HVX now or wait

J

JWinter

Well-known member
any input?


I am considering hvx now (just to have the hd option), but will likly be doing mosly sd for the next year (untill vegas can edit + I have cash for cards)

should i just get a dvx b in this case and hope that a hvx-a may come out by the time Im really hd ready?
 
id like to but im going to be shooting on the road....

a couple other questions...

is there anything on the dvx that is not on the hvx?

like slow shutter speed? different audio features?


is the hvx true 16:9 in SD also?

is the hvx HD LCD focus problem also a problem in SD?
 
if you are doing mostly SD for the next year then wait...remember panny released the A about a year after the original. UPDATES UPDATES!! Plus it gives the NLEs a chance to catch up (Vegas/Premiere). AND at that time the P2 will be lower. AND there may be more options for distribution media (blue ray or HD DVD)

You are just throwing money out the window if you are only doing SD.

It just makes sense
 
Or there might be something better in a year. If you're short on money, don't buy it until you really need it.
 
Barry_Green said:
Can't think of anything, other than a couple of shutter speeds that are slower than the HVX does (HVX = 1/12, DVX = 1/4 IIRC).
Click to expand...


thats what I was referring to, after doing a cross coutry run and gun movie, the slow shutter on the dvxa saved me in the many low light situations i encountered...as I have just sold my dvxa...I dont remember how low I needed for "ability to capture a somewhat adaquate image of talent in a typical nighttime metropoliton area" but i think it was second to the slowest. ...wounder if the hvx would let me do the same.

What focus problem?
Click to expand...

well, I dont really know....just going on some random posts and a brief conversation with evs rep. pertianing to the difficulty of focuing with the LCD using HD on the hvx . He siad the image will appear in focus in the lcd but will in fact not be in focus. (i did not have any difficulty focusing with the LCD on the dvx).

agian...its kind of about the run and gun nature of some of the video work I do...sometimes not being able to have all the extras...like a field monitor.
 
Edweirdo said:
if you are doing mostly SD for the next year then wait...remember panny released the A about a year after the original. UPDATES UPDATES!! Plus it gives the NLEs a chance to catch up (Vegas/Premiere). AND at that time the P2 will be lower. AND there may be more options for distribution media (blue ray or HD DVD)

You are just throwing money out the window if you are only doing SD.

It just makes sense
Click to expand...


I agree...i think the true 16:9 might push my over the edge though....tuff call
 
wait

wait

Well considering no one can get one, I guess you have to wait. :grin:

Guess I haven't been followed the release of many pieces of hardware like I have this one, but I want one, and the wait is giving me a head ache. Hearing dealers only getting 1 or 2 instead of 20 or more hurts my head... Is this really supposed to make people anticipate it.. Personally it just make me mad.. But I guess it makes sense, just in case there is a major problem with the production run.. Just would be nice if the fog was lifted and at least I could understand when they really were going to show up..

JOe
 
I did 100 shots with the HVX at dawn and sunset on Sunday, and every one of them was tack sharp when loaded on my G5. I just did it the old fashioned way, zoomed in, got a focus, then zoomed back out like in the Beta days. The focus assist is remarkable, especially in cases where the object was close to the lens. If it looks focused with the assist, it's focused.
 
Edweirdo said:
if you are doing mostly SD for the next year then wait...remember panny released the A about a year after the original. UPDATES UPDATES!! Plus it gives the NLEs a chance to catch up (Vegas/Premiere). AND at that time the P2 will be lower. AND there may be more options for distribution media (blue ray or HD DVD)

You are just throwing money out the window if you are only doing SD.

It just makes sense
Click to expand...


I agree in principle, but there are SD advantages to the HVX that you may want to consider. If you don't need these advantages, then yes, wait.

(e.g., color sampling of DVCPRO 50, slo mo dubbing to DV, better lens, the odd HD job that pops up (I'm doing a comercial for a mall-display HD monitor, for instance--never would have even considered it before), etc.)
 
JWinter said:
pertianing to the difficulty of focuing with the LCD using HD on the hvx . He siad the image will appear in focus in the lcd but will in fact not be in focus. (i did not have any difficulty focusing with the LCD on the dvx).
Click to expand...
Well -- I mean, the LCD has 210,000 pixels. The HD frame has something like 1.2 million pixels. Obviously the LCD cannot, by itself, show the full frame focused properly, on any of these cameras -- the XLH1, HD100, FX1/Z1, any of 'em. You have to use the type of techniques Rush talked about -- zoom in and use the focus assist to pull focus, then zoom back out and shoot the shot.

Using that technique is how we shot all the DV Expo demo stuff (desert, kitchen table, karate, etc) and every shot was tack-sharp.

agian...its kind of about the run and gun nature of some of the video work I do...sometimes not being able to have all the extras...like a field monitor.
Click to expand...
If you can't execute proper focus technique, you'll have to expect that some shots just won't be in focus. You can't put square pegs in round holes, and you can't put 1.2 million pixels on a 200,000 pixel display and have them all properly represented. Peaking helps, of course, so you'd have to train your eye to see the peaking circuit well (which is easy). And the HVX's magnified focus assist works even while recording (it's the only low-cost HD camera that can do that) which helps enormously too. And, you can see exact focus distance markings from the lens to your subject, far more accurately and conveniently than barrel markings on a lens, so if you get good at estimating distance, that can get you in the ballpark of proper focus very quickly, and then you use the peaking to fine-tune and get close to exact focus.
 
JWinter, its not throwing money out the window. Think about it. If you purchase an HVX200, you can still shoot SD, when the P2 cards come down in price or if you use an alternative method of capture (hard drive, cineporter, etc.) you will now have the ability to shoot HD. Its two cameras in one with different shooting scenarios. I am only getting the camera right now and may be a 4 gig card for steadicam shots, otherwise if I have to shoot HD, the camera will be tetered by a firewire cord to a computer. I still shoot SD and will continue to if the the project/budget calls for it. But its nice to know that I have the option of shooting HD. Throw in the 16:9 and increased resolution and the ability to shoot slow mo and downcovert to DV makes this camera a must!
 
If you would like to rent it from Zacuto, I can give you 10% off the rental fee. Check the site and look at our different packages. Every package is a beast and can help you hold off on buying the HVX until the updated one comes out....

the other option is to try our rent to own package and when the updated camera comes out...you can trade in your HVX A for the HVX B....all the details are on the site or give one of us a call or email....Steve's info is on the site...

www.zacuto.com
 
thanks guys...anyone know about this? (admittedly vauge description..sorry)


Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry_Green
Can't think of anything, other than a couple of shutter speeds that are slower than the HVX does (HVX = 1/12, DVX = 1/4 IIRC).



thats what I was referring to, after doing a cross coutry run and gun movie, the slow shutter on the dvxa saved me in the many low light situations i encountered...as I have just sold my dvxa...I dont remember how low I needed for "ability to capture a somewhat adaquate image of talent in a typical nighttime metropoliton area" but i think it was second to the slowest. ...wounder if the hvx would let me do the same.
 
Zacuto Joe said:
If you would like to rent it from Zacuto, I can give you 10% off the rental fee. Check the site and look at our different packages. Every package is a beast and can help you hold off on buying the HVX until the updated one comes out....

the other option is to try our rent to own package and when the updated camera comes out...you can trade in your HVX A for the HVX B....all the details are on the site or give one of us a call or email....Steve's info is on the site...

www.zacuto.com
Click to expand...

looks like a good system you have there....kind of hard to understand the bottom line cost though

buy new....6000

rent to own...????

rent to own trade in....???

total cost over of migration from hvx to hvxa over 1.5 years...?????
 
i struggle with this question myself. also in a situation where my good old dvx is not with me anymore...
my thought, and out of my own experience, when you have the tool, you would most likely use it. so if you have the HD ability, you'd find yourself using it in some HD project that will magically pop up. the same happened when i considered buying a DVX, my first owned camera, till then i was in the school of "rent it only" and even when i first got the camera i thought, "well... now i have this sweet 3ccd camera that i might, maybe, use, sometimes. good to have it here...". i ended up using it ALL THE TIME, a lot. not only that, it even opened up doors for me, i worked more than ever.
so.. i guess i was answering my own question so far, wasnt i :)

people like to shoot HD now, only question, are they ready to pay?
hmm..
 
What about the AUTO focus (and I do not mean focus assist), does it not work good enough and is manual focus the way to go with HD???

Barry_Green said:
Well -- I mean, the LCD has 210,000 pixels. The HD frame has something like 1.2 million pixels. Obviously the LCD cannot, by itself, show the full frame focused properly, on any of these cameras -- the XLH1, HD100, FX1/Z1, any of 'em. You have to use the type of techniques Rush talked about -- zoom in and use the focus assist to pull focus, then zoom back out and shoot the shot.

Using that technique is how we shot all the DV Expo demo stuff (desert, kitchen table, karate, etc) and every shot was tack-sharp.
Click to expand...
 
JWinter said:
thanks guys...anyone know about this? (admittedly vauge description..sorry)


Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry_Green
Can't think of anything, other than a couple of shutter speeds that are slower than the HVX does (HVX = 1/12, DVX = 1/4 IIRC).



thats what I was referring to, after doing a cross coutry run and gun movie, the slow shutter on the dvxa saved me in the many low light situations i encountered...as I have just sold my dvxa...I dont remember how low I needed for "ability to capture a somewhat adaquate image of talent in a typical nighttime metropoliton area" but i think it was second to the slowest. ...wounder if the hvx would let me do the same.
Click to expand...

can anyone reply to my admittadly poorly described (but important) lighting/shutter speed question?
 
I've shot many nighttime metro shots, some even from the top of a highrise overlooking the city, interviewing a subject in the foreground. I had the 24p mode at 1/24 for shutter, and saw all the detail in the background, and a 20W fill light with diffuser on the subject. Many times I will try to set up battery operated rim lights (kickers) on stands at 3/4 back behind subject, to accent the hair and make the subject part of the surroundings, but that is not always possible.
 
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