HPX500 in 2020?

M

mitteg

Active member
Hello,

Is it a good idea to go with a HPX500 in 2020/21? Is the picture quality up to the fullHD standards nowadays? I'm interested in if its quality is comparable with the Panasonic HPX-250 (AVC-intra, true HD sensors, etc).

Thank you!
 
Honestly...no, it's really not up to the standards (but that also might not matter for your work).

Even the HPX250 - which I owned at one point and loved for what it was at the time - is extremely crummy compared to the quality of the best HD footage that's available nowadays that you can acquire through higher-quality 4K cameras that shoot HD or by mastering in HD from 4K+ resolution footage.
 
Thanks NorBro,

If the HPX500 gives me *similar* picture quality as the HPX250 it will be enough for me. What do you think? Is the 250 miles ahead of the HPX500? I have a deal where I can buy one for 1200€ with Canon lens included. But if it only gives me "improved SD" I'm not interested.

Thanks!
 
If the lens is HD, I would take the HPX500 and its larger sensor and more professional body.

Both will have similar IQ as IMO they are both so dated that there is no visual difference the brain will register.

It's like comparing 90s camcorders...technically some may have better numbers on paper than others, but everything looks the same because we've come so far.
 
HPX500 - Release date: 2007
HPX250 - Release date: 2012
PX270 - Release date: 2014

Well, there is a substancial difference between HPX500 and HPX250 (5 years!!). The footage from the 250 is quite good even nowadays. All I have seen about the HPX500 on internet seems like SD.
 
I hear you...but sometimes dates don't mean much as we have seen at the highest level of the business.

In this specific case, there has been very little improvement in consumer/prosumer video camcorders until after 2017-ish when the Japanese started catching them up.

As far as upload/online quality, the HPX500 was a very professional system at one point, but it was active during a time when online uploading was just really getting going with the world and there was so much user error in post-processing and even camera operation.

I mean...half of the videos you come across from the camera are playing back in 480p max...

___

With all of that said, this is just one man's opinion.

A desire to love something or see something with the heart or brain always wins in life, with everything.
 
Not sure if this is safe for work or what not...but I searched most popular choices on Vimeo for the HPX500 - which is usually an indicator of high-quality (although not always) - and this was one that I thought looked good, again for what it is and its time.

[Make sure 720p is selected.]

 
Close-up shots still hold up quite well but wide shots not so good. Apart from that, this clip has heavy color correction... Hard to decide!
 
mitteg said:
Hello,

Is it a good idea to go with a HPX500 in 2020/21? Is the picture quality up to the fullHD standards nowadays? I'm interested in if its quality is comparable with the Panasonic HPX-250 (AVC-intra, true HD sensors, etc).

Thank you!
Click to expand...
*Disclaimer: I've never used an HPX-500, so I have no idea what the image is like.*


Depends... Depends on what you're doing, who your clients are, what their expectations/requirements are, what your expectations/requirements are, etc.

For reference, I do a lot of network TV and I still own and use two 2700 P2 VariCam's. Even thought they are "only" native 720P and released about 12 years ago, they still look great. And I have a friend who just bought a used one from one of their friends a few weeks ago.

Do I even need to get into the CCD aspect?

Even though these cameras are "old", it kind of breaks my heart how they are looked down upon, today. I'm honestly hoping to still get many more years out of my 2700's.
 
mitteg said:
Close-up shots still hold up quite well but wide shots not so good. Apart from that, this clip has heavy color correction... Hard to decide!
Click to expand...

You could probably paint something similar in the camera with its saturation & company settings, but yeah...color is not good; I was mostly posting for resolution and artifacts and potential shallow depth-of-field (if desired).
 
This is a type of thing people periodically ask on forums. A once desirable professional camera that you couldn't afford in now for sale... I think I saw a similar thread about the old Canon XL2 camera. No one truly knows what the actual image will be like but it's old tech I can't imagine it comparing well today's cameras. But if you really want it...
 
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Strangely enough I regularly used the HPX500 and HPX3100 for broadcast sports (prior to the pandemic). Really if you're looking for an older camera that shoots great footage why not just go for an Alexa Classic?
 
Yeah, but I think the tradeoff would be Oscar winning image quality. The HPX is great if you need it on your shoulder all day with no breaks and only own a couple of batteries...but it's images are not even close.
 
I may be making big presumptions here, but if the OP was asking about the viability of these older ENG cameras, then I’d also presume that some, many or all of their features and benefits of these cameras, like internal audio/XLR inputs, internal ND, long record times, long battery life and even(hugely important) lens selection may be (more)necessary or prioritized higher than ‘absolute image quality’.
 
For sure. A nice Fujinon is going to be the most expensive part of this buy in anyway. I was just thinking since he mentioned a nice sensor, why not upgrade to something that has image quality that will not look out of place on the web today. These camera's can't handle the highlight rolloff.
 
How's the 3.5" monitor on your HPX2700? Do you use an external one? Looking for an external monitor for my HDC27H.

Run&Gun said:
*Disclaimer: I've never used an HPX-500, so I have no idea what the image is like.*


Depends... Depends on what you're doing, who your clients are, what their expectations/requirements are, what your expectations/requirements are, etc.

For reference, I do a lot of network TV and I still own and use two 2700 P2 VariCam's. Even thought they are "only" native 720P and released about 12 years ago, they still look great. And I have a friend who just bought a used one from one of their friends a few weeks ago.

Do I even need to get into the CCD aspect?

Even though these cameras are "old", it kind of breaks my heart how they are looked down upon, today. I'm honestly hoping to still get many more years out of my 2700's.
Click to expand...
 
boo said:
How's the 3.5" monitor on your HPX2700? Do you use an external one? Looking for an external monitor for my HDC27H.
Click to expand...

The built-in flip-out monitor is complete garbage, even for the time period in which it was built and was new. In all seriousness, DSLR’s of the day had VASTLY superior LCD monitors. Which made it all the more irritating, because a consumer DSLR that cost a few grand had a monitor that was orders of magnitude better than what was built into a professional camera that was $40K. Honestly, that has always been my biggest gripe with the 2700’s, even back then, and today, still.

I mean, it’s better than nothing, but just barely. It’s so bad/low rez, that you cannot, sometimes, even clearly read the text of the menu on it. The only time I really use it is for selecting clips for playback and formatting cards. And if I do watch something on it, I know it doesn’t look that bad.

I have the large Panasonic 3.5” color LCD VF’s with flip away diopters on both of my 2700’s. And I carry a smallHD DP7 Pro OLED and Focus 5 OLED in the camera bag if I need to put a real monitor on for some reason.
 
I've used a 500, and if one came up for the right money - I'd buy one still. For me the thing really is the lack of recording formats - so it will do 1080i/60, or other versions at the usual 30/29.97/25 and 24 frame rates - so it's not quite a standard HD camera, being DVCHDPro - but the image quality is really good, it has loads of facilities and is P2 which is a solid data medium. It lets you use proper broadcast lenses and has all the usual broadcast facilities. It'd damn heavy though, when batteried up. If I saw one for 800 UKP, and probably buy it. Like Run and gun says, 720p has it's own look and if you want this kind of camera format (which I do - I hate DSLRs and square boxes) they're good. They are old, of course, but this kind of kit still has a home. For YouTube distribution, 720 is still transparent in most cases. There is so much rubbish quality 1080, 720 sharp focus can often look better.
 
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