-
Such a difference of opinion on HVX
I live 3 hours away from any vendor for the HVX where I could judge the image quality for myself. I have been considering the HVX but have been getting very differing views of the image quality. At this point, image quality (and noise level) are may only concern, not workflow. I do not uderstand how many professionals see it so differently. I guess if you are using a F900 or Varicam your level of expectation for HD is at a high standard to start with. Below is a post I read yesterday on the cow HD forum. It is a 180 from some of the posts I have read here. Would some of you who own this camera consider this a fair assesment?
SydneyS
Date: May 14, 2006 at 2:11:33 pm
Subject: Re: Seeking advice on new camera purchase (long)I am personally not a huge fan of the HVX200… I had a Sony HDV camera, bought the Panasonic one… and promptly returned it. In my opinion, there just wasn’t enough of a difference in quality between the images from the two cameras to justify the price difference. ($2,000) I absolutely HATE HDV, hence the desire to purchase an alternative, but I feel it’s just not here yet (Price wise.) I think Panasonic made a big mistake at NAB by putting the HVX200 next to their professional cameras an displaying the images next to each other. The differences were quite obvious… It looked like what it was, simply a consumer camera next to a professional one. The resolution was noticeably much less, the colors looked washed out compared to the others… I could see the difference from 20 feet away on their display monitors. This is not to say that the Panasonic is a bad camera. I feel all of the new HDV/Pro cameras are excellent progressions in technology. However, the differences between them are slight…
If your goal is cinematography, I would recommend a camera with a removeable lens, this narrows your choice down to JVC and Canon. Why? down the road, you will be able to rent some nice, fast prime lenses that give your images a pop that a stock lens cannot emulate. It also gives you a larger array of looks without sacrificing f-stops… I am aware of the adaptors that emulate depth of field, but I am of the opinion they sacrifice too many f-stops to achieve the look… Too much glass and such.
By the way, if you really wanted, you can go HD for $45,000 or so, lens included… Check out the Infinity (Grass Valley, there’s another forum here for it) I got my hands on it, very impressive. -
10 Replies
-
Well, put the HDV camera next to a Varicam or F900 and you will see a huge difference too. There was a BIG HD camera shootout that Adam Wilt did for DV magazine.
https://www.hdforindies.com/2006/04/announcing-texas-hd-shootout
They compared all the cameras very indepth.
But I also want to add that the post workflow is EVERYTHING. What is the point of shooting all this footage if you can’t do anything with it? Or if working with it is difficult?
Shane
Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net -
Rember that the camera has loads of menus and can be tweaked for a specific look. I would not make judgments without actually using the unit. The footage I have shot looks extraordinary. The post workflow couldn’t be easier and it’s very fast. Clients are thrilled. The robust codec provides a great deal of room for color correction. I see a little bit of noise if I put my eye two inches from the monitor. Big deal. This is a breakthrough product. The HVX is so much fun to shoot with and it’s always magic looking at the dailies.
-Dave Dessel
-
Dave,
What monitor are you using to view your HVX footage? Just curious…
Joe Murray
-
We went component out of the HVX to an AJA HDP, and from there to an Apple Cinema Display. But only on the very controlled shots. Most all the other footage was just viewed thru the viewfinder in the field as there was a lot of run and gun shooting happening.
Shane
Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net -
Joe…this isn’t the Joe Murray I met a couple weeks ago is it? Don’s brother? Resources Global project?
Just curious.
Shane
Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net -
No, not the same. There are a lot more Joe Murrays in the world than you’d expect.
jm
-
Hi Mike,
I don’t think it is a fair assesment at all, the HDV cameras are not in the same league as far as features and are roughly equivalent in resolution. I shoot the hvx with an M2 adapter and I don’t think anything comes close to that combination if you are looking for a film look unless you spend $75K or more ! For me it works for you it may not; don’t take anyones word for it…check it out yourself.
Aloha
-A -
I have been looking at hundreds of clips, most shot with the HVX.
We have some VariCam footage and some HDV footage. It’s the shooter
who makes all the difference. But by and large the image coming out
of the HVX is awesome. It’s hard to describe. Of course people are only
sending me there best footage. You can shoot charts all you want but
when you see footage from around the world shot with the same camera
in all different conditions that look pleasing and very editable…..
I wish I could say I am seeing awesome footage from HDV, we just have
not had as many shooters sending in footage from HDV. We have plenty
signed up but I am still waiting, seems the HVX’s love to use their cameras!Mike Schrengohst
http://www.MotionZoneHD.com -
[Shane Ross] “But I also want to add that the post workflow is EVERYTHING. What is the point of shooting all this footage if you can’t do anything with it? Or if working with it is difficult?”
You are so right in that…
-
I’m trying to follow this blog but it’s a mess… how do you follow the article? I can’t see anyway of going from one to the next. (There’s no links to the next article in the blog).
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up