HVX 200 zoom motor at DVinfo.net

Brian Kaiser · March 26th, 2006, 04:46 PM

Just joined the list, and received my HVX200 on Friday. Two words....love it! Been shooting on Broadcast rigs for twenty years, this is one sweet camera...especially for $5300. (BTW Lerro in Philadelphia had 2 in Stock on Friday the 24th) Just starting to get familiar with the camera and noticed in a very quiet room, that you can hear the zoom motor when you depress the wide /tight all the way down, basically the fastest zoom speed. When I gently and slowly zoom, no motor noise. Is anyone experiencing this??? Or do I have a sick one?? Also can anyone suggest a 6000 mAh battery as a second battery? Shooting 480 24P on tape today...pix look great! Hope that I can contribute to the list in the future.

Andrew Hoffman · March 27th, 2006, 12:28 PM

Hello Brian,

The zoom motor noise is normal. I've seen a few other threads about the same thing and everybody else has also come to that conclusion.

Oh, before I forget, Of course you need a 6000mAh battery! :)

Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Senior Operations Manager
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Erik Candiani · March 29th, 2006, 11:12 PM

Yes, I would say that it is at least 10x louder than the DVX100 when zooming in and out at full speed. No, I don't do this while shooting most of the time. However, after opening, that is one of the first things I did. I called Panasonic, and the tech could hear it over the phone!!! He told me to contact the seller, and have them send out a new one. I did, and the replacement was just as loud! It is honestly loud enough to hear across a quiet room.

In fact, if you leave the auto focus OFF, then zoom into something and turn it back on, you can hear the damn focus motors adjusting -- really strange. As I mentioned above, I pulled my DVX100a out to compare, and there is absolutely no comparison to the noise levels between the two.

I can't believe more people aren't listing this as a major fault.

E.

Daniel Epstein · March 30th, 2006, 09:15 PM

In fact, if you leave the auto focus OFF, then zoom into something and turn it back on, you can hear the damn focus motors adjusting -- really strange. As I mentioned above, I pulled my DVX100a out to compare, and there is absolutely no comparison to the noise levels between the two.

I can't believe more people aren't listing this as a major fault.

E.[/QUOTE]

Erik,
On the HVX-200 there is a second auto focus setting in the menus I believe which overides the switch we all love on the DVX 100's.
I was checking the camera at Abel Cine Tech and noticed that it was auto focusing even though I was in manual.

Reinhold Ellenberger · April 4th, 2006, 08:10 AM

Hello Erik,

I just got a PAL HVX200E and i am experiencing the same problem,

PLUS:

there is another strange, permanent and way too loud operation noise too, which, I think, will make any camera mountable audio solution obsolet.

I dont know if its just my unit, so i called Panasonic here in Germany. They are not aware of anything like that, and turned my to my seller, quite disappointing. The dealer is offering to replace it with another unit, But i am very sceptical now.

On these boards the disussions seems to fade the small real world handling issues.

Anyone can comment on or is experiencing the same operation noise issue of the HVX200?

Thanks!

Brian Kaiser · April 5th, 2006, 04:03 PM

Reinhold, I did mount a Sanken CS1 short shotgun mic on the front (much better than the standard Panasonic mic) and the zoom motor noise is not audible on mic, because of its tight pickup pattern, you might try this as a possible solution. Also in a sit down interview situation using two lavilere mics, I had no zoom motor noise audible on tape.

Brian

March 26th, 2006, 04:46 PM	#1
Brian Kaiser Tourist Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Souderton, PA Posts: 3	HVX 200 zoom motor Just joined the list, and received my HVX200 on Friday. Two words....love it! Been shooting on Broadcast rigs for twenty years, this is one sweet camera...especially for $5300. (BTW Lerro in Philadelphia had 2 in Stock on Friday the 24th) Just starting to get familiar with the camera and noticed in a very quiet room, that you can hear the zoom motor when you depress the wide /tight all the way down, basically the fastest zoom speed. When I gently and slowly zoom, no motor noise. Is anyone experiencing this??? Or do I have a sick one?? Also can anyone suggest a 6000 mAh battery as a second battery? Shooting 480 24P on tape today...pix look great! Hope that I can contribute to the list in the future.

March 29th, 2006, 11:12 PM	#3
Erik Candiani Tourist Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 1	Extremely LOUD Yes, I would say that it is at least 10x louder than the DVX100 when zooming in and out at full speed. No, I don't do this while shooting most of the time. However, after opening, that is one of the first things I did. I called Panasonic, and the tech could hear it over the phone!!! He told me to contact the seller, and have them send out a new one. I did, and the replacement was just as loud! It is honestly loud enough to hear across a quiet room. In fact, if you leave the auto focus OFF, then zoom into something and turn it back on, you can hear the damn focus motors adjusting -- really strange. As I mentioned above, I pulled my DVX100a out to compare, and there is absolutely no comparison to the noise levels between the two. I can't believe more people aren't listing this as a major fault. E.

April 5th, 2006, 04:03 PM	#6
Brian Kaiser Tourist Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Souderton, PA Posts: 3	Hvx 200 Reinhold, I did mount a Sanken CS1 short shotgun mic on the front (much better than the standard Panasonic mic) and the zoom motor noise is not audible on mic, because of its tight pickup pattern, you might try this as a possible solution. Also in a sit down interview situation using two lavilere mics, I had no zoom motor noise audible on tape. Brian

March 27th, 2006, 12:28 PM	#2
Andrew Hoffman Specialized Communications Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Smithsburg, MD Posts: 19	Hello Brian, The zoom motor noise is normal. I've seen a few other threads about the same thing and everybody else has also come to that conclusion. Oh, before I forget, Of course you need a 6000mAh battery! :) Best regards, Andrew Hoffman Senior Operations Manager Specialized Communications Corp. 20940 Twin Springs Dr. Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA 800-359-1858 Fax: 301-790-0173 andrewh@spec-comm.com www.spec-comm.com

March 30th, 2006, 09:15 PM	#4
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	In fact, if you leave the auto focus OFF, then zoom into something and turn it back on, you can hear the damn focus motors adjusting -- really strange. As I mentioned above, I pulled my DVX100a out to compare, and there is absolutely no comparison to the noise levels between the two. I can't believe more people aren't listing this as a major fault. E.[/QUOTE] Erik, On the HVX-200 there is a second auto focus setting in the menus I believe which overides the switch we all love on the DVX 100's. I was checking the camera at Abel Cine Tech and noticed that it was auto focusing even though I was in manual.

April 4th, 2006, 08:10 AM	#5
Reinhold Ellenberger New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: California Posts: 9	Hello Erik, I just got a PAL HVX200E and i am experiencing the same problem, PLUS: there is another strange, permanent and way too loud operation noise too, which, I think, will make any camera mountable audio solution obsolet. I dont know if its just my unit, so i called Panasonic here in Germany. They are not aware of anything like that, and turned my to my seller, quite disappointing. The dealer is offering to replace it with another unit, But i am very sceptical now. On these boards the disussions seems to fade the small real world handling issues. Anyone can comment on or is experiencing the same operation noise issue of the HVX200? Thanks!