Ready to buy my hpx300! Help me please!

I

imax

Active member
Hi! And happy new year to all!

Well, i'm reading a lot of reviews, posts in forums, and view some footage from vimeo and youtube!

But my decision is also between hpx300 (in Europe 301) and EX1R + nanoflash.
Well, from the owners of this camera: are you happy with it and her stock lens?
I have to invest a lot of money and I don't want make a mistake!
Now I'm using a hvx201 so i did not get never a pro camera like the hpx300.
So I'm never focusing in manual mode and I have to learn! and i'm little scared!

At this point what do you think?
Please help me in this difficult decision.

I'll use the camera for a variety events (backstage, wedding, industrial, video clip of product..ecc), I'm a free lance editor and I made all by myself.

Thank u very much!
Kind regards

Carlo, Italy
 
imax said:
Hi! And happy new year to all!

Well, i'm reading a lot of reviews, posts in forums, and view some footage from vimeo and youtube!

But my decision is also between hpx300 (in Europe 301) and EX1R + nanoflash.
Well, from the owners of this camera: are you happy with it and her stock lens?
I have to invest a lot of money and I don't want make a mistake!
Now I'm using a hvx201 so i did not get never a pro camera like the hpx300.
So I'm never focusing in manual mode and I have to learn! and i'm little scared!

At this point what do you think?
Please help me in this difficult decision.

I'll use the camera for a variety events (backstage, wedding, industrial, video clip of product..ecc), I'm a free lance editor and I made all by myself.

Thank u very much!
Kind regards

Carlo, Italy
Click to expand...

Hello:
The HPX300 and EX1R are very different animals, having owned and sold an EX3 I feel qualified to respond at least in part. While there is the often spoke of chip size differential (1/3 Vs 1/2"), practically speaking, it only amounts to a difference of approximately 1/2 stop or so when considering light sensitivity, in favor of the Ex. Both are full raster and produce sharp images. I recall one post that implied that the lens supplied with the 300 could be better but I have found it to be quite good, although, it does breath some but then again, so does the lens supplied with the EX. The Ex1 is an ergonomic nightmare! It's not a comfortable camera to hand hold and it is not a shoulder mount and while there are accessories out there that claim to improve upon its ergonomics at some expense, IMO, they all miss the mark. The 300, on the other hand, is a true shoulder mount camera and is very well balanced, so much so, that I barely notice its presence upon my shoulder. Then there is the issue of codec. There have many arguments over the virtues of AVC-Intra 100 vs the EX codec, so I will not bore you with that subject but I will say that in order for the EX1 or Ex3 to achieve the data rate that the 300 can produce right out of the box you would have to slap on a Nanoflash for another $3000.00 and an extra 1lb plus of weight(Nano requires an external power source). Of course, the Nano provides the ability to use relatively inexpensive data storage cards, but to be honest, cost aside I prefer the stability of the P2 system.
So, the a foregoing is purely my opinion and may be somewhat biased since I really had a dislike for the Ex3, its codec in regards to FCP 7 and its equally disappointing ergonomics. I know that there have been posts by people complaining about skewing and the like but many of them have been from people who have merely parroted someone else's opinion and have admittedly not owned or used the camera themselves. Personally, I have not found the skew to be any more of a problem than that produced by the Ex series and its appearance is wholly dependent upon your shooting technique. You will probably find posts or comparisons stating that the 300 skews slightly more than the Ex when in 1080 P24 mode but consider this, skew is skew... it's either present or not and arguing about its magnitude is almost akin to saying that someone is slightly pregnant Vs pregnant... smacks of the ridiculous, right?
In summary, the HPX300 is a great camera with true professional features and many of the derogatory statements that you may read or have read are probably from Ex owners attempting to justify their purchases or not willing to admit that there may be something better out there.
As for your fear of manual focus, if your plan is to step into the arena of professional cameras there is no other way and it really is quite simple.

I hope that I have answered at least some of your questions.
Good luck with whatever decision you make.
 
Hi Carlo we now have two 301' and do much of the type of content that you do. I am very pleased with the 301 and its form factor is superb as is the integrated card system and the AVC intra 100 codec meets BBC and EBU spec for FULL HD.

I had sony cameras before we got the 301's and I looked at the EX ser but it was the codec and P2 system that won me over as I use final cut pro 7.

The 1/3" 1/2" 2/3" chip argument is another matter and I find it irrelevant to my own useage but the stock lens fine for most of my work and we even use the 301's as b-cameras to a hire 2700 when required with good results.

We are about to purchase a 2700 and all three cameras will be shooting the same codec on identical cards which makes post production very easy.

From a practical point of view if you are doing event and doco type production an add on nanoflash may not be the easiest system to work with where as the 301 with its built in P2 cards and the ability to wrap it all in a portabrace jacket for eng type hand held use is a great bonus.

What is also great is that you can shoot all sorts of different SD and HD formats and even use it at NTSC and as a limited varicam.

P.S. If you can get a cheap flight to Newcastle in the north east of england you are welcome to come and spend some time seeing how I use the 301, I can also give you accomodation for a night or two.
 
Thank u very much guys! You are great!
I'm thinking about your words and then i'll buy... :)

To GaryNattrass: Thank you for the invite in North East of England, I think it's a wonderful place...
and you are very very gentle! :)
 
Carlo,
I went from 2 Canon XHA1's to the HPX 300 (and the Canon 5D Mark2 some time ago). I too had the same worries about going from the prosumer type camcorders to the more professional type cameras like the 300. I was also worried about skew. And then there was the cost.
After about 4-5 months of research, going back and forth, reading posts here and watching footage I deceided to pull the trigger. Heck the form factor alone was worth it, I am a big framed man and those XHA1's were just driving me batty. No amount of image stabilization could mend the frustration I had after shooting with those handheld style cameras for more than an hour. When i put the HPX on my shoulder I felt a calm, peaceful feeling transcend my body. Finally a camera that feels like a camera and although I had never used a pro camcorder before all the controls just seemed to be in the right spot. After 5-6 shoots I had a very good mental map of where everything was on the camera so I could adjust without taking my eye off the action.

The manual focus does take a bit of getting used to, even with the very nice view finder I find myself 2nd guessing at times if this is in focus or not, but the focus bar is SUCH a great help along with the focus assist.

The skew, I have seen it in 1 of my productions when I was 40 ft away from the stage and zoomed all the way in on a trumpeter. But it was not that bad and I have learned quickly how to control it. Shooting in 720p helps out a lot. Does it suck that it is something to be mindful of? Sure, but at this price and the with the abilities this camera possesses I will be the very last to complain about some so insignificant. Although I can see where it could be issues on certain types of shoots. For me, non issue.

Weight, feel, lens... Great, great, and very nice. The lens does breathe quite a bit but again I have not been in a situation where it was an issue.

P2 is awesome, I was so glad to be rid of those clunky Firestore FS-C boxes that clung to the top of my XHA1s. P2, simple, fast, solid, in heat or cold they work. Great stuff.

I for one will never go back to a handheld, unless I need one hanging around for some reason. But the 5D handles most everything else I need.

If you do it, I cannot imagine you would be sorry. I have learned so much more about video, HD and camera terminology just by owning this camera. It has made me better at my craft.
 
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