The mistery of DVX100 noisy images. Do you think Z1 is the solution?

gumonstro

gumonstro

Well-known member
I´m the owner of a PD-170 and wanted to move to a DVX100b, until yesterday, when I got my ZOMBIEFEST DVD and, later, watched "Lonesome Jim", the DVX100 feature.

Why my opinion changed? One word: noise! Though most of the zombie shorts are great, such as the colors of the DVX100, that noise in the dark areas (even in daylight, sometimes) really made me think twice before selling my noise-free PD-170.

In "Lonesome Jim" I was really impressed with some scenes and how they had so much noise. A LOT more than "In This World", for example, shot with a PD-150 and mostly at night and at dark places.

Don´t get me wrong, I´m not saying the DVX100 is a bad camera. Now comes the second part, about what I didn´t understand: why some of the zombie shorts, even in the shadows, have acceptable noise and some are so dirty? Texas Fortune, for example, is GREAT, but when the old man is watching tv before the zombie attack, that looked like what I get from my PD170 at 18db.

I couldn´t have any conclusion about this problem. Is there any rule that tells me to avoid some kind of shadow areas or some special colors that produces more noise?

How can I compare a DVX100 to a Sony Z1 in terms of noise?
 
Rent one and shoot under all imaginable situations and see what you think for yourself (mistery is spelled mystery, by the way)
 
Well, you never know what settings people used. Not everyone is a master cinematographer, even if they can tell a great story. Maybe some of the DVX's had gain turned on, if they underestimated how much light they would need or were going for the grain effect intentionally. And the DVX does have a pretty noisy gain. You might contact the filmmakers in question and ask them.
 
Sorry for the MISTERY. In portuguese MYSTERY is MISTERIO, that´s why I changed the Y for the I. If the moderator of the thread is reading this, please, correct the mistake.

Renting one is a good possibility, but will cost me about 50 or 60 dollars and maybe I won´t have all the answers I want.
 
galt said:
Well, you never know what settings people used. Not everyone is a master cinematographer, even if they can tell a great story. Maybe some of the DVX's had gain turned on, if they underestimated how much light they would need or were going for the grain effect intentionally. And the DVX does have a pretty noisy gain. You might contact the filmmakers in question and ask them.
Click to expand...

That´s what I thought when I watched ZOMBIEFEST DVD. But what about "Lonesome Jim"? It´s an InDigEnt feature, with a pro DP, probably color corrected on a Da Vinci 2k, with some good light equipment used on production. The conclusion I had was: "there are some situations that even a professional can´t avoid so much noisy images. That´s the limitation of the camera". Am I right?
 
the PD150 had very low noise, but wasnt noise free. But it does have the DVX beat in this area.

Remember, that many of those zombie shorts were shot with the original or A model, the B model has apparently has less noise.
 
Be careful! I initially purchased the PD170 over the DVX100 because of low-light capabilities alone! Man, that was the biggest mistake I've made. Unless you're doing surveillance video, don't judge a camera on low-light performance alone. I had both PD170 and DVX100A at one time, and I compared them side by side. Yes, the DVX is noisier! But that's where the difference stops. With the DVX, you have better color reproduction, better detail in low-light, skin tones are more realistic, 24p, better control over focus and zoom, etc. etc. etc...

If you want good footage, what you need is good lighting. Good lighting will increase the production value of your project by a gazillion! If you need the PD170 for shooting wedding receptions, that's fine. But anytime you have a chance to put in a light, then you should.

Apparently the 100B is quieter then the A. And if you're thinking Z1, think again, low-light on this camcorder is no where near as good as the PD170. I dare say the DVX is much better then the Z1 in low light. But you might say that the Z1 has much less noise? True, maybe, but at what price? About 2 stops I'd say (maybe 1.5).
 
Not to mention plugins and cc used on the zombie flicks. Could be all kinds of goodies added to footage...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top