HVX200 Vs HMC80

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PetRockProducer

Active member
I have the opportunity to get both at about the same price, however the HVX200 is used, whereas the HMC80 is new. Which is a better camera, the HVX200 includes 2 8g P2 Cards. It is the original version, not the HVX200A. Which Should I get, any advice? I like the Shoulder Mount, considering my hand is as steady as an Earthquake, though I am sure a Shoulder Adapter won't be too much.
Thanks for help in advance,

Petrockproducer
 
The HMC 80 will be sharper, but the HVX200 does 4:2:2, overcranking/undercranking, and should be better in lower light.
You should ask yourself whether or not you want the cheaper media and sharper picture OR do you want the superior codec and overcranking/undercranking of the HVX.
P2 media is fairly expensive esp for someone looking for long form recording.
 
YES, It would make more sense to let us know what your going to be shooting with it. Short films, green screen work hvx200,
 
Sorry Folks, I am shooting Short films, and weddings. Is it worth the deathly expensive P2 Cards, especially since that is 5 years old?

Petrockproducer
 
Hmmm… basically, I'm close to saying definitely the hmc80 for weddings, though it would be best to have someone more familiar with it chime in on lowlight capability. The original HVX was problematic in low light; the "a" is much much better. If you're trying to save money by buying one of these "older" cameras, I can't imagine that P2 is the way you want to go for longform shooting.
 
HMC80 is about 50 ISO, HVX200 is about 320. So the HVX200 is a lot more sensitive. That said, you can gain up the HMC80 to +12dB without much trouble, which would get you to about ISO 200...

Put a light on the HMC80, and for weddings/events I'd say it'd be a pretty good choice. Without a light on it, get the HVX200. Unless you absolutely would benefit from or need a shoulder-mount form factor, in which case that tips it back to the HMC80.
 
Interesting… I didn't think the ISO of the 80 was so low…. But, OP, I would look for actual footage of the type of situations you expect to be in rather than focus on specs… as the Green Barry says, you can apply a lot more gain to the 80 and still get a cleaner picture… if you have control of your lighting, as in narrative film work, I'd say you can maybe get better low light performance out of the original HVX… but for events, I at least found that there were certain ranges of brightness in the image (in the midrange, not the bottom), and certain colors, that always looked pretty bad and grainy even without gain, and that often it was not possible to salvage low light hvx footage in post. Like I said, yhe hvx200a makes a world of difference, to the point where I would never recommend the original…

so see if you can try 'em both out in the same wedding situations, and see what you can squeeze out of each! Or take a look at some of the Hmc150s people are selling off now in anticipation of the new cameras to be released in the fall…. I can guarantee that the HMC150 will blow the original hvx away in low light, and of course the media is much much cheaper!
 
The Only Issue is I only have about 2,300 to spend. 2,300 would get me the HMC80, and 1889 would get me a used HVX. I am looking at the prices, and i dont know which one is beter bang for your buck. I will look up footage, thanks for the suggestion. Are there any shoulder mounted rigs for the 200, because as I said before, my hand is as steady as an earthquake haha.

Petrockproducer
 
Personally, I use a 2 DSLR setup and my HPX170 (newer version of HVX) for weddings, but since you are on a budget, I'd go with the 80. The HVX will have a steeper learning curve, but it both are going to give you a great image. Remember that you have a zoom ring on the HVX which can help a lot. But, I spent $1100 on two 32 GB P2 cards, and I only get 160 minutes in 720p24P, which is what I regularly shoot in. You can get a single 8GB SD card for the 80 for around $80-$100 and get more time than that. It's a compromise either way.
 
Ummm... many of us use 16GB Transcend SDHC cards (with the HMC150), which range around $35, and give you 100 minutes each in the highest quality level... The cost of the used HVX plus enough P2 to shoot a few hours, depending on the shooting mode, will be at least as much as, and probably more than, an HMC150 with as much card capacity as you would ever want...

There are a number of shoulder rigs for HVX/HMC/similar cameras... but I'd suggest you try 'em if you can, they're still not as nice as a shoulder mount camera!
 
Here is another take on this:

I am a big fan of PannaCams in general, and own both the HMC40 and HPX170. The HMC40 has the same guts as a HMC80. And the HPX170 has the same imager as the HVX200a. The HVX200 is the original version of the 200a. With that qualification, I think you should be looking at the HMC-150, and you can probably find a used one within your budget. There are several reasons for this:

As good a cam as the HMC80 (40) is, without a light, it will suck inside a church for a wedding. If you know you can and will use a light, maybe the 80 will work, but this isn't always possible during the ceremony. If the wedding work isn't a priority, I would recommend the HMC80. The 40 is a terrific cam for the money, and the 80 brings much more to the package, including shoulder form factor, for only a few bucks more.

The older 200 series HVX isn't as sharp or as fast as the 200a, so if you want a HVX cam, look around for an A model. However, P2 memory will bust your stated budget for long form work like a wedding since you will want a absolute minimum of 64gigs.

The HMC150 hits the middle on this, it is as sensitive as the 200a, and uses cheap sd media. IMHO, prices will be falling on the 150 and maybe other models when the new Panny models begin shipping.

Grant
 
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