input from dvx100a users/

J

jimstamos

Active member
Im shooting dvcam now, but would love to shoot my upcoming feature with more of a film look and am looking at buying the 100a.

Id really like to hear from those who have used both the 100a and pd150/170 so i can get on hands experience from users who have used the panny and sony/

on 24p, will it be obvious to me that the footage looks pretty close to a film look??or will it still look videoish?
how is the lowlight images on this cam vs. the pd170 which is very good.
as well as the overall image quality, performance, features etc. vs the 170.

likes/dislikes of the 100a?

any other input appreciated
 
I have extensive experience with the PD150 and VX2000.

on 24p, will it be obvious to me that the footage looks pretty close to a film look??or will it still look videoish?
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Compared to a PD170? It will look night and day different. Someone looking at the PD170 image, and then seeing the DVX image, would instantly think the DVX was film.

Compared to actual film? Not exactly the same. But you can tweak it in post to get it to look exceptionally filmlike. There's a segment on my The DVX DVD where I did exactly that -- shot film and DVX footage, split-screened 'em, and showed how similar they were. Then I did a little work in post and got them to match extremely closely (IMHO).

In short, if you want the film look, run (don't walk) to get a DVX.

how is the lowlight images on this cam vs. the pd170 which is very good.
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Very close. The 170 has a bit more sensitivity, but the 100 is right up there. The 170's gain circuit adds a lot of noise and drains color away, the 100A's gain circuit adds more noise but preserves more color. If the 170 was a "10" in low-light performance, the 100A is a 9.5. But it can get grainy in low light situations. A $40 20-watt light can make all the difference, for both cameras.

as well as the overall image quality, performance, features etc. vs the 170.
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The 100A is as good as, or better than, the 170 in every category. The only place the 170 has an advantage is in a longer telephoto reach (72mm vs. 45mm), but the DVX has a wider-angle lens (4.5mm vs. 6mm).

All this is really irrelevant though -- because your main question was:
would love to shoot my upcoming feature with more of a film look
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That right there says it all. The DVX100A is the only game in town.
 
Go with the DVX100a. For a while I looked at other cameras. But it really seems like the best choice. Even you're strapped for cash. It wont dissapear off the market for a while (I hope). So I'll be waiting a few more months to save up money to buy it. I know that in the long run it will be worth it.
 
I would say try and get to a store with a demo 100a and switch it to Scene 5 and see for yourself, that's what sold me... My only (slight) disappointment was that when viewing the footage on a 40" widescreen tv, the quality of the image, (ie: the resolution of any given frame) caused it to look more "video" than it did on a 15" monitor... but just realize the distinction I'm making; the "film look" is actually a function of 2 simultaneous factors: the frame rate (24o) and the quality of each of those frames (ie: the color saturation, softness of the image etc..) and it is because the dvx does BOTH of these so well, that it is the closest to the "film look." The bigger you get with the image however, the more the quality of the image seems to degrade.
 
I hope Mr. Green looks at this page again, but I'm sure anyone can answer this question for me. I just got my DVX100A after being sold on it from the book and DVD 2 days ago, literally. I switch to Scene File 5 immediately and shoot half a tapes worth of just around the house stuff. Now the problem is, as soon as I'm done getting all of the footage onto my Mac. And I play it back. ALL of the audio is completely out of sync with the video. I am using Final Cut Express HD. Is that wrong? I can't afford Final Cut Pro. Heck, I just got the DVX. I won't be buying anything else for a long while. Can someone please help me. I didn't change hardly any settings in the camera. Just opened up the box and turned the dial and started shooting. Shot audio at 48khz. And I set the easy setup to DV NTSC Basic Firewire I believe. PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!
 
Are there a lot of breaks in the timecode on the tape? These are normally caused when you stop recording and review your footage but don't cue it up again exactly before recording again. Were you doing this in your excitement of having a new camera?

If you capture over a timecode break with FCP, it often gets confused and knocks the audio out of sync. In the future, avoid timecode breaks whilst filming and if they do happen, try not to capture over them - stop and start capturing for each piece of timecode. You will miss a break here and there and have to sync manually in FCP, but this is no problem. I am so used to it now, I can normally guess how many frames out something is first time.
 
Well it sounds like FCP has issues. I use Vegas, and for me I can't be sure there is a sync problem unless I do a render. Playback from the timeline can get out of sync just do to processor issues.

One possible solution for you will be to black the tape first, so that every bit of tape has timecode on it. Just run the tape in record mode with the lens cap on, beginning to end, then rewind. Then when you actually shoot, there wil be SOME timecode on every bit of tape. I have never needed to do this, but have heard it works.

Don't worry, more people will probably show up. :shocked:

And in the future, you will do better to start a new thread with a subject directly related to your issue. Lots of people do not read threads that:

a) have stupid non-descript subject lines :evil:
b) have already been read, and determined to be of no further interest. :beer:

So next time you have a question, you should start a new thread with a title of (example) "Sync problem with FCP". Of course, a search for those kind of keywords may answer your question without even having to post or waiting for the right response (vs my non-FCP advice).
 
When you say you shot 24P, are you sure you set it in 24P or ADVANCED 24P?

I've heard some systems have the audio sync problem you mentioned. They can handle the regular but not the ADVANCED 24P.

When I bought my own camera, I was warned of this possible problem...I'm not sure what the technical solution is as I'm still on the learning curve myself.
 
It might be simple. Are you looking at video from the timeline, or after being rendered? Quite often, the audio/video on the timeline can get out of sync on a too-slow computer, but the render should be okay if this is the issue. OTOH, capturing 24p into FCP is a bit trickier than with Vegas (which does it automagically). Check all your settings and recapture.
 
Galt, I was under the impression that you don't need to black miniDV tapes as it's usually just a waste of time. I could be wrong though. What do other users do? I've never blacked a tape and haven't had any timecode issues yet.
 
Hee hee. I hate these old threads that come back to life. I end up repeating myself (like about rendering....).

I don't black tapes, but have had a couple of times when I had capture issues that might have been solved by pre-blacking the tape. Now I just make very sure to have a short 5 second clip at the beginning of every tape before I start the "real" shots. And since I do bulk capture and don't generally review things too much in the field, I don't have timecode issues. But I only have about 40 hours on my DVX, so I am not a good role model.
 
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