DVX-100A - Price Drop?

[Luis Caffesse]

"Canon is giving you more vertical pixels than anyone else on
DV. Your widescreen DV pixel aspect ratio remains .9, unlike when
we use the anamorphic lens on the DVX and you still get 720
vertical pixels and a 1.2 ratio. This was the the innovative part
that I was looking for from the DVX-100a that did not come"

Mike (or Barry), not to hijack this thread in a different direction,
but could you clarify what you mean? I don't think I followed that.
You lost me with the .9 vs 1.2 ratio.

Thanks



OH Yeah! I almost forgot.

Here's something for Barry:

16 pieces of crow
breast meat (no bones) (8 crows)
16 pieces of green pepper
16 cherry tomatoes
8 button mushrooms
8 ears of sweet corn
1 1/2 cups of Teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup melted butter
8 kabob skewers

Cut each piece of crow in half and place in a covered bowl with
the Teriyaki sauce over night. Clean and cut each ear of corn into
3 pieces. Cook in boiling salt water for 10 minutes. Alternately put
corn (3 pieces), green peppers (3 pieces) and cherry tomatoes
(3) along with 4 pieces of crow meat on each skewer. Use 1
mushroom to top each skewer. Brush with melted butter and
place on preheated grill for about 4 minutes. Flip, butter again
and place back on grill for another 4 minutes. Repeat one last
time for a total of 12 minutes or until they appear done. Serves
four adults.

(amazing what you can find online, isn't it?)

[Kate Myers]

Hey y'all!

Sorry if this is an inane question, but if you could share your wisdon, I'd greatly appreciate it!

I'm just about to buy my camera. Had planned to buy it from Videosmith, an authorized Panasonic dealer in Philadelphia -- the closest place to me. The price is $3499 w/out a mic.

Over the weekend, I picked up some DV mags and noticed a lot of ads in the back for significantly cheaper cameras. Some of the names were Broadway something-or-other, A&M (I think) and Digital Liquidators. Their cameras are up to $1,400 off, which is a HUGE difference. Is there a risk in buying from these places? Are they authorized Panasonic dealers? (I know, I should just call them, but I left the mag at home today). Are they resellers? What does that mean, exactly? These places all have a 21 day guarantee/return policy. It's a big enough difference that I had to ask if anyone had made a purchase like this from a place like these and, if so, what was your experience?

Someone told me recently that it's wise to buy at least your camera from a local store (as opposed to mail order, even B&H) so you can establish a relationship with them and call with questions as the need arises. Any truth to this advice? And if so, is it worth $1,400?

Thanks for your responses.

Regards,
Kate

[Philip Boyer]

I will share the wisdom that I've picked up from these forums.

Buy from this site's sponsors.

If a price is ridiculously low, it's a scam of some kind.

Places that advertise those low prices try to sell you (at ridiculously high prices) the accessories that actually come with the camera.

Buy from this site's sponsors.

Otherwise reputable digital video magazines should know better than to accept advertising from those places.

I don't have the link, but there is a website or an article that shows the "storefronts" of the "bargain" dealers. Those pictures alone are enough to make you stay away.

[Barry Green]

Originally posted by Mike Morrell : On the still photo D-SLR side, Canon does innovate and is way far ahead of Nikon and way ahead of anyone else.

I was speaking strictly from the DV perspective. Even then, it's not always true -- I think Canon was the first with an actual 30P camera (the original Elura and ZR were 30-frame true progressive, or at least advertised as so).

From the XL2 spec, Canon is giving you more vertical pixels than anyone else on DV. Your widescreen DV pixel aspect ratio remains .9, unlike when we use the anamorphic lens on the DVX and you still get 720 vertical pixels and a 1.2 ratio.

There is much confusion on that issue. All DV is 720 x 480, the only thing that changes (re: widescreen or 4:3) is the aspect ratio of the pixels. All normal DV is .9, all Widescreen NTSC DV is 1.2. The XL2 doesn't record any more pixels on tape than the DVX does.

The XL2 has crammed more pixels onto its CCD than the DVX has, and as such, even though they both use the same physical size of the CCD for their 16:9 images (XL2 16:9 and DVX "Squeeze Mode"), the XL2 should have higher resolution due to the higher-res pixel count. That will likely introduce tradeoffs however: worse low-light performance and lower latitude and susceptibility to smearing.

The DVX with the anamorphic will use the full CCD, at full resolution. The tradeoff there is the focusing/aperture restrictions you face when using the anamorphic adapter.

It will be easier to shoot 16:9 at full res with the Canon. It's possible that the DVX/anamorphic will deliver higher quality. Until we do a side-by-side, that's all conjecture.

I think that it is "probable" that HDV will be the next format, but I am not certain of this. Sony and others have $20,000+ HDV cameras with 3 CCD's.

Nobody has an HDV camera yet. Sony was showing a mockup of something that they may introduce with 3 CCD's at maybe $5k-$6k price point. JVC showed a mockup of a full ENG-style camera with 3 2/3" CCD's, interchangeable lenses, and even 24P, at a price point of $20,000. But as of now, there's no HDV products on the market and none have been officially announced even (the JVC predates HDV and isn't actually an HDV product, even though its format has been grandfathered into the spec).

[Mike Morrell]

Do not buy from Broadway! I almost fell for their scam when I was buying my first DVX. They told me that the camera did not come with a charger, warranty, etc and all of these things would be extra.

I deal almost exclusively now for internet sales with either B&H or Adorama. These are both reputable deals and they offer competitive pricing. Do not fall for the scam artists. There are plenty of internet threads on how people have gotten taken by these companies claiming unbelievable low prices. Buy local or buy from a reputable internet dealer.

[Mike Morrell]

Barry, I was told by Adobe that they were even working with Canon on creating a new file format preset just for the XL2 because of the increased number of vertical pixels in their 16x9 mode. I agree that it sounds funny that you could have more than 720 pixels and still be DV. Again, we shall see...

As far as the Sony goes, I have been told that their HDV 3ccd product will come out at around the 20k price point once released. I do not know anything about a single chip HDV from Sony though and maybe this is what you saw for 4-6k?

I'll be grilling the reps at WEVA this year and maybe I'll get some more reliable and recent information, maybe not.

[Robert Kirkpatrick]

<<<-- Originally posted by Kate Myers :
Some of the names were Broadway something-or-other, A&M (I think) and Digital Liquidators. -->>>

www.resellerratings.com I was shown this site only a few months ago, but it's already saved me from a lot of bad buying decisions.

[Boyd Ostroff]

<<<-- Originally posted by Barry Green : Anybody have any good recipes for crow? :) -->>>

Yeah, I think Jim McFeeley does over at DV magazine... see the the editor's column "The Return of the Revolution" on page 4 in the new (Sept) edition:

As I write this we're planning coverage of whatever Canon will announce at Digital Video Expo East. Our guess is that it's an HDV camera with interchangeable lenses, sort of an HD XL2. You probably know by now if we're right.

[Patrick King]

<<<-- Originally posted by Kate Myers : Over the weekend, I picked up some DV mags and noticed a lot of ads in the back for significantly cheaper cameras. Kate -->>>

Here is a good first test: If the company won't even publish their actual street address location in their ad, how up front are they really trying to be?

[Barry Green]

As far as the Sony goes, I have been told that their HDV 3ccd product will come out at around the 20k price point once released. I do not know anything about a single chip HDV from Sony though and maybe this is what you saw for 4-6k?

Sony showed a prototype that looked like a DVX/PD150 type of camera, 3 1/3" CCD's, manual zoom control, and a flip-out LCD located on top of the camera handle. And no 24p. It was *extremely* preliminary, and lots of people reported that Sony was asking customers what they would want in a camera like that. I was told the price point was targeted around $5k, maybe $6k.

JVC's design was a big shoulder-mount 2/3" camera, interchangeable lenses etc., targeted at $20k.

Neither camera was a real product, they were just mockups, so everything is subject to change.

[Mike Morrell]

I hope that Sony does go this route at the < $5000 price point. That would be outstanding.

I read http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxl2/articles/article06.php about the XL2. What I do not understand is that the image is gathered on the CCD at 960x480 but is it then being scalled down to 720x480 and a 1.2 pixel aspect?

From this article I also found it interesting that the Sony 950 has an effective 690,000 pixel count and 14 bit DSP. That sure sounds pretty good on paper even with a cmaller ccd.

[Toby Engel]

Does anyone know about USA Photo nation.They have the DVX100A posted as $1949 and that seems too cheap.I'm new here on DV info net so please bear with me on not knowing where too look for stuff like this. Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated

[Ken Tanaka]

<<<-- Originally posted by Toby Engel : Does anyone know about USA Photo nation.They have the DVX100A posted as $1949 and that seems too cheap.I'm new here on DV info net so please bear with me on not knowing where too look for stuff like this. Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated -->>>

They look like typical bottom-dwellers that prey on the uninformed who can't resist a too-good-to-be-true come-on price. Ah, many a $5 mil home has been paid for by such strategies!

If you want competitive prices and rock-solid service buy from one of our sponsors (see the link in my signature).

[Chris L. Gray]

<<<-- Originally posted by Ken Tanaka : <<<-- Originally posted by Toby Engel : Does anyone know about USA Photo nation.They have the DVX100A posted as $1949 and that seems too cheap.I'm new here on DV info net so please bear with me on not knowing where too look for stuff like this. Anyhelp would be greatly appreciated -->>>

They look like typical bottom-dwellers that prey on the uninformed who can't resist a too-good-to-be-true come-on price. Ah, many a $5 mil home has been paid for by such strategies!

If you want competitive prices and rock-solid service buy from one of our sponsors (see the link in my signature). -->>>

Arrggh! I saw that photonation price. I knew it was too good. I am like inches from calling someone to order a DVX100A. *hyperventilates*.

Cheapest price from the trusted is?

*can not think rationally or logically atm*

[Barry Green]

Cheapest price from the trusted is?

$3359 from Promax.com. Also ask Rush at EVS if he can match that price, I bet he can. Also, $3298 from Willoughby's, but they charge a lot for shipping so it nets out the same or higher. Those three are all authorized resellers, which means you'll actually get the manufacturer's warranty AND a free copy of the $299 Magic Bullet for Editors software.

Anyone selling it for less is not an authorized reseller.