Brook Hinton wrote: > [...] DVX100B - I love the DVX and HVX cameras. If the old TRV-900s > were the DV > bolexes of their day, the DVX100's are the DV aatons. But they > invite and in > some cases require a pretty deep understanding of cinematography > and the > technical underbelly of digital video to get the most out of them > (though > one can just spend the time to create a couple of default presets > one likes > and use those for quick shooting).
I concur with great enthusiasm, I just finished doing several days of shooting with a pair of rented HVX cameras and now I'm back to shooting my personal Sony HVR-A1U and there really is a difference between the "Panasonic + progressive video" look of the HVX and DVX cameras and the "Sony + interlaced video" look. The DVX (100, 100A, or 100B) is just about the best looking standard definition camera out there in its price range. In summary, it offers: * True Progressive scan video at 24 or 30 fps for clean images that look good on computer screens and on the web * Professional "spot meter" for perfect exposure * Scene Setting Controls similar to those found on pro video cameras offers a nice filmic look, worth a little experimentation, check out the may posts on dvinfo.net and dvxuser.com on this topic * Pro-quality XLR audio inputs with very quiet pre-amps, the best of any camera in this price range * A very good lens given the price of the camera Yes, it takes a little time to understand all the settings, but as Brook wrote, come up with a preset you like, and stick with that. Shooting 24 frame per second progressive gives you better looking web video, wether it's 320px wide QVGA or 640px wide VGA as Apple is advocating for to cater to Apple TV users. 24 frames per second means you have a slightly lower bitrate so that your movie is slightly smaller or better looking compared to s 30 frame per second movie. The interlace of standard video creates havoc for compressors and degrades image quality, especially for viewing on naturally progressive computer displays. From this day forward everyone should be shooting progressive, interlace is a thing of the past, a legacy of the television broadcast age, which is coming to a close. We are now in the age of computer based progressive scan video, and the DVX100 is here today. If you need to shoot HD, the many HDV cameras out there offer an economical way to shoot HD, however, the HVX200 is the DVX's big brother and offers the same amazing look with high definition recording, but the camera is much heavier, more expensive, and a whole other ball of wax given you have to record to a hard drive or P2 card. I recently completed a documentary in which I mixed DVX100 24P footage, Sony PD150 (similar to PD170) 60i footage, and Sony HVR-Z1U HDV 60i footage. The footage shot with the Sony PD150 does not inter- cut with the HDV footage anywhere near as well as the DVX footage does. I love the DVX/HVX look! David. David Tames, Filmmaker & Media Technologist 617.216.1096 | http://Kino-Eye.com
