Thinking of buying an HPX 500, but.....

B

Blemange3000

New member
when I go to buy one, the saleseman tries to get me to buy a used HVX2000 or HVX2700 instead, which is way out of my budget. They also want to sell me a used varicam, for "just a few thousand dollars more". It doesn't matter what store I go to, they try to do that.


I don't have 30 grand for an HD camera that has a 10k HD lens. I can only afford
around 10k for the camera and around 2k for an SD lens. Can someone tell me if they have shot independent films with the 500 for the big screen, or if these more expensive cameras are that much better than the 500? I had done a lot of research on it, and now it seems it only gets talked down in favor of a better camera when I go go buy one. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Its just the credit crunch mate, if you say you want something that costs 60% of something else, they'll prep you up for the extra 40% for the next thing up.

Of course i recommend the hpx500 its beautiful, im sure if you could afford an hpx2000 or 2700 you wouldnt need 'sold' on it ;)
 
Then you need to look them in the eye and say hey I'm here to buy the 500 and shut up about anything else or I'm leaving. We have two hvx 200s and a HPX-500 and its a great camera for the price. Try to find a clean used one and you'll be lucky to get one because all the people that I know that have them love them because of the quality for the price. Salesmen can be idiots and don't listen very well. They make more if you buy more and on the higher price equipment used or new they make more. After the salesman tries to steer me towards something I don't want after I have explained what I want, I ask to see the manager and I ask him why I can't buy what I want and if he doesn't address my issues then I tell him he just lost all of my business forever and I go someplace else.

When spending many thousands of dollars you can afford to travel a little to a place that will sell you what you want with some half decent customer service. Call around

Good luck
 
HPX500 for sale

HPX500 for sale

Hi Blemange3000,

I might be selling a lightly used, 11 month old HPX500. Are you still in the market? Ours has been a great camera and is in like new condition.

Update: My HPX-500 was sold through a dealer in January.
 
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stay away from used Varicam or HPX2000. I own a Varicam and its an amazing camera, but its yesterdays news and so is the 2000.

If you're going to invest in something new go with something that will be around for a while. I also own an HPX500 and will likely be selling both my Varicam and HPX500 to upgrade to newer model or possibly RED if they get their act together.

You can shoot a feature on anything, but I can tell you the quality of a Varicam feature will beat the quality of an HPX500 feature. But it will cost you a lot more in tape stock and digitizing. It will also make for a slower shoot and you won't be able to see instant playback of slow mo footage.

Bear in mind that soon the HPM20 will be out and you will be able to use P2 with an older Varicam. So you might want to wait and see if you can get a used Varicam and the HPM20. Depends on how long you can wait though. This would be ideal for low budget features.
 
Stay tuned for the new Panasonic shoulder mount camera that offers DVCPRO HD and AVC Intra. Could be a replacement for the 500. Don't know sensor size, type or resolution, but it should be out soon and 10 bit recording is an attractive prospect.

I don't see the HPX2000 with optional AVC Intra board as "yesterday's news", unless the above mystery camera ends up being a native HD sensor that is 2/3" and under $20K. The HPX2700 seems to have a very high premium in the US market over the 2000 for what you get, considering it uses the same chipset as Varicam 27H, HDX900 and HPX2000.
 
the reason dealers are trying to sell him on a used 2000 is because they know it will soon be considered yesterdays news, just like the HDX400 almost instantly became yesterdays news and I've seen that camera go on the used market for less than 7 grand despite being a 30k cam when it came out.

that said, I'd rather have a used HPX2000 over a new HPX500. I think the HPX500 will soon become like the HDX400. What good is it to have a great camera if none of your clients are asking for it?

If you can't afford the cams your clients want, then you are better off finding people you can rely on to rent them from at discounted prices.

it wasn't that long ago when a high end camera maintained a good resale value, but those days are gone and now they seem to be depriciating worse than RVs.

but something that does maintain value and won't become yesterdays news is high quality lenses.

as for the original question of shooting features: If I had to choose a camera on a minimal budget as mentioned, I'd get either a used HDX400 or a used Varicam and the new G20 P2 gear for my film rather than a new HPX500. The quality will be much better for close to the same price. Let me be clear because I own a Varicam and an HPX500 and I have intercut both cams on a film before and they do NOT compare, the Varicam is MUCH better.
 
Icarus, what is this HPM20 or G20 P2 gear you refer to? I haven't come across anything on the Panasonic website or on a Google search. Does it allow non-P2 Panny cameras to record onto P2, something like a Firestore unit? Can you provide a link?

update; never mind, I think you meant the HPG20. It's a 2.5 lb. portable P2 mini-deck, 10 bit recording. It's supposedly about $5,000. Nice, but I dunno, I don't want to drag that thing around when I'm in the field shooting. I guess if you already own a Varicam or for a narrative feature type of shoot it makes better sense.
Too bad it doesn't mount to a camera like a Firestore.
I think I'll stick with my HPX500 for now.
 
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Blemange, are you going with Panasonic because you need the P2 workflow? If not, there are other options, like the Sony EX1/3 cameras.
Check out this soon-to-be-released camera from JVC. It records XDCAM 35mps long-GOP HD onto SDHC chips! Talk about cheap media. Or optional SxS cards, if you have those.

http://www.jvcpro.com.au/JVCPRO_200..._catalogueItem.jsp?pID=27&catID=77&prodID=527

The US version should be the same.

By the way, I really like my HPX500. It's no 2700, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper.
 
Edit: I should have read that your primary use was filmaking. I'll leave the long post about sub 10,000 camera's in live multicam up for anyone it interests:
We all wish the 3000 cost the same as the 500!





I recently got the opportunity to test the HPX500 in a variety of conditions on some live shows mixed with other cameras.
We used 3 HPX500's and 2 HVX200's on one show.
We also got the chance during tech setup to look at a JVC HD110 and an EX3.
The big surprise for me was the HVX200. Looked pretty good. Slightly more noise than the 500's but with some tweeks was very comparable within the limits of the lens. As long as the 200 was in the sweet spot, didn't require live moves, and as long as the op could "shade" his/her own iris the HVX was very usable.
However, in any situation where a shader was a must or on the long end or shots requiring very smooth moves or very shallow DOF the 200 was not up to the task. Being a 5 camera shoot, I just put the HVX to use in places where these limitations didn't come up.
I was very pleased at how well the ATWB worked.
The lack of HDSDI was a bummer. We had to gaff an AJA component to HDSDI converter on the HVX's. If they had HDSDI, could be balanced on our tripods, and could be powered with 12v I would add a few to our flypacks.

Other than the lens, the JVC was a disapointment. It was a good compromise for the money but no 1080 and the res/sensitivity just wasn't what I want in HD. If I only had around $3000 to spend and had to have a "real" lens I might still consider it. But with 500's in our arsenal it had nothing to offer.

The sony was interesting. Didn't have much time with it but the detail was noticeable. If it wasn't the chainsaw form factor and cost nearly as much as a lens less 500 I would be more interested. Didn't get a chance to look at the CMOS artifacts either. We do a lot of concert IMAG so its a real concern.

The only desire I have is that the Panasonic 3000 was at the HPX500 price point.
The HPX500 has been the perfect compromise for us.
I should mention that all these comparisons were done with standard def. lenses on the HPX500's. The HPX would have pulled ahead with better glass, but $$$ wise that would have put it in another league.
So far the only time the SD glass really shows is on the very long end and especially with the extender in. We will start rotating HD lenses in on the "long" camera's first.
It seems amazing that we have put together an HD flypack of this caliber for not much more than a single Betacam 400 camera and BVW75 deck cost not that long ago.
 
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