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100-A or XL2 ?


Shaw H. Burrows

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I have shot two shorts and a doc on the 100-A over the last 9 months, it was a rental. We just bought the XL2 3 days ago I have yet to get over to my directors house to pick it up for my first time of using it.What will I find the pros and cons to be over the 100-A (example) picture /balance/eye piece/ noise/ zoom/ ect.ect!!!!? :unsure: :unsure:

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I have shot two shorts and a doc on the 100-A over the last 9 months, it was a rental. We just bought the XL2 3 days ago I have yet to get over to my directors house to pick it up for my first time of using it.What will I find the pros and cons to be over the 100-A (example) picture /balance/eye piece/ noise/ zoom/ ect.ect!!!!? :unsure: :unsure:

 

 

Well, Shaw. The first thing I can say off the bat is that these are both great cameras. The second thing I will say is stay away from the 3-way camera shootout at DVXuser as it is indeed biased. It's a great sight with a great bunch of guys but they are without question DVX-centric (hence the site name I guess)

:)

Anyway. Pros and cons for me are:

 

DVX100A Pros: Lightweight. excellent film-look to the 24p. Panasonic rep who frequents the boards at DVX user.com

DVX100A Cons: Some parts on camera kind of flimsy and fragile. (addresssed with the 100b model) Annoying echo in headphone sound out. (this is not in the actual sound in the footage. The DVX produces wonderful audio). Chips are native 4:3 not 16:9 (the DVX uses an electronic "squeeze" mode to achieve 16:9).

 

XL2 Pros: Shoulder mounted. Very good film look (slightly less film-like than the DVX but still good)

Interchangeable lenses. (And I don't just mean the Canon video lenses. With the right adapter(s) you have an insane amount of lenses at your disposal to utilize) Very high res picture (better for post work like cc, grading, etc). Chips are native 16:9 widescreen.

XL2 Cons: Heavy. Front heavy (but balances nicely with the CH-910 dual battery pack). Learning curve a bit steeper than the DVX. (but once you master it it is absolutely wonderful). Infinity rings for focus and zoom. (problem for some, not for all).

 

I own and XL2 and will keep it until it dies I like it so much. On the other hand I will be buying the HVX200 sometime this next summer because I believe Panasonic puts out a great product for the money.

 

If you want an in-depth look at the XL2 go to:

http://dvcreators.net/media/demos/xl2featu...eaturetour.html

 

I don't believe Pansonic has a video on-line like this for the DVX, otherwise I would send you there as well.

Ultimately, renting both cameras and trying them out is the best way to go.

Hope this helps.

:D

Edited by Eric Brown
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Well, Shaw. The first thing I can say off the bat is that these are both great cameras. The second thing I will say is stay away from the 3-way camera shootout at DVXuser as it is indeed biased. It's a great sight with a great bunch of guys but they are without question DVX-centric (hence the site name I guess)

:)

Anyway. Pros and cons for me are:

 

DVX100A Pros: Lightweight. excellent film-look to the 24p. Panasonic rep who frequents the boards at DVX user.com

DVX100A Cons: Some parts on camera kind of flimsy and fragile. (addresssed with the 100b model) Annoying echo in headphone sound out. (this is not in the actual sound in the footage. The DVX produces wonderful audio). Chips are native 4:3 not 16:9 (the DVX uses an electronic "squeeze" mode to achieve 16:9).

 

XL2 Pros: Shoulder mounted. Very good film look (slightly less film-like than the DVX but still good)

Interchangeable lenses. (And I don't just mean the Canon video lenses. With the right adapter(s) you have an insane amount of lenses at your disposal to utilize) Very high res picture (better for post work like cc, grading, etc). Chips are native 16:9 widescreen.

XL2 Cons: Heavy. Front heavy (but balances nicely with the CH-910 dual battery pack). Learning curve a bit steeper than the DVX. (but once you master it it is absolutely wonderful). Infinity rings for focus and zoom. (problem for some, not for all).

 

I own and XL2 and will keep it until it dies I like it so much. On the other hand I will be buying the HVX200 sometime this next summer because I believe Panasonic puts out a great product for the money.

 

If you want an in-depth look at the XL2 go to:

http://dvcreators.net/media/demos/xl2featu...eaturetour.html

 

I don't believe Pansonic has a video on-line like this for the DVX, otherwise I would send you there as well.

Ultimately, renting both cameras and trying them out is the best way to go.

Hope this helps.

:D

We were looking at theHVX but wiyh only 7% of households in hd well not yet as well as our next film is a straight to video so we didnt need it for a film transfer. thanks for the balance with optional brick tip!

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  • 1 month later...
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If you can, get the FU-1000 black & white viewfinder. It's totally worth it, because your video will be in focus. I can't use the color EVF. DV Info's XL2 Watchdog has a list of must have accessories and I think it's one of them. Also go to their XL2 Forum. Lot's of good info on the whole site, click around.

 

Eric covered most everything. I really like the manual 16x lens. I like the mechanical focus and zoom rings, not to mention that there are markings for the distance and focal lengths. I like the BNC out to monitor, I really like the picture and colors. It's native 16x9, so it's got better rez than the DVX.

 

Con: When using external mics, you will need a couple of Audio Technica AT 8202 line attenuators to prevent incoming sound from clipping. I usually set them to -10db or -20 db. Canon stupidly does not have a mic/line switch for the audio. If you have Sennheiser lavs, set them to -30db Sensitivity. You won't need the 8202's since the lav is lowering the signal.

 

Both cameras are excellent, I've shot a lot with the DVX100A. In 2004, when the time came to buy, I spent a lot of time looking over the different forums about which camera, the DVX, or the XL2? I picked the XL2.

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