HVX200 Newbie Questions

C

CORUSA Design

Active member
We currently have a Canon GL2 and XL1...we are going to buy 2 new HVX200s and need to know a few things...

Can we shoot in HD to a MiniDV tape?

Can the HVX200 shoot to regular/large DV tape or just Mini?

Can I get shoot in film like quality (24p) to a MiniDV tape?

Do we HAVE to have P2 cards to shoot in HD?

Can we shoot in HD and have a laptop capturing the video live during filming so we can virtually have unlimited space?

Can we shoot in HD to the P2 card, and have the MiniDV tape running a live transfer, so the P2 cards never fill up (i.e. P2 cards record then instantly transfer to loaded MiniDV tape)

Bottom line...is there any way we can shoot in HD without having to buy P2 cards? And if we shoot in HD, can that still be edited to put on a regular DVD (down-converted) for regular users with standard home DVD players?

Thank you in advance, please be gentle ;)

::: Connor
 
CORUSA Design said:
We currently have a Canon GL2 and XL1...we are going to buy 2 new HVX200s and need to know a few things...

Can we shoot in HD to a MiniDV tape? No

Can the HVX200 shoot to regular/large DV tape or just Mini? Mini Only

Can I get shoot in film like quality (24p) to a MiniDV tape? Yes

Do we HAVE to have P2 cards to shoot in HD? Yes

Can we shoot in HD and have a laptop capturing the video live during filming so we can virtually have unlimited space? No

Can we shoot in HD to the P2 card, and have the MiniDV tape running a live transfer, so the P2 cards never fill up (i.e. P2 cards record then instantly transfer to loaded MiniDV tape) No

Bottom line...is there any way we can shoot in HD without having to buy P2 cards? No And if we shoot in HD, can that still be edited to put on a regular DVD (down-converted) for regular users with standard home DVD players? Yes

Thank you in advance, please be gentle ;)

::: Connor
Click to expand...

My answers are above.

BTW, I have shot two shorts with the HVX and the P2 Cards are awesome. I will personally never use tape again.

Chris
 
The HVX would be perfect if it had included a large DV tape insert rather than Mini.

I don't know why people say they won't rely on "tape"...I have yet to have 1 problem or get one dropped frame in my 5 years of using MiniDV.

Granted if you reused a MiniDV tape then that's your own fault, they glitch when being reused, but I have seen all these websites about error rates with MniDV tape, etc...I don't know what it is, but maybe I have just been lucky using Canon since I have never had any errors

Can anyone tell me why people are so apprehensive about tape? I mean you have to capture realtime, but I'm not that lazy to care about having to capture ;)

::: Connor
 
I'm not "apprehensive" about tape at all. It was fine.

But, when I was shooting my film with the P2 cards, I could shoot a scene and less than 5 minutes later being looking at it on my computer. I was actually approving footage before moving on to the next shot. That is very cool and something you could never do with tape.

Chris
 
CORUSA Design said:
Can anyone tell me why people are so apprehensive about tape? I mean you have to capture realtime, but I'm not that lazy to care about having to capture ;)

::: Connor
Click to expand...

I don't own a HVX yet, but I can tell you this, I have never enjoyed the process of logging tapes, especially when you have more than one. Plus, with P2 you get all the metadata and everything is ready to go, what could be better?

I could go on forever about all the possibilities I see with P2, checking VFX shots to make sure you got the plate, checking takes on set, very fast dailies, etc...all of this with speed and convience!
 
Ok thanks so much guys...one last question...

Every site that talks about the HVX200's stats, mentions Edius, and a few other editing apps are compatible with the video shot on the HVX200 but not Premiere Pro. I can use Premiere Pro for lots of stuff that Final Cut and Edius and Avid cannot do, so I am guessing capturing and editing anything i shot on the HVX200 would be fine with Premiere Pro right?

Thanks,
::: Connor

P.S. - What do they have MiniDV HD tapes if you cannot use them to record HD on this camera???
 
CORUSA Design said:
P.S. - What do they have MiniDV HD tapes if you cannot use them to record HD on this camera???
Click to expand...

The only type of "HD" that can go on a miniDV tape is HDV. The HVX shoots DVCPROHD, which is a 4:2:2 pro codec of HD.
 
so what is all this talk about how the HVX can down convert internally to MiniDV tape...Does that mean while I shoot in HD to the P2 cards it will simultaneously be transferring it to the tape in a format I can capture through firewire later like regular SD?

Please clarify, because I have seen the "internal down convert" everywhere in posts about the HVX200, so what is it converting it down from and converting it to? Thanks

::: Connor
 
CORUSA Design said:
so what is all this talk about how the HVX can down convert internally to MiniDV tape...Does that mean while I shoot in HD to the P2 cards it will simultaneously be transferring it to the tape in a format I can capture through firewire later like regular SD?

Please clarify, because I have seen the "internal down convert" everywhere in posts about the HVX200, so what is it converting it down from and converting it to? Thanks

::: Connor
Click to expand...


When you record to tape on the HVX you are shooting in standard defination DV (25mbits). What is cool about the HVX is that you can do a regular shoot in DV, let's say a wedding, and then pop in a P2 card and do a slow motion sequence, and then down convert that to same tape that you have been using. In essence the HVX can transcode its higher end stuff back down to SD tape. This way you can import the tape as standard DV while still being able to take advantage of some of the cooler features of the HVX.

--
Rob
 
Possible: maybe. Possible without P2: probably not. That footage was shot in 720p using variable frame rates, which you can only do with P2. You could down-convert from that to DV to tape, which would keep the effect. But you would still need P2. Also, the quality of the picture wouldn't be as good.

So a revised, and more complete answer: no.
 
Well, we are going to get 2 HVX200's anyway, and just shoot in SD until the price of P2's come down. We are doing $3,500 packages for $1,500 anyway, so we'll have better cameras than 95% of wedding/event videographers out there, so as long as we are giving the bride more for their money, they don't need HD until they are ready for it anyway.

Plus I saw this on eBay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/PANASONIC-AG-HVX200-HD-Camcorder-2-hours-recording_W0QQitemZ7607188220QQcategoryZ21165QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Apparently there are more harddrive things out there other than the Firestore and the CinePort, so we'll get them, and just be ready for HD when we need to be.

Got to appeal to the client, and handing a 20yr old bride a HD DVD that she couldnt care less about when an SD one will make her just as happy since she'll actually be able to play it is fine with me. she'll be getting more than she paid for anyway, but that's what it's all about.

::: Connor
 
Ah, clearly you have never attended a wedding. In most weddings, the groom is optional. Usually serves as a decoration, and a source of embarrassment for the bride (and the bride's mother) on "her big day". It is rare indeed for a groom, on his wedding day, to venture an opinion. Or, let me say it this way: it's rare for him to venture an opinion TWICE... :evil:
 
Because the bride and/or the bride's family pays for the majority of it. So if you are the photographer, videographer, caterer, event coordinator, etc...you deal with the bride because well, that's basically where the money is coming from.

If you were a travel agency you would deal with the groom most likely since he pays for the honeymoon.

Plus the bride is technically the client, thus her name is in the contract, not the groom, so any checks/payments/deposits we need to get come from the person who signed the contract, i.e. bride

and yeah...
Barry_Green said:
Ah, clearly you have never attended a wedding. In most weddings, the groom is optional. Usually serves as a decoration, and a source of embarrassment for the bride (and the bride's mother) on "her big day". It is rare indeed for a groom, on his wedding day, to venture an opinion. Or, let me say it this way: it's rare for him to venture an opinion TWICE... :evil:
Click to expand...

Yes yes, this is true. I was married in June of 2005 and I made a very nice decoration indeed ;)

::: Connor
 
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