HPX170 and the Firestore

Shoota33

Shoota33

Member
Posted a thread on here not too long ago regarding my difficulty in choosing between purchasing the HVX200a or the HPX170...and have been reading similar threads and opinions for the past few days...

One detail about the HPX170 that Ive been having difficulty finding information on is if they are Firestore (FS-100) compatible...?

Also, I was shooting with the HVX200 for a production company with which I'd worked and loved the HVX200 / Firestore combination...but I find it interesting that more people on here seem to be diehard P2 fans....being able to shoot 100 continuous minutes of 1080 HD with the Firestore vs. swapping out P2 seems like a no-brainer to me...I was wondering why I see so much admiration for P2...especially hearing that people have manually upgraded their firestores with larger hard drives...

Thanks
 
"One detail about the HPX170 that Ive been having difficulty finding information on is if they are Firestore (FS-100) compatible...?" Yes.

"I was wondering why I see so much admiration for P2...especially hearing that people have manually upgraded their firestores with larger hard drives..."
Personal prefs. Shooting style. Its a little harder to run and gun with a firestore. I find its easy to do really once you have a system worked out for it, but some people like the "no profile" of P2. I have both. Each have their place.
 
HPX170 works fine with FS-100's. FS-100 offers a lot of record time for a low cost, but not as reliable as P2. Vibration, fan noise, loose Firewire connectors, another battery to deal with, more weight are concerns with FS-100.
 
I use both but I actually prefer the Firestore. It does QT files and it's kind of retro tech -- like a film mag or something from original Star Trek
 
Which is really why I like the firestore as well...there's no conversion necessary in Final Cut...literally drag the QT files into a folder/bin, and youre cutting...

Funny...I feel that P2's more like a film mag...400 feet / 11 minutes and youre hot swapping...only difference is that you can spill over on P2 and actually hot swap them without interuption...

My big push toward shooting on the firestore is that Im doing a great deal of interview shooting...mainly locked-off stixs with small movements for motion and dramatic effect...and find that when Im swapping P2 that I create unwanted camera movements...

Curious, Scorsesefan are you shooting on HVX or HPX...preference...?

Thanks
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/member.php?u=7443
 
"Curious, Scorsesefan are you shooting on HVX or HPX...preference...?"
200a. Checked out the HPX before I bought my HVX and I wasn't happy with the build quality. Plus lens wobble was an issue at that time. The HVX is a rock, and it has the same chip set, so... I know that the HPX has a few more focus assists, waveform, HDSDI, etc., but those weren't as important as the build quality to me...
p.s. I was referring to the Firestore's charming clunkiness, not functionality, when I compared it to the film mag.

HOPE THIS HELPS
 
Just got an hpx after having a dvx 100 for ages (and loving it)

Just got an hpx after having a dvx 100 for ages (and loving it)

But, i'm worried... I fly to LA next week where the camera is waiting for me, and ten days later one of my musical hero's walks thru the door, and my **** needs to be bullet proof. I do some nice continuous take work with music you can see here We opted not to use a lot of p2 cards, and instead went for the economy and runtime of a firestore fs-100. I have a few questions if you guys could help me out that'd be awesome!
1. what format does the hpx have to be in to talk to the firestore? any hacks for 1394 access to native recording?
2. i'll have a 64gb card in the hpx at all times as a saftey that i plan to format as i offload fs-100 data to a mirrored raid, is that the best route to quick edits?
3. should i use the camera to control the firestore?
4. can the firestore record picture if there is no card present in the hpx? like for instance if i in a bind where i needed to download the card while continuing to shoot.
4. can my century optics .7x converter mount right on the hpx and work? is the rear distance compatible?
thanks dudes
adam


thanks dudes
 
If you want bulletproof, don't use the firestore. Many people get it to work fine, but there are more potential areas for problems with the firestore. I say if you want bulletproof, use P2.

1) You can only use the FS-100. As long as it has version 4.0 of the firmware installed, it will support a simulation of "native" recording. You must not put the camera in 720/24pN mode. You can use 1080/24pA or 720/24p, but you cannot use 720/24pN mode. If you use 720/24p mode, you can tell the firestore to go into a "p2 pN" or "quicktime pN" mode, which will strip out duplicate frames and record as 24pN.

2) I would ditch the firestore completely and instead rent a second 64GB card. Offload the first one while you're shooting on the second one. It'll be a faster workflow and more bulletproof.

3) Yes

4) Yes

5) If it's a DVX converter, I don't think it'll fit. If it's one that's made for the HPX170, of course it'll work.
 
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