Vince Klinger

Back after a long time ( re my first post of this thread)...Got the HVX 200 E. A day before the shoot we could not get the Firestore to work. In panic ( actors in the hotel crew on loaction etc....) we were forced to shoot on tape ( miniDV) with the camera just out of the box. Lit it for film set it to film gain and off we went with a lot of prayer. Just about a month ago we have delivered the movie to Japan and few smaller territories on digi Beta and held my breath... QC went thru without a hitch, pictures were beautiful.... I am now converted and weaned off super 16 mm. Now, I do not understand the "techno mambo". All what I can say that when the digi beta went on the scopes it was ALL within the required parameters "blacks and all" and the images looked like film... :D Maybe I will use Firestore next time BUT this experience using tape was just fine.

Very Scary... just found out that since I have bought PAL HVX a lot of the right software for MAC is not yet supporting PAL or will "next week". Tried to test the Fire Store 100 and could not get the files into the Mac ( even Panasonic rep. could not)... So tape it is for now since I cannot push the shoot... I guess the PAL world is a bit behind the NTSC one. Will let you know as how it went.

I am off shooting on the 2nd of Oct. Just bought the HVX 200 E ( as I am in Europe now). Whereas tape was my choice, yesterday the Panasonic rep convinced me to go with Firestore 100 ( a gizmo I have never heard of before but am flying in a geek from Canada to help with the work flow... ) Scary, scary BUT as somebody said here somewhere "tape is dead"... I guess I will try to sell now my 25 mini DV tapes :) Will let you know how it went.

If I understand correctly? Michael C. point is that I have a "shot at it" ONLY with P2 but not with mini DV tape? Paul W. Only refers to Redrock adapter...In my limited amount of knowledge I do understand what the adapter will do ( mainly depth of focus). That is NOT an issue for me since I shoot either in a spacious studio or in exteriors( so I can get the distance to "fake the depth" by going furhter away from actors and zooming in). So far then, my key question: HVX 200 in mini DV mode ( not P2 mode) compared to digi Beta remians "hazy", but leaning to no. Anyone else can throw in their two bits? Thanks

Hi, I am a producer/director who with times went from 35mm, to 16mm and eventually to digi Beta as the market changed. I do not know how my "crew" does it but I have delivered to many mainstream TV stations ( and of course for DVD) digi Beta masters shot on digi Beta while making them "think" its super 16 film...By lighting for film, keeping lenses longer, deinterlacing and film filtering in Avid over exposed film grain...I made and delivered like this about 10 films in the last 5 years or so.....and got away with it ;) Now I am told that HVX ( or other such prosumer camera) even in mini DV tape mode (since I am scared of P2 cards for now), I can do the same and "upconvert" to digi Beta with (almost) the same quality. Some even say as good as digi Beta... As I am NOT at all technician I do not understand most of what is written here, but I do understand things like: As good, will be crap, better, 80% of digi Beta, a lot better etc... Any simple info as to which type of camera would be the closest would be much appreciated.