My thought on the HVX200

[Noah Kadner]

Side note- AFAIK the PD100 is not made of titanium. It’s just ABS plastic painted gun metal grey…

Noah

[Jan Crittenden livingston]

[doka15] ”
Got the camera the other day. I love the image quality of the camera. When I connect the camera to my HD projection TV using the componant cables it only plays back video shot in 1080i or p but nothing in 720. This is more then likely a problem with my TV and not the camera..”

If it plays back on the camera then it is the fault of your TV.

[doka15] ”
I upgraded from my Sony PD100a and I miss the solid feel of the old camera. It was made of high quality titanium and felt rugged. The HVX 200 has more of a plasticy feel because of the plastic housing. The LCD also feels more fragel then the Sony. I do miss the titanium body, the solid feel..”

The body of the HVX is made from a magnesium/aluminum alloy and frankly it feels more solid than any consumer camera I have felt.

[doka15] ”
Also when you shoot in different sizes you can only playback the ones your camera is set to. So if I shoot somthing in 720PN and the camera is set to 720P I can’t play it back unless I switch back to camera mode and switch it to the setting of the clip I want to use. Why is this?.”

The camera needs to be told what is on the card it is more like a computer that a video tape deck but then there has not been a video tape deck that has even been made that is this versatile.

[doka15] ”
When I zoom into an image all the way the camera takes a long time to find the focus in auto mode. The Sony seemed to take a second where the HVX seems like it can take 4 seconds or so. Sometimes looking at the LCD I wonder if it is even in full focus.”

If you put the camer back into interlace mode it should be pretty fast. When in the progrssive modes the sampling is slower because the capture rate is slower. You should learn how to focus manually as well, and use the Focus Assit and the Peaking, as both of those functions will help you.

Best,

Jan

Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems

[Mitch Ives]

I’d give it more than a couple of days. As I rule, I try to avoid developing any opinions on anything until at least a couple of months of serious use is under my belt. I think you’ll feel differently once you’ve used it more. And, as with any tool, the secret is for you to adapt to it… not the other way around.

The PD100a is solid? It is the “ersatz” profesional version of their consumer camera (the 900). It never felt solid to me at all. The PD150 was their more solid camera. The Panasonic 100 felt much more solid than the 150, and the 200 feels even more so. That plastic is covering a titanium frame… the 200 is the camera equivalent of the “Terminator”.

As for the slow auto-focus… thank god! The Sony’s auto-focus and auto-iris hunt like a puppy on crack. Like most pro’s, I never used auto focus, but with the slower auto-focus and auto-iris of the 200, we’re actually developing uses for it. The iris is so slow and smooth that it looks like a very accomplished camera operator performing a manual iris operation.

As for focusing, you just got your first lesson in HD. Shooting in HD requires an external hi-res monitor. None of the current 8.4″ monitors provide 720 vertical resolution, so the big boys tend to prefer something large… I’ve seen 20″ moniotrs in use in the field. We use the Panasonmic 17″ LCD in the field and in the studio. Of course, once the new 26″ shipps, we’ll be using it in the studio and the 17″ in the field.

Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.com

Apple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5

[Lars Wikstrom]

So if I understand your answer your saying that shooting in HD the image on the LCD will not look sharp and I should use an external HD monitor? I have to say though with the 100a I didn’t have the focus searching problems that you had. Don’t mistake my first impressions of the camera as only negitive. The result of the camera is great. The HD stuff looks great pluged into my 24″ dell flat screen. Your right the TRV900 and PD100a have the same body style. The 900 had the plastic feel where the PD100a does not. If it was high impact plastic or what ever it was it had a solid feel me. They are just small things like the PD100a had a metal button you had to push when you opened the LCD where there is a plastic one on the 200 (Small things that gave it more of a solid feel for me)

Thanks Jan I have an understanding of why I can’t playback everything in the VCR mode that was shot in different modes. Can future updates allow you to make that change in the VCR mode vers. Camera mode?

Again these are my first impressions since last week I shot with the PD100a (for the past 5 years) and this week it’s the 200. so it’s the change over that I notice things I like more and the things I miss. I’m getting use to the differance in the cameras and shooting style. These aren’t major complaints, Just things I need to adjust to. I reaserched the 200 for a long time before I dropped the $6500 for everything and this should be my camera for the next 5 years.

Thanks

-Lars

[Lars Wikstrom]

I did a test and when I switched the 200 to 480 60i like the pd100a and the focus is just as fast. It is slower in HD mode to Focus for some reason. But compairing apple to apples they are the same in focus speed : )

thanks

-Lars

[Mike Schrengohst]

Lars,
Most shooters will not use auto-focus.
I guess thats good for the dog races but
for most productions we never use Auto-focus,
I might hit the AF button but that is it.
The HVX-200 is like a Ferrari compared to
the PD100 – Neon. It takes awhile to get
a feel for HD in general, no matter what
HD camera you shoot with.

Mike Schrengohst
http://www.MotionZoneHD.com

[Lars Wikstrom]

I agree the new camera is a good one. But I have to disagree with the auto focus. I use it for 2 types of shoots. When clients are cheap and want a 30 second spot done for local cable stations we shoot the spots in a term we coin’d “Tourist Mode” Basicly leave it on Auto. Also durring the weekly 1/2 hour cooking show we do in Santa Barbara. I have (had before the hvx) PD100 in auto mode. This way the camera man could hold the camera over his head and use the LCD to show what was cooking and prepairing the food. The PD100 was great in Auto focus mode. Out of Collage (Cal Arts in LA 93′) I was always opposed to Auto mode thinking it was for people who didn’t know any better. But cameras today are very advanced and when you are in a crunch to get jobs done I am not ashamed to use auto mode.

Cheers

-Lars

[Uli Plank]

We compared five small HD camcorders and to me the HVX 200 had the most solid feel of the whole bunch. It’s design may look like that of a Krasnogorsk (an old Russian 16mm camera), but it is probably as sturdy too.

Regards,

Uli

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

[Jan Crittenden livingston]

[doka15] “So if I understand your answer your saying that shooting in HD the image on the LCD will not look sharp and I should use an external HD monitor? “

The LCD is not an HD LCD, the pixel density would be too great and thus wpould make the picture too dim. You can easily focus on the LCD that comes with it with three easy methods, use the focus assist, that blows up the center to virtually a pixel for pixel match and thus, easy to focus. Use the peaking, this gives the edges a hard line when in focus and thus you can tell when it is in focus. And third, if you are really challenged, open the iris to wide open, this will give you the shallowest depth of field on a subject and then focus. Between these three strategies you should be able to find focus on the LCD on the camera. You could use an external monitor if you wanted to though.

[doka15] ”
Thanks Jan I have an understanding of why I can’t playback everything in the VCR mode that was shot in different modes. Can future updates allow you to make that change in the VCR mode vers. Camera mode?”

Not sure if that is possible.

Best,

Jan

Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems

[Bob Woodhead]

On another thread people talked about successfully using cheap ($100) laser range finders as a focus assist. Great range, dial in focus. Done. Hmmm…. bit of Velcro on the handle, tiny range finder sits on top…