Mike (and anyone else who'd like to add their 2 cents),

I have used your suggestions and have done a lot of further research on what audio equipment to get for the upcoming safari. You had suggested the Sennheiser MKE 300 but what would you think about the K6ME66 combo instead? That seems to be the top microphone suggestion in various other posts around the forum.

I did notice comments about reducing the output, both for the MKE 300 and the ME66, how is that done? Do I have to send it to Sennheiser or is there a attenuator that can be put in series with the mic or what?

I would also add the LightWave mini mount and windsock as wind noise is definitely present on safari.

Lastly, do you prefer a specific XLR adapter and/or cables. I am leaning toward the Studio 1 because overall the posts seem to a bit more positive as contrasted to the BeachTek.

Thanks for everything,

Jacki

The problem is that a microphone will not solve your problem. Ths shotgun, of whatever brand and quality, is sitting in the Land Rover, not with the Lions. So you are going to get Land Rover sound, not the crunch you are looking for. It's the inverse square law biting you here.

Even a parabolic reflector setup won't give you quality sound in this case.

The ME66 setup can be had with a reduced gain (the K6) amplifier. Order that one from the get-go. B&H probably can handle the order. I would not use a MKE-300 at all if I had a choice. Too flimsy and no way to put a fuzzy cover on it for wind protection.

My preference would be for an AT835B microphone which I think works as well as the Sennheiser and costs about $150 less. I believe it to be more rugged and less prone to overload in loud environments. But that is my choice and you may like something else.

As far as an XLR adapter goes, I would not use one. I'd just get one of the cables that has a condenser in series with the signal wire to block the DC voltage from the camera and let it go at that. The length of wire that will be unbalanced will be about the same and you won't have to put up with the adapter which is a pain. I thnk you can get those from Markertek or build your own according to the schematic furnished by Jay Rose in DV Mag. Go to the web site and search his articles for the diagram. Probably $20 worth of parts at radio shack.

The LightWave mount and fuzzy cover is a good idea and you will no have wind problems unless you stick the camera out the window at 60 mph.

I would like to buy the sony vx-2000 but, I only have about $1700 to spend. Is there any place beside b@h that is secure and cheap to purchase this camera. I bought all the accesories for this camcorder already from b@h but, my budget is forcing me to bargain hunt for the actual camcorder. Help me in my search.

Unless you are incredibly lucky, the $1700 new VX2000 is not available. Most sub-$2000 deals are all gray market or bait and switch products AFAIK.

I think you got your priorities reversed if you purchased camera-specific accessories before you obtained the camera.

You should be able to purchase a low-use 2000 for that amount of money if you need the camcorder right now. One good place to look is in a Sony Outlet store. Some good bargains are to be had and the products usually come with a new-product warranty.

Michael, I believe someone on this sight posted a message saying they had bought the vx2k just to film his daughters wedding and was selling it afterwards in may. It seemes he is only gonna use it that one time. He mentionted he would sell it for less than $2000 including a couple batteries. Maybe one of the moderators could find his post. If I run across it again I'll let you know.
charles french

Peter Kulka in the classified section here. vx2k

Thanks for the info--I used to use a friend of mine's vx-2000 so this is why I have the accesories mark but, thanks for all the useful info. I will check out classifieds as well.

The mic on this camera seems awful flemsy or cheaply attached. Does this mic come off the camera? I could find out the hard way and break it off but I figured I'd ask first.

Nope, it does not come off unless you break it or disassemble the camera. The reason it flexes is that is a shock mount to minimize noise transmission.

Isn't that a PAL VX2000?

You know, for all the beating on-camera mics take, I like this one. Of course I'm used to my old full sized Pana vhs recorder too. I shot an entire gymnastics meet from the grandstands, and I am really iimpressed with the quality of the sound I got from my VX2k.

Me too! Good to hear there's somebody else out there who's pleased with the on-board mic. It has its limitations, of course it does, but for a no-hassle run and gun recording it's absolutely fine.

tom.

My camcorder is NTSC

Everyone complains about the Audio performance of the VX2000 but how its audio compared to the VX1000? I've used the 1000+BeachTek Adapter with rather good results. Would you say the VX2000 is worse than the 1000 in that regard??

For most uses, no.

Has anyone gotten any good stills with the 2k. I've taken a few, some are better than others. Any suggestions on any required settings.

ty, charles

Rather than take stills to the Memory stick (which I presume you're doing) simply go into the menu and set the camera to Progressive scan. Now you have a motordrive still camera that will record 15fps for an hour or more, and not break sweat. You'll also record full stereo sound and you'll be able to choose the *perfect* moment from the timeline in post. Further, you won't have JPEG compression trying to squeeze lots of info into memory.

From a taking point of view, don't use the ND filters. Up the shutter speed so that you're shooting at the sharpest aperture - f4. Shoot in bursts if you like. When you've taken 30 pictures of a group of four people you'll get a much better print than the guy who took one picture on his mega-pixel Nikon.

tom.

ok, i have asked this about a 100000000 times but have never really been told the answer i guess.....anyways on the vx1000 i have been told that it doesnt have dv-in. now what does that mean? does it mean that i cant hook it up to my compter or whatever?


Thanks

The information you have is false for VX-1000's in the US. The connector is clearly marked DV In/Out and it works.

In Europe, the input was defeated for import duty reasons, I'm told.

Mike is correct (as usual). The (non-EU) VX1000 has dv in and out. DV in/out just means that it can record or playback a video signal over a firewire cable. You can connect the camera to a computer or another dv camera and playback or record.

The only thing that the VX1000 will not do is an analog to dv pass through. You can't use it to convert analog to dv like you can the VX2000/PD150 and most other newer DV cameras.

alright thanks

I think the VX2000 has much better low light capability compared to it's older sibling, the legendary VX1000, but it simply improves from the legend, the VX2000 does not set the standard as it's predessor did in its market segment. With good grounding the beachtek adaptor for the VX2000, though not as great as the PD150 is definitely decent. Not to mention the imporve battery placement and LCD screen.

First real experience with my new VX2000 came on a fast driving trip from St.Paul, MN to Seattle, WA and on (by ferry) to Victoria, BC. Encountered wide variety of indoor and outdoor scenery and subjects including shots through snow (Montana mountains in May); rain and drizzle with bursts of sun breaking through (Seattle area and Victoria, BC). These lighting conditions gave some great scenic shots, but with pressing time deadlines did not have time to stop and do a lot of experimenting with manual settings beyond working with iris to minimize zebra striped portions in high contrast lighting and switching in ND filters as directed by camera. As the David Ruether article on VX2000 commented--this camera does a great job in full auto settings. The indoor shots (high tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC for instance) were amazing in color accuracy and brilliance and the high contrast outdoor lighting shots (snowy, overcast weather with bright sun breaking through to light portions of mountain pines covered with new snow) were handled very well. As a hobbyist, my only personal comparison was my previous TRV 9, but I am still very impressed with the VX2000 as were those subjected to viewing my unedited shots.

Obvious things to most of you that I learned again: (1) investment in an easy to use good rain cover would be good since you can get some great lighting effects in drizzly rainy conditions and you can't count on getting dry skies when you are "on site" (should have bought one before the trip); (2) should have done a lot more experimenting with camera before taking trips like this--don't try to learn while taking shots of great scenery (this is why I left camera on auto most of time); (3) use of various controls needs practice so they are second nature--no time for searching for control or menu item while some action is going on; (4) some of the auto features like "spotlight" really do a great job (learned this in a wax museum where it took the white out of subject faces).

I want to say something about the VX-2000, it is one durable camera!!
While filming some stuff at a motorcycle shop, I sat my camera on this big bike seat, the seat was huge and I felt comfortable sitting the cam there for a second. I turned around to get a gum ball out the machine and I heard CRASH! A few people that were there said OH DUDE!! I could not turn around, knowing good and well what hit the floor haha. In shock I turned and saw my camera sitting straight up on the lens on the floor with the flip out view finder open (it was closed). Oh and the cam had the wide angle on it so there was no rubber sony shade installed at the time. I have to admit, I checked everything and the camera is fine. My ABSOLUTE WORST nightmare came true though, my cam was dropped, and it was my fault not to mention a very stupid decision - all for a piece of .25 gum. I honestly cant find anything wrong with the camera, I am wondering if I should take advantage of that MACKIE warranty and send it in for a checkup. What do you think?

Does it work? If it works why send it for a check-up?

One thing that I love about Sony prosumer cameras is that they are rugged. I have really let my old VX1000 get battered and I have dropped, knocked and otherwise abused my PD150 in ways that I would rather not admit. They are very well built cameras.

My camera is a really sacred thing, I try not to let it get dusty lol. it has the problems of the fireflies and the (both) viewfinders are not good enough resolution to know if you are in focus or not. Other then that, they kick butt. sony makes a fine product but I think the next camera I get will be a XL1s just for a change of pace.

Has anyone noticed when using a mobile phone nere a VX2000 in camera mode it starts to vibrate and grind? Just thought I'd see if I was alone on this.

Cheers,
Will

The PD150 and I suspect the VX2000 are very sensitive to Radio Frequency Interference and ElectroMagnetic Interference (RFI & EMI).

Mine will go nuts around handheld radios, strobe lights, etc. When I tested my PD150, my cell phone didn't seem to bother it but a hand-held police radio sure did.

What you are hearing is the SteadyShot jumping around. Probably not too good for the mech. I turn mine off which is a pain given that it is a menu function, not a push-button.

I was shooting a short film that needed a fairly good bit of direction with a lot of cars, and we were using Motorola FRS handhelds and every time you would hit the talk button, you could hear background noise and a click sound on the VX2000's audio track. We had to end up using GSM cell phones (two Sony/Ericsson T68i's with headsets) instead of the handhelds as those didn't interfere with the VX2000.

Inspired by the "seven secrets of shooting video..." from DVcreators I intend to buy the tiffen soft f/x 3 filter for my vx2000.
Now, I think I have read a post that it one can´t use the lenshood if you attach a second filter (I have a uvfilter to protect the lens)
I have made a search with no result.
Am I mistaken? Or if only one filter can be attached to the vx2000 and keep the lens hood on can the tiffen filter be used also as a protection instead of the uv one?
Thanks in advance for any help

A three is fairly strong.

Don't leave the UV filter on if you are going to use the Soft F/X.

Too many glass surfaces. Only use one filter except in special cases.

Thanks Mike for your help.

I've saved my pennies and now have a budget of $2,500 for a camcorder. I was planning to buy a vx2000 for $2,349 But noticed that B&H has the new panasonic dvc80 for $2,399.

Is there any reason to buy a VX2000 over a DVC80?

If this has you stumped, take a few weeks to decide. You don't want own one model, while wishing you had bought the other. Perhaps try and take both for a test drive before deciding. The VX2000 is a little better in low light I am told, but ther DVX80 has higher resolution and nicer color saturation. The DVC80 is also easier to hold and it has better controls. It may also have XLRs, not sure. The bottom line is that they are both great cams.

Can anyone provide some input on how you handle accesories with the vx2000?

There is one accesory shoe on VX2000, but I find that I need to attach a shotgun mic to the setup as well as needing a light of some sort in dimly lit reception halls. The wedding I shot a couple of weekends ago I was forced to walk around holding a 20 watt lamp up by hand during the reception. That gets old after a couple of hours. I was wondering how others handle this.

Also, what do you use as a camera support? I tried a monopod, but found that this was not stable enough for my tastes (I have heard some people talk about a monopod with a foot. I haven't seen one so far so maybe that would work). Are the shoulder mounts of any value for the vx2000? If you do use a shoulder mount do they have any kinds of accesory shoes or other means that camera accessories can be safely attached? I am thinking of adding an external firewire drive gizmo and having another item hanging over my shoulder (I already have a 6 amp hour batter hanging there for the light) with a cable running to the camera does not excite me. I keep seeing these image of my tie intertwined with a bunch of cable around my neck.

Darrell,
I don't use the 2000 but I do use the PD150 so it's pretty much the same. Where to start? OK, in no particular order;
here's what I "wear" on my camera for a wedding reception (ceremony is slightly different)-PD150 with a WA lens-ALWAYS-(I love my WA) ME66 shotgun in a Sony CAC12 mic mount-a Bescor 50W light with a homemade softbox/diffuser to bring it down to 15-20W; HEADPHONES, ALWAYS; battery belt for light. (many time a wireless receiver with the mic for interviews) Thats the basic rig-now as to how I support it- that will depend on a number of things; I might use a tripod on a dolly for intros and speeches, or like last week, I used a monpod (Bogen 628B;with feet) or I might use a shoulder brace from Studio1store that I made a bracket for my wireless receiver and pop riveted on the shoulder of the brace-helps balance it out-remember the 2000/150 are front heavy to begin with. I don't use the handle on the shoulder brace but with my right hand in the strap of the cam and my left hand on the focus ring (I almost always manual focus) it's fairly comfy. BTW, if I don't use the brace with the wireless, I velcro it to the battery (I use a Lenmar15 hour battery that sticks out about an inch from the camera and no I've not had any issues with the Lenmars-I own 3 of them) I turn the receiver so the antennas are facing to the right so I can use the VF and yes it's heavy but ocne you figure out the balance point, it's very easy to hold and use.
Now for the real kicker, more often than not I just handhold the rig. I use the VF not the LCD and then I become the tripod-of course if you're moving around then it's better with the LCD so you can cradle the camera but if you're not moving I find the VF works out better for me.
OK, thats what I do, I'm sure other have their own ways too. You're probably going to have to play around a little to find out which works best for you.
Don B

P.S.
Accessory shoe; there are brackets that connect that have 2 shoes so you can solve that problem. I don't know who makes them perhaps someone can let you know.
Don

There are many accessory shoe brackets at B&H like this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___146293___MADSA645PTL___REG___CatID=0___SID =F710314ED00 or this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bh3.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___22621___HOASA___REG___CatID=0___SID=F71031 4ED00 there are others aswell. I dont use either of these so I cant tell you how good they work, bur I assume they do fine.

Brian

I've sent you an email Darrell showing the VX2k I use, decked out for wedding work. It's a bit heavy but I see no way round that, and the hefty L bracket is an absolute boon for stabilising those long shots.

tom.

Hmmm... seems to be a no-brainer to me. I own the VX2000. It's a great cam. It has great low light + wonderful picture ... love it a lot. I wanted to buy the DVX100 when I bought our cam, but it had just come out and was more than I could see spending. The 80 hadn't come out yet. If I were buying a new cam today I'd go with the DVC80 or DVX100. The 80 has got XLR audio ( plus, built in mic for quick shots), built-in WA lens, Larger LCD/viewfinder, better zoom controls, better audio - SMPTE time-code , better focus, greater zebra-stripe selection.

You may or may not need all those features, and the 80 is going to be heavier. If you go with the VX2000, you will have a nice cam. Another cam I'd look at would be the JVC GY-DV300. But compared to the 80, they just don't have the features in my mind. Good luck

Mark G

I have shot some footage and when I play back the audio and video seem simultaneously to drop out at times, as if someone had edited out a frame or two. This is during playback on the camera. If i rewind and play back the tape again, the problem persists, but to a lesser or greater degree, with the drop outs coming at different points from before. Thus, I deduce that the footage is all there. Why the drop out? Is it a form of dropped frames?
I bought the camera used and was one Panasonic tape into it when i changed to Sony. This is my first Sony tape. Could that be it?

I am worried.

Marcello

Yes it could be the change in tape brand.

Try cleaning the heads several times with a cleaning tape.

5 seconds per cycle only. 1 minute between cleaning cycles to let the heads cool down.

Maybe do this 3 times, then record and test the playback on a new tape.

Hopefully that will fix the problem. Otherwise a manual cleaning of the heads will be the next step. The third step is to send it in for factory service.

My vx2000 is skipping when i play back the tape.. its skipping the audio .. never had a prob with the video .. I tried cleaning with tape shape cleaner.. and didnt notice much differance.. i even tried playing a tape recorded on another camera..


any help?
thanks

If the cleaning tape doesn't work, it's time to send it to Sony or a local repair company you trust.

Jakub,

I am having the same problem. I just bought a cleaner tape, but now i read that it made little difference for you. Please let me know what you find out, and i will do the same. See my post " VX200 playback scaring me."

Marcello

Mike and everyone else,

I am losing audio in the playback of my tapes. If I rewind and play back again it will play bits that prviously were missed, but will cut out other parts. It is definitely a playback and noit a recording problem. It does remain, however, a problem.
Mike advised a cleaning tape. I followed instructions with my sony cleaning tape. No luck. How should I clean manually (his advised next step)? Could someone walk me through it fairly (painstakingly)? I would hate to clean the wrong thing with the wrong cleaner etc.

Thank you all again.

Marcello

How many times have you used this tape? What tape/s are you using? Cheap tape? Are you mixing tape types/brands? Is the Sony cleaner "wet?" How many times have you played back the same tape? I notice drop-outs after playing back a tape 5 - 7 times.

Frank,

This is a new tape, and I am playing it back for the first time. I bought the camera used and used a Panasonic tape (before I was aware of this site and all of the advice and knowledge!). I then switched to Sony, this being the second Sony tape (the first one dropped out too). The Sony cleaner tape is the DVM-12CLD. Thanks for your questions.

Marcello

Frank,

Sony miniDV cleaning tapes are dry.

Marcello, if you followed the cleaning instructions as posted here http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13350

Run the cleaner for 5 seconds, then let the heads cool for a minute and repeat if necessary, and you still have problems, you could clean the heads manually. But by the nature of your question, I don't think you've done it before. Might be time to find a compentent repair person in the neighborhood and see if they will manually clean the heads for you. Otherwise, I think you're going to have to send it in for a factory cleaning if you are lucky, a head replacement if you are not.

This is a problem you are experiencing when you play the tape back on the camera, right? And if you transfer the video to another device, the sound is still breaking up?

I was wondering if anyone had a good technique for obtaining consistent rack focusing results on the VX2000. A lot of the time I find myself going past focus when I focus on the second object in the frame which of course destroys the effect.

very difficult. You'll have noticed that if you focus too slowly the camera will *never* focus, so asking to pull focus accurately is asking for trouble. Best way I've found is to make sure the latter object occupies most of the frame, that way you can be in manual focus on the former object and just push 'Push Auto' to let the VX automatcally pull it for you.

tom.