HVX200 vs JVCPROHD

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Editor321

Active member
First time poster, long time viewer.

OK, Ive been racking my brain for about a week on which camera to pursue. I would like Barry G or someone in-the-know to make sure I have all my facts straight here. As I do with any tough decision, I write down positives and negatives.. .............Sorry If this post is redundant.

HVX200

Positives
1. Shoot in both 1080i and 720p /24p

Negatives
1. Architecture of camera
2. P2 in terms of cost and length of recording. Not efficient..
3. Can only shoot in HD with the P2....and only SD with minidv-Tape

Note: So the camera really cost about $8,000 if you are want to shoot in HD...well ofcourse or Ill just stay with my DVX.

JVCPROHD

Positives
1. Can shoot in HD on MiniDV tapes. (personally, Ive never had a problem with mini-DV tapes. Cheap and it does the job) Efficiency to me is a huge priority. So, with the JVC at $6,295, I get to shoot an hour of HD at 720p compared to spending $8,000 to shoot 10-20 minutes of HD, downloading to laptop and reuse (20 minutes downtime). Or spend another $1,000 to get another 4gb P2 to use in tandem.

2. JVC is better looking...this camera looks like a porsche with a porshe engine. The HVX looks like a Hyundai but has Ferrari engine.......Ive read too many articles where camera cosmetics are important to the "actor", "crew", client", etc. Not a real big deal, but image has it's place.

Negatives:
1. No 1080i for higher resolution


Synopsis - I value efficiency, I need to get in and out of shoot with a quickness and not be concerned about how much length I got when doing retakes. The P2 tech just seems too impractical at this point to shoot in HD. P2 is not something that is going to save me time....Just the opposite.

MiniDv IMO was not broken......Hell, you can use a minidv tape 20 times without drops and can get cheap at your local Walmart.

I would pay for P2 if it was feasible in terms of cost and practicality...But at this point, is just not. Correct me if Im wrong

So my real question is, how much better is 1080i over 720p and is the higher resolution worth all the known in-efficiencies of P2. As you can see, I'm leaning towards the JVC.

Now, if I can record HD with minidv on the HVX200....the HVX is going to be apart of my collection..hands down.
 
I knew this thread was *BOUND* to happen!! I'll take Jarred and Barry's advice from the HVX200 article and remain silent on the issue until we see some footage.

I think most would agree with this logic.

~reservoir~
 
Well put, Editor321... and, additionally, the JVC HD100 is scheduled for June/July availability whereas the Panny won't out until "last quarter," whatever that may mean.

So, from at least my point of view, I have to ask where's the benefit of waiting longer for Panasonic and paying more for a camera that, in some respects, does less?

Guess I'm leaning toward JVC ... but, of course, I'm watching events from NAB closely.

Regardless of all, it's durn NICE to have these choices.

--Ralph
 
You are missing the real difference. JVC is a HDV format camcorder. The Panasonic HVX200 is capable of DVCPRO HD a much higher picture quality.
 
The JVC also doesn't have variable frame rates, and (most limitingly) can't shoot "reality"-looking footage in 60p or 60i. That's a serious drawback. If you're only ever interested in shooting 24p or 30p, it may suit just fine, but if you're looking to get paying work shooting events, conventions, reality TV, news, things like that... the JVC can't deliver the look.

But they'll sell a ton of 'em.
 
Boy, the HVX is really gonna hurt the HD100's sales, as a lot of folk will be holding out for the HVX200...no matter how good the HD100's image is. But JVC should have got it right the first time with the HD1, oh well, too late now.
 
HDV sucks. The compression is really bad. Also, the JVC with its hige lens is as big as a studio camera. Not practical at all. I am sure they will sell some P2 backup devices just like the ones you see now for CF cards, not needing a laptop. Also, I think you can use a hard disk, and the camera is still smaller than the JVC.

HDV sucks.
 
Some things not on your list:

1) HVX can record HD directly to *ANY* off-the-shelf Hard Disk, not just to P2. You want to record long takes of 1080? Just plug in a cheap 120GB Firewire drive to the camera. Thats 2 hours of 1080 material, 4 of 720, 8 of SD (I believe).

2) HVX can do 1080 at 24p, not just 1080 interlaced. This is the biggest factor for me. 1080/24p in DVCProHD that can record direct-to-Hard Disk, as well as P2, and also SD to tape. It's the best of both worlds.
 
"hdv sucks"... lol i wouldnt quite say that.. id say it "bites dog butt".. which is similar.. but it involves a dogs butt.


lol anyway.. im not being totally serious.. HDV is ok for people that HDV is ok for.
..as for me, its not ok.
 
nobody seems to mention that JVC has INTERCHANGEABLE real MANUAL HD lenses!
The quality of the image is as good as the glass in front (not to say HDX is made of window pane glass - but it doesnt look like it has manual controls)
 
redindian said:
nobody seems to mention that JVC has INTERCHANGEABLE real MANUAL HD lenses!
The quality of the image is as good as the glass in front (not to say HDX is made of window pane glass - but it doesnt look like it has manual controls)
Click to expand...

Sort of. But my DVX footage looks a heck of a lot better than XL1 footage with 16x manual lens.

I'm all for a good lens, but I'll take DVCProHD, 1080/24p and recording to P2/firewire/usb2 drive ANY DAY over HDV at 720p.
 
so you can go buy any harddrive get a firewire enclosure and plug this bad boy up and record?

Whats the use in p2 get a harddrive
 
JRV3034...see thats just it...99% of my shooting is on the move..Im not going to be able to plug any firewire connection to my camera...I need the mobility.

Barry G....the JVC doesnt have as many framerates, which is why I still go back and forth on this decision. I love what Panny has done in given us all these options..

"HDV sucks"...well, I have seen Sony HDV on videos and reality television...and it's pretty awesome footage.

P2 P2 P2 P2......is my hangup I guess. Panny gave us the world and said, "but, you have to buy our expensive memory cards". Panny will make more money on P2 cards than they will in HVX sales. Guranteed.

I can see replacing these bad boys either through damages, or losing - misplacing every 6 months....And at $2,000 a pop....wow. I mean, it's the size of a credit card for crying out loud. The card will undergo being changed out and moved around, and downloaded, and uploaded, etc.

I have two 60 min. minidv tapes with footage that I havent even uploaded yet. Conveniatly, they are just sitting on tapes in my closest to be uploaded at my leisure. I cant do that with P2 cards because the real-estate is too valuable. Every 15 min of recording would require me to upload the p2 cards. And doing this at the shoot is not an option.

But, Im a penny pincher...you guys with big budgets can afford 4 or 5 32gb P2 cards for as much or more than the camera itself....
 
goober542 said:
so you can go buy any harddrive get a firewire enclosure and plug this bad boy up and record?

Whats the use in p2 get a harddrive...oh yeh what is filter diameter?
Click to expand...

The direct to disk option for the HVX has yet to be officially confirmed, though there are strong reasons for asserting it will have the option.
Regardless, the use of a P2 drive is above and beyond everything, it's a little a head of its time, but within a year or two, if you own the HVX, there's a 90% chance you'll be utilizing the P2 drives, I still can't believe it's actually there though, it is the future...but it's here now :)

Oh, and I believe the lens diameter of the HVX is said to be 82mm.
 
redindian said:
nobody seems to mention that JVC has INTERCHANGEABLE real MANUAL HD lenses!
The quality of the image is as good as the glass in front (not to say HDX is made of window pane glass - but it doesnt look like it has manual controls)
Click to expand...

Not to diminish the importance of good glass, but a fujinon lens on my camera phone isn't going to give me a good image. Still I want to see the results. Looks like FCP5 is set to handle HDV pretty good. But still. My eyes must see.
 
It's way too early for any pronouncements on the quality of JVC's Pro HD flavor of HDV. Considering that Panasonic is pretty good about release dates, I'd sure wait for a head to head comparison of image quality between the two cameras. It will only be a few months between the camera releases. If you absolutely need to use a super telephoto lens for something like wildlife work, the JVC seems appealing. If the HVX will indeed record directly to off-the shelf HDDs, then I'd be hard pressed to find many other other reasons to pick the JVC. If the HVX doesn't support direct to HDD recording, then the JVC may be more affordable out of the box for HD recording. However, there's no getting around the fact the HDV data stream is capped at 25 Mbs. So the JVC will be delivering a much more highly compressed flavor of HD with significantly lower chroma sampling. This may not matter for less demanding applications, but again, show me the direct comparison of image quality and workflow. I like JVC, but they have a tendancy to go 80% of the way with their products. Let's hope they nailed this one because it's great to have a choice and for some users, the interchangeable lens is a necessity.
 
-and (most limitingly) can't -shoot "reality"looking footage in 60p or 60i. That's a serious drawback-

I thought the JVC couls shoot 720 60p
 
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