Just when I'd made up my mind...

DammitJanet

DammitJanet

Well-known member
Ugh...so I was finally set on the DVX100B and preparing to put down my hard earned cash since the features of the HVX seemed to be...not what I was looking for. Then I take a gander at the HD100U, and I seem to find myself reconsidering... I mean, I'm in no huge hurry to start shooting in HD. As an indie filmmaker I mostly want the 24p. However, I'd like to be ready for HD24p when the time comes. I don't even have an HDTV yet. But would it be smarter to save a little longer now and get the HD100U for $4000 or get the DVX for $2500 and sell it in 3 to 5 years to afford the HD100U when HD becomes a bit more mainstream/accessible?

I just can't seem to find the features that would make or break it for me either way...other than the price of course. I mean, I love the size of the DVX. It totally fits my guerilla shooting personality. But HD24p will be nice when the ability to utilize it fully is here. Can the HD100U even be put on a Glidecam? Does it shoot native 16x9 out of the box? Thanks, you guys are the greatest.
 
I would get the JVC because when HD is ready to take over the world in one quick swoop you will be ready. Im sure alot of people will argue with me because some people are obsessed with the dvx.
 
In my limited experience with the DVX, I can safely say it certainly is a nice camera, dare I say, it is the SD camera to beat. But when compared to the advantages the HD100U can give you, I'd say go for it rather than the DVX. If the HDV part doesn't bother you (though it doesn't bother me either, I'm just looking for something else because I'll be using a lot of greenscreen in my projects), then it should be the camera for you. So far from what I've seen, it does the best job of doing 24p in HD for an HDV camera. The HVX is different, since it's not HDV, and I haven't seen much footage from it. The JVC also has the interchangeable lens option which will be better utilized in the future.

I wouldn't worry too much about the SSE issue if that bothers you at all, though you probably already know this, it occurs mostly on the +18db gain setting which, if you light well enough, shouldn't be a problem since you would be aiming to not use gain at all.

I don't know much about these people saying that SD is going to be around for a long time, demand is blowing up for HD. Though it will take a while, it would be a safer investment to buy an HD camera today than to spend the money on an SD camera now and then have to buy an HD camera down the road. Plus, HD provides a lot of advantages in resolutionm, color reproduction, and all that jazz.

So, whatever works for you. Also, yes the JVC does film native 16:9 right out of the box and yes, it can be used with a Glidecam. Don't worry too much about the size of the HD100U, it's not too big at all.
 
myfriendimage said:
Im sure alot of people will argue with me because some people are obsessed with the dvx.
Click to expand...

How can anyone argue from HighDef to StandardDef ? However, the HVX gives you High Def and Standard Def............

Hmmm. Back to Sqaure 1 :happy: :shocked:
 
Righteous. Thanks guys. I'm curious about the "HDV" issue though. How does one better the other, especially considering greenscreen?
 
DammitJanet said:
Righteous. Thanks guys. I'm curious about the "HDV" issue though. How does one better the other, especially considering greenscreen?
Click to expand...

the one drawback i ever experienced is the 4:2:0 color compression, thats what usually makes it not as good for green screening, while true HD is 4:2:2 and uncompressed is 4:4:4. Some people complain about frame drops but usually I hear that from DVX users who are need something to complain about on HDV, I have had my Fx1 and used hdv for around 6 months and never had 1 drop out.
 
Dammit, I shot a doc with both HD100 and DVX100A. I could set the settings on the JVC to match the DVX and the colours were very similar. However, the resolution of the HD100 was superior and I was shooting in SD mode (25P on both). The JVC is a far superior camera, I see no other reason but the price for you to purchase the DVX.

You can see a comparision between the 2 cameras here. This test have no colour adjustments so all you can judge is the resolution.
 
Remember, the DVX doesn't have true 16:9. I own one and love it, but lack of 16:9 would stop me from buying it from this point forth. The HVX is 16:9, but you said its features were not what you wanted...
Re: Greenscreen, the JVC has analogue uncompressed out, I believe. Nice for that.
For me it's the JVC all the way if money isn't an issue.
 
John_Hudson said:
How can anyone argue from HighDef to StandardDef ? However, the HVX gives you High Def and Standard Def............
Click to expand...
John, the HD100 also does HD and SD. It will shoot HDV in 720P24, 720P25, 720P30 as well as 480P60 and 576P50.
When you switch it to DV mode, it does everything the DVX does, except it is a true 16x9 CCD. (24Pnormal, 24P advanced, 60i, 4x3 or 16x9)

If the decision to be made is a DVX or HD100, I think you get more bang for you buck with the HD100. It is very versatile and the interchangable lens system leaves you open for upgrades later.
 
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No knock on HD, but look at it this way - you can get your DVX for $2500. Great buy, great camera. $2k more gets you the JVC with HD, although it doesn't get you a monitor/HD/CPU to edit on - HDV is demanding. But hell, as long as you're playing the 'wait' game, why not consider Andromeda? Or G35? Or HVX? All of them have advantages.
The point is, save as long as you possibly can, then get the best camera for the money at the time you MUST buy. But why buy and then have your camera collect dust for a year? If you can wait, wait.
 
Actually, I built my new computer in case I would be editing HD, so I think I'm prepared for that (Pentium4 Prescott 3.0Ghz with 2GB of dual-channel RAM and 7800 GT video card for starters). If by HD in "monitor/HD/CPU" you mean shooting to a hard drive, I'm fine and dandy shooting on MiniDV. In fact, P2 cards are one of the reasons I don't want the HVX (I like having plenty of time to record, and tapeless media just isn't inexpensive enough for me yet). However, you mentioned a monitor...can you elaborate on what kind I would need and why?
 
The Dell 24" is a good buy. I'm looking at one right now. It's the same internals as the Apple 24" only about $500+ cheaper. They always have Dell online deals to get it even cheaper.
Of course, if "monitor" was referring to "on-set monitor for critical focusing", I have absolutely no idea on that.
 
DammitJanet said:
Actually, I built my new computer in case I would be editing HD, so I think I'm prepared for that (Pentium4 Prescott 3.0Ghz with 2GB of dual-channel RAM and 7800 GT video card for starters). If by HD in "monitor/HD/CPU" you mean shooting to a hard drive, I'm fine and dandy shooting on MiniDV. In fact, P2 cards are one of the reasons I don't want the HVX (I like having plenty of time to record, and tapeless media just isn't inexpensive enough for me yet). However, you mentioned a monitor...can you elaborate on what kind I would need and why?
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I understood monitor/HD/CPU to refer to what you need for editing HDV footage. If you are using intermediate codecs to make the NLE more responsive and reduce generation loss, you will need lots of hard disk space, hence the HD part. The monitor is to view the high resolution footage on during editing. This can be very expensive if you buy something high-end, or it can be pretty cheap if you use the Vegas method of outputting the HD video on a PC-style LCD panel. What the colour integrity of these solutions is like I have no idea, because I too am still in SD land.

Richard Hunter
 
Ok, I gotcha. My hard drive is a Seagate 250GB currently. I'm planning on adding another sometime soon. As for my monitor, I wanted a Dell widescreen, but I just can't afford it. So I got a Sony SDM-HS95. Think that'll cover it?
 
DammitJanet said:
Ok, I gotcha. My hard drive is a Seagate 250GB currently. I'm planning on adding another sometime soon. As for my monitor, I wanted a Dell widescreen, but I just can't afford it. So I got a Sony SDM-HS95. Think that'll cover it?
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Is this for video monitoring only, or is it your main PC monitor? I think you would need a second monitor just for video, but I'm still a bit dubious of using LCD for that. No doubt we'll all have to take this step eventually when we move away from SD.

Richard
 
So you're using only one monitor? Depending on your NLE, it might be worth getting another one when you can. Vegas, for example, will allow you to display the video on a secondary LCD panel. This means that you don't have to allocate most of your work area to the video. (A full size HD window can be pretty big!)

Richard
 
Good point, and I'll definitely consider it. I got such a great deal on this one and I'm sure by the time I start doing HD I could use another. I should mention though that at this time, I'm not planning on shooting any HD with the HD100. I'm going to use its SD 24p capabilities for now and get good and used to shooting with it. When HD becomes a little more standard (i.e. HDTVs in every home, and the madness between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD settled) I'll take the plunge. Can't wait. Woot!
 
Hopefully no one will mind if I jump in here and question away, since I'm on the same fence.

My setup:

Dell Dim 8400 P4 3.0
2G RAM
2 160G HD's
NVidia Geforce 6800 256MB Video card
2 19" LCD Monitors (not widescreen)
Vegas 6c
Adobe After Effects 6.5
Adobe Photoshop CS2

I have no camera yet, but was leaning toward the HVX, but don't like the p2 cards. Then I was set on the DVX100b, and then came across the JVC. With the setup I have, and the fact that I want to shoot in 24p 16.9, could someone recommend either camera over the other? Granted Hi Def would be the way to go, but what is the problem with greenscreen on HDV?

Thanks.
 
A greenscreen shooter could answer better, but DV has issues greenscreening. I don't know that HDV would be much worse than that.
You may have heard some of the hype about the better colourspace of the HVX for greenscreening. Theoretically true I suppose.
Someone around here must've greenscreened JVC footage though?

Oh, BTW, as I said previously, I've got a DVX100a. Can't think of a reason, other than cost, to stick with that non 16:9, non HD camera. Esp. since you said you wanted 16:9, 24p. JVC appears the cheapest option, and a pretty decent one by the sounds of it.
 
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