Moving from an A1 to a HPX500

Hobbes00

Hobbes00

Well-known member
Hi guys, I've been shooting with the A1 for over 2 years and been loving it.

I realized I need a bigger cam that can give me solid sharp film-like image and better DOF without an adapter.

A 2/3 CCD with a customized Lens option was the thing i needed.
I can't shoot with CMOS because I do alot of live events. And I see myself shooting live-multi-switch events in the near future too. So HPX500 was the thing for me.

A question regarding focusing with the HPX500 VF - Is it worst than the XH-A1's LCD Screen?

Moving from the XH-A1 level to the professional camcorder level is a huge jump because I NOTHING about what sort of batteries I should get, what lens should I consider, any other accessories I would definitely need?

- Batteries (What options I do have?)

- Lenses:
I wouldn't want a super tele. Something slightly wide would be nice. I like the wide angle I can get from the A1 with the canon wide-angle adapter attached.
In terms of quality - As long as it looks better than the A1, I'm a happy dude.

-P2 Cards:
I'm think I'll go for 32x3 e series cards? Anything else I should get?

-P2 Store:
I think this would be the easiest compared to having a laptop beside me. Any other options?

-Sticks:
I got sticks, no worries about this.

-Any other items?

I guess as long as the image quality bashes the XHA1 - I'm fine. I not exactly aiming for varicam like images as of now. :P

Thanks for hearing me out, can't wait to order my HPX500. (Oh, where should I order from? I'm from Singapore)

Best Regards,
David L
www.fps.com.sg
 
David,

Your search for better images is wonderful, but I want to brace you for the transition.

Finding a camera to "bash" the A1's image quality is looking for Varicam images. I don't know if an HPX-500 would per se bash the A1 as the A1 produces fine images.

Broadcast cameras imho produce more refined output. To Bash the A1 you would need to spend well over $30,000

What is your end budget? For all of the gear?

The A1 is a $3500 camera. To get tripod, memory, lens & camera body in 2/3" chip size is going to be around $20,000 on the low end.

This is where your business side has to kick in. How often do you shoot in a situation that will pay back the $17,000 difference?

How many rentals could you get for $17,000?

Just want to let you know from sombody who made this transition from small cameras to large cameras, it is a big step.

Let me know your thoughts.
 
Going from a small handheld 1/3" to fullsize 2/3" is a big step, also business wise. As bassman2003 pointed out, it's way more expensive and you need the business to pay for it.

I added the HPX500 to my arsenal this spring, rolled back and forth on if the 300 could to the job and the conclusion was that CMOS ain't safe enough to shoot everything from news to more filmic jobs.

Back in April I ended up with:

Hpx500, with 4 16gb cards as the came with the camera.
Canon KJ16x7.7
2 x IDX 10S batteries
IDX 2Plus charger

So far I'm happy with it, there will always be compromises with budget solutions. The VF are not very good, but so far it get's the job done...and I shoot a lot of action sport.


Batteries..
Well, IDX/Anton Bauer are ofcourse safe...but pro batteries and charges cost a lot. I can work trough a day with my to IDX bricks with ease.

Lens..
2/3" lenses are expensive, going HD...VERY expensive. The Canon KJ series are the budget series from canon and ain't that bad to be HD. A lot of people use SD lenses as a budget solution for the 500, which cuts cost dramaticly but also can give you a bit softer image.

P2..
I would not buy the P2 store, it was ment for offloading back when we had 4gb P2 cards. Buy another P2 card or two.

As for tripod...
I've used my old Sachtler DV6Sb as it do work for the simple stuff...and it's light. But the ideal tripod is a 100mm, for example Sachtler DV12 for ENG or Video15 for EFP. I'm currently renting Sachtler Video15/18, Vinten Vision100/AS8/AS10 and waiting to demo a Panther X15 to be able to decide I have to get some feel for all the options as the tripod/head will stay with me for probably the next 10 years or so.
Bassman2003 said:
David,
Finding a camera to "bash" the A1's image quality is looking for Varicam images. I don't know if an HPX-500 would per se bash the A1 as the A1 produces fine images.
Click to expand...
It depends on how we mean bash...

So far my opinion are that my old Z1 don't stand a chance against the 500 in any way, even in perfet light. In more challenging light with harder contrast the dynamic range of a 2/3" makes mincemeat of a 1/3" and some times the 1/2" cameras two.
As for compression and post, HDV are just to compressed. HDV don't even come close to dvcprohd. It's 25Mb/s, 4:2:0 vs 100Mb/s 4:2:2. There is a good reason why HD broadcasters limit the amount of hdv footage allowed if not for a special reason where hdv are the most sensible format(for example deadliest catch discovery channel..). Even though the 500 are not rated for high end use, it's way better than hdv from a 1/3" camera. Ofcourse seen from my pure technical point of view, I've seen some fantastic images done with HDV but it does have its limitations.
 
Bassman2003 said:
Finding a camera to "bash" the A1's image quality is looking for Varicam images. I don't know if an HPX-500 would per se bash the A1 as the A1 produces fine images.
Click to expand...

That depends on your definition of what "image quality" is. Sure for resolution, no argument. But there are many other factors that I consider important for image quality. And here's some BIG advantages the 500 has over the A1, and keeping in mind I used to own an A1 and thought it was great.

- Dynamic Range - simply no contest. A1 is no where near the 500, now you can sit back and argue exactly how many stops, but I will simply state that in the "real world" the difference is a big one.

- Low light - well you mention live events - I assume you get into low light at times. The 500 will show you things you havent seen in the darkness for awhile.

As far as batteries, I found the AB's very expensive in Tokyo so I went with IDX V mount - purchased the following - Endura VL2 plus charger, 4 x IDX endura 10 and AB gold mount to V mount adapter plate.

As for lens, you will need to check around to see what fills your need. There are a number of people on this forum that use/used SD lenses with solid results, theres a thread about it somewhere, Id go through that.

Regarding focusing I personally wouldnt say there's a huge difference focusing on the 500's evf as compared to the A1's LCD. I always have the EVFs peaking on max. Ive seen a lot complain, but Ive never really had any issue.

I do use a laptop to offload. Never found it too inconvenient. I bought a windows laptop, even though I edit on MAC. Simply cheaper than other options.

Thats all I have time for right now.
 
Ditto on all the above.

IDX and Anton Bauer are great, as far as longevity goes. I use AB myself, and go long days using only 2 of the Dionic 90's.

A standard def Canon J20x7 worked great in Uganda. Shooting side by side with an EX3 at full raster 1080, so far, so good in post (although to be fair, he had an SD lens as well).

All I can add is buy from Abel Cine in LA. My first 500 went down after two days--wouldn't power on, I tried different batteries, and an AC adapter. Breaker on the bottom wasn't tripped either. Abel Cine sent one out pronto without even seeing the broken one.

Love the 500!
 
Do not forget to order a mic. HPX500 comes without a mic. I ordered all items I needed in B&H New York. I use two Switronix AB mount type XP-L90A batteries - not so expensive as Anton Bauer and also keep power for a long time. 4x16GB is the end limit of memory capacity (for me) even when I shoot dvcpro 50 (130 min of recording). I would like to have another one 32GB memory card but it costed a lot when I ordered my camera. I have also on board LCD monitor and it is great in focusing. Tripod like sachtler 18SB or 25 is the best solution for my job (mainly documentaries). I do not need any P2 stores - laptop is the best way to transfer clips. (But I must mention that I do not like workflow of P2 because of clip names... When I transfer them from HPX500 into Final Cut clips appeared in bin window completely "disorganised". If I have a lot of them I must look for a clip a little bit... XDCam is better: clips have own numbers and names stored in camera before recording and in bin window of Final Cut after transfer procedure a first clip is a first shot clip - the last one is the last shot.)
And remember: HPX500 is really proficam and prices of all components are very expensive...
 
hi just a question i was gonna buy 300 So HPX300 is no good for live events and wedding videography?i would either go for 170 or 500?
 
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