Sell my DVX for a Canon Hf100?

Justyn said:
The DVX is a nice camera but for doing a film, I'd have to say that the Gh2 is going to deliver some stunning images and you can jump off the Tape bandwagon. I can't stand tape anymore and have been shooting without tape for 5 years. The workflow is just so much better and faster than tape, with the added caveat of not having the tape as backup.... But harddrives are cheap and the end results with a DSLR are going to be more cinematic than you could get out of a DVX. I also am a strong believer in split sound for features....and short films..
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Whats a GH2? And whos it made by?
 
English Madman said:
Whats a GH2? And whos it made by?
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Panasonic makes it.... It has some of the DVX color mojo!
It has an oversized multi aspect micro 4/3 sensor which is very similar to 35mm in the film world. If you haven't seen the footage....go to the GH2/GH1 section of this site and be prepared to be blown away....or check Vimeo for some other great footage.
The GH2 is not technically a DLSR...but for video that gives it an advantage - THe EVF remains usable while shooting, the sensor doesen't ever overheat, the AF with the 14-140 lens is very video camera like. This camera is probably the best hybrid stills/video camera available for those interested in mostly videos. You can achieve shallow dof/great low light with a good fast lens, the aliasing/moire is minimal, the resolution is higher than the Canon DLSRs.....anyways check it out.
 
pulpfiction007 said:
Panasonic makes it.... It has some of the DVX color mojo!
It has an oversized multi aspect micro 4/3 sensor which is very similar to 35mm in the film world. If you haven't seen the footage....go to the GH2/GH1 section of this site and be prepared to be blown away....or check Vimeo for some other great footage.
The GH2 is not technically a DLSR...but for video that gives it an advantage - THe EVF remains usable while shooting, the sensor doesen't ever overheat, the AF with the 14-140 lens is very video camera like. This camera is probably the best hybrid stills/video camera available for those interested in mostly videos. You can achieve shallow dof/great low light with a good fast lens, the aliasing/moire is minimal, the resolution is higher than the Canon DLSRs.....anyways check it out.
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Just checked it out...doesn't shoot in 24/25p so its no good for me lol.
 
and you can do really high res timelapse montages right in the camera.. AND the biggest reason I love it is because people assume you are shooting stills. You can get in and out of places without security bugging you, and it lends itself to a kind of intimate approach to the work. It's also a super crazy deal of a camera if you just buy the body only... and even with the kit lens its a great deal...

I loved the DVX, and I loved the HVX, and then I loved the HMC150, and now I love the GH2 and the AF100. I have no brand or camera loyalty and if the 5D mark 3 is as good as it's projected then.. well.. I'll be buying one of those. These are cameras that people are shooting national commercials with, Lucas is using them, The Black Swan director used one... it's the way that the industry has gone and Tape is going the way of the do-do and very quickly...

One things for sure, if you invest in the right glass that will retain it's value better than anything else you can buy, except maybe decent audio gear... I'm just amazed at what you can get out of such a small camera....
 
Sorry English, when I said dslr I was referring to the gh2 because I thought it was, my mistake. English, if you make a name for yourself such as George Lucas or Darren Aronofsky or any other famous director that has already made a name for himself and is now using digital then you'll be able to shoot on what ever you want. I think I read a post by Barry saying he'd much rather see the money spent on good set design, lighting, sound etc etc, I'd add a good script to that list and make a visual story that an audience can connect with and shoot with what you have. You're not trying to impress joe public with your technology, just your story. I'm not sure about bugging security though, I think getting permission to film somewhere is a good idea if you intend to show the world your film. If you're shooting a film and the public are bugging you then don't treat it as bugging English, tell them you're making a film and to watch out for it when it's finished, give them a card, even let them walk past in the background if the scene is public. They'll bring their Ma, Pa, Granp, Gran and anyone else they know to watch their walk on, You'll build a fan base up for the film and put bums on seats before it's even finished. That said, Justyn, I'd love an AF 100
 
Yes that's true.. but Aronofsky shot with the 5D cause he couldn't and didn't get permission to shoot in the subways... Lucas is using it because it's smaller and more compact than his other HD cameras... I agree that different skillsets come from each camera...

We also have to look at what the original Price of the DVX was comparitively... At 3500 bucks.. You could get a lot of things to accent out the GH2. You could get let's say the Camera with the 14-140, The Voigtlander, The 20mm 1.7, an audio recorder and then you'd still have some money left over for a few other items...

I also think that most of what I shoot with the Gh2/ AF100 looks as good if not better than any film I've shot. My last feature I shot on 16mm and It cost me over 30k in film stock, processing and lab fees. Not to mention the camera rental.. the shipping and all of that... All in all, if you or other people are happy with what you get and work with then that's fine... Of course the story and all other elements mean more than anything else.. and out of that I feel that the way I'm going to shoot my next feature will be lightyears better than my last.. My last film I had one camera rolling due to expense and such. This time on certain action scenes I'm thinking I'll have 7 cameras rolling.... That would be too expensive for my budget if i were shooting on film... The Gh2 makes it so possible to do that, especially since you can buy the camera body for about 670 bucks....
 
I get where you're coming from but any price tag is irrelevant now to compare because English already owns a dvx, as is the reasons why Aronofsky used a digital camera. The man is a name now and whatever he shoots on he'll have an audience. George Lucus make a small film called thx 1138, it costs 777,000 and grosses 2,437,000. In 1971 that is a good return on anyones money. If English makes that kind of money on any camera they'd probably let him shoot with an iphone. As for processing costs, I don't think English was ever talking about shooting on 16mm. I just think it might be good advise to make a few films, get some of them into festivals, hone your craft a little before you go, spending too much, Throwing 30k at a film at this stage in your filmmaking career English might not be a wise a move. As I said before, the guy I met threw 5k sterling at a short he shot on the Red that's been turned down by every festival he sent it to. My latest short made on the DVX has been accepted to the first two I've entered. Justyn, if you're going to use DSLR's can I have your af100? ha
 
With everything that's going on in my life I have no way of buying another camera unless I sell the DVx which I wouldn't get much for in NZ. I paid $2500 a year ago for the camera which came with a broken shotgun mic which I never got my money back from. *Curses loudly from the memory of it*.

To think I had 6 grand at the time and made a bad choice getting the DVX at that price and bought a quad core PC instead of a mac for editing. I was hoping the SD footage would be fine to edit on a PC so I could buy other stuff for the DVX like a mic and tripod.

Live and learn I guess, d'oh.

But you're right redhighway. I'm gunna test the waters with the DVX, get my stuff seen by someone......not sure how do go about all this at the moment but I will get there eventually.

My DVX is currently broken due to that annoying tape reel error. ANd the shop that was gunna take a look at it got munted in the earthquake here so they've had to re-locate and it will be a while until they are up and running again.

for the meantime I'm using a crappy sony handycam and using magic bullet frames to make the footage 24p. YAY FOR ME!!! LOL.
 
On a good note however, I'm getting a second hand copy of Bary Green's DVX Book and DVD next week. Very much looking forward to getting them. Been wanting both for ages!
 
Hi, English, it's refreshing to hear you stay possitive in the face of it all. When you've made a short film you're happy with trawl through all the low-key fesivals (No point in heading to Cannes yet!) out there that don't charge, there are hundreds of them. Send it out and see what happens. Also, I've mentioned this to someone else on this site that I help run a fringe festival on the Island where I live, if you think your short is good I'll show it. Last year I ran a picture house in a disused shop and it was packed for four days. This year I'm going to try and build a cinema on the top deck of an old London Routemaster Bus and I'm always looking for short films. Sad to hear about the dvx, isn't there a network where you are that you can borrow a good camera from?
 
Many think im nuts, But I actually like tape. Never thought I would till one of my drives broke, and I had the footage backed up on tape(original footage) So I like it for archive. I would look for a used xha1. It's a great cam, and you can use a firestore with it to go with a tapeless work flow. The mini canons(hfs, hv40) are great, but their not a pro cam, just consumer cams that shoot nicely in a veary limited range of conditions.
 
redhighway said:
Hi, English, it's refreshing to hear you stay possitive in the face of it all. When you've made a short film you're happy with trawl through all the low-key fesivals (No point in heading to Cannes yet!) out there that don't charge, there are hundreds of them. Send it out and see what happens. Also, I've mentioned this to someone else on this site that I help run a fringe festival on the Island where I live, if you think your short is good I'll show it. Last year I ran a picture house in a disused shop and it was packed for four days. This year I'm going to try and build a cinema on the top deck of an old London Routemaster Bus and I'm always looking for short films. Sad to hear about the dvx, isn't there a network where you are that you can borrow a good camera from?
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That sounds great. I should be coming back to the UK in July as I haven't been back to the UK for 4 years, and I feel its time to catch up with friends and to be honest things never took off in NZ. Nice place and all, I could actually stay here for another 4 years and chill out more but I'm 26 and I want to do something outstanding before I'm 30 lol.

Sadly no, no one I know would/could lend me a camera. I don't really like borrowing stuff anyway.

But a mate in Sheffield (hes a full blooded cockney actually lol) has a HVX and we plan to make a film together.
 
maranfilms said:
Many think im nuts, But I actually like tape. Never thought I would till one of my drives broke, and I had the footage backed up on tape(original footage) So I like it for archive. I would look for a used xha1. It's a great cam, and you can use a firestore with it to go with a tapeless work flow. The mini canons(hfs, hv40) are great, but their not a pro cam, just consumer cams that shoot nicely in a veary limited range of conditions.
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Funny you mention the Canon XHA1, I've just remembered that before I bought the DVX, I actually bidded on a XHa1 for $4000 NZD in 2009, and right at the last minute of the auction the douche bag selling the camera withdrew the auction. I had made a bid and reserve was met. I was really pissed off to be honest. I called Trademe (NZ's own Ebay) and they said it was legal and the reason why the guy pulled out was because he didn't have the camera on him???? Talk about a bloody timewaster. I had my heart set on that camera. It was practically brand new with a very nice Manfrotto tripod.

I smelled bull$hit anyway. It was obvious the guy didn't get as much as he wanted for the camera so bailed. Total dick.
 
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