Pre-purchase questions at DVinfo.net

Greg Matty · April 8th, 2003, 08:46 AM

1) There has been some talk about the plastic construction of the DVX100 and reliability. Has this been a problem for anyone?

2) I will use tapes shot with this camera with a Sony GVD900. I don't anticipate any issues as my XL-1 tapes worked fine. Does anyone use this combination?

3) Has anyone here moved from the XL-1 (not the XL-1s) to the DVX100? Are you sastisfied?

I am after 60i and 30P and may not use the 24P feature. Hopefully it will white balance better than my XL-1 which was my biggest gripe about that camera. Still my XL-1 served me well and wish I could have bought a second camera without having to sell it. Too bad nobody has released a DV50 camera for around $4,000. Thanks.

Greg Matty

Stephen van Vuuren · April 8th, 2003, 08:49 AM

Greg:

I sold my XL-1 (with all lenses) to get this cam. Other than the 3X wide lens, I don't miss my XL1 at all. This cams images are so much better than the XL1.

I did not have problem with white balance with my XL1 nor with this cam - what specifically did you have trouble with?

I also bought this cam primarily for 24P. I expect to shoot 95% 24P Advanced (especially now that editing software fully support it).

Per construction, it seems as solid to me as my XL1.

Miguel Lopez · April 8th, 2003, 11:47 AM

White balance was easy in Xl1. i don´t understand why you asid so.

I selled my XL1 and bought the DVX100E PAL.

Images have more quality (specially in vertical resolution) but i am not totally satisfied with colors at the moment. i think Xl1 gave more color saturation and better looking images in this issue.

Does anyone know a web page with comparations?

I am shooting a documentary and a short film with dvx. Right now i will capture the images and lets see...

Greg Matty · April 8th, 2003, 12:07 PM

I am the only person in the world who could not get the XL-1 to take a good manual white balance so maybe mine was defective?

I tried all manner of white objects but the white balance was always very blue. An 18% gray card was of no use so I then decided to try various blue and green gels in conjunction with the gray card in an attempt to warm the white balance. This got me close but was too much of a hassle. Warmcards from warmcards.com helped a little but I just wanted a camera I could use a white or gray card and call it good.

I typically just left the camera in auto mode and that gave a good white balance, if a continuosly variable one. Someone said to just take a reading with no white object and that should match an automatic reading but I don't recall that working.

It is a moot point since the XL-1 has been sold and I need a new camera by next weekend. I was hoping for a DV-50 camera to be released at NAB but that has yet to materialize.

Greg Matty

Todd Mattson · April 11th, 2003, 12:50 PM

In the process of selling my XL1, and received my DVX100 last week. You will find it well worth the purchase Greg. As for white balance, it's sooo easy on this camera, although the manual tries to make it sound harder than it actually is.

Why aren't you going to use the 24P? You will be quite shocked at how well it looks and moves, and with 24P advanced mode, you can be safe for going to film, throw away the dummy frames, edit in 24P, and make two masters - one with advanced pulldown (2:3:3:2) for possible film transfer, and one with standard pulldown (3:2) for video purposes. That to me is just killer.....

The lens. Well, the lens, I'll you find that out for yourself. Can't complain that's for sure....

Greg Matty · April 12th, 2003, 08:37 AM

Todd,

Sounds good. I ordered my DVX100 from Zotz on Thursday but they had to get it from Panasonic which means I have to wait until next Thursday to get it. Wah!

24P will be cool to use for creative purposes, but for corporate type of stuff, I will stick with 60i to meet clients expectations, however low they may be.

Does anyone here use that varizoom device? I thought this camera had built in zoom creeps but maybe they are less than ideal?

Greg Matty

Todd Mattson · April 12th, 2003, 04:40 PM

I bought the Varizoom. I guess it's pretty smooth, but huge caveat....IT IS FOR ZOOM ONLY, NOT FOR FOCUS like the same price model for LANC cameras. Varizoom is coming out with a mechanical focus device for the camera, although I think I may have figured out a way to build a controller for about $20 in parts.

April 8th, 2003, 08:46 AM	#1
Greg Matty Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kirkland, WA Posts: 177	Pre-purchase questions 1) There has been some talk about the plastic construction of the DVX100 and reliability. Has this been a problem for anyone? 2) I will use tapes shot with this camera with a Sony GVD900. I don't anticipate any issues as my XL-1 tapes worked fine. Does anyone use this combination? 3) Has anyone here moved from the XL-1 (not the XL-1s) to the DVX100? Are you sastisfied? I am after 60i and 30P and may not use the 24P feature. Hopefully it will white balance better than my XL-1 which was my biggest gripe about that camera. Still my XL-1 served me well and wish I could have bought a second camera without having to sell it. Too bad nobody has released a DV50 camera for around $4,000. Thanks. Greg Matty

April 8th, 2003, 08:49 AM	#2
Stephen van Vuuren Space Hipster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,508	Greg: I sold my XL-1 (with all lenses) to get this cam. Other than the 3X wide lens, I don't miss my XL1 at all. This cams images are so much better than the XL1. I did not have problem with white balance with my XL1 nor with this cam - what specifically did you have trouble with? I also bought this cam primarily for 24P. I expect to shoot 95% 24P Advanced (especially now that editing software fully support it). Per construction, it seems as solid to me as my XL1. __________________ stephen v2 www.insaturnsrings.com

April 8th, 2003, 11:47 AM	#3
Miguel Lopez Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 187	White balance was easy in Xl1. i don´t understand why you asid so. I selled my XL1 and bought the DVX100E PAL. Images have more quality (specially in vertical resolution) but i am not totally satisfied with colors at the moment. i think Xl1 gave more color saturation and better looking images in this issue. Does anyone know a web page with comparations? I am shooting a documentary and a short film with dvx. Right now i will capture the images and lets see...

April 8th, 2003, 12:07 PM	#4
Greg Matty Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kirkland, WA Posts: 177	I am the only person in the world who could not get the XL-1 to take a good manual white balance so maybe mine was defective? I tried all manner of white objects but the white balance was always very blue. An 18% gray card was of no use so I then decided to try various blue and green gels in conjunction with the gray card in an attempt to warm the white balance. This got me close but was too much of a hassle. Warmcards from warmcards.com helped a little but I just wanted a camera I could use a white or gray card and call it good. I typically just left the camera in auto mode and that gave a good white balance, if a continuosly variable one. Someone said to just take a reading with no white object and that should match an automatic reading but I don't recall that working. It is a moot point since the XL-1 has been sold and I need a new camera by next weekend. I was hoping for a DV-50 camera to be released at NAB but that has yet to materialize. Greg Matty

April 11th, 2003, 12:50 PM	#5
Todd Mattson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 89	In the process of selling my XL1, and received my DVX100 last week. You will find it well worth the purchase Greg. As for white balance, it's sooo easy on this camera, although the manual tries to make it sound harder than it actually is. Why aren't you going to use the 24P? You will be quite shocked at how well it looks and moves, and with 24P advanced mode, you can be safe for going to film, throw away the dummy frames, edit in 24P, and make two masters - one with advanced pulldown (2:3:3:2) for possible film transfer, and one with standard pulldown (3:2) for video purposes. That to me is just killer..... The lens. Well, the lens, I'll you find that out for yourself. Can't complain that's for sure....

April 12th, 2003, 08:37 AM	#6
Greg Matty Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kirkland, WA Posts: 177	Todd, Sounds good. I ordered my DVX100 from Zotz on Thursday but they had to get it from Panasonic which means I have to wait until next Thursday to get it. Wah! 24P will be cool to use for creative purposes, but for corporate type of stuff, I will stick with 60i to meet clients expectations, however low they may be. Does anyone here use that varizoom device? I thought this camera had built in zoom creeps but maybe they are less than ideal? Greg Matty

April 12th, 2003, 04:40 PM	#7
Todd Mattson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 89	I bought the Varizoom. I guess it's pretty smooth, but huge caveat....IT IS FOR ZOOM ONLY, NOT FOR FOCUS like the same price model for LANC cameras. Varizoom is coming out with a mechanical focus device for the camera, although I think I may have figured out a way to build a controller for about $20 in parts.