Used hvx200 Buyers beware,

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This whole thing is stupid. I've had my HVX for like 3 months and I already have 139 hours on it, this thing in in new condition. 115 hours is not a lot. You bought it, keep it, to the seller; keep your money. It's a nice camera, go shoot some stuff or ge a light to go on top for weddings.
 
Ok this is the deal.

My camera has like 4 hours on the heads but 200 hours in the hidden menu. I have in no way filmed 200 hours. I have shot a few p2 cards but nowhere near 200 hours worth.

In fact on the first day I had it the usage hours said 6 hours and I did not have a P2 card or a tape in it the whole time. I was just checking it out with my M2.

Conclusion: "Hidden" hours are literally hours turned on.

If you turn on the camera to look at the lighting set-up you are adding to the meter.

Is that relevant in a sale? I do not really believe it is. But the original poster and the seller need to make that choice.
 
Yeah, totally irrelevant in almost every case. Now, if the lump looks like somebody took a bag of nickles to it, that would be a different matter.

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Can you write this one off as an honest mistake and press on? I'm sure the individual sold it because he needed funds (obviously) and spent it long before you got it. Not to mention he had full confidence in selling a quality item that there wouldn't be any gripes.

Where are you located, I mean if you're cutting it loose for $3500 then hell, let me know.
 
atlfilmguy said:
Ok this is the deal.

My camera has like 4 hours on the heads but 200 hours in the hidden menu. I have in no way filmed 200 hours. I have shot a few p2 cards but nowhere near 200 hours worth.

In fact on the first day I had it the usage hours said 6 hours and I did not have a P2 card or a tape in it the whole time. I was just checking it out with my M2.

Conclusion: "Hidden" hours are literally hours turned on.

If you turn on the camera to look at the lighting set-up you are adding to the meter.
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FWIW, I bought a brand new HVX in an unopened box from an authorized dealer in Hollywood last summer. I recorded 10 hours of P2 (only) video. I sold the camera to a local production company saying I had used it for only 10 hours. They checked the 'hidden' menu and it showed more than 6x that much. They didn't care, they said the camera tallies up 'power on' hours, whether recording or not. The camera had very little use, was in great condition, and worth the asking price. And that's all that mattered to them.

Now, to the OP, let it go......
 
Coloartist said:
I just read this post. So there was no hour meter until the last firmware upgrade? I just upgraded the firmware on my camera before I sent it out, after I had looked for "usage". I didn't look after that, and sent it out.

So what you are saying is, my camera is going to say 0 hours of total usage and 19 hours on the heads, when my buyer recieves it?

That is pretty lame on Panasonics part.
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From what I experienced the new meter gave me the total hours. The first time I had seen the meter it displayed hours in the 150 range. As if the camera had been counting hours but it was not a option to see until the upgrade.
 
I guess my buyer will tell me what I have on it then. I know it can't be high, since I used the Firestore for editing.
 
What did you want for $3800? Christ Almighty, that's the deal of the century on that camera. It sounds to me like you are trying to stick him with the fact that you don't like the camera. A full refund? Are you f*$%$ing kidding me! You get full refunds when you shop at places like B&H, Abel, etc.

You want a full refund, pay FULL RETAIL, bargain man. If not, you pays your money, and you takes your chances. It's not as if you paid top dollar for this camera. Deal with it.
 
Nathan Troutman said:
Looks like your camera is over the hill. :Drogar-Kriz(DBG):

Does 0 tape hours and 83 hours of use qualify as "practically brand new" to you?
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YES!

These cams DON'T wear out while ON.

I think everyone needs to step back and take a deep breath on this on.

Hopefully the mod will close this thread VERY soon.

JohnG
 
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LIghten up fellas, this post is not for the guys who like being lied to, It's for those unsuspected buyers who after this post will now make all the hvx sellers upgrade their hvx and post total hrs instead of bragging about the low tape hrs.

Question? Did this thread help those who will seek a hvx in the future understand what to look for and what questions to ask, If so, this thread has served its purpose.

So for you taormina and those who feel as though its ok to fudge staments to get a sell, I'm sure you don't represent the community as a whole and this thread don't concern you.

Now as for me being bitter, well yes and know. I think its in out second nature to want a wrong that was done to be made wright when you feel a person pulled one over on you.

So i've taken alot of the great advice and decided to hold the cam until I find another loving home to send her to. In other words, she may go back on the auction block tonight or tommorw, but CINEMASCREEN, the gentleman who made the misleading sale will have his paypal account taged with a sellers complaint by paypal and another gov. organization in which they said they would now monitor his sales activities and watch for another fraudelent sale.

I'm much better now. we can close this thread now.
 
i guess i would be THRILLED to find an HVX200 for $3800 with hundred of hours of "operation time" that's nothing in a world where cameras last for thousands of hours.

i have strong objections to selling to anyone with a history of making mountain out of a mole hill.

BUT i would have no problem buying something from the original seller (cinemascreen).
 
Then packofpickleedpeppers,you only have 6 post on here, so i'm sure most would be relluctant to buy from you, at least an item of that price range.

Furthemore, as I said this post is mainly for the cautious buyers in mind. And be my guess and by from cinema screen till your hearts content.

And for the rest of you honest sellers that I've purchased from on here, much respect to you.
 
reem12 said:
but CINEMASCREEN, the gentleman who made the misleading sale will have his paypal account taged with a sellers complaint by paypal and another gov. organization in which they said they would now monitor his sales activities and watch for another fraudelent sale.
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What a joke! What did you lie about? He didn't tell you about a secret menu he didn't know about? You get him flagged at paypal for that! Did he lie about the number of hours on the heads? Did he ever list the operational hours incorrectly?

What I can't figure out is why you - Reem12 - who knew about the secret menu didn't ask the seller to find the secret menu and tell you the number of hours? It makes no sense. You got a camera that costs $5200 new for $3800. You must be kidding me. It is scary, sad, and ridiculous that someone with such an empty complaint could ever get someone in trouble with paypal - let alone get a government agency to watch them. It makes me sad to read how proud you are that you trashed someone for something so petty - especially when you got such a good deal.

The bottom line is you knew about the menu and you should have asked. You didn't and that makes no sense to me. :violin:
 
Those numbers are hours that the cam has been on, as stated. Not hours that the camera has recorded.

Regardless. The buyer has made his case, and this thread has run it's course, and is beginning to verge on getting personal.

The seller has not had a chance to respond. If he wishes to have a one post response, he can feel free to pm me and I will re-open this thread so he can state his case as well.

Until then....
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Later,
Jason
 
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Ok. Taking the padlock off for a moment. As I said, the only person who could/should be able to add anything more to this thread is the seller who has been accused. He has sent me his response to this thread via private message and I am posting it here.

cinemascreen said:
I'm the guy who sold the HVX200 with 3 hours on it.

I had no idea this thread was going on, or I would have chimed in earlier.

Most of the replies have stated the responses that I gave to the buyer regarding the operating hours, which I had no idea there was a menu for, or I would have taken a picture of that one too (like I did for the head hours menu). The menu reads "hours" so even with that, stating 3 hours on the camera isn't false. If it said 3 head hours and 80 operational hours, I would have said that.

I called and spoke with the buyer at length before he purchased the camera and explained that the 3 hours (and I said "using tape") was from a shoot that was started on tape, then decided to go to the P2 cards. He explained to me that he shoots weddings and that he was going to stay with tape for a while before switching over to P2 cards. I figured he would be thrilled to get a camera with only 3 hours on it.

And not to beat a dead horse, but I did explain that when most people think of hours, they think of head hours (such as in a DSR-11 I just sold that had low head hours, but had been turned on for many, many more hours because I used it's firewire output for input to Final Cut Pro). And that hours the camera is on, or even using P2 means very little, because of the solid state of P2.

Which brings me to explain that yes, I am and editor/producer and the camera got "very little use" because I know how much it was actually used for shooting - which was very little. It probably got 30 hours of use that first project, and then it was used to transfer the footage, but other than that, wasn't used at all. I am blessed to be so busy editing, and didn't get as much time using the camera as I would like ;-)

And as he mentioned in one of his posts, it was in pristine condition. Flawless.

We exchanged emails because I forgot the manual and component cables, and I sent them to him, and about a week later rec'd the email that he wanted to return it because of the secret menu hours. I read his prior posts on the hvxuser site about low-light, etc using the HVX200 and that he had decided now he was going to hold off shooting in HD, so I kinda put two and two together and I didn't feel the new information regarding 80 operational hours (that ballooned to 120 in one of the posts) warranted my taking the camera back.

If I had said it had a certain amount of operating hours (which again I had no idea about, and think?? you may need to have a firmware upgrade to see (which I didn't do before I sent the camera to him)), and was subsequently wrong about it, I guess there would be some argument, but that wasn't the case.

I also let him make installment payments to me, so this was far from a quick and dirty sale (of which I don't do)......

Regardless, I am glad I don't have to do this [sell equipment] very often, and working with the public selling things is certainly not my full time job (hoorah), but I listed it here so that a collegue/peer from the site would get a better deal than on ebay, and hopefully get a quality camera (which he did).

As for the paypal flag or government agency stuff he mentioned, while it will be an inconvenience if in fact it does happen, I have a clear mind and don't have to live with doing that to someone else.
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Now folks can make up their own mind based on what has been posted here, and the original seller who was accused of so much has had his due right to respond to the allegations above.

In the future, please remember that this is a buyer/seller beware marketplace. Do your research. And, don't go slinging mud just b/c you feel a little bruised. Make sure you were burned for real before you decide to run someone elses name through the ringer.

Later,
Jason
 
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