People ranting on about DVX100B!?
- Thread starter Jbadham77
- Start date
Tom Marshall
Actor!!!!!!
filmamigo
Member
Jbadham77 said:
The DVX100 has switchable +48V phantom power on it's XLR mic inputs. Unless you know that your mic requires phantom power, make sure those switches are off. Some equipment doesn't like having +48 volts of electricity running down the wires. Especially ribbon mics (like they use in radio and recording singing vocals) -- the element of a ribbon mic will be damaged/destroyed by the voltage. If you plug a mic requiring T-power (early Sennheiser and Schoeps) into a phantom-power plug, it can damage the mic and the power supply (your DVX100.)
Most everything else that you could damage with your DVX100 is artistic
Learn how to white balance manually, focus manually, how to select the correct microphone inputs and set the recording level.Learn when to use the on-camera ND filters (and when not to.) Commonly heard around DVX100's:
"Why is the picture so ?!@#!? DARK!"
"Did you leave the ND switched on?"
"Uh... yeah... that fixed it."
...and many more!
AllAroundFilmLV
Well-known member
The issue that I had the first time using the DVX was the difference in features from a normal consumer cam to the DVX. Learning this task can be a little daunting at first, but all you have to is read the owners manual, and possibly watch the DVD.
TheatreGuy
Veteran
I just wanted to pipe in and say that I am a big-time newbie with my DVX100B but I've had great success with it right of the box! No, I am not satisfied with limiting the ability of this camera by never using the incredible amount of control this camera has but at least I found that I can shoot effectively while I learn the more complex controls.
I know that as I use it and become familiar with it, I will grow to know what it is capable of. I just started by learning how to control some of the very basic features... WB, Iris, ND. I am now experimenting with the many other controls available. It is a bit ovewelming, but I know that in an instance I can switch my scene selector dial to one of the preset programs and have something that will produce an acceptable picture.
I HIGHLY recommend Barry's book and DVD. And the information on this site is incredible and invaluable. The users here are very informative and eager to share their knowledge and experiences.
I deliberated a long time before I made my purchase... I asked myself all of the questions I hear some of you asking. I investigated and worried about making a big mistake.
I have never regretted my purchase. It is one of the best investments I have ever made.
Good luck in your process.
I know that as I use it and become familiar with it, I will grow to know what it is capable of. I just started by learning how to control some of the very basic features... WB, Iris, ND. I am now experimenting with the many other controls available. It is a bit ovewelming, but I know that in an instance I can switch my scene selector dial to one of the preset programs and have something that will produce an acceptable picture.
I HIGHLY recommend Barry's book and DVD. And the information on this site is incredible and invaluable. The users here are very informative and eager to share their knowledge and experiences.
I deliberated a long time before I made my purchase... I asked myself all of the questions I hear some of you asking. I investigated and worried about making a big mistake.
I have never regretted my purchase. It is one of the best investments I have ever made.
Good luck in your process.
The DVX are designed very similar to professional shoulder-mount camcorders (the switches are in the same places and so on). If you learn the DVX it will help you with any pro camcorder.
You can't fry mics with phantom power if you are using symmetric cables (which shouldn't be defective, of course). You can easily fry mics with the old "parallel powering" or "T-powering" (12V), but almost no device offers that any more (the only device I know that does is an SQN). Phantom power is called phantom because it's "not there" for mics which don't need it. I have been using a Beyerdynamic M 260 ribbon mic more than once on the camera with +48V phantom power on and all my colleagues have been doing the same for years with this mic - it would still sound great had it not been hit by a few liters of water that some idiot poured over the head of our interview partner (a soccer trainer). Phantom Power didn't hurt, but the water definitely killed it
You can't fry mics with phantom power if you are using symmetric cables (which shouldn't be defective, of course). You can easily fry mics with the old "parallel powering" or "T-powering" (12V), but almost no device offers that any more (the only device I know that does is an SQN). Phantom power is called phantom because it's "not there" for mics which don't need it. I have been using a Beyerdynamic M 260 ribbon mic more than once on the camera with +48V phantom power on and all my colleagues have been doing the same for years with this mic - it would still sound great had it not been hit by a few liters of water that some idiot poured over the head of our interview partner (a soccer trainer). Phantom Power didn't hurt, but the water definitely killed it