Is the MX300 relevant? at DVinfo.net

Frank Granovski · March 12th, 2003, 08:35 PM

With widescreen TVs all around, and HD coming soon, is the MX300 outdated when compared with the MX500's better 16:9? With JVC's MPEG2 HD cam, is the MX500 outdated? What do you think?

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No Bud for toil!

Steven Khong · March 13th, 2003, 09:16 PM

Yes, the MX300 & MX350 & MX500 still relevant - untill they come up with a HD cam etc. with a form factor as small as a MX300 / MX350 / MX500.

Size of the cam can be very very important depending on the application. Mountaineers, extreme sportsmen, spies ;) ;) and even experienced TV cameramen (like Terrence) bring their MX300, MX 350, MX500 to places where no shoulder mounted 3CCD cam can ever go.

Imagine if newsmen brought shoulder mount cams over to sensitive Cambodia or China or Russia etc. etc. - they'll be in big trouble. The MX300, MX350, MX500 would make you look like a tourist with a "harmless" cam - so they don't get suspicious & you will get more natural shots - while you're shooting REALLY GOOD 3CCD DV shots.

To answer Frank's question: YES.
JVC's MPEG2 HD cam may be something to watch really close - they have a good product, lots of promises & a good future. Now if they can shrink it down as small as a MX500.... that'll be cool.

The 16:9 on the MX300 / MX350 / MX500 will have to do, for the moment. The next step up being the MPEG2 HD cam which isn't released yet, and will be at such a high price that we can't afford - so we have to make do with what we can have, at the moment.

Yow Cheong Hoe · March 14th, 2003, 11:07 AM

However much I dislike Sony's consumer range of MiniDV cams, I'm still using the PC-100 (vertical format) camcorder in my office. That is a 5-year-old model, and I used that to film my own wedding more than 2 years ago.

The MX300/350/500 and their siblings will still be relevant in the next few years, and I dare venture to say next 5 years. It is not easy to give up heavy investments. Just look at VHS. Even when DVD and VCD are so readily available and affordable, VHS is still not irrelevant.

But we should also plan to move on, when the timing is right and teh technology is cheap enough. I intend to retaire from MiniDV in 3 years' time (at the most) and adopt the new popular standard then. As of now, MicroMV is CERTAINLY not making it (another Beta attempt by Sony, I'll say) and MPEG2, MPEG4 is too compressed for my taste.

But 'the best is yet to come'.

Frank Granovski · March 27th, 2003, 11:51 PM

I did a bit of shooting early this morning, and just played it back via one of my AIWA MX100 VCRs and JVC non-HD TVs. Looks good. I'm planning on Capalano River footage monday, if the weather permits.

March 12th, 2003, 08:35 PM	#1
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Is the MX300 relevant? With widescreen TVs all around, and HD coming soon, is the MX300 outdated when compared with the MX500's better 16:9? With JVC's MPEG2 HD cam, is the MX500 outdated? What do you think? ------------------------------------------- No Bud for toil!

March 14th, 2003, 11:07 AM	#3
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	However much I dislike Sony's consumer range of MiniDV cams, I'm still using the PC-100 (vertical format) camcorder in my office. That is a 5-year-old model, and I used that to film my own wedding more than 2 years ago. The MX300/350/500 and their siblings will still be relevant in the next few years, and I dare venture to say next 5 years. It is not easy to give up heavy investments. Just look at VHS. Even when DVD and VCD are so readily available and affordable, VHS is still not irrelevant. But we should also plan to move on, when the timing is right and teh technology is cheap enough. I intend to retaire from MiniDV in 3 years' time (at the most) and adopt the new popular standard then. As of now, MicroMV is CERTAINLY not making it (another Beta attempt by Sony, I'll say) and MPEG2, MPEG4 is too compressed for my taste. But 'the best is yet to come'. __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

March 13th, 2003, 09:16 PM	#2
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Yes, the MX300 & MX350 & MX500 still relevant - untill they come up with a HD cam etc. with a form factor as small as a MX300 / MX350 / MX500. Size of the cam can be very very important depending on the application. Mountaineers, extreme sportsmen, spies ;) ;) and even experienced TV cameramen (like Terrence) bring their MX300, MX 350, MX500 to places where no shoulder mounted 3CCD cam can ever go. Imagine if newsmen brought shoulder mount cams over to sensitive Cambodia or China or Russia etc. etc. - they'll be in big trouble. The MX300, MX350, MX500 would make you look like a tourist with a "harmless" cam - so they don't get suspicious & you will get more natural shots - while you're shooting REALLY GOOD 3CCD DV shots. To answer Frank's question: YES. JVC's MPEG2 HD cam may be something to watch really close - they have a good product, lots of promises & a good future. Now if they can shrink it down as small as a MX500.... that'll be cool. The 16:9 on the MX300 / MX350 / MX500 will have to do, for the moment. The next step up being the MPEG2 HD cam which isn't released yet, and will be at such a high price that we can't afford - so we have to make do with what we can have, at the moment.

March 27th, 2003, 11:51 PM	#4
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	I did a bit of shooting early this morning, and just played it back via one of my AIWA MX100 VCRs and JVC non-HD TVs. Looks good. I'm planning on Capalano River footage monday, if the weather permits.