I kind of miss my HVX

deltoidjohn said:
I'm amazed whenever I pick up cams like a HVX200, Z1P, etc how small they are compared to most of the cameras (+ rigs) we shoot on nowadays. I remember back when I owned a Sony FX7 (With a "Juicedlink XLR adaptor", of course!), and then I used a Canon XF300 for the first time and thought the thing was a tank. I saw that same XF300 the other day sitting on a colleagues shelf and the thing was tiny.

Most of the lenses I use these days weigh as much as those older camcorders did, not to mention all the extra monitors, v-locks, shoulder rigs/rails, etc.
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And then I think back to my HVX/Brevis 35mm adapter rig which with all the components was about double the size of my comparable RED package! I think I miss the DVX more than the HVX....
 
Just watched that movie ‘Once’ again. While solidly dated, that HVX/panny mono shines through still.
 
QuickHitRecord said:
Wasn't that shot on a 1080i Sony HDV camcorder?
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That seems to be what imdb has listed. Ha, for the last decade i’ve remembered wrong then. I still like how muted and warm everything is. Being a dvd, spread out on a 60” screen, i am not really sure what exactly i was seeing, wide shots were just mush, but it had a feel. Was on in the back ground on silent. Only thing that bothered me was something about the motion, and that feeling went away pretty quickly. Is the first DVD i’ve watched in maybe 7years.

“At one point, it looked as if the movie would simply be sold as merchandise at Frames and Swell Season gigs. Getting a distributor was nearly impossible – the sound was muddy, and it didn’t look great on a big screen since it was shot on little digital cameras – and it was getting rejections from most major European film festivals. Only Galway Film Fleadh picked it up, where it was shown in July 2006“.
...and then it gets into Sundance. Pretty lovely story about the film:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/conseq...oral-history-of-john-carneys-hit-musical/amp/
 
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Jaime Valles said:
Once was shot with a DVX100, I believe.
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This was shot during the onslaught of HD, so, i’d imagine HVX or some Sony. Though, i was watching it on DVD.

Bought a bunch of DVD’s the other week to put some movies on so i can pay attention more to composition than detail.

EDIT:

Ok, i looked it up and yeah, all seems to point to the Sony HVR Z1E.

The irony is, i like “Once” 2007, but i hated the Sony HVR Z1. Tim Fleming’s craft and crew, and DVD down res did wonders for that camera. Although, they used the Z1E which had the cine features like psuedo 25p and cine gamma what-not. Which may explain some of the mojo. Only thing i disliked, was some intense chromatic aberration from the stock lens. Mostly a none-issue though.
 
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Ha, that was an interesting era. I had forgotten that the Seinfeld Bee Movie clips were shot on HVX (mostly, I'd forgotten about those clips period). A few online, like this one:

I believe that was the first time I had worked with a file based camera, because my loader managed to screw up the data transfer not once but twice, losing a bunch of footage with dire consequences.
 
That is fantastic! Pretty sure this sketch inspire Comedians in Cars.
 
I just recently picked up a used HVX200 on ebay for small money. Zero research: Impulse buy. It’s a mixed bag. It’s so well built, solid and heavy. A beefed up DVX100 form factor. I foolishly presumed it took SD cards for video. As I’m not interested in using tapes, I’m now messing about with the single P2 card (16gb) I’ve since acquired and the recording time is really short, even when shooting 720p! I got just under 18 mins in 720/25p on my 16gb card, which is really limiting and impractical for most jobs. And P2 cards, even used, are still expensive in 2020. Lacks hdmi and/or SDI as well. On the up side, I like the image a lot. A little grainy but in a good way.
 
That is cool! I have a DVX100 i have been meaning to put back into action for something. Someone had a near zero hours mint condition one, and nostalgia prevailed. I had a growing collection of classic video cameras. Was going to do a shootout with them, but that idea got shut down here on dvx100 when is started a thread about it. So, i figured probably not worth the time. But i am still interested in seeing these cameras in action. In a way it shows off the skill of the operator.
 
Try and find a used Firestore drive. Much more efficient in terms of cost and drive space. Probably dirt cheap these days if you can find one.
 
I was also inspired by this thread. Picked up a Canon XH A1 for next to nothing. I found a video on YouTube suggesting that uncompressed video could be recorded via the provided cable and a component to HDMI converter plugged into an Atomos. The converter is in the mail. Can't wait to see if it works and if I can get anything decent out of it. I think it will be a fun experiment either way.
 
Barry_Green said:
I have a dirt cheap Firestone available... Let me know.
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Hi Barry, I might be interested in that. Is it the Focus Enhancements FS100, compatible with a European HVX201? Is it 100 gb storage? I wonder would a simple ac travel adapter US to UK work to charge it over here? Am a proud owner/operator of a AF100 too - your dvd and book on that cam are great, thank you!
 
“Try and find a used Firestore drive. Much more efficient in terms of cost and drive space. Probably dirt cheap these days if you can find one.”

Good tip. I’m trying to establish if the firestore fs100 would work with my PAL European HVX201. If it does, it might be a perfect solution.
 
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James0b57 said:
That is cool! I have a DVX100 i have been meaning to put back into action for something. Someone had a near zero hours mint condition one, and nostalgia prevailed. I had a growing collection of classic video cameras. Was going to do a shootout with them, but that idea got shut down here on dvx100 when is started a thread about it. So, i figured probably not worth the time. But i am still interested in seeing these cameras in action. In a way it shows off the skill of the operator.
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I didn’t see the thread but the shoot out sounds like a fun idea. It’s peculiar, but nostalgia for old cams is real. My first cam was a Canon XM2 and the tape mechanism gave me nothing but trouble. I sold it and upgraded to a DVX100, which I loved. Sold that to upgrade to a HD cam etc. Yet, if I see an XM2 or DVX on auction sites, I’m half tempted to re-invest. I guess we bond with our cams and miss them. Of course, we’d rarely use them if we did re-invest.
 
norvan5 said:
I didn’t see the thread but the shoot out sounds like a fun idea. It’s peculiar, but nostalgia for old cams is real. My first cam was a Canon XM2 and the tape mechanism gave me nothing but trouble. I sold it and upgraded to a DVX100, which I loved. Sold that to upgrade to a HD cam etc. Yet, if I see an XM2 or DVX on auction sites, I’m half tempted to re-invest. I guess we bond with our cams and miss them. Of course, we’d rarely use them if we did re-invest.
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I especially enjoy the lower resolution cameras. Creates an impressionism. Like dof, you get to choose how much the viewer sees, but controlling how close you get to the details of the scene.

We spend so much time familiarizing ourselves with a camera, that it becomes intuitive, and the camera just disappears. Was recently shooting on a camera i hadn’t used before, and it was frustrating trying to find the thing that does the thing to do the thing. Just want to capture images, not solve a rubix cube. Although, in my down time, it can be fun learning how to make a camera look good. I think Lenny Levy mentioned how good it can feel to design a good picture profile.
 
James0b57 said:
This was shot during the onslaught of HD, so, i’d imagine HVX or some Sony. Though, i was watching it on DVD.

Bought a bunch of DVD’s the other week to put some movies on so i can pay attention more to composition than detail.

EDIT:

Ok, i looked it up and yeah, all seems to point to the Sony HVR Z1E.

The irony is, i like “Once” 2007, but i hated the Sony HVR Z1. Tim Fleming’s craft and crew, and DVD down res did wonders for that camera. Although, they used the Z1E which had the cine features like psuedo 25p and cine gamma what-not. Which may explain some of the mojo. Only thing i disliked, was some intense chromatic aberration from the stock lens. Mostly a none-issue though.
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I used the Z1U on my documentary and shot some of it in its 24p mode and i found out that if you conform the footage in apple compressor a specific way, you actually get true 24p out of that camera, the pulldown was just mapped differently than the normal standards.. dont ask me how as its been a few years since i went down that technical route lol.
 
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