Got mine... at DVinfo.net

Michael Paul Young · February 24th, 2006, 02:09 PM

I must say, I had my xl2 for a year, was happy with it, but not totally. The size and viewfinder annoyed the heck out of me. I had already begun to look for a smaller outlet, as I do alot of staged stuff, but also take alot of trips that I wanted to shoot sort of run and gun. The xl2 was too much a beast for my travels. I started to explore even the dvx model, but once i went 16:9, it’s hard to go back to 4:3. Anyways, after weeks of research and asking on this board, I went with the HVX.

I must say, this camera is super nice. Even the miniDV it shoots is super nice, totally different than the XL2 shoots, atleast to my eye (or im just mental). It does shoot softer, not as sharp, but I also havent tweaked the sharpness settings yet in the HVX which could change that comment. I have only used it on auto mode in the past few days, and even that is amazing. I have 1 P2 4gb card, and for now will be fine. I plan most my filming on my travels will be done mainly on miniDV.

The only permenent thing I can see that bothers me with the camera has been mentioned before. The viewfinder does seem too soft, out of focus. But it does have a focus assist mode that can help with this, but that doesn’t make up for the lack of performance. But I can work around this, and im sure most others can. The only other thing is the current P2 not supported by Premiere on my pc edit station. Luckily I use a powerbook as well with Final Cut, and the latest version brings p2 in super fast and super easy. But im waiting everyday for that Premiere support, as my PC is my main station to edit and do broadcast.

So after all, I thought reviews like this helped me when I was looking to buy. So here’s my 2 cents back to maybe help someone else out there that is debating the cam. My key reason to buy; camera size, filming formats and progressive frame rates, P2, and really price. A lot of people think this camera is big bucks, and well it is, but in comparison its not. Even if you shoot minidv, something like xl2 right from the start is 4000. Why not spend a little more and have more film size/rate options. Best of luck to everyone still debating to buy!

Hans Damkoehler · February 24th, 2006, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Paul Young

Best of luck to everyone still debating to buy!

Welcome to the club, Michael!

Barry Green · February 25th, 2006, 03:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Paul Young

The only permenent thing I can see that bothers me with the camera has been mentioned before. The viewfinder does seem too soft, out of focus.

Silly question, but I gotta ask -- you have focused the viewfinder, right? There's a ring that lets you focus the viewfinder to your eyesight; make sure that's adjusted properly (turn the ring until the menu text is razor sharp).

Quote:

But im waiting everyday for that Premiere support, as my PC is my main station to edit and do broadcast.

Do you know about dvfilm.com's Raylight program? It'll let you work with the files in Premiere today. Unless you have a super-killer desktop computer, the performance won't be as fast as the Mac, but for $195 you can be editing right now.

Quote:

Why not spend a little more and have more film size/rate options. Best of luck to everyone still debating to buy!

Thanks for taking the time to post, and welcome to the club! :)

Michael Paul Young · February 25th, 2006, 10:35 AM

Ahh i was refering to the LCD flip out screen, not the actuall viewfinder, sorry for the wording. Thats hot on the Premiere app, I will check that out.

I also found some othe random news about storage today. I have a Wolverine 40 GB FlashPac Memory Card Reader & Storage Drive that I got from BH last year for my SLR shoots. This drive rocks, just slide memory card in and copy, and its done. Copys a gig super fast. I noticed it had a USB port on it, and emailed them asking if they thought it would work with the HVX. They wrote back saying, no not right now. But in May, they are releasing a drive that will do this. The cool thing about these things are they are fairly cheap, small and fast. So could be a solution for people? This is the item: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search

They didn't mentin how much the price would be, but I will ask and see if they say anything.

February 24th, 2006, 02:09 PM	#1
Michael Paul Young Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Baltimore, MD, USA Posts: 28	Got mine... I must say, I had my xl2 for a year, was happy with it, but not totally. The size and viewfinder annoyed the heck out of me. I had already begun to look for a smaller outlet, as I do alot of staged stuff, but also take alot of trips that I wanted to shoot sort of run and gun. The xl2 was too much a beast for my travels. I started to explore even the dvx model, but once i went 16:9, it’s hard to go back to 4:3. Anyways, after weeks of research and asking on this board, I went with the HVX. I must say, this camera is super nice. Even the miniDV it shoots is super nice, totally different than the XL2 shoots, atleast to my eye (or im just mental). It does shoot softer, not as sharp, but I also havent tweaked the sharpness settings yet in the HVX which could change that comment. I have only used it on auto mode in the past few days, and even that is amazing. I have 1 P2 4gb card, and for now will be fine. I plan most my filming on my travels will be done mainly on miniDV. The only permenent thing I can see that bothers me with the camera has been mentioned before. The viewfinder does seem too soft, out of focus. But it does have a focus assist mode that can help with this, but that doesn’t make up for the lack of performance. But I can work around this, and im sure most others can. The only other thing is the current P2 not supported by Premiere on my pc edit station. Luckily I use a powerbook as well with Final Cut, and the latest version brings p2 in super fast and super easy. But im waiting everyday for that Premiere support, as my PC is my main station to edit and do broadcast. So after all, I thought reviews like this helped me when I was looking to buy. So here’s my 2 cents back to maybe help someone else out there that is debating the cam. My key reason to buy; camera size, filming formats and progressive frame rates, P2, and really price. A lot of people think this camera is big bucks, and well it is, but in comparison its not. Even if you shoot minidv, something like xl2 right from the start is 4000. Why not spend a little more and have more film size/rate options. Best of luck to everyone still debating to buy!

February 25th, 2006, 10:35 AM	#4
Michael Paul Young Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Baltimore, MD, USA Posts: 28	Ahh i was refering to the LCD flip out screen, not the actuall viewfinder, sorry for the wording. Thats hot on the Premiere app, I will check that out. I also found some othe random news about storage today. I have a Wolverine 40 GB FlashPac Memory Card Reader & Storage Drive that I got from BH last year for my SLR shoots. This drive rocks, just slide memory card in and copy, and its done. Copys a gig super fast. I noticed it had a USB port on it, and emailed them asking if they thought it would work with the HVX. They wrote back saying, no not right now. But in May, they are releasing a drive that will do this. The cool thing about these things are they are fairly cheap, small and fast. So could be a solution for people? This is the item: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search They didn't mentin how much the price would be, but I will ask and see if they say anything.