Hi, this is only going to be a basic review and not really a technical one at that.
We've been using two HVX200 for two years now and they've been fantastic. I did wonder a while ago that I've never really had a problem with noise as such on the HVX - and could this be that a lot of the complaints were coming stateside? I.e was it possible that the euro HVX was less noisy?
I reckon this is possible as I'm sure I've never seen a UK and US HVX compared in this way.
Anyway to the HPX ... I'd read most of the reports on here but was pretty desperate to get a third camera for a multicam soon. (Why hire at £180 when I can buy at just over £2000 -it would soon pay for itself.)
I was a bit concerned about this lens wobble - which my unit definitely has. And it's more than the HVX no question. There is shift at the Tele end of the lens - so it will go in for repair eventually. But for regular useage it's not a deal breaker. Also while we're on the cons side of things - the unit definately has some cost-savings such as the flimsy P2 door - but the unit as whole feels engineered very well where it counts, plus the 5 year warranty is good enough for me. It's also pleasing to see that Panasonic have not moved production to China - where I think products often take a quality control dive generally - it's still made in Japan which is reasurring.
The most improved element of picture quality for me is the sensitivity - a big leap. Sharpness is also improved (see my SD clips below). The wider-angle lens is great for tracking and moving shots - with the leaner weight also being better for the Merlin.
Now to noise - I've got to say I always found the noise on the HVX200 more than manageable, and some of the internet commentary was confused by different user settings, different environments and different outputs/monitoring methods. So I wasn't ever quite convinced the noise was the problem it was made out to be by the global community. With that in mind - I don't see a huge difference in noise between the HVX and HPX (both UK models). To that end, it's not really a problem again for me. Could it be that the euro models were less noisy in the first place?
It's early days yet and I've used it on a couple of shoots and had great results.
I've included an SD comparison between the cameras under poor lighting to show it in a bad scenario rather than a well lit HD environment.
http://www.vimeo.com/2150821
I think the sensitivity is night and day! Look at the detail difference of the keyboard in the shot. Even in SD this is very pronounced.
(Also vimeo appears to crush blacks a little, as the shots were not quite as dark pre-upload)
* A great use for the waveform monitor is to set the pedestal to the zero line with the lens cap on. This is -9 on the master black. The waveform also reacts to played back footage as well as real-time monitoring.
We've been using two HVX200 for two years now and they've been fantastic. I did wonder a while ago that I've never really had a problem with noise as such on the HVX - and could this be that a lot of the complaints were coming stateside? I.e was it possible that the euro HVX was less noisy?
I reckon this is possible as I'm sure I've never seen a UK and US HVX compared in this way.
Anyway to the HPX ... I'd read most of the reports on here but was pretty desperate to get a third camera for a multicam soon. (Why hire at £180 when I can buy at just over £2000 -it would soon pay for itself.)
I was a bit concerned about this lens wobble - which my unit definitely has. And it's more than the HVX no question. There is shift at the Tele end of the lens - so it will go in for repair eventually. But for regular useage it's not a deal breaker. Also while we're on the cons side of things - the unit definately has some cost-savings such as the flimsy P2 door - but the unit as whole feels engineered very well where it counts, plus the 5 year warranty is good enough for me. It's also pleasing to see that Panasonic have not moved production to China - where I think products often take a quality control dive generally - it's still made in Japan which is reasurring.
The most improved element of picture quality for me is the sensitivity - a big leap. Sharpness is also improved (see my SD clips below). The wider-angle lens is great for tracking and moving shots - with the leaner weight also being better for the Merlin.
Now to noise - I've got to say I always found the noise on the HVX200 more than manageable, and some of the internet commentary was confused by different user settings, different environments and different outputs/monitoring methods. So I wasn't ever quite convinced the noise was the problem it was made out to be by the global community. With that in mind - I don't see a huge difference in noise between the HVX and HPX (both UK models). To that end, it's not really a problem again for me. Could it be that the euro models were less noisy in the first place?
It's early days yet and I've used it on a couple of shoots and had great results.
I've included an SD comparison between the cameras under poor lighting to show it in a bad scenario rather than a well lit HD environment.
http://www.vimeo.com/2150821
I think the sensitivity is night and day! Look at the detail difference of the keyboard in the shot. Even in SD this is very pronounced.
(Also vimeo appears to crush blacks a little, as the shots were not quite as dark pre-upload)
* A great use for the waveform monitor is to set the pedestal to the zero line with the lens cap on. This is -9 on the master black. The waveform also reacts to played back footage as well as real-time monitoring.
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