Buying DVX100b: Need help on what else to get

[Jim Duggins]

Hi, I've got a $6000 budget and want to buy the DVX100b to make independent films. I had considered the Z1 and V1 but they aren't true 24p and cost more. The HVX200 is out of my price range.

I've been doing a lot of research and have come up with the following package. I'd really appreciate your advice on whether this is the best possible package for me to get. I'll be buying everything possible at B&H.

1. $2,899.95 (after $500 rebate) DVX100b

2. $269.95 Audio-Technica AT897 - Short Condenser Shotgun Microphone Kit (includes Rode SM-3 shockmount)

3. $110 Rycote 14cm Softie

4. $179.95 K-Tek KE89CC - Aluminum Boompole with Internal Coiled Cable

5. $269.95 Porta Brace DVO-2U DV Organizer Case with Universal Cradle

6. $439.95 Smith-Victor K33B Attache Tungsten Light Kit - consists of: 3 700-SG Quartz Lights 600W, 3 Lamps, 3 4-Leaf Barndoors, 3 Stands and 650 Attache Case - 1800 Total Watts

7. $254.95 Panasonic PV-GS80 Ultra-Compact Mini DV Camcorder (to be used as a capture device)

8. $69 Spiderbrace 2 Shoulder Mount

9. $79.95 DVXuser 5600 mah battery (Panny is $149.95, why pay that?)

What kind of filters should I get? I was looking at $81.80 Tiffen 72 mm Soft F/X 3 Glass Filter and $98.95 Hoya 72mm (Moose) Warm Circular Polarizer Glass Filter. What about a standard UV filter?

[Jim Duggins]

BTW, I've got an imac 2ghz duo core, 1 gig ram, 160 gig HD. I'm new to editing and want to build an edit suite...

I plan to get Final Cut Pro. What else do I need? Do I need a second monitor for dual screen? Special keyboard? External hard drive? Converters?

I will have about $1,000 left in my budget after purchasing final cut. This is my edit budget, not my $6,000 camera equipment budget.

[Peter Jefferson]

Hi, I've got a $6000 budget and want to buy the DVX100b to make independent films. I had considered the Z1 and V1 but they aren't true 24p and cost more.
((Z1 agreed, V1 however.. meh... IMO, id say go the Canon A1.. the wider aspected lense plus the longer tele reach will allow for much shallower DoF ))

I've been doing a lot of research and have come up with the following package. I'd really appreciate your advice on whether this is the best possible package for me to get. I'll be buying everything possible at B&H.

((The DVX im sorry to say will not be a futureproofed investment. Yes it is a brilliant camera and yes ive got 2 of teh buggers, but if your looking to buy camera that wont need replacing within the next 4 years, the DVX is NOT it..
Believe me, even though u might get the best results with it, people are becoming wiser to the idea of HDV and 16:9
Yes i love the camera, but i think its come as far as it can go. ))

1. $2,899.95 (after $500 rebate) DVX100b

((Check out the CanonA1.. bit more expensive but hey, with it, u wont have to worry about another camera for at least another 4 years.. ))

2. $269.95 Audio-Technica AT897 - Short Condenser Shotgun Microphone Kit (includes Rode SM-3 shockmount)

((You could also try out the Rode NTG1.. or sennheiser K6, ME64/66))

3. $110 Rycote 14cm Softie

4. $179.95 K-Tek KE89CC - Aluminum Boompole with Internal Coiled Cable

((WIth this, you might also want to consider a wireless lav set up. Reason i mention this is for a wireless boom setup. This way, your boompole doesnt have to be so flashy and a $50 unit can do what u need it to with virtually no noise. Basically teh mic is mounted and cabled to teh transmitter which your boom operator wears. This allows for complete freeedom of movement and zero noise. Also being a lav u can plant the mic on your talent if need be.. such as a wide shot across the street from your talent wile they continue to converse, or if theyre on an escalator.. places where a boom isnt possible.. . ))

5. $269.95 Porta Brace DVO-2U DV Organizer Case with Universal Cradle

((Bit pricey IMO, ))

6. $439.95 Smith-Victor K33B Attache Tungsten Light Kit - consists of: 3 700-SG Quartz Lights 600W, 3 Lamps, 3 4-Leaf Barndoors, 3 Stands and 650 Attache Case - 1800 Total Watts

((cool))

7. $254.95 Panasonic PV-GS80 Ultra-Compact Mini DV Camcorder (to be used as a capture device)
((good idea...i se an mx500 and ive saved half my DVX's heads by doing this.. ))

8. $69 Spiderbrace 2 Shoulder Mount

9. $79.95 DVXuser 5600 mah battery (Panny is $149.95, why pay that?)

((U can find cheaper ones on ebay.. i bought a 5600mah from ebay for $65AUD...))

What kind of filters should I get? I was looking at $81.80 Tiffen 72 mm Soft F/X 3 Glass Filter and $98.95 Hoya 72mm (Moose) Warm Circular Polarizer Glass Filter. What about a standard UV filter?

((I consider UV filter as a glass lens cap.. safety but done nothing for your image.. circular polariser definately..
Any other filters. i'd seriously reconsider))

[Bryan Wilkat]

personally, i'm not that supportive of HD cameras yet,(like the a1 mentioned above...although i gotta admit the image quality is insane). i'm sure that you would be very satisfied with the canon xl2, yes, it's an older model, but it's an older model that was ahead of its time. you can shoot 16:9 with it, it shoots in 24p and has various other shooting modes as well as you can easily remove the stock lens and use almost any other lens you can get your hands on(or so i'm lead to believe). i've read around these forums that the xl2 provides a nicer image than other cameras with the same specs (on paper). if i had the extra money myself, i definitely would have opted for the xl2 instead of the pd170 ...the dvx100 has too much noise in low light conditions, i've seen it first hand. and some of the manual controls are less adjustable than you'd think for a camera of that price range.

[David Chia]

Hi , if you really want to make your video shoots look like film The DVX24p is not good enough. You need a 35mm adapter. there are some on the market that are low budget. these are the few :

Letus35, M2 (redrock), Sgpro, brevis35, go35pro, Wdr35pro,G35. Plenty of homemade project ones too.

There are range from U.S$300 to U.S $1000 (SD or HD)

If you have $ then go for the Movietube or mini35.

Around U.S $ 7000 to 10000

It give you the D.O.F that Flim gives. The Dvx's 24p is overrated. Only with an 35mm adapter will you be able have the film feel... I've seen footage shoot by a Pdx10p with a 35mm that looks like film. no C.C , only filped image in post.

I personal use the WDR35Pro. but there are many people using the M2 and Brevis35. its really all the same . You can even build yourself one too. there is a tutorial on how to build one on the net.

David

[Jim Duggins]

First, thanks everybody for your advice! I really appreciate it.

What if I got the Canon XHA1 instead? Only $600 more for HD and native 16:9. Would this solve my problem as well as futureproof me for the next 3-4 years?

[Peter Jefferson]

to answer your q jim, yes.. The DVX, despite its workhorsability, will soon be one of those cameras much like the pd150 which works a treat and does everythign u need it to without battin an eyelid, BUT has been supersceeded by its brethren.
As much as id hate to admit it, the HVX shortcomings AND its strength is its P2 system. For what you want to do, its fine, for longform... well forget it.. and thats why i been looking elsewhere..
As i also shot stills with canon gear, my first port of call is Canon, which is why i mentioned the A1.

If an adapter (plus lenses) is out of your budget, messing with he stock zoom will give you pretty decent results.. hell youve got about 45-600mm to play with (cant recall the lens numbers off hand)..

as for the XL2 and lenses
"you can easily remove the stock lens and use almost any other lens you can get your hands on(or so i'm lead to believe)."
Well its true (u havent been led on), however, for stock canon EF lenses, you will need an EF adapter, plus the lenses themselves. In additin to this, u need to consider the crop factor, being that the size of the CCD relative to the lense itself. In the XL2 case, i believe its around 7.2x... to give you an idea of what im talking about, ifu were to throw a 50mm 1.4 EF lens onto an XL2 (or H1) youd need to multiply the 50mm by 7.2times to give you an idea as to the frame covereage. In this case, the 50mm lense would end up being 360mm.. which in video terms is about 10x zoom (fixed)
Now this might sound strange, but the type of DoF you will get from this cannot be matched by a video lense.. throw on a 17mm or even a 10mm WA lense, and you'll see wht im talking about.
As its DV, the lense doesnt have to perfect, if its HDV (H1) then i would recomend L series lenses

As for the 3rd party adapters, im not sure as to whether or not there is a crop factor, but from what ive seen and heard, they may offer alternatives to this.

[Bryan Wilkat]

...interesting....(referring to the xl2 and lenses mentioned above)..

and by the way Jim, you can easily find footage from the xha1 on these forums, personally i'd suggest checking out the night clips, they really show off the camera's quality and i'd be shocked if in 4 years that camera was "outdated".

...but it sounds like you should really go to a camera shop and check the cameras out for yourself, pick one that fits your budget as well as your expectations. ...all cameras have their ups and downs and you should really weigh the pros and cons about each camera yourself, reading our opinions may be helpful to you but keep in mind that not everyone here will agree on any one camera being better than the others and i think that all of the cameras you're considering purchasing is a worthy candidate. you just have to filter them out until you find one that YOU want/need.

i hope that was somewhat insightful. haha

[Jim Duggins]

Originally Posted by Jim Duggins

I've got an imac 2ghz duo core, 1 gig ram, 160 gig HD with a 17" monitor. I'm new to editing and want to build an edit suite...

I plan to get Final Cut Pro. What else do I need? Do I need a second monitor for dual screen? Special keyboard? External hard drive? Converters?

I will have about $1,000 left in my budget after purchasing final cut. This is my edit budget, not my $6,000 camera equipment budget.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I'm going with the A1.

What else do I need for my edit set-up? Magic Bullet--is that cool or unnecessary?

How would I hook up a standard television monitor to my iMac so I can view my project?

[David Chia]

use a Canopus ADVC110 IEEE 1394 to plug it to to your imac. this way you can a normal tv to see your edited footage. it also helps convert analog to dv. great tool.

As for magic bullet. what do you want it for? to do post, to make it look like film?if that is the case,then get a 35mm adapter, mattebox and some fliters. this way it save time in post .

[David Chia]

if you are going with an A1 . there is an advert for 2 A1. there is D.O.P who might be buying 2 for a shoot. he will be selling it after using it for a 2day shoot. Check this link. be quick, it might be gone soon.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=89021

[Robert M Wright]

Originally Posted by Jim Duggins

Hi, I've got a $6000 budget and want to buy the DVX100b to make independent films. I had considered the Z1 and V1 but they aren't true 24p and cost more. The HVX200 is out of my price range.

Seems to me, an ideal camera for your purposes would be a JVC HD100U. I saw one in the classifieds here, with an asking price just a little over $4000.