My DVX is going to ROT!

btnhcleon

btnhcleon

Active member
So, what's the market for the DVX these days? Because from the way I see it, the DVX is dead in the genre of Cinema. Weddings etc.. are a different argument. But I believe, the market for DVX's in cinema is coming to an end..

Haha, it's taking me longer to sell this glorious thing, then to work a $7.50 wage and buy an SLR Set-Up.

How do you all feel about this? What have you guys done with your DVX's that aren't in use? Mine's currently rotting in its camera bag, and I presume the digital fester will continue lol.
 
It's only dead if you ignore it.

You have a perfectly capable camera in your hands... one that is still in use making short films and other projects. Okay, so you want a DSLR. But why put film making on hold, completely, until you have one? And ask yourself, "Am I wanting a DSLR because it's the right tool for the job, or because all the cool kids are doing it?"

The camera does not make the story. The film maker does.
 
You could probably sell it for $800-$1000 (sad I know, I sold mine last year for $900), and pick up a GH1, T2i... or spend a little extra and get a D7000 even.

There are always trade offs, but if you hold onto how much the camera is worth based on what you paid, you'll watch it drop in value the longer you wait. The sad thing is that the equipment you buy depreciates fast, but that's the upside too. You can move into newer gear without a huge investment.

The DVX100 is and will always be a great tool, but if you want HD, then you're going to have to move on...

I've had good luck selling my used gear on Amazon.com -- just look at the lowest used prices and see how much lower you're willing to go, and it should move fairly quickly.
 
:thumbsup:C2V is right. Don't buy a DSLR because all the kids are doing it.

What is falling behind in this race of technology is great storytelling and great filmmaking. Tell a great story...and it won't matter what camera you shoot it on.
 
Your DSLR set up will probably rot in the camera bag too!! The market is no longer just the big screen or TV. But one thing we know is the DVX is good enough for the big screen. Hundreds of movies made with it and TV shows. For example:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/iraqinfragments/
If you have a good story people will watch it.

btnhcleon said:
So, what's the market for the DVX these days? Because from the way I see it, the DVX is dead in the genre of Cinema. Weddings etc.. are a different argument. But I believe, the market for DVX's in cinema is coming to an end..

Haha, it's taking me longer to sell this glorious thing, then to work a $7.50 wage and buy an SLR Set-Up.

How do you all feel about this? What have you guys done with your DVX's that aren't in use? Mine's currently rotting in its camera bag, and I presume the digital fester will continue lol.
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C2V said:
It's only dead if you ignore it.

You have a perfectly capable camera in your hands... one that is still in use making short films and other projects. Okay, so you want a DSLR. But why put film making on hold, completely, until you have one? And ask yourself, "Am I wanting a DSLR because it's the right tool for the job, or because all the cool kids are doing it?"

The camera does not make the story. The film maker does.
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God I love your posts. +1

And to the OP: "If the overall quality of your film depends on what you shot it on, you aren't ready to make a film." - Barry Green
 
Lets be honest here people. if a Dvx was all that's needed newer cameras would not sell. Truth is the Dvx is dated technology and the image from a Dslr is so much better.

You can deny all you want, but the truth is the truth.
 
Lets be honest here people. if a Dvx was all that's needed newer cameras would not sell.
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nobody is saying that the dvx is all thats needed, they are only saying that the dvx is not dead yet. in the right hands the dvx is still a extrordinary piece of equipment even though its sd.
 
bigmajik said:
nobody is saying that the dvx is all thats needed, they are only saying that the dvx is not dead yet. in the right hands the dvx is still a extrordinary piece of equipment even though its sd.
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The right hands cannot create technology that does not exist within the camera. Once you shoot HD professionally nothing SD at least to me ever looks the same....
 
Yes and that's my point, "for the right job." Is the key phrase, for my current project, we've gone out, set up, and tried to shoot. Didn't work out too well for us, I'm an O.G. DVX operator myself, so don;t get me wrong, I love this thing.

But why shoot the same scene on the DVX, which could potentially cost you more, buying MORE needed lights, DOF etc..

Yes, the filmmaker makes the story and can only make so much if his budget and equipment (aswell as creativity) can allow it. The story is not the only tool that makes a great film.

It's one of those cases where you do need to upgrade, in my case, seeing as im not shooting Doc's/Wedding's etc.. more so for my "projects" the DSLR is the better choice, period.
 
def for the right job. I've been shooting alot wiht my 7d lately but when i used my dvx for a doc recently...aint no way i could have done that with the dvx...which is why i want something like the af100 to take the dvx's place. (duno if i'll be able to get one but ...)
 
the used market is flooded with DVX100's they are hard to move now. I sold my dvx100b last march for $900.00 ...I got a used HVX200....It's was getting impossible to get any sd video work everybody wants HD. Sell it!
 
btnhcleon said:
Yes and that's my point, "for the right job." Is the key phrase, for my current project, we've gone out, set up, and tried to shoot. Didn't work out too well for us, I'm an O.G. DVX operator myself, so don;t get me wrong, I love this thing.

But why shoot the same scene on the DVX, which could potentially cost you more, buying MORE needed lights, DOF etc..

Yes, the filmmaker makes the story and can only make so much if his budget and equipment (aswell as creativity) can allow it. The story is not the only tool that makes a great film.

It's one of those cases where you do need to upgrade, in my case, seeing as im not shooting Doc's/Wedding's etc.. more so for my "projects" the DSLR is the better choice, period.
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You are correct. Tools are an integral part of everything we do. That definitely does not put everyone in the same box, which is hopefully liberating rather than confusing.


Saying it is all about the story is oversimplifying the issue. The ability to communicate an idea effectively is undoubtedly the most important factor, but at some point we are going to have to decide which tools best help us in that aspect. So while some "purists" are correct in condemning that their is so much talk about capabilities and image quality, it is a necessary process.

But sadly, this process of gear talk often becomes a self fulfilling activity and therefore eventually pointless.

David Lynch used a pd-150 for Inland Empire. Despite the fact that he used it to great effect in the movie, I do not believe it was the best tool for the job. The video quality limited the audience appeal to the film, so from a business standpoint it was perhaps a bad choice. He used the camera amidst a time when there were better digital alternatives already available, so I guess his reasons were beyond digital workflow. It is debatable whether the mini dv look supported the story or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Och4bzh8ke4

So maybe a great film maker makes good used of a 1/3" mini dv 60i camera, and maybe many others can too. Maybe you, reading this right now, are currently shooting a masterpiece with an old SD flip? Just because it is true that a dvx100b can be used to great effect, does not in anyway make it the right choice for many filmers out there today.


The DVX is ok, if you own one, or are getting one for cheap. It is good if you need to archive to cheap tape, or shoot long events continuously, as long as you do not need HD resolution.

There are still a variety of people who make a DVX a perfectly capable tool, but those people already know who they are.
-Anyone buying a new solution should not invest in a dvx100.
-Anyone not knowing if they should keep their DVX, should sell it as quickly as possible.



(side note: Tomorrow I will be shooting with a DVX, but it is because it is being supplied for free, and I do not want to use my own equipment on the shoot, as it is a volunteer project. )
 
It is all in the way you use your tools too. If you give a child a $1000 set of brushes, she will not become Picasso because of it. And I have seen cinema quality footage from 30 year old JVC's. If you know how to use & apply your camera, you may create art. Things that I have shot with my 100A have been mistaken for HD and film transfer. But that is because between my eye and my subject, I know how to apply the resources available to me. Whether a shooter has a Varicam, or a cell phone, if the settings of the camera & the shooting environment mesh together correctly, great things will come.
I plan to upgrade in the future, when it is needed, not because everyone else is doing it. I get great results with what I know about my cameras capabilities & its drawbacks and I take advantage of that. If you have a DVX that is collecting dust & "rotting" that is nobodies fault but your own. Either use it or sell it because there are many others out there that would appreciate having a nice, solid camera that is capable of great stuff. Yes, it is not the newest kid on the block, or sharpest, or whatever. But it will always be a damn good camera.

One thing to remember though: Once ANY piece of electronics becomes for sale to the public, it is already obsolete technology.
 
Well, that's a terrible dilemna, I bought my DVX less than a year ago, and I'm shooting parts by parts my film, I'm not a craft cameraman yet but I'm learning and learning, especially thanx to this forum. I've been kind of disappointed by some stuff I've done, happily surprised by others, but it's true that today, when I look at the images you can get with a 550d and the price it costs, I'm kind of amazed and jealous. I was thinking of selling the DVX and getting a rebel t2, but I realized that indeed, I wont make "better" movies with a rebel. Sure the picture is so much better, but since I'm learning how to handle a camera, and according to several stuff I saw here, and there, I know that at my level, I can do many stuff with the DVX, she's like an old friend I'm knowing more and more. I had my first wage as a cameraman last week, shooting a concert and I know I could not have done it with the rebel. Tonight, I'm shooting an importyant action scene in a psychiatric hospital, I'm very nervous, lastly, I've had some grain on stuff I shoot, I just re read the barry green book, looked at some threads talking about it and I will try to do my best, having nice shots, nervous direction, and enough action to make the scene exciting.
Morever, I'm not sure that the pd150 of Inland Empire is a good comparaison cuz it does not have the same look as a dvx used in progressive. When last year I was asking myself the question "what camera should I buy ? Is it a problem it isn't HDV" and ****, I remembered thinking of Steve Buscemi's lonesome Jim, "Land of Plenty" by Wim Wenders and "It's always sunny in Philadelphia" I thought, who am I to need the best quality ? Those guys are terrific hence, they decided, for diverses reason to shoot their stuff on DVX... So I'll do what I have to do, hoping that I will be able to get the results I'm looking for.
 
As a former DVX owner, here is a question regarding the switch to HD. How are you delivering your product? If you deliver to DVD, you are delivering SD. If you are delivering ittybitty web content, you don't need HD. From this point of view, the biggest problem with the DVX is the native 4:3 chip.

If you are delivering to HD cable TV, or to BluRay, or to film out, then HD is what you need. How many of the folks here shouting down SD really need HD? Have you been down converting covertly?

Grant
 
You can write your script with pencil or a typewriter. If you do and that works for you, that's fine. That said, I'd ask what's wrong with using the current tools? Is there something WRONG with using modern tools? Is there something the DVX can do that the AF100 can't/won't? I don't have a problem with nostalgic memories and such...but...it is what it is.

Want to defend the virtues of using a pencil instead of a computer? That's fine. Your penny. I'll just use the current tool to tell the story....and if my story SUCKS....writing it with a pencil isn't going to help either. No flame. No bad blood. No offense.

Mad love to DVXUsers everywhere!
 
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So by the same logic its a waste of time for anyone to shoot a commercial with a RED then right? Afterall who needs 4K resolution if its just going to be punched down to 1080 and even worse 720 on broadcast right? The extra resolution on capture does nothing???? Since Apple won't offer Bluray support, I still have to occasionally deliver HD projects on DVD, and I assure you stuff captured in 1080 looks a lot better on SD DVD, than something captured in SD on DVD.

Then when Apple decides to put in Bluray and I can afford it, I can take my demo reel/projects that were shot in HD, and slap it on a bluray. If that Demo reel was made in SD, I need a whole new demo reel and body of work to show clients on their new bluray player. Many of my clients want it shot HD for a digital file, and then a standard DVD because the mass majority of people still don't own bluray players. Out of my extended middle class family, only two of us have blurays in the home. Shoot HD, deliver on both. Shoot SD, deliver on one.
 
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