wouldn't think twice about making the move to it or the 270.

There may be cameras from other manufacturers which might better fit your workflow but if you're comfortable with the P2 workflow then the 250/270 are no-brainers.
 
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the benefit of a CCD vs CMOS camera will be evident if you shoot any on-field sports or anything where whip-pans happen.
 
I dont think you will have any issue with jello. Just follow a few basic rules and you will be fine. I also was worried but my customers arnt looking for that they are more focused on content really. Also shoot in 1080 at 24p then rescale later your shots will come out cleaner. You will love the camera and crisp shots you will get.
 
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