Which Camera would you choose?

[mina]

I'm shooting a Documentary about dogs in a few months. I'm trying do decide between the

 

JVC HD100U, DVX 100B and the XL2. The documentary has a lot of handheld shots so I need

 

a light weight camera (with a shoulder mount if possible....), mostly day ext shoots.

 

I'm also planning to rack focus several times so I need a good lense and lense system that

 

would be easy and efficient to work with.

 

 

What I like about each Camera:

 

JVC 100U

Like everything about it but I heard the lense that comes with it ( 16 x Fujinon) is not very good.

Is it true?

 

DVX 100B

Native 16:9

 

XL2

affordable

Mini DV (don't like)

Shoulder mount

 

 

I would like to shoot HD instead of Mini DV (XL2). So far I like the JVC 100U the best. Would you agree with me and why and why not?

 

 

I never shot with any of these cameras. I'm more used to film in general. I would appreciate

 

if you could spend a few minutes and give me some suggestions.

 

Thank you for your time and interest,

 

Mina.

[Allen Kaufman]

Hi Mina

 

I own a Panasonic DVX-100B. Just so you know... it is niether native 16:9 nor is it HD. It shoots on miniDV the same as the XL2. The DVX100B shoots a beautiful picture in 24p - for standard definition work onto miniDV, it's highly regarded by many cinematographers.

 

The new Panasonic HVX200 is Panasonic's new HD camera. The HVX200is capable of shooting in true HD (not HDV - which is a compressed mpeg2 format recorded onto miniDV tape). HVX200's require shooting onto Panasonic's proprietary P2 cards or onto specific Firestor harddrives. It can also shoot in SD onto miniDV tape.

 

You might want to do a little more research on reviews and descriptions of the new line of HD and HDV models out there. There are more and more options to choose from - and each camera has its pros and cons.

 

Good luck with your documentary!

 

AK

 

I'm shooting a Documentary about dogs in a few months. I'm trying do decide between the

 

JVC HD100U, DVX 100B and the XL2. The documentary has a lot of handheld shots so I need

 

a light weight camera (with a shoulder mount if possible....), mostly day ext shoots.

 

I'm also planning to rack focus several times so I need a good lense and lense system that

 

would be easy and efficient to work with.

What I like about each Camera:

 

JVC 100U

Like everything about it but I heard the lense that comes with it ( 16 x Fujinon) is not very good.

Is it true?

 

DVX 100B

Native 16:9

 

XL2

affordable

Mini DV (don't like)

Shoulder mount

I would like to shoot HD instead of Mini DV (XL2). So far I like the JVC 100U the best. Would you agree with me and why and why not?

I never shot with any of these cameras. I'm more used to film in general. I would appreciate

 

if you could spend a few minutes and give me some suggestions.

 

Thank you for your time and interest,

 

Mina.

[Brian Drysdale]

If you're used to shooting film the HD 100 is much closer to operating a film camera than the other cameras. It has a mechanical zoom which will give you more control. The quality of the stock zoom is adequate for a documentary, but it's not what you'd call high quality glass. Having said that, it does ok in the prosumer reviews with the Canon XL H1 being the only one that comes out ahead in sharpness/resolution tests.

 

All the HDV cameras have pluses and minuses, so best find the one that suites you.

 

The DVX 100B is MiniDV

[Stephen Whitehead]

I am beginning a Doc shoot on the HD100 tommorow. I have never shot with the camera before. Right now the plan is to shoot in 24p mode, with colour and Knee adjustments to mimic film. I'll tell you how it goes.

Edited July 6, 2006 by Stephen Whitehead

[Rik Andino]

The HVX200 is capable of shooting in true HD

(not HDV - which is a compressed mpeg2 format recorded onto miniDV tape).

 

DVCPro HD is also very compressed...

When you compare it to HDCam SR it's not that great

 

Anyways at your price-range your best bet is to shoot with the latest camera.

 

Of the three you should go with the JVC H100 since that's the latest one.

Even if the lens is not as the best HD lens out there...

It's still better than the SD images the XL2 and DVX100b provide.

 

However if you must shoot with the XL2 of the DVX100b...

Don't be discouraged they're still pretty good cameras.

I've recently been producing a doc shot using the DVX100a and the XL2

And it looks pretty good on television set.

It's amazing the amount of affordable quality tools available to filmmakers these days.

 

 

 

Good Luck

Edited July 6, 2006 by Rik Andino