HVX205 Questions and Help

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We'll Fix it in Post

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Hello all! We are new to the community, but have read heavily when we were considering the camera to buy, and everyone here was so knowledgable, we knew that it was the right community to join, and the right camera to buy. We ended up purchasing an HVX205.

We, (Tim Feeney and Chris Wilson) have had to become camera operators, after some issues with our last cameraman, and feel a bit in the dark about how to set things up. We were using a Sony V1U, and had excellent picture quality, clarity and color with that camera, but decided that when it was time to move on, we'd look into something that was perhaps a better camera, and switched to this Panasoic HVX205. We are noticing however, a great deal of noise, blocky artifacting, and desaturated color in the picture.

Notice please that in the footage captured from the 205, the sky, rocks and ground gets a strange artifacting "blockyness" to it, causing the image to look noisy and jagged, whereas the Sony's picture blends well and is very smooth. The other thing to notice is that the picture is VERY desaturated from the 205, whereas the picture from the Sony is saturated very nicely, giving the overall look a much better feel. in the bottom set of pictures, note that the 205 is very noisy and grainy, whereas the Sony is crisp and clear.

We are recording to a firestore device, the FS-100, and have been going through page after page of PDF and suggestions on setting the camera up, seemingly to little avail. We're not sure if it's is us that are setting things up wrong, or if perhaps something is wrong with the camera. The Sony required littel setup, and we are in the process of running though all this information to get that picture quality back that we so desperately need to finish this film. Any thoughts and suggestions, input or feedback would be ever so greatly appreciated!

Thank you from your friends at We'll Fix it in Post Productions.
www.wellfixitinpost.com

 

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I've never heard of an HVX205. I know the US models were 200 and 200a. Your handle says you're in Washington. Maybe you got your hands on a PAL version? Secondly, did you try downloading scene files from the panasonic website. Thats always a good place to start. And lastly, are you getting the same problem when recording to P2 cards?

cheers
 
From what I understand from reading reviews on it and such, the 205 is the next model made after the 200s, but not much changed on it from the 200 models.

I didn't know there were additional scene files that were downloadable, that's great to know! Although will a scene file change the quality that much (removing the grain, blocky encoding, ect?).

We don't have any P2 cards. They didn't seem like a very viable option as it would take thousands of dollars to get enough P2 cards to handle even a few minutes of footage, which is why we went the firestore route (although if we had the money, we would have loved to have bought a whole bag of P2s, enough to film a full day with)
 
As far as I know the only replacement to the HVX200 is the 200A. A quick browse of Panasonic USA website will show all of their current model cameras.

A couple things you could try:
1. Look under the viewfinder of your camera to verify the actual model number. (I think thats where it is. somebody correct me if I'm wrong!)
2. Rent or borrow a friend's P2 card and shoot some tests using scenefiles downloaded from the panny website.
3. Rent or borrow a friend's HVX200 or 200A and shoot similar tests using a P2 card as well as your FS-100.

You may be able to persuade a rental house or panasonic dealer in your area to let you do these tests at no cost. I have a feeling you are trying to record to a NTSC device (FS100) using a PAL source(HVX-20x).

Maybe Barry Green or Jan can chime in here. All the best!
 
FIX IT IN POST. Yes the HVX 205 is the Japan version. I hope you got a good deal on it. Good luck if you need repair support. You may have saved in the beginning but in the long run you will pay more.

The HVX is not a "point and shoot" camera. You have total control over the look of your scenes. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with your camera. You are responsible for the look. Don't rely on your cameras LCD for picture accurate look. Get a very good HD reference monitor.

There are some things that simply can not be fixed in post. Garbage in garbage equals out. Your screen name fits you perfectly. Not a reputation I would like to have.
 
From what I've read this is common on the HVX200 as well as the HVX205, if you do a google search....

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hvx200+noise

Pretty much all digital video cameras will have some pixelation/artifacting/noise when in lower light situations. Sony cams have been known to do better in lower light situations than Panasonic cams. It gets worst when you have an adapter creating light loss. You'd then have to overcompensate with much more light. You should look into adjusting the colors to see if that helps some.
 
Purchase a copy of the HVX and HPX book by Barry Green. It will explain all the scene file setup functions very clearly and how you can use them to create various looks for the image you desire. You should be able to produce outstanding images from this camera. Best of luck!
 
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