Questions before I choose...

D

Dre

Active member
Hey all - I'm debating on whether to get the HVX200a or XH A1. So I have a few Qs:

  1. 16GB P2 Card - the manual says it records 40min(720p) is that accurate or is it less?
  2. Chromatic aberration: Is it bad on the HVX? I've heard some mixed thoughts about the XHA1's CA. And is it more noticeable in 720 or 1080p?
  3. Does Magic Bullet/Barry's book come with the HVX200A like it did with the 200?
  4. Planning on getting a RODE NTG1 - Anyone used it? Does it sound tinny or is there some decent bass in its recordings?
I'm really leaning towards the HVX200a because of CA, I happen to notice these kind of anomalies easily (Like phosphor lag on plasmas and such) so I don't want to pay $3500 for the canon and be disappointed.

p.s. I live in NJ is there a place other than B&H where I can go and try out these cameras?

Thank You all - any help is highly appreciated!
 
1. You usually get a bit more room, usually 41 or 42 minutes.
2. Not bad at all on the HVX, quite a bit more noticeable on the Canons. 1080 and 720 don't affect it, it's affected by your zoom and iris settings.
3. Book and P2 card, I don't know about magic bullet.
 
Thanks for the reply Barry - Also, Do you think an iMac (Intel Core Duo 2.4ghz, 4GB RAM) would be good enough to edit HVX 720p footage?

thanks again-
 
Good enough to edit? Probably.

But why buy a Mac that cannot be expanded at all?

No second FW bus, second internal HDD, or eSATA?

And the amount of time for the 16 GB card depends on shooting 720/24pNative
 
I have edited with an Imac, found the lack of a 2nd FW buss was a real bottleneck.
Ended up with a MBP and was still sluggish until I went FW 800.
 
Thanks for the replies -
I'm planning on getting a FW800 Ext drive with whichever imac I get. I wish I could something more powerful like a mac pro but that's completely over my budget. So the imac will have to do.
 
G&G VIdeo in NJ is a panny authorized dealer and has been $50-$200 cheaper than B&H on Panasonic items. Unfortunately, they are not a retailer like B&H - call before you buy, they may not have it in stock (happened to me).

Just a note about the 720p recording times and a 16GB P2 card: 24pn is about 42 minutes, it is more like 17 minutes in 60p (and 30pn is somewhere in between).

Also, zoom is shorter on the HVX than on the XLH1. That being said, I think the HVX200a or HPX170 is a much more flexible investment than the XLH1; variable frame rates, 4:2:2 color space, true progressive, quick offloading from the P2...etc.

I also agree with David. I think you will regret not having the expandability of a MacPro. A MacBookPro, while not expandable, will also work well and give you more flexibility of movement - I have edited in a hotel room and even on a plane.


J
 
Isn't an external hdd connected through FW 800 on an iMac as good as(or close to) an eSATA in MBP?
 
Perhaps not as fast as eSATA.

But the point is you can't use eSATA on a iMac, and it only has one FW bus.

If you add a cam to that bus along with a FW HDD, then there can easily and usually are issues.
 
Hey Dre-
The thread has strayed a bit from your initial question: buy and HVX or XH-A1?
I am in the same boat and want to share my 2 cents.

I need an HD camera to get hired for event shooting gig$ with a particular company. Currently I edit for that company and 95% of their stuff is shot on three XH-A1s. I find the Canon picture a bit dull in the color department but most importantly on every tape are DROPPED FRAMES in the form of frozen video and audio for durations of 5 to 12 frames. Same thing on three different XH-A1s. Huge bummer for event shooting. Once you've missed it it's gone forever, obviously. This being said I am attracted to P2 card technology.

Barry Green has posted an HVX vs. XH-A1 article with great image comparisons.
http://dvxuser.com/articles/xha1/

I've been doing well with my DVX100b for a while and I'd like to think it's big brother HVX could do the same...
 
lcheadle,
Thanks for the reply - The issue of Dropped frames is also something that scares me about miniDV. I plan on using the cam on jobs so I can't afford to have any problems like that, Just Another reason I am leaning towards the HVX200.
 
my HVX has never failed me once. in any way. p2, dv, firestore, transferring cards...

FLAWLESS.
 
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