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Suggestions on client camera for HVX200 doc project – HDV consumer Sony or DVX100?
Hi All,
Thanks for your input on the forum & for sharing info. I have doc starting on a prominent glass artist whose principal focus is large-scale architectual glass installations. I have a couple of HVX orders scattered about Canada & the US – hoping for one of the next deliveries. The majority of the shots are planned for the HVX camera. Having the appropriate polarizing filter will be important. I spoke to 16×9 Inc & Century Optics on Friday about their wide angle adapters & matt boxes. 16×9 is hoping to have their specs available next week. Century is likely two weeks away (they have a preliminary brochure though). I’ve got both Schneider/B+W 4×4 & Series 9 filters (true-pols, ND filters, & diopters). So in the short term will likely order an 82mm to Series 9 adapter and wait for these accessories to start shipping. Has any one used the modestly-priced clamp-on Formatt FM500 on the HVX?Back to the main reason for this post. Our artist plans to document her upcoming projects with a consumer video camera (not more than $3000) and has asked for some options. For the final edit, we plan to conform the material for a public broadcaster. All supporting material to be edited on FCP in DVCProHD.
My first thoughts were on the DVX100 series; with cine gamma and the ability to get a 24fps look and a Panasonic look. I could tweak a couple of scene files for different situations for them….
Then I started wondering about the Sony CMOS HDV cameras (HDR-HC1 approx.$2000, HVR-A1U approx $2500, for$500 more has a removable hot shoe to accept XLR mics and generate phantom power). Sure, they are tiny, prone to shaky hand-held issues, have a huge depth of field, hard to collect decent audio, and then there is the MPEG long-frame GOP compression with what a 4:1:0 color space rather than the better NTSC DV 4:1:1. But, if most of the shots are on a tripod with a DSC chart clip to begin with and are either static or ultra slow pans to minimize motion artifacts. Convert the footage to DVCProHD with color correction to fix the DVCProHD 4:2:2 version using the chart as a reference.
Could this be viable acceptable input, assuming the footage is compelling and illuminates her creative process? I have no illusions that the material will match the HVX200. It will always be supportive clips. I have seen material from a rugby tournament shot with the HDR-HC1 displayed on a 42
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9 Replies
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No easy answer- it’s worth testing both with your intended pipeline.
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Dvx100 is not so good if you shoot 16:9.
Or maybe, with anamorphic adapter, but I’m not sure how (geometrically) distorsion free those new adaptors are. Old ones had a lot of barrel distorsion in the widest end. -
the small sony shoots 4:2:0 color space and many will debate you over it being less then 4:1:1 ..
decent audio ?? well if you’re recording live music then it’s not going to suit your needs but if it’s just the sound that is in artist studio or her speaking then it will do the job .. just get a external good mic ..
here in US the HC1 is 1550 at B&H and i the A1u is around 2499 then apply 500 rebate = 1999 = alot of bang for your $$$ … pan it as if you were shooting film and it should be fine .. the so called motion artifacts is a bit overstated by most on these boards that have NEVER used a HDV or seen HDV on a 20+ft screen … -
If you are shooting with the HVX-200 then you should go with the Panny and upconvert it at the end of the edit. You will have an easier time of matching the looks and
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Hello,
i don’t know how the hvx200 works, but i have a hvra1e (pal land) for rehearsal and location. i shoot with a Sony hdcam 750 in 25P. For 2 exhibitions, i tried to match the 2 camcorders. I put the a1e in cinegamma 2 and my DP does some tricks in his 750, and we compare on the field monitor. When i edit the footage, everything was ok; color and image size. I even prefer the “under the moon light” shot of the little hvr.
Of course, it’s hdv, with a size of 1440*1080, and a color space of 4:2:0 not 4:2:2. To edit hdv, i first digitize in Avid, export to BMD 10 bit codec, and then i could work with both footages. It’s a very cool camcorder, very light, you can shoot in a very tiny space with a lots of weird angles. I also use a century optics wide angle.
When i put a hand on the hvx200 in french Satis, i was a bit disapointed about the size, all this place for a dv tape i don’t really need… But i think i’m going to buy one, the varicam effect?
My 2 cents.
RobertRG
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I’d use the HVR-A1U. HD blows away SD anyday. It’s 16:9 and it’s frame size is bigger. I work at MHD, MTV’s new HD channel in NYC and we shoot our VJ segments in HDV and wrap that around 10bit Uncompressed HDCAM performances and segments. It looks fantastic. every now and then I have to capture an SD cllip, and even from a digibeta it looks like ass… with it’s square frame. you have to blow it up too to match HD’s frame size. and lay it over a 16:9 template…etc. it’s too much trouble… HVR-A1U will look crisp and nice on an HD montor. the DVX-100 will not. (I know because, have an hd monitor at home and I used to own a DVX100)
Yes you will have to render one or the other, but you’d have to do that to any DV footage anyways
if you’re worried about getting the 24p look, you can get Magic Bullet (i think) and apply the 24p filter/effect to your HVR-A1U clips. you won’t even be able to tell the difference.. forget the color issue, doesn’t sound like you’re going to be doing any green screen effect, plus people will be blown away by your DVC-PRO HD footage…
-patrick
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If she has a budget of $3000 I would get the FX1, the consumer version of the Z1. Better optics and 3 chips vs. single chip. If she doesn’t need the XLR inputs then the FX1 is a great camera for this though I would stick with one HD format if possible.
You could use an HDV-HDSDI converter to edit the footage as DVCPRO HD in post.
Dan Weber
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Just as an FYI- Magic Bullet processing of HDV material is going to take decades. Well maybe not decades but suffice to say a very long time…
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Indeed, if you’re an FCP user, Film Effects http://www.nattress.com is much faster, and if you need to be on a 24p timeline, Standards Conversion is the one to use.
Graeme
– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP
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