So what are the initial thoughts?...............

[bigox]

Now that it's been out long enough for people to play with.....what do you think?

I hate DSLR cameras which is what most people are using nowadays. And I've always liked Panasonic. I still use the HVX200 a bunch. Was considering upgrading to a HPX one day, but then this thing came out......so I guess I'll probably jump to this instead of the HPX? Thoughts?

So anyhow, I'd just like to hear thoughts from other folks who prefer the DVX, HVX & HPX to the whole DSLR craze and see what they think.

Also, specifically, I'm curious about these SD cards it's using compared to to P2 cards that the DVX, HVX and HPX use, which I like a lot.

 

[greytail]

I have several of them, one of them mounted in a big shoulder mount with an Anton Bauer battery. I share the same view as you about the DSLR craze. The problems for me with this camera are that is hard to get accurate focus while recording. Peaking isn't always accurate. The punch in magnifying only works when not recording. The LCD is hard to see in direct sunlight. I wish it had a Loupe. I have tried monitors but it is just one more thing to set up and carry around. The bokeh look is really hard to obtain unless you really work at it. Other than that, it is a great camera, one of the few that can do depositions, the picture quality is tack sharp, and if you use the right scene file, the color is fine. I get by with it at wedding receptions. I have never had to invoke its extra sensitivity option because of low light. I have been using 128GB Transcend cards at weddings for more than a year. I have never had a failure. Unfortunately, the camera will never give you that soft boudoir look for bridal prep, so I have opted instead for some Sony A7Riis and A7Siis, The younger set loves these cameras, they are so small and unobstrusive and they do give nice results, but you have to give up a lot, one of them being color matching with the DVX!

 

[David_]

I am beginning to use one for doc work, hoping it will be a good compromise between no depth of field (DSLR) and too much depth (smaller chip cameras.) We will see. I am learning how to keep it focused and learning how to use its auto focus options.

I previously used the HVX200.

I am using a PIX-E5 recorder so that I have editable ProRes without any workflow hassles of transcoding.

We shall see. On a tripod for an interview there are no issues, but for run and gun it will be a challenge. I used to work with 16mm cameras so I think this will all work out OK.

Many other cameras that were a step up from the HVX required too many add ons. The DVX seemed like a good idea, yet I did get an external monitor/recorder to streamline the workflow.

 

[Elvis Deane]

I use it regularly for studio work (live video talk shows and corporate video) as well as documentary work. I love my GH cameras, but when I want to just set-up with little fuss and get great looking footage, I always bring out my DVX200.

SD cards are not as rock solid as P2. I bought 2 Sandisk Extreme Pro 128gb cards a year ago when I bought the camera. They've probably left the camera to be copied a total of 30-50 times. One of the cards lost it's locking switch and is permanently set to locked. I'm not sure if it's a case of SD card manufacturers getting lazier about quality control, but I've had a few cards start to break apart on me in the last while. They certainly don't hold up like P2s.

 

[AlexLF]

I have several of them, one of them mounted in a big shoulder mount with an Anton Bauer battery. I share the same view as you about the DSLR craze. The problems for me with this camera are that is hard to get accurate focus while recording. Peaking isn't always accurate. The punch in magnifying only works when not recording. The LCD is hard to see in direct sunlight. I wish it had a Loupe. I have tried monitors but it is just one more thing to set up and carry around. The bokeh look is really hard to obtain unless you really work at it. Other than that, it is a great camera, one of the few that can do depositions, the picture quality is tack sharp, and if you use the right scene file, the color is fine. I get by with it at wedding receptions. I have never had to invoke its extra sensitivity option because of low light. I have been using 128GB Transcend cards at weddings for more than a year. I have never had a failure. Unfortunately, the camera will never give you that soft boudoir look for bridal prep, so I have opted instead for some Sony A7Riis and A7Siis, The younger set loves these cameras, they are so small and unobstrusive and they do give nice results, but you have to give up a lot, one of them being color matching with the DVX!

I have the thread somewhere in here asking Panasonic to add a 'quick focus assist' while recording. I think that would be really helpful!

 

[Larry Chapman]

I've been using my DVX200 for 18 months now and have no regrets on the purchase. I do a large variety of work with it from dance recitals, to wildlife, to talking heads, to outdoor sports, to run-and-gun in mixed lighting. I just shot footage for a new tour video at our local Budweiser brewery (Fort Collins) where we were getting beauty shots of beer pouring into glasses, barley bouncing off a open hand, industrial shots, landscapes with Clydesdales, and more. The camera performed flawlessly.

Its weakness is certainly low light capability, but it is acceptable. If I want shallower DOF, I go to my GH2 with a 50mm F1.7.

 

[Jason R. Johnston]

I got my DVX200 May 2016. I love it. It does everything I need except internal 10-bit 422. But, I don't really need it for the majority of the work I would use the camera for. However, if I do need it, for example on a TVC shoot, then I can always output 10-bit 422 to my Atomos.

A few niggles: I wish the lens were a constant f2.8 throughout the zoom range, and I wish the sensor were Super 35. I wish there were more 1/4-20" females. I wish the LCD could yaw. I wish the EVF could switch positions with the LCD. I wish the color wasn't so "video"-y, especially in 8-bit VlogL. I wish it had proper Vlog with more dynamic range. I wish it wasn't so heavy. I wish the filter diameter was 77mm. I wish the words "4K" and "professional" weren't on the camera body. I wish the I/O covers were rubber and/or removable.

I wish I had two more.

I pretty much use DVX200 camera for everything right now. Once I get the AU-EVA1 I will rely on DVX200 for narrative work less and less. But, the vast majority of my work requires a unibody camcorder, for me. Once I update my cinema camera, DVX200 will be mostly used for reality work such as weddings, documentary b-roll, B-cam on bigger docs, quick interviews, ENG work, film races probably, etc. EVA1 will be used for TVCs, music videos, bigger docs as an A-cam, shorts and features. I fully intend to have DVX200 and EVA1 run together, side-by-side, on bigger projects. On those, I can output it's 10-bitt 422 as those projects don't mind if the cameras are weighed down a bit more with fancy external bits. Basically, any time I need a servo zoom lens, I'm taking the DVX200. If I need fast primes, I'm taking EVA1.

 

[hotchkiss]

I had been using my GH4 for shallower DOF shoots where I didn’t want to use my HPX300. I quickly grew tired of the limitations of a DSLR form factor. I was also tired of the audio situation with my GH4. It was getting too stressful using that camera on high profile corporate shoots. I still use my GH4 when appropriate (another classic camera) ,but it’s so nice to have a servo/ lensed “real” camera with shallower DOF.

Somewhat hesitantly, I purchased the DVX200 when they had the battery rebate last year. I’ve had mine since May 2016, I started using it more heavily in the fall of 2016 to present. I didn’t intend to purchase the DVX200, I was waiting for a M43 AF100 successor. Hmmm, looks like that ain’t happening anytime soon with the EVA on the way.

In short, I’m very pleased with the camera. It is indeed a Leatherman of cameras. It does many things very well and some things excellently. That being said, it took me a awhile to warm up to it. The repeated firmware updates helped that, as I had reservations about the color I was seeing from many samples. Delving deeper and deeper into the menus and settings has stoked my affection for this camera as well. It’s a deep camera. Seriously. I still haven’t dialed every little setting in, but I’m now 95% of the way there. I got burned by the knee settings on a shoot, resulting in the yellow/orange skin tones. That led to more tweaking. In the past week I finally got around to exploring the custom stabilization setting. Previously, I’ve just used OIS. The custom setting stabilization is crazy good.

FWIW… I don’t shoot LOG - yet. I typically shoot a modified Cine D or the Still like setting to match my GH4 for two camera shoots. Internal recording. 4k 80% of the time, 1080 the rest.

The things that bug me, not show stoppers, they just bug me:

1. The servo is smooth- yes. However it doesn’t really have a fast setting. Doing a big focal length change with the servo takes an eternity. Serious ouch. I find myself disengaging the servo and resorting to a manual focal length change increasingly.

2. Although the DVX200 is run and gun fast compared to a DSLR, don’t confuse it with a proper ENG style camera for intuitive and fast usability. There’s nothing like them- period. For me, the key is setting it up to approximate an ENG camera given the handicam design architecture.
3. Yes, the auto switch for the VF and EVF is annoying.

4. I wish it was possible to use focus peaking without the peaking color also bordering the image in the VF. Annoyingly distracting.

5. The iris ring spins too freely! I bet you could blow on it and get it to spin. ;-O

6. While on the tripod, I wish I could reach the zoom rocker with my left hand reaching over the lens like on a traditional ENG cam.


More serious concerns:

1. The image clips pretty quickly if it gets blown out. I’m very conservative with my zebra settings compared to any other camera I’ve owned. Beautiful image, but be careful with highlights. It is not a DR monster to put it another way.

2. Although it would be really, really nice to have a constant aperture 2.8 lens, I’m willing to live with the variable aperture lens on the camera. However, it ramps very quickly to f4. It’s a pita at times, especially when you set your f-stop, make a focal length tweak and… your exposure gets dark because the lens ramped to f.4. I find my self dancing a lot more with the ND and ISO to keep my stop where I want it in available light/ exterior shoots.

3. I wish you could see the record tally light in the VF when the display info is set to off. Even though I may not want the rest of the information cluttering the VF- I still need to be sure that the camera is recording. Please fix this Panasonic… it can’t be that difficult of a FW fix. This is more problematic than just being annoying.

4. I would like more menu items to be able to be assigned to USER buttons. There are some really great and necessary functions that cannot be assigned to USER buttons. Two of which are: Custom OIS and High Sensitivity mode. I go on and off the sticks quite a bit during a typical shoot- I need to be able to turn on/off ALL OIS functions quickly. Likewise, I need to activate High Sensitivity mode quickly. Unless I’m totally missing it here, I don’t see this option. If I have missed it or anyone has good workarounds for these two settings- by all means let me know what your solution is.


All in all it’s a rocki’n camera for corporate work, EFP and some ENG stuff. Beautiful image, flexible camera and tons of really useful features- not electronic gimmickery. It’s not the quickest to operate (and it’s somewhat beefy), but ongoing tweaking can get it much closer depending on your needs. Using it with the GH4 is very nice. The STILL LIKE profile makes this so,so easy. It is a great value, I’m glad I purchased it.

I’m going to start using LOG on some stuff, so we’ll see how that goes. Depending on how useful to me it is, I may add an external recorder.

For it’s price, it’s really hard to go wrong with this camera.

 

[joema]

....I hate DSLR cameras which is what most people are using nowadays....I'd just like to hear thoughts from other folks who prefer the DVX, HVX & HPX to the whole DSLR craze and see what they think....

My doc team long used several DVX100s, and got a DVX200 when first released. We also have various DSLR and mirrorless cameras including the Sony A7RII, and we often shoot multi-camera interviews with these plus the DVX. It is easy to match the DOF by using the DVX200 for the tight shot and a DSLR or mirrorless camera for the wide shot.

Overall the DVX200 is a fantastic camera, esp for field documentary and news work. I was going to get a Sony FS5 plus the 18-110 lens, but (even with the current $1000 discount) it's *double* the price of the DVX200. The FS5 is better in low light than the DVX200 and the variable ND is pretty cool, but they both shoot UHD 100 mbps 4:2:0 internally.

I often use the Sony 28-135 f/4 power zoom lens on my A7RII which sort of rehabilitates it into a camcorder. For most material including lighted indoor interviews, I really can't see the difference between that and the DVX200. Of course I can put a fast professional lens on the A7RII and it then becomes much better in low light than the DVX200, but we rarely shoot that kind of material. There is just nothing else like the DVX200 price, form factor and features.

Re the "DSLR craze", there is a reason for this. When video DSLRs came out there was nothing on the market that produced that look. Today there are last large-sensor video cameras that can give a similar DSLR look, such as the C200, FS5, etc, but they are still far more expensive than a DSLR or mirrorless camera. The video cameras have XLR inputs but we have a sound technician and multichannel field recorder, so don't need XLR on all the cameras. Camcorders don't require rigging but I can rig my A7RII with a hot shoe mic and Zacuto grip in about 30 sec. This leaves built-in ND which is pretty nice but for the FS5 that's the world's most expensive feature. Only the DVX200 has the blend of sensor size, camcorder features and form factor at a good price. It seems under appreciated.

 

[duncansay]

I've recently come to the DVX200 after a lifetime (nearly thirty years) of using Sony cameras. My last camera was the Sony FS100 and I really liked the large format sensor, bokeh etc that was made possible because of the sensor. The fact that the FS100 camera itself is a real ugly duckling and an utter pain to use was very frustrating. But I set myself the project of making it usable in even run and gun situations by purchasing an external viewfinder from kinotehnik and an external recorder from atomos and making my own shoulder mount.

The Pansonic is a very different kettle of fish. Don't get me talking about the the menu structure, I don't think anyone understands the logic behind it, but that aside, I am very happy. The lack of interchangeable lenses is actually a joy because the lens on the camera is so good and clean. Admittedly trying to do bokeh is not so easy, but it is not out of the question, it takes some arranging. The ramping on the lens aperture can be frustrating, if I remember I will set the aperture manually to f4 (as long as other parameters allow it) and that will minimise this problem.

I did think I would be using the external recorder but clients all ask for 4K (even though they said they would not before I bought it) and they actually prefer the more compressed files from the camera as it is easier and quicker to do transfers. The picture quality is at the moment way beyond what they need, so I am happy that we are all in good place for the future.

I wanted to make the DVX200 run and gun as well. The main issues are the viewfinder and shouldermount. Ideally a loupe would be fantastic on the screen, but no such device exists. The nearest thing is the hoodman and that will not show the full lcd screen. A secondary problem is that when the loupe is attached the weight is very significant and causes the screen to point towards the floor. Bringing your eye to it can keep it in position, but this is not ideal as you are involved in a delicate balancing act while working the camera handheld. I have used the Kinotehnik viewfinder instead and this does in fact work as it is in exactly the right place for my eye.

The shouldermount I made for the FS100 takes the DVX200 very well and allows me to put my external recorder on the back of the camera. However I now rarely use the external recorder and unless the clients start wanting full fat pro-res files, it could well be redundant.

I've used it on several shoots now. Interviews, run and gun events and a bit of operating theatre work. It's a real workhorse. I very much like it.

 

[MichaelA]

Coming from DSLR's, I had a pretty steep learning curve with the DVX. As I've used it more and more, I am continually impressed with what it can do when set up properly. Problem is, initially it took me (seemingly) forever to get it set up right! It gets easier with time. It really is a pretty high performance camera but getting used to the form factor after using DSLR's for so long still takes some getting used to. I wish it could do 4.2.2. internal... but I like the fact it uses SD cards which are cheap. Batteries last a really long time. I wish it did a bit better in low light. Seems like the dual record down-scaled 1080 is better than "regular" 1080... (so I use that and keep the 4K as a backup because, really,... 4K is showy but 1080 pays the bills!) As compact as it is, it does get heavy after a while and I really try and relegate it to tripod or steadycam use. The menu system is a bit goofy. I wish it had some kind of more sophisticated settings "readback" function to let you know what ISN'T working in the current setting (where the hell did my focus magnification go??? Oh, I'm in area mode...) I also wish the lens was constant aperture, but with a bit of pre-planning you can work around that. I wish it was a bit better weather sealed like some of the high end DSLR's. It doesn't suffer fools, though, and as such isn't as forgiving. Read the manual and practice a lot with it ESPECIALLY if coming from DSLR's. Things I don't like? Well, it's still BIG... a pain to take carry on. It attracts a lot of attention. People think your a TV news guy. That can be good or bad depending on the situation. Hard to be discreet with it. For "low profile" situations I default to my Canon C300 which looks like a fat DSLR and most people don't notice it if it's stripped down without handles. No regrets. I'm going to use this thing for a long time. But I've learned with cameras (and guns, and cars, and airplanes...) rarely can one item do all the missions you may need it to do. Hence, I have a collection of cameras that can all subtly do different things a bit better than one or the other. The DVX is a damn good tool, though. Learn it and it will serve you very well indeed in a wide variety of situations.

 

[Stevee]

Came from video cameras to DSLR's back to the DVX200 and have to say it's one of my much better decisions. I film everything from sports to educational content, and this is as close to Jack of all trades as I can imagine.
It's really worth spending time to get to know properly - little things like the autofocus working much better when on higher framerates, and nailing exposure using waveform/zebras for V-Log transform your work and ease of acquisition.

On the subject of profiles I have to say that despite installing Barrys GH4 profiles to match with my actual GH4, the skin tones still didn't seem quite right. Nothing terrible, but looked too video and not very subtle. I also noticed an exaggeration of skin blotchiness (or maybe the camera was being truthful!). I switched to V-LOG on both and what a transformation! Even 8bit V-LOG in my humble estimation is much better than the inbuilt profiles. Set your skin tone zebras to warn you of over exposure and all seems to be well. I shot a set of interviews - 2 camera (GH4 and DVX200) set to V-log and it looked fantastic - minimal grading - just the DVX LUT, and expansion of contrast. I use 10bit on a Shogun for green screen, and I can now key reliably in Premiere without having to resort to After effects Keylight plugin.

I find the DVX much quicker than the GH4 to set up for interviews, and selecting the autofocus zone when you're shooting wide open close to the subject cures the headaches when they lean into the camera, or away. Very occasionally get an AF pop, but nothing to worry about.

I have also used the DVX on a steadicam rig - worked great - a tad heavy, but compared to a DSLR what isn't. Great battery life too.

I've even used the infra-red with an illuminator!

Downsides?

This may not be the camera - I use sandisk extreme 90mb/s for 4K 25p, and very occasionally i get corruption at the end of a file. I'm talking only 3 files in over 1800 shot so not huge, but difficult to spot without playing the entire clip through. The DVX does not report it as corrupted, but the giveaway is the audio suddenly goes intermittent and distorted. I recovered most of the file by trimming in Premiere and re-exporting.

For completely automatic steadicam work it would be nice to have electronic ND like in my Sony NXCAM - but at this price point probably unreasonable

Internal 10bit would be amazing!

A mic clip that is set back more so I don't have to trim down my Rycote softies (they get in the frame on wide) would be nice! Although fixable by placing a mount on the handle.

Being able to remove the handle like on my AF101 so I can operate the rocker zoom across the camera...


Otherwise a very solid bit of kit - great lens - super sharp, not much noise really (in normal situations) - very happy.