HVX on ebay for less than $4K, is it OK?

dogman-x

dogman-x

Active member
Now that Panasonic has thrown in a free 16GB P2 card with every new HVX, there seem to be a lot of new HVX200s without P2 cards on ebay for really cheap.
http://photography.search.ebay.com/...trksidZm37QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR40QQsacatZ23781
Some also include cases and other useful stuff, all for less than $4K shipped.

My initial interest would be SD with tape, so I can do without the P2 card for now. But if P2 prices continue to fall, I'll probably switch over to that route later when I upgrade my NLE.

Should I go for it?
 
Why? You would still have to buy a P2 card for about 800 or so which would put you back in to the cost of a new HVX from an Authorized dealer. Plus you get no warranty from ebay purchases.
 
I think that I'd question the morality and ethics of a company selling a camera for 4k as NEW... without the included 16 gig p2 card. If that's the case either way, then they've opened the box and taken it out and then resold that. Personally, I wouldn't know why you or anyone would want to get an HVX to shoot just tape. If that's the case, why not buy a DVX and then in two years or however long.. there would be another HD cam out there. I would encourage you to either save your cash and buy from a reputable dealer and then upgrade your NLE and shoot in HD. It's kind of like having a hobbled horse.... imho, unless of course you'll shoot only SD for a couple of months and then upgrade.
 
Be careful of gray market equipment.

Not sure if it is or not but most new electronic stuff on eBay is Gray market.

Michael Freudenberg
 
Justyn said:
I think that I'd question the morality and ethics of a company selling a camera for 4k as NEW... without the included 16 gig p2 card. If that's the case either way, then they've opened the box and taken it out and then resold that. Personally, I wouldn't know why you or anyone would want to get an HVX to shoot just tape. If that's the case, why not buy a DVX and then in two years or however long.. there would be another HD cam out there. I would encourage you to either save your cash and buy from a reputable dealer and then upgrade your NLE and shoot in HD. It's kind of like having a hobbled horse.... imho, unless of course you'll shoot only SD for a couple of months and then upgrade.
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I'm assuming that these are new unopened boxed that are old stock (i.e. sold to dealers before Panasonic included the 16GB P2 cards). The ads all say new unopened, so they would be getting lots of negative feedback if that were untrue.

I'm thinking about getting the HVX and shooting tape for now for 4 reasons:
1) P2 prices are falling very rapidly.
2) I can't afford to buy a new camera, new NLE software, and a new computer all at once.
3) Blu-ray just won the format war, so within a year or so people will start demanding HD.
4) The HVX seems better than the DVX for widescreen SD.

Let me know if any of my assumptionas are off here...
 
FREUDENBERG_FILMS said:
Be careful of gray market equipment.

Not sure if it is or not but most new electronic stuff on eBay is Gray market.

Michael Freudenberg
Click to expand...
For give my ignorance, I've heard of gray market, but I don't know all the specific disadvantages. It is just the warranty?
 
Barry Green has discussed some image quality issues with the HVX at SD rates previously here - I believe it has to do with "jaggies" or whatever you'd call it - rough, "stairstepped" edges in certain situations that the DVX, for example, doesn't have. You may be able to find the relevant threads in a search, or perhaps Barry will pop in on this one and save you the trouble.
 
Be soooo careful buying on ebay. It is so full of scams, esp when you get into expensive electronics. The most horrific scam is that a scammer (criminal) steals an ebay account, copies someone else's legit listing, amends it, reposts it, lets you buy it and pay with Paypal, they get your money and disappear and then Paypal/ebay won't help you get your money back.

It just happened to me last week on a $1700 sale in the non-electronics catagory that I sell in. We were lucky in that the fraud was caught before any damage had been done. The guy who's account got stolen had 100% pos feedback. You have to be so careful, the scammers are so smart (all it takes is for them to be 1% smarter than you) that they have turned buying on ebay into a crap shoot. And ebay could care less as they make millions of $$ in profit on these scam sales thru the Final Value Fees/Listing fees/etc.

Point is, if you are buying a DVX/HVX, buy from an authorized dealer (or at minimum, a legit retailer) so you don't look like an idiot when you give away $2-5K and don't even get a camera.
 
The issues with the HVX in DV mode is in the 60i format.. not the Progressive. The other known detractor though is that the HVX is much slower. Yes the widescreen I believe is better and the lens is better though.. but for some having a slower DV camera is a deal breaker.


As far as thinking it's back stock.. That's a fair weather assumption. I also know that the HVX has sold so well that there really hasn't been any backstock and if it was then it would have to be way back as I believe the card has been included in the box for a while or atleast with a rebate... I personally would say that you also might want to consider buying a used HVX. That's the best deal you can get if the camera has been well maintained... or to just have the piece of mind in knowing that you bought it with a warranty and that it's not a bigtime scam.


Lots of good advice and if things are too good to be true, they usually are! Why would any reputable dealer sell a product for a grand less? You also have to wonder if you'll get a battery or a charger or the lens shade included as well. Ebay is good to deal with personal people and most of the vendors are scammers. I got a battery for my macbook and it was not what was advertised and it works but not all the time and I have to pop it out. I saved 50 bucks but man I wish I would have just bought it from apple...
 
I wouldn't gamble on such a large purchase. You might save $1,200 or you might end up with something less than optimal that will end up costing more than $1,200 when you complete the full retail package. Hang on, save up for a legitimate HVX. They will only get cheaper.
 
To add to what I was saying, you are rolling dice with this purchase, even with good feedback from a seller. If you're just interested in SD, buy a DVX for $1,700 used. Then buy the HVX upgrade when and if it comes out.
 
i bought my hvx off ebay, and i dont trust those guys selling those packages for under 4 gs. I actually ended up buying mine used, because i trust the average seller more then the companies on there.
I also got a p2 with mine for only 3900 :).
 
Buying a cam off eBay at those prices is going cost a lot more than buying one from a Panasonic authorized dealer.

At least with the latter purchase, you get exactly what you purchase. why not buy the new one, get the 16 gb card, and then sell the card.

You are right where you started from.
 
Mister Big said:
To add to what I was saying, you are rolling dice with this purchase, even with good feedback from a seller. If you're just interested in SD, buy a DVX for $1,700 used. Then buy the HVX upgrade when and if it comes out.
Click to expand...
Blu-ray has won the war, Blu-ray Disc Recordable (BD-R) burners are already down to $400, and BD-R blank discs are already down to $15. If BD-R follows the same price curves as CD-R and DVD-R, then burners and blank discs will be half what they are now in a year or so. It won't be long before everyone starts wanting HD. I'm planning on HD by this time next year, if not sooner. So the DVX seems like it would be short term solution.

Also, I've read the DVX shoots widescreen SD at 720x360 internally and then digitally stretches this to 720x480. Is this correct?

I guess I could get the HVX with the P2 card, but keep the same computer and shoot SD for a while longer. How much better is the HVX with DVCPRO-50 over normal DV in practical use?

Also, is there any news on the HVX upgrade model (HVX200a or whatever)?

Thanks.
 
David S. said:
Why not buy the new one, get the 16 gb card, and then sell the card.

You are right where you started from.
Click to expand...
Good idea! I didn't think of that. My ebay seller rating is actually pretty good. I could probably buy the same card a year from now for a lot less. Thanks!
 
It helps to contact the person selling the equipment also. It's amazing how a 2 minute conversation can tell you alot about the way the person is handling the sale and if they are even knowledgable about the product. If you know someone that lives near the company selling, let them drop buy and look at the stuff first. Getting a camera like this is best bought from a dealer.
 
dogman-x said:
Now that Panasonic has thrown in a free 16GB P2 card with every new HVX, there seem to be a lot of new HVX200s without P2 cards on ebay for really cheap.
http://photography.search.ebay.com/...trksidZm37QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR40QQsacatZ23781
Some also include cases and other useful stuff, all for less than $4K shipped.

My initial interest would be SD with tape, so I can do without the P2 card for now. But if P2 prices continue to fall, I'll probably switch over to that route later when I upgrade my NLE.

Should I go for it?
Click to expand...

Short answer is NO. The long answer is also NO. Ebay is a BS scam shole.

There have been PLENTY of very low-hours HVX's sold here in just the last week for well under $4K. Buy from one of the trusted DVXUSER members and you won't be sorry.

JohnG
 
I'm here to attest to that. I picked up my low-hour HVX from John Godden for a very fair price and he was incredibly helpful along the way on getting the basics down on its usage. Meeting the seller in person really can make a difference when you're spending this kind of money.

Thanx again, John! I always hate to give too much credit to the equiptment, but in this case the cam (and your advice) really has already helped a ton on my film project.
 
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