Should I Buy A DVX?????

anchoryanker said:
I got you all beat! my fisher-price pixelvision pwns!!!111!
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"The irresistible irony of the PXL is that the camera's ease-of-use and affordability, which entirely democratizes movie-making, has inspired the creation of some of the most visionary, avant and luminous film of our time."
- Steve Schneider, NY Times

"PXL THIS is something that has to be seen and experienced at least once in a lifetime."
-Santa Monica Mirror, 2-15-06

"Sometimes the best art comes from the worst medium. The Fisher Price PXL-2000: no smoke, no mirrors, just plain old down-and-dirty technology from the 80's. It makes cool films, as evidenced by the 15th annual PXL THIS film festival."
-Michael Mannheimer, LA Alternative Press, 2-17-06
 
mb72378 said:
Hi All,
If I could ask anyone that is interested to give me any advice they can and tell me good things as well as bad things, if there is any, about ths camera.
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Matt, I am chiming in as I don't think you got a viable answer from the group. This is the leading camera in the DV group of cameras and is today the most popular as well as having the best technology driving it. It was updated just a year ago to become a "green" camera and by that I mean it is RoHs compliant. The competive cameras have not been updated since the DVX100. In that effort to make it RoHs compliant, we updated certain features that many of the folks in this group were asking for, like something as simple as a single button to push to clear the display, or a 16:9 framing mechanism when working in the anamophic modes. Frnakly the only bad part that I can think of is that it is not HD, but that does not mean HDV. I have worked that example before and find that the color left on the DVX upconverted to HD, looks better than HDV.

You can see on its product page at Panasonic click here all of its latest features. Some sample footage is included in the Love Story.

Also, I noticed that there is also a DVX-100BPS which has a price tag about $1000 more that the 100B.
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You should expect to pay around $3100 for your DVX100BPS. The BPS is on the outside of the box, it denotes that it is a US camera and qualifies you for a $350 rebat, Barry Green's DVX Book(absolutely worth every word written) along with its companion DVD, and Magic Bullet and Instant HD. Both software programs are reviewed on this site. And most importantly you will have a US warranty. Any of those that are advertised for $1000 less will not get these benefits. Your warranty will exist but it will be in the country of origin, and these days that is looking like Canada or Japan.


I would like to see the "TRUE" quality of the video before buying the camera. (Not compressed).
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Then you should find a dealer local to you and go an look. You can locate a dealer on the Panasonic website by merely typing in you zipcode after clicking on that link from the DVX100B prodict page. Most dealers are competive with internet pricing these days. And of course that means there is someone that cares about your business and showed you the camera so that you could make your decision.


Hope this helps,

Jan
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
Frnakly the only bad part that I can think of is that it is not HD, but that does not mean HDV. I have worked that example before and find that the color left on the DVX upconverted to HD, looks better than HDV.
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Some funny posts, but honestly Matt the DVX100b is a great DV camera, IMO the best 1/3" chip prosumer out there. The one downside I guess for some is the lack of true 16:9.

EDIT: Is it worth the money? Yes, it absolutely is.

Jan, thats a very subjective piece of information and I think irrelevent and misleading in this case. If your referring to a consumer one chip then of course, if your referring to some of the original Sony HDV cams and shooting in a comparable 60i mode then maybe. If your talking XLh1 or the new stock of HDVs coming out then way of the ballpark Im afraid. I wont get into a cam vs cam debate.... but to infer that HDV is not HD is just incorrect.
 
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ncje said:
Jan, thats a very subjective piece of information and I think irrelevent and misleading in this case. If your referring to a consumer one chip then of course, if your referring to some of the original Sony HDV cams and shooting in a comparable 60i mode then maybe. If your talking XLh1 or the new stock of HDVs coming out then way of the ballpark Im afraid. I wont get into a cam vs cam debate.... but to infer that HDV is not HD is just incorrect.
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Hi,

Frnakly unless you have done the side by side on the color, then you may not understand my post. The Canon may indeed have more resolution but it does not have the color. And the I-frame nature of DV recording is handled in a way that the long GOP of HDV cannot compare. So yeah maybe it is subjective but it is subjective based on my experience of watching the imaging made by the various cameras. So in my not on it is not HD, well, I mean it is not DVCPRO HD, which is the least expensive full fledged 4:2:2 imaging available that the algorithm doesn't get in the way of quality.

Yes that statement might be subjective too, but after being in this industry for now 35 years, I am a little opinionated about what people expect, and what they want and then watching them buy and complain.

Best,

Jan
 
Jan

Newegg are selling DVX100b's that say this: AG-DVX100BMBK . Where are they from?

They told me they can't promise a USA model.


Also Jan give your outlook on the use of the DVX100B for indie movimaking , TV production, and documentary work. I have the money to buy and have been watching some of the new Canon's and Sony's but I sure could get into what I want to do alot cheaper with the DVX100. Thanks Jan
 
Hi Zim,

If NewEgg cannot promise a US model, then why buy it from them, so that you can have the hassle of returning it when you find out you have a gray market product? Seems like a pain to me. Why not patronize one of the sponsors on this board, seems like they will be there for you long after the box has been opened.

As far as using the DVX as a filmmaking camera, well there are a number of folks that have used it for just that purpose, like Ed Burns, Nancy Schrieber, Kevin Smith, Henry Alex Rubin, who did Murderball which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary. If you look at IMDB, and do a technical search with DVX100 as the key word you will find hundreds of films that have been done with this camera.

Hope this helps,

Jan
 
I would not buy from Newegg if they can't promise a USA model and they said they can't so I won't buy from them.

TV production?
 
As far as TV production there are thousands of DVX100s being used all over the place. MTV, FX, ABC, NBC, CBS. Take a look at the discussion all over this board and see for yourself, the camera has been used for commercials, on prime time shows, on the news, on the Jane Pauley Show and many others, I just happen to know the producer on this show and they used 6 of them. It has been used on Music Videos, probably the most famous one was 45 of them out on Times Square with the Beastie Boys. Name it, the camera has been used for it.

Hope that helps,

Jan
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
the only bad part that I can think of is that it is not HD, but that does not mean HDV. I have worked that example before and find that the color left on the DVX upconverted to HD, looks better than HDV.
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Just saw the DVX shot - David Chappelle's "BLOCK PARTY" on the free SHOWTIME weekend. Looked great. The DVX colour/gamma/filmlook always impresses me and I've never seen any HDV footage in downloaded clips, in person, or on tv, that can match those qualities. And that includes the downloaded clips of the new Canon A1 and Sony FX7/V1, which appear to follow the typical Canon/Sony "looks".

I respectfully disagree with Jan on the only bad part of the DVX not being HD. I (and many) think a DVX with 16:9 chips would be smokin' hot, and really help in the process of upconverting to HD. Probably never happen, though.

Matt, should you buy a DVX? If you want a video camera that gives you the best filmlook available and can't afford the HVX and it's P2 price/time limitations and general hassle that HD seems to bring with it currently. YES. NOTHING COMES CLOSE. And don't believe those that tell you, you can make any camera look like a DVX in post. I've never seen this in my own tests or anybody else's.

Wanna see the DVX in action? Rent the "BLOCK PARTY" dvd. It looks better than most things shot with the DVX, IMO. Cable tv runs "WILDBOYZ" on MTV2, and "IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA" on FX.

Reliability is a big thing for me and the Panasonic and Sony brands are more reliable than the other two, IMO. Some have complained about the noise in low-light on the Panasonics. It appears to be a trade-off for the filmlook it provides. Some can be adjusted out and it does look more like film grain than the noise does in other brands. The "B" model is the best in this regard. Do take advantage of this forum and do research here.

Matt, good luck with your films. Be bold. Don't be afraid to be different . Different is good.

Best regards,
John Trent
 
Jan can you say that Panasonic will never make a 16:9 SD camera? I guess they might stick it on a HVX like they do now or maybe a AVCHD down the road.

But do you ever see them doing just a 16:9 SD? No one else seems to be either.
 
The DVX100B would be my pic for the nicest prosumer SD camera around. The XL2 has a bit more resolution in 16x9 but no one beats Panasonic for the film look and filmish gamma curves. The DVX100 just looks right.

That said, if you have the cash I'd really get an HVX200. The DVX100 has been around for a while and the HVX200 is just more future proof. It does everything the DVX100 does better (save for low light performance) and is HD with a bunch of other nifty features like true 16x9 CCDs, slow motion, more color space, ect. Just something to think about.
 
Dave Chapelle's Block Party was shot on 16mm that is why it looks so good, awesome in fact when you see it at the cinema. I was excited at first that it was shot on the dvx as there was some rumour floating around on the internet, but alas unfortunately the dvx is not quite that good. Although, in the ASC review of the first dvx100 they said that the dvx came very close to 16mm blown up to film, just slightly softer.
 
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