Adamo P Cultraro

Get an HVX200 with a 35mm adapter. I have it, but still want a red.

How the hell do you have an almost unlimited supply of 16gb cards??????

If they were smart they'd buy 200 though. A panavised red could be pretty cool.

Obviously with the number of red cameras sold there will be plenty to go around. Even with them selling for $50K a pop with all the stuff, they'll still be everywhere and not really too exclusive. I'm buying one not based on the perceived exclusivity, but for the price point and functionality. I don't rent any of my stuff (3 ton lighting and grip, HVX200, steadicam...etc....etc....etc), but then again my narrative work was not meant to pay the bills.

No, it did get real quiet in here. Just wait till we get some footage on this thing. Even though I am not a fanatic, I relish the thought of the cam proving a thing or two to all the haters.

Well, John, you're the exception was speaking of. P2 is no good for event videography, period. If I had to do it with my cam, I'd be recording straight to a laptop with DVrack.

My point exactly, Chad.

This thread is not about the camera.

OK, Ban me, whatever, but this red sub forum really has the highest level of closed threads anywhere I've seen. A thread just got closed this morning because a guy wanted first hand impressions on the cam, and it wasn't released yet. The mod figured there was no info to be had, and closed the thread. What a bunch of BS. I'm a newb on this forum, but have posted a lot on DVXuser, and am no stranger to forums. It really seems like the thread closures are really juvenile, and no offense to the mod, but he really seems to be micromanaging. So what if people get fired up about the cam and it evokes wordy, insulting responses. Just deal with it, people. Life has no moderators. Step up to the plate and deal with your own problems. A :rolleyes:

Why can't you jut import them????

Absolutely love the camera. Bought mine at Studio Exchange in Burbank. They were the cheapest by far back then, and I got great service. Ask for Paul. Really good outfit. I bought a tripod and a bunch of stuff there. No affiliation other than I'm a satisfied customer.

We did steadicam on a 60' trawler yacht in relatively flat (4') seas. And this was up on the boat deck behind the wheelhouse. It was fine, but the boat itself was hydraulically stabilized.

Oh, I agree. I'm sure the bulk of the tech in the card is done so no one can make it cheaper. Such is life.

Plus the HVX is a P2 machine that has variable framerates and a space saving native recording mode. Nuff said. It's only downfall is that it sucks for event photgraphy, leaving you with only three choices for obtaining hours of footage- use a mini DV stape and record SD, use an FS-100 hard drive giving you about 100 minutes, or dump to a laptop useing DVrack. Each of those are usually not acceptable in run and gun situations.

Sean - there's no way in hell. That's why P2 cards cost what they do. And hoodman, the only other manufacturer that's coming out with a clone card, is doing so without an internal RAID array. A much simpler device but at the cost of reliability. After all, it's only ALL your footage. So in the context of price - how much are all your actors, rentals, crew and locations worth compared to the price of a lousy P2 card?

First of all, even though the P2 card looks like a pcmcia card, and indeed has the same form factor, it's not. The P2 card is a sophisticated linkage of SD cards in a RAID array. It even has it's own firmware. There is no "clone" version of it. At least until year's end, when Hoodman comes out with their own "H2" card. For now, a genuine Panny P2 card is all the HVX will take. As far as workflow on set, it's different from most other media. When I shot film, I had a loader. Now I use the same guy to take a full P2 card out of the camera and dump it to a laptop. Panasonic makes P2 viewing software. You can view the clips on the laptop with that software, or directly on the camera. The P2 card will fit into a pcmcia slot on a laptop if you still have one. Final Cut imports .mxf files from the P2 natively. Sony Vegas, which I use, uses a plugin ($199) called raylight. With this software I simply drag the clip from the card onto the timeline and I'm done. Scenes and takes are not numbered. You must do this. I personally do not need it because one 16gb P2 card holds about 16 minutes of 1080 24p. I fill it, dump it, label the folder as scenes such and such, and just take my chances in the edit that I'll find what I need. So far, so good. I'm a pc guy so I can't really assess your system, but it does seem on fairly adequate for what you're thinking of doing. I think Sony has a deal with apple, so I wouldn't be surprised if you could get the DVCPRO HD codec for a mac. Unless they want you to upgrade to FCP pro... As far as something like the Firestore FS-100 - it's days are numbered. Falling prices on the P2 card have already killed the cineporter (a firestore like device that was going to come to market). A 16GB P2 is about 950 bucks now and falling fast. By year's end, 32GB cards will be out. And you don't have to deal with the firestore's inherent issues that generally plague hard drives. I've heard stories of firestores acting up and deleting clips when the camera was used on a swinging jib arm. PLus who needs the extra weight. Go solid state. It's the future.

Hey Phil, Of course - I own a P2 HVX and Sony Vegas. I do it all the time. Once you experience it you'll never go back. Especially not to some tape based system....ughhhh....

How hard is drag and drop? FCP imports .mxf files natively. Sony Vegas, which I use, has a plugin for $199 called Raylight. Same effect. You do nothing but drag and drop. It couldn't possibly be easier.

Even though I own an HVX200 to answer your question correctly there is a cheaper HD24p camera - the Canon HV20. about 1k.

Never tried an XDcam disc but I think it would be OK. P2 certainly does have archival issues - as a narrative filmmaker I don't usually keep very much but it could definitely be a problem with loads of important footage. You'd never just buy more P2 cards - they aren't meant to be used in that manner. I'd think you'd need to offload to a hard disk for archival purposes. A hard disk that's nice and safely tucked away in your office as opposed to on set.

Agreed. RED discussions need to stay as apolitical as possible.

Well Mitch, I don't rent from rental houses. I'm all done with that BS. I own all of my own stuff now. I know it's not about the price - that's kind of irrelevant in a megabudget feature. It's about the best tool for the job at any price. And I feel that RED is a better tool (at least on paper) than what's out there - cost exempt. The price is just the icing on the cake. I'm buying one because I can conceivably own a better cam than anyone at Fox, Paramount or Sony. It kinda levels the playing field on the equipment side, anyways. Now when Joe poop the Ragman who does shorts and commercials writes in and had a quarter mil to drop on a camera, and he isn't Fox, Paramount, or Sony, it really begs the question "if you could get a great camera for a fraction of the price, why wouldn't you?"

My point is that whether it's P2 or some other solid state recording system - it's the future. I remember payinga fortune to have HDCAM downconverted, put on a drive so my guy could edit, then paying him for the offline edit, then finally paying to have an online edit made. It was bogus. Now I just drag and drop the clips right onto the timeline and edit. I can even edit on the P2 card if I wish. I can delete clips I don;t like on set and replay everything instantly. It's really, really neat. Hard drives I like less. The HDX900 out to a firewire drive has limitations. Cabling.....the vagaries of hard drive failure - you name it. Even with the HVX we had problems with the FS-100 firestore crapping out and deleting clips when the cam was on a jib arm. Personally I like no moving parts. No drive platters, no tape heads........nothing. Unless you are heavy into a studio system where they must have tape I'd dump it. FOX news is the largest buyer of P2 cards out there right now - switched over.

To spend 200K on a Sony when RED is around the corner seems like lunacy. I'd love to know why someone would do it - serious question.

I actually never said film was dead. I'm not a digital zealot - I've shot on 35 and love it. Tape however............. :P