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hvx200 arrived - renting?

jelloshotsrule

jelloshotsrule

macrumors G3
Original poster
Feb 7, 2002
9,596
4
serendipity
so my brother and i took the plunge (mostly him.... i have no $$$) and ordered the panasonic hvx 200. well, we didn't expect it anytime soon, but it arrived on our doorstep yesterday!

we have not purchased any p2 cards for it, as we plan to pick up the firestore 100 gb hard drive to record to, whenever it comes out... so for now we've done a bit of testing on a standard mini dv tape and then we did some direct capture to the computer through fcp at 1080i... pretty freaking sweet.

if anyone else is looking at this cam, or has any questions (not super technical...), or things you'd like me to try (with my lack of storage options in mind), let me know


also, we would like to try renting it out in the area, to try to recoup some of the costs. what would you folks think would be the minimum kit we'd have to rent out? ie, i'd assume camera and tripod would be key. anything else that would be required? as i type i am wondering if having no p2's might make it very hard to rent (even once we get the firestore)... hmm

thanks
 
haha. what type of insurance? is there something specific that would cover it? i also would expect that in the rental contract there'd be something about renter's liability....

be more specific! :)
 
Hey man, post some pictures!

I'm contemplating getting the hvx at some point in the future. I'd love to hear a brief review or just things you think are especially awesome about it. If you've used the DVX100, could you compare size/function?

Thanks a bunch!
 
Congrats on the purchase! A wise choice!

If you're going to rent that beauty, I'd recommend you include a rain cover gratis -- it's to protect your camera.

You'd need a good padded carrying case as well. And extra batteries. And a clear filter over the front of the lens is usually a good idea.

Unfortunately, this is such a high-end consumer camera, it would be a shame not to be able to provide remote zoom control (Varizoom), matte box and filters. And, depending on your clientele, a cheap tripod might not cut it. You might have to go for a Sachtler, Cartoni, O'Connor or Miller (in that order)... I use a Libec TH-M20 all the time for personal stuff, but it's too lightweight for pro use, not stable enough and too much twist in the legs. Really depends on whether you ended up renting to beginners, serious students, or independent film(video)makers.

Sorry to sound stuffy, but I used to be in camera rentals... Depending on your customers, it can be a real PITA.
 
DV quality

So when using the DV mode does the camera work just as well as if it were a dedicated DV camera? For example comparing it to the DVX100b, is the quality about the same or better? From my understanding the only way to record in HD is by using the P2 cards, is this correct? And do you have to record the other formats onto the P2 cards or can you use a tape?
 
well, basically that's true. however, there are a couple alternatives, though they are generally not feasible.

1. you can capture straight to a computer using fcp (in any format i believe, but definitely 1080i, 720p, etc... may not be able to do the panasonic pn mode..

2. capture to something like the firestore fs-100... there are limitations to it, but it doesn't require p2s. coming soon will be the cineporter, which uses the p2 slot and therefore has all functionality of the p2s, but is a hard drive add on of ~100+ gb.


i have never used the dvx cameras, so i can't compare. but check out dvxuser.com forums for tons more info and comparisons, etc.
 
Did you end up getting the Firestore hard drive? I am looking into getting the camera and the hard drive...but I was curious if you knew how the two worked together. I haven't used a Panasonic camera yet (mostly Sony's) but really need HD capabilities. Is the camera easy to use/get used to? How easy is it to get footage into FCP? How about hard drive space in general...are you running out fast? I am worried because I don't have that much space on my computer, and I have a Dual 1GHz G4. Do you think I'll make it work? What are you running?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just really excited about the camera. :)
 
i'll try to answer the questions as best i can, but check out dvxuser.com for people who've used the cam much more than i have.

1. we haven't gotten the firestore yet. we have one 4 gb p2 card, and haven't done enough shooting to warrant more than that. i'm leaning towards waiting for the cineporter, however, since it will probably have more storage than the firestore, and have native PN modes supported.

2. the camera is definitely pretty easy to use. i haven't actually used many video cameras, so i don't know all the ins and outs of general usage like most do, but i'd imagine you can easily pick it up. it's nice to have scene files that you can save and keep handy for various locations, settings, etc.

3. getting the footage into fcp has been pretty easy. we haven't gotten too crazy with frame rates, though i'd imagine the various rates work well, just haven't tested it all out yet..

4. hard drive space is fairly cheap, but this once again falls back to the support for the PN mode. you can shoot 24PN and save about 20% of the space as if you shot 24 in regular mode... 24 frames vs. 30 with a pulldown. so that can help save space if needed. i'd suggest that if you're serious about the camera (and i'd imagine you are since it's not really cheap), then you should get a good external hard drive (or add one internally if you have space). 500 gb would be ideal. the main thing is that you shouldn't keep your footage on your main OS drive... so regardless of space, get a second drive if you can!

5. i am not sure how your computer will handle the footage. i've heard of powerbooks working alright, so i'd imagine a dual g4 wouldn't be too bad... i've used it with a dual 2 and dual 2.5 g5, so it's not a very fair comparison i'm afraid

hope that helps a bit. feel free to ask more, and definitely check out dvxuser...
 
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