• Panasonic Cameras

  Buying a 60Hz HVX200 for use in PAL land

  Posted by Harry Clegg on January 26, 2007 at 3:55 pm

  I’m considering flying from the UK to the States to buy an HVX200 for a lot less than I’d pay here. However, I’m a little worried about what I might be getting into. Does anyone have a handle on the pros and cons of each version of this camera? I’ll be primarily using the camera for filmmaking. But if I was lucky enough to sell my work to TV would the format be incompatible with PAL?
  Also, in the 2006 edition of the Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook there’s an article on hi def by a filmaker called Chris Atkins and he insists that it’s better to shoot at 25p than 24p. He says 24p is a nightmare in post though doesn’t explain exactly why. As I understand it, the US version of this camera offers 24p and the UK version 25p. Any opinions on all of this?

  Uli Plank replied 19 years, 6 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Noah Kadner

  January 27, 2007 at 2:31 am

  Every film shot in the u.s. is converted- it’s really easy to make 24p into 25p so I’d say stick with the NTSC model.

  Noah

  Unlock the secrets of the DVX100 and Final Cut Pro!
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• 

  Uli Plank

  January 27, 2007 at 8:37 am

  There are pro’s and con’s, I was considering the same thing (and finally decided against it).

  Pro:
  – You can shoot in 24p with sound (the PAL model can be hacked into 24 but will not record sound then)
  – You get slo-mo with a factor of 2.5 (from 60 to 24) instead of 2 only (50 to 25)
  – You can easily shoot for 60 Hz markets

  Con:
  – You can’t shoot 25p to integrate with European telecine’d footage
  – You can’t shoot 720p50 (the format the EBU has settled for broadcast)
  – Service? (Check with Pana)

  Since we can always shoot 25p and slow it down to 24p for filmout, we decided to get PAL models. It’s just the reverse of what has been done with film in Europe for the last 70 years or so.

  Regards,

  Uli

  Author of “DVDs gestalten und produzieren”, a book on professional DVD-authoring in German.

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