Owners of both DVX100s and XL2s

K

KevinB

New member
Hello to all,

Please pardon this post if this has been beat to death in the forums. I am an XL2 owner who is considering the purchase of a DVX100B. My questions basically have to do with matching footage from the two cameras.

I know I can adjust my presets in the XL2 to better match the DVX100B, but how does the 24p footage match up between the two; how does the XL2's native 16:9 compare to the DVX100B's 16:9 stretched?

Can these two cameras co-exist comfortably in post or will I need to do a lot of tweaking to get 24p, 16:9 footage to match? I shoot primarily weddings and events; I edit with FCP Studio and my final destination is DVD.

Thank you for any help.

Kevin
 
From what ive seen the XL2 produces a much better image in 16:9 than the DVX. Its clear, crisp, and very nice. It uses I believe 680,000 pixels total to produce its 16:9 image and believe me no matter what DVX people say here its 16:9 is better. Matching them might be easy, it might not. After seeing alot of footage it seems like the DVX has a "DVX" look that can't really perfectly be matched by things in post. I say they don't compare but with some work im sure you could get them to match well.

I know you were looking for someone who owned both of these but from what ive seen they are very different cameras. If you need a 2nd camera and like your XL2 why dont you get another? You already have experience with it obviously and it would make your life easier IMO instead of learning a new camera, especially if you need one fast.

-Kyle
 
From what I've seen, the XL2 is going to give you a sharper 16x9 image but the DVX is going to give you the film-like colors and gamma that we all know and love (the XL2 can come close but never quite manages it).
 
Agreed... the DVX more than makes up for the lack of the "true 16:9" with the amazing gamma curve and color latitude...
 
Hi Kevin

May be in good position to answer your question.

I own 2 DVX100A cams and an XL2. I also film a lot of weddings as well.

I first bought the XL2 because of the 16:9 thing and decided to use my existing DVX with an anamorphic adaptor as my second cam.

I have to say that I have found it really difficult to get the cams to match. I spent a lot of time in post trying to get it right and I have been very close. To be honest clients have never mentioned anything on that aspect and had nothing but praise for the DVDs they received. Having said that, I noticed the difference and it drove me mad.

I also offer people the choice of 4:3 or 16:9 for their film. In 4:3 the XL2 looks utterly horrible next to the DVX to the point that I really regretted getting the XL.

I have to say that I have never shot in 25P (I'm in the the UK) on either cam as by the time that option was there my demos that had turned into bookings had all been shot in 50i. However, I started delivering final product using the Natress Film Effects 25p as I really liked the look but if the client hated it I could go back and give them a 50i version (a practice I still use).

What I did notice during this process was that the DVX footage looked great but the XL2 footage still had a very sterile video look. In 50i the DVX looked video but the XL2 SCREAMED video.

I found the best way to match the cams was to desaturate the DVX footage in post with both cams set to their factory settings (with both cams white balanced from the same source).

If you are happy with the XL, I would just go ahead and get another one.

Having said that, I now never use my XL2 and own and use 2 DVX cams for my weddings now. For me, that's just because I really dont like the look of the footage that the XL2 achieves. That's just me though. There is no doubt that the 20x zoom on the XL2 is great for event shooting but I'm willing to make that sacrifice and use the DVX.

In short........option 1 get another XL2.......option 2 sell the XL2 and get a couple of DVX cams.

Actually started using the DVX on squeeze mode recently and was totally taken aback by how good it looked on a 32 inch widescreen TV.

Hope this helps


Jon
 
Hey Kevin, why not spring for an HVX200. It's got 16x9 chips so you won't have the resolution loss in widescreen that you will if you get the DVX100. It'll also still blow the pants of the XL2 in terms of color and gamma. Just don't shoot SD 60i as apparently the HVX200 has some alaising issues there.

I guess it really depends on what you're going to use the cameras for. Whether you want the video look or the film look. Whether you want to be working in 24p or 60i.

DVX vs. XL2-DVX will give you a more filmish image in both 24p and 60i but not be quite as sharp in 16x9.

HVX200 vs. XL2-Will give you not only a more filmish look but also be just as sharp in 16x9 (not to mention having the ability to do HD) as the Xl2. On the other hand, for the 60i video look you'll get some interlacing issues.
 
CHeck DVinfo, I can match these 2 cams perfect and have posted many presets for doing so. Forget the comments about the PAL versions above, they do not really act the same for the NTSC version. The 4:3 footage I can literally match perfect. In 16:9, you need to keep the XL2 wider and use the DVX for your tighter shots.

By the way, I now use the HVX and XL2 and because they are both 16:9, they match even better and yes... I have even cut them together successfully in <GASP> a 720P HD project.



ash =o)
 
I think they took it away in the B version. For me it wouldnt matter because I have never had any use for it.

As the 16:9. I shoot with the adapter and what I have discovered is that it makes the picture to sharp for som interlace tvs. Because the tv cant handle that high resolution. On the other hand you need every sharpness setting you can for HD upconversion. But for normal DVD usage the squeeze mode would be enough on the DVX.
 
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