hpx170 for landscapes?

righteous.

righteous.

Well-known member
I was originally looking at a RED Scarlet, but seeing as how I can't afford an entirely new computer, I don't think it will happen (plus I'm sick of waiting and I want to shoot). I have been leaning towards the hpx170, since I've used it at work (minimally) and it seems to be a nice upgrade from my DVX100b.

What drew me towards the Scarlet was the RAW imaging. My favorite thing to shoot is nature stuff, so color is very important to me. I was wondering if there was any way to at least mimic the color space or give it a similar flexibility with p2 footage? Also, I'm not a big fan of 16:9, is there a reliable way I can make all my footage 2.40:1? ( I realize it won't be native 2.40:1, nevertheless...)


PS: I have a 2.0GHz Powermac G5 with 2gb RAM... would this be fast enough to comfortably edit the footage?
 
A 170 will deliver way better footage than your 100B in any sort of scenario like you describe. Better resolution, and much better color space. For widescreen standard-def, the DVCPRO50 mode is fantastic. For HD, you'll be getting 4:2:2 in HD.

Now, with that said, that doesn't make the HPX170 the best HD landscape camera around, because the overall resolution isn't as high as some of the competition, so if you're looking for the ability to see and distinguish every pine needle, etc., there are other cameras that can render sharper footage. But, the HPX170 will be a huge improvement over your DVX.

And yes, that system would easily handle HPX170 DVCPRO-HD footage.
 
Barry_Green said:
A 170 will deliver way better footage than your 100B in any sort of scenario like you describe. Better resolution, and much better color space. For widescreen standard-def, the DVCPRO50 mode is fantastic. For HD, you'll be getting 4:2:2 in HD.

Now, with that said, that doesn't make the HPX170 the best HD landscape camera around, because the overall resolution isn't as high as some of the competition, so if you're looking for the ability to see and distinguish every pine needle, etc., there are other cameras that can render sharper footage. But, the HPX170 will be a huge improvement over your DVX.

And yes, that system would easily handle HPX170 DVCPRO-HD footage.
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Yeah, I want to output in 1080p so I thought at least I'd get a camera that shoots 1080p. I've previously been outputting my DVX footage in 1080p (which actually looks pretty good), but its not sharp enough for landscapes.

What competition do you speak of? And what resolutions do they shoot? I realize 1080p in the grand scheme of things is still pretty standard def, and I know Sony makes sharper cameras, but it seems that every Sony camera I've looked into has not impressed me at all (don't get me started on the FX1). All they seem to offer is the sharpest image, while everything else falls short.
 
I'm not disagreeing with that assessment, nor am I saying that sharpness is what matters. All I'm saying is: if ultimate sharpness is what matters TO YOU, there are other/sharper cameras available, ranging from a $1995 HMC40 on up to a $6500 EX1 or beyond.

The HPX170 makes lovely pictures, I was just pointing out that if you want the most highly detailed landscapes, there are other cameras that can make more highly detailed images. That doesn't mean you'd like them better, just pointing out what could be argued as not the HPX170's best usage (wide landscape vistas).
 
Barry_Green said:
That doesn't mean you'd like them better, just pointing out what could be argued as not the HPX170's best usage (wide landscape vistas).
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That is a good point! What I really like about the hpx170 is how tweakable the colors are, not to mention the frame rates and color space. Do you know of any sharper cameras that can match these qualities?

thanks again
 
Nothing compares with the saturation of the Panasonic color, AFAIK. There are other cameras with more menu settings and finer increments and wider ranges of things they can control, but the Panasonic "look" is what they're most famous for.

Nobody else offers 4:2:2 color at anywhere near the same price bracket.

The EX1 is the obvious competitor as for sharpness, frame rates, and menu controls.
 
Barry_Green said:
Nothing compares with the saturation of the Panasonic color, AFAIK. There are other cameras with more menu settings and finer increments and wider ranges of things they can control, but the Panasonic "look" is what they're most famous for.
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Yeah, I'm beginning to realize that haha. I'm definitely a fan of the Panasonic look, and after watching videos shot on the EX1/EX3, I'm still not impressed.

I think the decision is clear now...hpx170 it is!

thanks Barry!
 
One more thing: What is the difference between the e-series and a-series p2 cards? Is the e-series faster? If so, why are they cheaper than the a-series? Does the hpx come with the a-series or e-series?
 
I have shot a lot of landscapes on older hvx200's, I only shoot in 1080, the 170 will be cleaner. This was on my editor so I grabbed a frame. It's of a tornado forming. You can see all the noise in this pic but there is a certain look to it that sony doesn't have, maybe a little varicam look to it, don't know what to call it but if you like the varicam look the 170 can get close, the ex1 can get close to an f900 look. Some days I'm glad and some days i'm not. The detail in the wheat is more film like than what I'd get from an ex1 because it's actually less sharp.

1259713977.jpg
 
ChipG said:
The detail in the wheat is more film like than what I'd get from an ex1 because it's actually less sharp.
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Yeah, I'm more concerned with dynamic range/color than I am resolution. Like I said, I feel like 1080p isn't very sharp as it is, so I'm going to focus on tone and color.
 
Tone and color get the 170. I think I just saw a good deal on a used one here if your trying to save some money.
 
The HPX170 is not going to be as detailed as an EX1 for example, because the HPX does not have a 1920x1080 sensor block. After codec compression, editing, and compression for your desired output, you won't be able to tell the difference, except for the "Panasonic mojo".

Hence, my vote goes for the HPX170. Its an overall great camera, and I think it would be fine for what your doing. I would pick the HPX over the EX1 in almost any scenario.
 
You could consider an HPX300, that'll give you all the detail you could possibly want, and all the Panasonic "mojo", and the 4:2:2 color sampling, and even a 10-bit recording codec. More expensive than the HPX170, for a lot of good reasons.
 
I agree with Barry. I own the 170 but have shot a few projects with the 300. The 300 is not that much more and has a lot better lens, better codec and is much sharper than the 170. If you can swing the extra bucks, the 300 would be an outstanding landscape camera.

Dan
 
Joe Calabrese said:
The HPX170 is not going to be as detailed as an EX1 for example, because the HPX does not have a 1920x1080 sensor block. After codec compression, editing, and compression for your desired output, you won't be able to tell the difference, except for the "Panasonic mojo".

Hence, my vote goes for the HPX170. Its an overall great camera, and I think it would be fine for what your doing. I would pick the HPX over the EX1 in almost any scenario.
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That's the way I feel. The main reason I'm upgrading is because I want 4:2:2 color, and because I'm losing jobs left and right by not having an "HD" camera, whatever that means...

The HPX300 looks great. I like the size much more than the HPX170, and the interchangeable lenses, but its a couple thousand more than the HPX170, and I can barely afford a hpx170 as it is. Plus, I can't seem to justify spending $8,000 on a camera that only shoots 1080p. I think the hpx170 will be a perfect solution for now.
 
Don't forget to factor in your start-ups: tripod, camera case, batteries, etc. which will be a little more expensive should you decide on a bigger camera such as the hpx300.

Also, what kind of jobs are you doing? If you are doing a lot of fast, action, sports, I'd suggest the hpx170, of course, someone with experience on the 300 would say otherwise...
 
Lets hope your fast action sports aren't too fast because auto focus sucks on the hvx200/hpx170.
 
Not sure I understand what you mean by this part:
Plus, I can't seem to justify spending $8,000 on a camera that only shoots 1080p
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Are you saying that you think it doesn't have other shooting modes? Because it has 720p, 1080i, 480p, 480i, all the standard-def and high-def modes and variable frame rates that the HPX170 does.

Or are you saying that you think for $8,000 the camera should shoot higher-def than 1080p? Because the Sony F35 is a $350,000 camera, and it shoots a maximum of 1080p...
 
Really? Canon a1 smokes it in all my fast action experiences. You point that cam at your target and it's almost instant while the hpx will 'hunt' and take much longer. Try it on cloudy days where everything is gray, the hvx/hpx won;t know what to focus on.
 
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