Three Questions Before I Purchase My Hvx

H

Hambartsum

Member
Hey guys, so I'm on the verge of buying the camera, hopefully on Monday, I have three more questions, if you guys can help me (which you always do), I would really appreciate it....

1) Disregarding the 'HD' portion of the HVX and simply considering the miniDV portion agains the DVX100b, how does it compare, does it have all the features of the DVX 100b?

2) When shooting HD 24p, does the stimulated film look suffer from the crispness of the 'HD' that the DVX100 does not have since it is miniDV or does it increase the 'filmic' look (which I'm hoping and thinking it does), sorry if this is a stupid question.

3) Lastly and most importantly, I keep hearing people say that if you upgrade to HD you have to change your hardware too, now I have a Mac Book Pro 17inch, only 1gig of RAM but I'm gonna upgrade, wil that do? But what about a deck? I keep hearing about how I'm going to need a deck to be able to edit the HD footage? Is this true or can I just firewire the sucker straight into my comp, does that mess up the image quality or can I not do it at all. Basically what new hardware will I need to edit without loosing quality?

Thanks in advance.
 
3. Add RAM and you don't need a deck to edit. How you deliver is a different story.

Going from cam to FW isn't an issue so long as you have a second FW bus or capture to eSATA drives.
 
David, just clear things up since I don't much about this stuff...when you say a second FW bus? You mean on the comp? or.....? also I have no idea what a eSATA drive is or where it belongs? Sorry for my cluelessnes
 
1. Yes. I think the HVX is a stop slower than the DVX.
HVX 16:9 mode has more resolution as the CCDs are 16:9 native.

2. Filmic look can definitely be achived. The "crispness" can be reduced by lowering the detail level and going for the most shallow depth of field possible.

3. Find some MXF files and see for yourself!

Hambartsum, I would recommend doing some more research before you buy. It sounds like there are a lot of things that aren't crystal clear. Ensuring you have a solid post process is a huge step towards gettings this camera; you should find some MXF files online and try them out with your system to make sure they works as you expect them to. I bought Barry's HVX Book months before I ordered my camera, and it really helped. Even though you can get one for free after you order, it obviously won't help you get your stuff together beforehand. Dig around here some more and make sure every question you have is answered.
Good luck! :)
 
MXF are the type of files HVX generates. For example, Avid is one of the software that can take care of your MXF files.
 
2:) Film is actually a virtually unlimited resolution and its easy to get rid of the extra crispness and videoshness of HD in post or in the camera or with a 35mm adapter. Investing in a DVX now is kind of a waste of money, youll be happier with that 2000-2500 toward something thats future proof.
 
1. On mini-DV the HVX is going to give you a sharper image benafiting from higher rez CCDs and a sharper lense.

2. This is kind of a hard question to answer since film actually has more resolution than pretty much any form of digital video (even the 115k cameras). I don't think what bothers one about video is the "sharpness" so much as the edge ehancment. Most video cameras up the contrast around edges providing artificial extra sharpness and thus often giving a video look. The HVX200 has much less edge enhacment than many other HD cameras (which gives it a softer more natural look) and, like the DVX, the edge enhancment (called "Detail" though that's misleading) can be scaled down.

3. Another Gig of RAM will be helpful but I'm sure you can edit if not play back and full speed. Remember, both Avid and FCP will let you edit in lower resolution to save processing power.

Like Cynic said, you really ought to go for the HVX200. Why buy a camera which may be useless in a few years. Even if HD doesn't take over (which is very possible), I've found that the HVX200 produces SD DVDs that are cleaner, sharper, and more vibrant than anything I've ever shot with the DVX.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top