Hpx500 help needed

S

soccerdad

New member
Good HPX people,
please help me to configure HPX500 setup for my son soccer games filming,
soccer games with my son is all I film and now I'm doing that with sony PMW EX1, but I want better picture;
I was reading this forum and watching some HPX500 clips, and I think I like the picture of HPX500,
right now I can pick up new HPX without high definition lens for around 10K,
but I'm not clear what lens can I use and is it possible to use hard drive instead of p2 cards; with PMW EX1 I'm using SDHC cards and that gives me 4 Hrs , which is close to what I need; I don't think I'll be able to buy camcorder and high definition lens at the same time, so would you please give me some advise on what lens should i buy an what hard drive can i use without loosing quality,
thank you good HPX people.
 
Any B4 mount lens will work, just get one with a 12 pin connector. Something like this should work: http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Lens-J15X...32145613QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0

Check out the thread on SD lenses at the top of the HPX forum before you buy. It's not the same as a $25K HD lens, but a lot of members are very satisfied with the images they've been getting, me included.

You'll also need Gold Mount batteries (at least $1K with charger), a 64 gig P2 card or two (each one should shoot about 160 minutes of 720pn - $2500 each), and a tripod/head that can support it. If you want sound, you''ll need a microphone and short cable because there are no mics built in.

I would think you could record to a Firestore out the firewire, but that would be ungainly running around a soccer field. I'd spend the money and go P2.
 
Soccerdad,

I would look at your options and see what you are really trying to achieve.

First, how much money do you want to spend for the better image quality?

$10,000 is not where it is going to end because 4 hours of P2 will cost more than the camera!

You might need a heavier tripod setup as well.

Second, how much have you tweaked the EX-1 to get the image you want out of it?

I recently compared the EX with the HPX-500 and the HMC-150 and the EX did not look appealing to me until we tweaked the settings a lot. After adjustment, the image was very nice.

So my overall point is, the EX-1 to HPX-500 is not going to be a huge if any jump to a better image. Many would say it is a lateral move.

But one thing is for sure, you will spend a lot more!

Also think about it, you want to upgrade from a camera with a decent HD Fuji lens to a camera with an SD lens. The SD lenses can look fine, but they are not going to look "better" than an HD counterpart.

Another option is the Convergent Design Flash XDR for longer recording time, but this will cost $5,000.

I don't know your financial requirements, but the EX-1 is the most value to image quality camera on the market. To get a better image, you need to start adding on the $1,000s.
 
Seriously? An HPX500 to shoot your kid's soccer games? Are you shooting them for SkySports or the BBC?

If not, here's an idea… Take the money you'd spend on the camera and invest it for the kid. Your EX1 should be more than enough camera to shoot weekend soccer games.
 
Ducatimark, thank you for the advice,
the camera I'm looking to buy right now, comes with two batteries, charger and 4x16gb p2 cards, I'm not sure how much video I can film with the highest quality on that, person I'm buyng from told me 15 min per 1 16Gb p2 card,
and I already have scatler tripod and newman microphone, i bought them with PMW EX1, I guess they are good quality, they are not cheap,
The largest FireSore FS100 I could find is 250 Gb, is it enough for filming 3-4 hrs in highest quality video?

Bassman2003 many thanks for your advise also,
friends of my son told me that red one is very good camera, but after I talked to the sales person I realized that the whole thing will cost me arounf 50K,
it's a bit too much , I'd like to keep it under half of that,
yes I did downloaded PMW EX1 picture profiles from other forums, and they do make a difference in how video looks, but from my research I understand that
2/3" imager is better than 1/2" imager, because I have seen the difference between 1/3" and 1/2" imager size when I switched from sony HVR Z1U to PMW EX1; I guess I will need to rent HPX500 for a day, film with both and see what is the difference between two;

Yes Stephenmick, I am very serious about filming my son games,
one day my son will be a great soccer player,
thank you for your advice, but I promise you that my son have everything he needs,

thank you all, good HPX500 people,

soccerdad :)
 
soccerdad said:
Yes Stephenmick, I am very serious about filming my son games,
one day my son will be a great soccer player,
thank you for your advice, but I promise you that my son have everything he needs,

thank you all, good HPX500 people,

soccerdad :)
Click to expand...

You cant blame a guy for being enthusiastic about his son. Good on you mate.

Rent the 500 first and see if its what your looking for.

As far as EX to 500 being a lateral move. Is resolution the only factor these days? Phew, Ill go buy an HV30.
 
Well, if you're serious about this, and it sound like you are, I'd still say stick with what you have. The 500 is great (I've shot with it, so I know), but it's a beast and I'd think you'd want to be more mobile, moving around the field easier. The EX1 is perfectly suited for what you're doing.

But hey, if you just want the best because you want it and you're bleeding money, get a Varicam 2700.
 
Soccerdad,

Your welcome for any advice and I my coments are not to try and talk you out of anything, but I am having some doubts about the source of your information and your objectivity.

It is great to want the best quality for your child, but the mention of a RED camera setup in this conversation is just over the top.

This is a digital cinema camera. It is meant for use with prime lenses with 35mm depth of field, (not the best choice for filming live sports).

I would also ask your level of camera experience. Have you used a fully manual broadcast camera before?

I am concerned with your response about the "scatler tripod and newman microphone".

Actually it is Sachtler & Neumann and they are respected names, but this would be known if you had been around these types of cameras before.

Just trying to determine if your desire to improve your image quality might be under influence of other's opinions?

One more question, and please don't be offended as I don't know you, do you take advantage of any auto features of the EX-1 when you are filming the games?

Just trying to help.
 
Good point bass man, the jump to 2/3 plus MF can be a be of a culture shock so renting to get a feel of a broadcast setup would be worth it
 
Dear Soccer Dad,

I admire your faith and determination in your sons skills. He's a very lucky lad.

Now as to cameras... I would suggest an HPX500 is a bit too much for your purposes. Consumer cameras were designed for easy operation by consumers. Pro cameras were designed for operation of pros - people who have experience and skill using such cameras. As the level of camera goes up, you'll note, more people are needed to operate it. So for you, a consumer camera is likely the best choice. An HPX500 isn't.

For example, when you're son is running across the field and your concentrating on keeping the lens on him, who's going to focus the lens? On consumer cameras, you'll have autofocus working for you. There's no autofocus on the HPX500. And with a bigger chip, your depth of field (the margin of error you have in getting the focus right) is smaller.

So while you struggling to keep your son in frame, with an HPX500, you will also need to concentrate on twisting the focus ring. Keep in mind since you will probably be shooting telephoto, your depth of field is going to very, very, narrow. Hence, unless you have practice focusing on the fly, the likely result is out of focus footage - useless for your purposes.

That's just one issue.

Do you know that HPX500 has no image stabilization, so unless you know how to pan the camera SMOOTHLY (no jerkiness that you might not notice in the field), the footage you get back will be useless. Again, since you're shooting telephoto, any jerkiness will be magnified.

Do you also know that with cameras like an HPX500, to make it run, you need to buy a lot of outboard gear (batteries, chargers, etc). If I was shooting outdoors and telephoto while focusing on fly, I'd also bring a matte box, rails, and a follow-focus rig. (cha-ching, cha-ching, hear the price tag jumping up) You'll also need to bring all the gear to the soccer field.

The more professional the camera, the more issues like this you'll have. Do you know how to store, transfer, or injest P2 media into NLE's? Do you know which formats you plan to shoot in? Choose the wrong format, and with footage with action (like soccer), you're screwed. Do you understand HD technology to take advantage of the extra power and settings the HPX500 offers in it's configuration menus. (Miss use them, and your footage will look like crap) You can always have some of these questions answered at the store, but those sales people will not be at the soccer game when more questions pop up. The complexity of these cameras is why producers higher experienced camera operators. Often, those crews go out on location with producers and assistant cameramen to help. Who's going to do that for you? That fact that someone brought up a RED for your purposes, makes them _insane_. Really insane. They're idiots.

What you need is a camera where it does everything itself, and you can concentrate on filming your son. Consumer cameras these days shoot amazing HD. True, no consumer camera shoots HD as well as an HPX500, but then an HPX500 doesn't shoot as well as a Genesis. The point is, when people will look at your son playing, they care less about the quality of the HD, and more about if you captured his performance - which you won't capture when you're distracted playing with the pro-camera's knobs. If people are mesmerized by your son's skills, they won't notice the quality difference between consumer HD and professional HD. And if they do notice, well... then they're not that impressed with your son's playing.

BTW, sales people want to want to make a sale and don't care if the camera is ridiculously impractical for your purposes (the only explanation for why those idiots would even bring up a red), so whatever they say, discount it.
 
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