Buying a camera---help me , DV or HDV

mikegasoline · October 18, 2005

Hi , Im in the middle of buying a DV Camera, and my friends have tell me not to get the HDV (HVR-Z1) but to get a plane DVX100a , the thing is that I have worked with the DvX and I liked it and since Im making the investment Im thinking about just trowind two thousand more and get the HVR-Z1 , can somedy that have worked with the two cameras give me some advice because I havent get close to the HVR-Z1

Thanks

Joseph White · October 18, 2005

where are you located? if you're in los angeles, i'd say definitely go somewhere like Birns and Sawyer and either play with the cameras in the store (they have some sort of setup i think) or spend the money and rent the hdv camera for a weekend - definitely shoot something with it before making the investment. the differences between these pro-sumer cameras from my experience is more a matter of personal taste than anything, so i'd say just try and shoot as much as you can with both, compare the results, and make your decision.

Dimitrios Koukas · October 18, 2005

Hi , Im in the middle of buying a DV Camera, and my friends have tell me not to get the HDV (HVR-Z1) but to get a plane DVX100a , the thing is that I have worked with the DvX and I liked it and since Im making the investment Im thinking about just trowind two thousand more and get the HVR-Z1 , can somedy that have worked with the two cameras give me some advice because I havent get close to the HVR-Z1
Thanks

The only difference is that they have a native 16:9 CCD, wich is better than the ones that use 4:3 letterboxed to give you the 16:9 aspect.

I guess better resolution for the 16:9 CCD.

Dimitrios Koukas

Dickson Sorensen · October 18, 2005

Have you checked out the new JVC GY-HD100U? I have seen a demo of the camera and was impressed by several features. Interchangeable lenses, a variety of recording formats and the availability of a hi-def lens(higher cost). If any one out there has had personal production experience with this camera I would like to hear about it too.

http://pro.jvc.com/prof/Attributes/tech_de...=&feature_id=02

Michael Collier · October 20, 2005

I have worked with similar cameras (DVX 100a for my last feature, the HVR-FX1 for my current one)

I can tell you when comparing the two images side by side it is like night and day. the DVX is SD which causes lots of problems when you go to project it bigger than 40"

The FX1 (I know you are considering the HVR-Z1, but i beleive the CMOS sensor and the lense are similar.) the resolution is AMAZING. if you want to check out screenshots of my newest feature go to the 'in prodution' section and check out my post 'bee keepers day 1&2.

The resolution is enough to tip the scales way in favor of the HDV cams. evn at 720p the resolution is amazing. The lense is similar in quality to the DVX, though I have found less vinetting with the HVRs. The CMOS also provides better exposure lattitude. I havent done tests but it seams to handle an extra stop or two, and the highlights still show detail.

Like I said I have the FX1, which doesnt have XLR inputs. still for me its worth it to shoot the HVR and record sound seperatley to a recording mixer and sync it up in post. With the Z1 you wont have to make that compromise.

I would however recomend as sorensend did, the HD-100U. The lense is more professional and gives me greater confidence in its focusing ability and in general the quality of that lense seems of higher quality than the sonys. and even if its not, you can pull it off and replace it with a better lense. It also offers true 24p shooting (something the HVRs dont do, and even the DVX has a weak roundabout way to get to 24p recording)

bottom line, go with an HDV camera. they arent much more expensive, but you will be kicking yourself in the teeth lateron if you dont.

Benji Wade · October 21, 2005

Wait for the Panasonic HVX200...it's going to really hurt the JVC GY-HD100U market.

1080p, solid state memory.

Michael Collier · October 21, 2005

The HVX2000 seems like a lame camera. $2000 for 18 minutes of storage? no thanks. I also dont want to have to transfer from card to disk every 18 minutes. Time waster. The compression doesnt bother me too much on an HDV camera, and if your spending 10,000 for the HVX and a couple of cards just to get the better compression ratio, go up to the Grass Velley Infinity to get the 16x9 native 1920x1080 (the HVX has to upres from a lower sensor) interchangable lens, better electronics in general and the rev pro drives (45 minutes at 50-75 bucks a pop, transfer data as quickly as the HVX, but you only do it every 45, not every 18)

just my opinion

mannyrodriguez · December 24, 2005

I agree... Panasonic P2 - Very Pricey, limited recording time, workflow-archival issues, and at the end of a shoot what do you hand your client, your P2 card? When do you get it back? And what if you need it for another job the next day?

my opinion... :blink:

David Mullen ASC · December 24, 2005

Well, if you're doing the type of shoot where the camera never shuts off, I can see the concern, but if you're doing a narrative "film style" shoot (which typically reloads after every ten minutes of film is shot) and you get enough cards to cover yourself for the day's worth of footage, you wouldn't be downloading every eighteen minutes, more like once a night or once at lunch and then once at night.

A typical film shoot usually shoots about an hour of footage per day afterall, maybe double that on some days.

No, the P2 card is part of the camera just like the flash memory card in your digital still camera -- if you shoot digital stills for a client, you'd don't hand them your CF card, do you? No, you download the shots and burn it onto a CD or something, or transfer it to their firewire drive.

It's just a radically different way of handing footage than tapes. You can't think of the cost per tape = "x" minutes versus cost of P2 card = "x" minutes, since the P2 cards are reusable and only a temporary storage device. I bought my memory card when I bought my digital still camera, and at the time, it seemed like an expensive card, just to hold a couple hundred photos or so - but two years later, I haven't had to buy a second card.

Tenolian Bell · December 24, 2005

The biggest difference between DV and HDV. Is the fact that HDV records in high definiton resolution and color space. What you end up with on tape however is not the same as HDCAM or DVC-ProHD.

Also what hasn't been mentioned for Mike is his post production situation.

Right now basically any modern computer and NLE can edit DV. But that's not the case at all with HDV.

You need a pretty beefy computer to decode HDV, and mostly only professional NLE systems can edit HDV.

Michael Maier · January 6, 2006

Problem with P2 is that it's incredibly over priced for now. A sub 10k HD camera is for a low budget market which most likely can't afford to buy several P2 cards for how much they are going for now. With 2 P2 cards, which is the minimum, one can't shoot the whole day in HD. Not even half a day in some cases. If you are shooting 1080p forget it. You better have a mule to upload your cards every 15 minutes.