is the weight of the hvx200 unmanageable for doing a lot of handheld shots outdoors?

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wildernesstv

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i film high speed mountain biking outdoors, is the weight unmanageable?

does it help or hurt ability to keep it steady?

:dankk2:
 
It defiantly isnt a feather in your hands. I like the extra weight for keeping it steady but I after about 30mins filming off a jetski or from a boat handheld It gets really really heavy
 
nope not at all, I've done some work for Intense & Turner in the past using HVXs and I weigh in at like 150 with not a lot of muscle haha, they're a breeze.
 
For a long shoot you will definitely start to become aware of it's weight. Not terrible and you can work through it, but you will be aware of it.
 
If you put together a tight handheld rig, you can counter balance the weight on your shoulder, this works tried and true! You can do smooth pan and tilt shots, but i would not do it for hours in a row. Also a HI HAT is fantastic for just dragging it around for low shots intense close ups .

I would love to hear about and see more "tried and true " handheld rigs for us shooters out there, especially with dof adapter. Cheers
 
It's situational for me. I like the weight of the HVX for the conventional "at around shoulder height" shots. I find it problematic on the high and low angle shots and any others where I can't get adequate support from the rest of my body. I'm not a very strong person. It will probably feel heavy after 15 minutes of constant shooting.

That being said, I directed a music video recently which involved A LOT of handheld shooting. My DP had no problem keeping the HVX steady even in situations where he had to twist his body and hold the camera inside the drum kit. He is bigger than me but I think the real reason was his experience of 15 odd years doing ENG work.

So, if you already have a lot of experience doing this kind of stuff... it might not be so bad.
 
You may want to try a shoulder mount rig. I've used the Anton Bauer "Stasis" model. It counterbalances nicely with their brick battery. I understand that they've upgraded it recently, but haven't tried the new rig.

Although assembly with your camera takes some getting used to, it works great and keeps the camera steady. If you tire, you can take it off your shoulder and hold the camera by the handle down low. It's surpisingly balanced and you can hold the camera steady for quite awhile this way.

I know there are a few other alternatives, but that would probably be another thread.

Good luck!
 
The problem with the handheld HVX is that it's unstable on all axis, whereas a shoulder-mounted camera is only unstable on one (maybe two) axis.

It's the roll that really makes handheld footage look handheld, and the HVX is terrible for it because of the high CoG and that the grip is far out onto the side.

I found that putting hand-holds on the sides really helps. I don't put it on my shoulder as I'm tall and the camera is too high and is always looking down on people, but hold it at chest-height, holding it from the rails (which holds the matte-box), and keeping it tight against the body to steady it. This gives a good steady "hand held" look without making viewers seasick.
 
I find that the OIS is very good with the HVX200 in hand-held work. I've gone 3-4 hrs straight on doc projects, with only swapping cards and random landscape shots on sticks as a downtime, and I'm loving it. Though, at 5'8" and 155lbs the HVX200 feels like an 18 wheeler in my hand after about an hour. That's when I improvise and use the environment or different angles to support myself.

I do have beef with the OIS on the HPX170, being lighter makes it worse to do decent hand held shots. I've packed on weight with accessories like wireless receivers, Frezzi light and NP1 battery to be even heavier than the bare HVX200 but the result is that the 200 is still more stable than the 170 even at a heavier weight.

Thinking maybe trading the 170 for the 200A but I sure do like the SDI of the 170 to shoot ProRes HQ to the Kona3 card for compositing work. Oh well, maybe I need to rent the 300 for the weekend to see if it's worth it. Bigger cams do bring in more money with these clients I'm working with...
 
wildernesstv said:
i film high speed mountain biking outdoors, is the weight unmanageable?

does it help or hurt ability to keep it steady?

:dankk2:
Click to expand...

No, it's not unmanageable. I think getting a steady shot is more difficult than with the DVX100 though.

I've shot mountain biking with a bunch of cameras, and the HVX200 is my favorite. It's easier to manage than the Panasonic HPX500 or Canon XL-H1, mainly because you can just take the HVX200 out of your bag, and shoot. Not like with those others, which are bulky and difficult to ride with.

If you have trees around, use them to lean up against.

-Andrew
 
I shot a 2 months Making of the movie.
I was hand held from 6 am to 9 pm, you get used to it,
And as said before, a good physical shape is really important to get good steady shots.
 
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