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panasonic hvx200
hey friends,
i was thinking about investing in the panasonic hvx200.
do u think this is a good investment?
will it last me five years or so?
im graduating from film school soon and need an adequate camera that will take me into the work place.
thx
JimmyJames
film student -
3 Replies
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Uh,
Huge question there. If you’re in that price range you have several options. I’ve got a friend, does everything on that camera. Recently shot a couple music videos with $50k – $70k budgets using a 35mm adapter and prime lenses. He loves it.
There are just so many options. What’s important to you? Ergenomics, image quality, interchangeable lenses, resolution??? etc…
As far as longevity… sure. You could still be making stuff on that camera in 5 years, but if you really want longevity you could spend 3-4x as much and get a Red with a nice lens. Maybe last you 10 years or more.
I’ve got a PD150 that’s about 5 years old that still holds its own.
Bottom line is no camera is going to get you in “the workplace” by itself. If you’ve got a good reel you could always rent cameras per job. Really depends on what you want to do. Shoot weddings? Commercials? Shorts? Get big on You Tube? (you could do that with a handycam!)
Hope that helps.
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If you are looking for a versatile camera, then the HVX-200 is the one.
Pro’s – DVCPRO-25 (miniDV) in camera tape, DVCPRO-50 (DigiBeta) and DVCPRO-100(HD) (720p 10801i/p24) – variable frame rates(limited but good) DVCPRO-50and HD records to P2 cards (+or- depending on point of view)
Con’s – P2 recording except DV, Fixed lens, unevenly weighted (side to side), hard to focus in 1080 mode on smallish LCD fold out
Overall A Great camera with a 4 audio inputs for DVCPro-50 and Beautiful Pictures
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Everyone has offered some very good advice so far. Video has had certain plateaus over it’s history ie: B&W to color; component video; analog to digital; and recently digital SD to digital HD. JVC’s introduction of the 1st HDV camcorder gave us all some hope to be able to work in HD at an affordable price but IMHO the HVX200 was the 1st camera to achieve this in an acceptable quality. Sony’s recent offering of the EX1 is another and likely Canon and JVC will follow with solid state media cameras (probably recording AVC format). Regardless of what other new offerings come along in the next decade the HVX200 will remain a useful investment for easily 5 years as the HD plateau will be a long one which requires a major commitment from consumers as well as the industry professionals. At this level it is what you do with the tools (and not the tools themselves) that will make the difference.
“everything is broken” ……1st. coined by Esther Philips I believe.
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