HVX200 Questions

R

richcon

New member
I'm considering getting an HVX200 for a feature film shoot in July/August, and this forum's been a great source of info on it. I've shot 16mm film and DV (Canon XL1, GL1, and Sony F100) for a few features, and it's time to make the jump to HD.

I've got a few questions about it, if anyone could help.


Can I reliably rack focus with it?

Can footage from P2 cards be transferred to a hard drive using the PC card slot on an original model 15" PowerBook G4 400mhz (barely fast enough to edit standard DV in Final Cut Pro, but not fast enough to capture footage without dropping frames)? We've got newer laptops, but none with PC Card slots. If it just mounts like a hard drive and isn't speed sensitive, there shouldn't be a problem, but you never know.

If I shoot 1080p/24 for most footage and 720p for slow motion shots, how easily will the two edit together? Or should I stick to 720p for the whole production if I want to overcrank some shots?

Any recommendations for a good, cheap on-set monitor for checking focus? (Rather constrained budget.)

Thanks!
 
richcon said:
Can I reliably rack focus with it?
Click to expand...
Absolutely.

Can footage from P2 cards be transferred to a hard drive using the PC card slot on an original model 15" PowerBook G4 400mhz
Click to expand...
Yep.

If I shoot 1080p/24 for most footage and 720p for slow motion shots, how easily will the two edit together? Or should I stick to 720p for the whole production if I want to overcrank some shots?
Click to expand...
1080 will offer a measurable but modest boost in resolution. In these early days while card sizes are small, people seem content to stick with 720pN mode. I prefer 1080, I think it's just plain better, but with the smaller card sizes you really have to take more care to manage your media. When cards get larger I bet you'll see a lot of people shifting over to 1080.


Any recommendations for a good, cheap on-set monitor for checking focus? (Rather constrained budget.)
Click to expand...
DVC Rack when it's available is going to be by far the most cost-effective way, presuming you have a potent laptop.

The ultimate low-budget way to go is to just use the built-in "focus assist" function...
 
Barry,

Thanks for the info!

My question about 1080p verses 720p is about how easily they edit together. I'd rather shoot 1080p if I can, but since the film will require some slow motion shots, I'll have to drop down to 720p for those specific shots. Will the quality difference be distracting in the final product, if it's transferred to film and projected?

I figure if someone's on hand to continually back up P2 cards, how fast we burn through them isn't as much of an issue.

Thanks for the tip on DVC Rack, I looked at their web site and it looks like a cool product. It would involve getting a new laptop since all of our current laptops are Macs. (And no Intel Macs yet, so no BootCamp.)

If we do need to get an actual on-location monitor, any tips on an inexpensive one?
 
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