I like small Cameras

MrBill

MrBill

Well-known member
I know there has been a lot of support and discussion for the Panasonic 300 because it is now a "full size" camera and "it's the size a camera should be". But the reason I (and many others) like the 200 and 170 is because of it's small size, portability and quality of image.

I, like many of my colleagues, come from a film background not an ENG or video background. (For all you ENG guys) Until you have carried around a Panavison gold system for a few days, you really don't know what it's like carrying a "real" camera. :Drogar-Love(DBG): (Sarcasm)

I really think that it's probably all the old film folks ( though I don't know for sure) who made these small HD cameras such great sellers. If it wasn't for the small HD cameras, I think the film people would still be shooting film. I know I would be.

Anyway, my point here is, Panasonic please don't abandon these smaller cameras for the ENG style. I personally dislike the ENG camera style. Generally speaking it's too boxy, clumsy and conspicuous for me.

If you can get us something that would combine the 200 style with the 300 image quality, now there would be a camera :beer:
 
If you look at the Zacuto interview with the Panasonic rep discussing the 300, note that it was videoed with several HVX200s I believe
 
I'm a big fan of the smaller form factor; an ENG-size is fantastic for when you need to be hanging all sorts of gear off the camera, etc., but the smaller units can go places and get shots that the big cameras just can't. There's definitely room for both; in the press release about the 300, Panasonic said that NBC and the other NBC/Universal networks had bought "a large number" of the HPX300, but that they'd already taken delivery of a whole lot of HPX170s too. So I think it's pretty safe to say that the small cams aren't going away.
 
There is always the new Canon Vixia HFS10 that is hitting in April. Full raster 1080 CMOS imager, a surprising amount of pro features, more than any other consumer camera I have ever seen (manual focus, manual WB, manual gain, 70 and 100 ire zebras, 24p, 30p, 60i, mic input, bars and tone generator, etc.) Who would of thought on a consumer camera?

Weight - 1lb

It's just a tiny little brick of metal and plastic. I will be shooting documentary in June with it. Granted I have not shot with it yet, but it is reaching a point where you could conceivably shoot just about any type of project with a camera like this and the quality would definitely be pretty good if you knew what you were doing.

Small cameras rule, I love my 170!

Dan
 
MrBill said:
I really think that it's probably all the old film folks ( though I don't know for sure) who made these small HD cameras such great sellers. If it wasn't for the small HD cameras, I think the film people would still be shooting film. I know I would be.
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I think it has more to do with money, HD is cheaper than film. Everyone now has the opportunity to make shorts without an hourendus budget.

Ofcourse having the 300 qualtiy inside a 200 chassis would be nice, but the price would probaly fit Nasa and not "us". The ergonomic aspect also puts a few limits to how large/heavy a small camera can be. The EX1/3 are two ergonomic disasters, I've used the EX1 with mattebox/filters handheld one weekend....never again, I rather rent a HPX500 or buy the 300.
 
I hate ENG factor camera because putting a $1500 35mm adapter will make the rig ungodly long and cumbersome. But some of the people here are absolutely thrilled to buy another $6500 b4 relay lens on top of a $4500 35mm adapter to mate to a $8500 ENG cam. Go Figure.
 
puredrifting said:
There is always the new Canon Vixia HFS10 that is hitting in April. Full raster 1080 CMOS imager, a surprising amount of pro features, more than any other consumer camera I have ever seen (manual focus, manual WB, manual gain, 70 and 100 ire zebras, 24p, 30p, 60i, mic input, bars and tone generator, etc.) Who would of thought on a consumer camera?

Weight - 1lb

It's just a tiny little brick of metal and plastic. I will be shooting documentary in June with it. Granted I have not shot with it yet, but it is reaching a point where you could conceivably shoot just about any type of project with a camera like this and the quality would definitely be pretty good if you knew what you were doing.

Small cameras rule, I love my 170!

Dan
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These consumer cameras are getting amazing. I have not owned one in many years (since Super VHS-C), but a couple of months ago I ran across a demo display in Best Buy for some model of JVC Everio. It was displayed in a 50" HD screen and to me, looked sharper and more colorful than HVX footage. Definitely not filmlike, but very very sharp looking video.
 
I don't think the palm-cameras are going to go anywhere anytime soon. The biggest thing that gets me excited about the HXP300 is that it is a good camera in the price range between $5k & $20k. It seems like Panasonic, Sony, etc. are starting to make a wider range of cameras than just having 1 or 2 prosumer / budget cameras.
 
Ever shoot with a three tube beta cam ?... Talk about big and awkward.

I'm a fan of the ENG form factor, but not the weight or size. I had a chance to meet the 300 (and Jan ;-) ) at a demo here in Phoenix last week. The 300 is an awesome combination of ENG form factor in a reduced size and weight package compared to other ENG cameras. I've been using the 500 quite a bit, and the 300 is a huge improvement over it in the heft and size department. I'm quite smitten in this regard.

I like small cameras as well, but after getting them rigged out for handheld use , some of the diminutive weight and size advantage evaporates. Shooting with a wireless receiver on a small camera can be just plain funky.

I'm stoked about the size of the 300. It's a really nice compromise between functionality and size.
 
I love the "Pro" look of the 300, not to mention all the sweet features and quality. However, I still get a lot of work where it would be overkill. So I don't need to lug around a bigger tripod or bigger camera when a smaller one would work. Hell, I still get paid good money to shoot SD miniDV onto my HVX for some clients!
 
i like small cameras too...i like big cameras too...i like medium cameras too...i like cameras...

There is absolutely no way on earth Panasonic will stop making smaller cameras!!!

My smallest camera is the Sanyo Xacti, my biggest camera's are the DSR 450 and PDW 350
 
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Phil likes 'em big, Phil likes 'em small, Phil likes 'em all! :)

By the way, great review on that 300 Phil, thanks for sharing it with us!!
 
After shooting ENG for so long, and after buying the first DVX, then HVX, I gotta say, the smaller cameras turn into ergo nightmares once you start adding lights, receivers, etc. to them. Using the HVX's at, say, the Super Bowl in Tampa for example, for long soundbytes at pressers, your shoulder and arm are killing you.

Then again, swimming through the mob of press was easier with the camera.

Debits and credits......
 
"Hell, I still get paid good money to shoot SD miniDV onto my HVX for some clients!"

LOL...Me Too!! Half of my business with my HVX is "walk off with the tape/No Post" clientele still. Definitely "need" the tape in this market for a while yet. We are still, locally, not placing commercials in high def on the networks. Therefore, a very slight interest in having it shot in high def and edited that way. I feel like I am future set for a while with mine:) We are (business partner and I), debating right now whether to buy 2 (200's) or 1 (300) for business expansion purposes. We are shooting in everything in Alaska and portability is key, because accessibility is tough (in most cases off road system). We use a lot of Pelican cases and the lighter the load, obviously, the better. The pictures we get from the HVX are sooo much prettier than anything we see on High Def television locally and just as gorgeous as some of the terrain footage on Blu Ray. We know we're shooting on the "low end" of what Panasonic has to offer...and we DO look forward to shooting with the 300 some day.....but there is a reason Discovery Channel is using these little HVX's....(and I know I am on the 300 board, but we are in the process of researching one and this is an interesting thread)...if you wreck 'em, you don't drop as much $ for sure....but also, the portability/flexibility of these little guys.

I am about 70% sure we are going to go with a 300, just for some higher end shooting options and Lens flexibility....but certainly not to get it in (for "the SHOT") to most areas we make our living on the P2 cards (ie, where we don't get payed...our own projects:)). It's just too much to carry!

It's starting to be the same on the DSLR side of the coin. My Canon 40D sits in the closet more often since my wife bought me a G10 for Christmas!

Jeremy
 
I had a chance yesterday to do a little b-roll shoot with a Canon Vixia HF-11. Wow, have you guys actually held one of these? This makes my HPX170 look like a Betacam, these Vixia cameras are so tiny it's not even funny. If you have large hands, you can literally palm the camcorder and hide it in the palm of your hand. Incredible and the picture was pretty good.

I am pretty excited to buy one of the new Vixias, not sure which one yet, I want to see low light performance comparisons between the high line (8MP) and low line (3MP) models.

Dan
 
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