HVX200 w/redrock field use

Kerwin Go · October 9, 2007

Shooting a feature for the first time on an HVX-200 w/ redrock adapter and nikon still lenses. Can anyone recommend a sturdy and reliable capture and storage system for the P2 cards? Locations will range from rivers, jungles, and beaches so the equipment will be put under a lot of punishment. Also any comments about the redrock w/ nikon still lens package?

Bill Totolo · October 9, 2007

I'll just tag along on this thread ands ask if anyone can recomend a good handheld shoulder mount rig that I can rent while using the HVX attached to a Redrock.

Adrian Sierkowski · October 9, 2007

Zacuto (google it) makes a shoulder rig for everything and the like. As for storage. . . in those environments I don't know. I'd recommend a Pannasonic Tough book because they're designed for harsh environments, but remember, electronics and the environment normally don't mix well.

Also, take a lot of 9Vs for the redrock, it'll eat through things fast. Most nikon glass is pretty solid, but it is a lens. I would not trust the RR to be a super solid piece of equipment. It looks and feels very flimsy to me.

Edited October 9, 2007 by Adrian Sierkowski

Adamo P Cultraro · October 9, 2007

I would BUY a cavision shoulder rig. It's less than half the price of the Zacuto. I realize the Zacuto is made of solid platinum, but....... :D

Mike Lary · October 9, 2007

I worked as a 1st AC on a feature that shot with HVX, RedRock and Nikon primes. The images look great, but working with the Redrock posed significant problems. The spinning glass drifted out of alignment several times, and fixing it caused downtime. Readjusting the glass is an iterative process that should be done in a controlled environment. You have to open the unit, there are tiny screws, and you don't want dust getting in there. You need to shoot a chart after each iteration to determine sharpness. If the glass drifts out of alignment in the field you may not notice it until you watch the dailies. It could be subtle at first, a slight edge blur, but the footage might be unusable. We babied our camera (it was always on sticks, jib, or in a case) and we still had problems. I can't imagine bringing that setup into a harsh environment. Good luck if you do. As far as batteries go, you can affix a rechargeable, portable DVD player battery to the unit instead of burning through a ton of nine volts.

Yoni Sandler · October 9, 2007

let's discuss over a cheeseburger at the 101.

Matt Mouraud · October 11, 2007

I'm currently shooting in very harsh and violent environment (in the colombian jungle among other places) and I could not imagine having to deal with cards, redrock and so on. I was very tempted to use an HVX 200 for this job, but the lack of power to download the cards made it impossible. I'm due to shoot another documentary in that same area but in slightly more comfortable conditions, then I'll use the HVX. Right now I'm using the Z1, and although it is packed with tons of annoying bugs, it still does the job great.

Christopher Arata · October 16, 2007

Have you looked into Panasonics device: AJ-PCS060G Portable DVCPRO® HD/50/25 P2 Store Drive with USB 2.0 Interface its pretty good.

I have AC a hand full of shoots with the HVX and P+S Technik, never the red rock though unlike others I have heard good things about the red rock. Every shoot has either used Panasonics device or the older mac books have a slot for the P2 cards and as long as the AC keeps them safe...I recommend putting a piece of gaff tape over the end to keep dust and other objects out until you download...every thing should be ok. If worst comes to worst you can always download straight from the camera to the computer slows down the work flow but that is if worst comes to worst. Hope that helps

Bill Totolo · October 16, 2007

I was very tempted to use an HVX 200 for this job, but the lack of power to download the cards made it impossible. I'm due to shoot another documentary in that same area but in slightly more comfortable conditions, then I'll use the HVX. Right now I'm using the Z1, and although it is packed with tons of annoying bugs, it still does the job great.

Wait a minute, don't they both run on batteries? You don't have a power concern, you have a storage concern.

What you need is an adequate amount of cards to cover your recording needs. Each 16G card is capable of recording 40 min's at 720/24pn. 10 cards gets you 400 min's, and so on. Not to mention the FS-100 holds 100gig. Bringing a portable laptop and offloading to that opens more possibilities.

It's not the only tool for the job but where there's a will...

Matt Mouraud · October 22, 2007

Bill,

I see your point. 400 minutes of P2 would cost me over $8000 in cards alone where 400 minutes of HDV would cost about... $100 using the PDVm40 tapes.

How in the world could I justify to ANY production company such a difference ?? Is the picture quality difference worth that much ? I seriously doubt it... We field reporters also have to keep the costs controlled, as our security, hotel and meal expenses run sometimes pretty high and don't leave much room for anything else...

Like I said, I will use the HVX200 in my next shoot since I will have the capablity of downloading the cards straight onto my laptop...

Mitch Gross · October 22, 2007

What about using the new P2 Gear? It essentially replaces your laptop. Stick in one or two P2 cards, connect a harddrive to the back and transfer awy. If you use a small USB drive the P2 Gear will power it and give you verification thumbnails so that you're comfortable erasing you P2 cards. The P2 Gear runs off the same batteries as your HVX200 (and it will run many hours), has a decent lcd screen so it's easy to use and is just a little bit thicker than the P2 Store. Seems to me to be the perfect companion for your job.

Bill Totolo · October 22, 2007

Bill,

I see your point. 400 minutes of P2 would cost me over $8000 in cards alone where 400 minutes of HDV would cost about... $100 using the PDVm40 tapes.

How in the world could I justify to ANY production company such a difference ?? Is the picture quality difference worth that much ? I seriously doubt it... We field reporters also have to keep the costs controlled, as our security, hotel and meal expenses run sometimes pretty high and don't leave much room for anything else...

Like I said, I will use the HVX200 in my next shoot since I will have the capablity of downloading the cards straight onto my laptop...

Matt, I've been renting 16G cards for $20 - $40.

Christopher Santucci · February 25, 2008

I would BUY a cavision shoulder rig. It's less than half the price of the Zacuto. I realize the Zacuto is made of solid platinum, but....... :D

I used the Cavision shoulder pad and handgrips on the redrock rails on the last DV feature I did. We had 2 cameras running the whole time and after a while we started to not even use the shoulder pad and instead rested the baseplate on our shoulders. The shoulder pad is nice to have since you have surfaces to mount wireless units and batteries to.