Is this camera effective?

Justyn Rowe · July 28th, 2006, 10:33 PM

Great ideas here with all of this. Personally the HVX gets a lot of good looks and a lot of attention. People calling it pro.. more so than I got with my XL1 even back then. The Matte box and rods and all that are a nice touch.

The other MAJOR thing that I would recommend would be a nice HD monitor. Tha'ts how I justified the small form factor by just point at the image it produces and say.. look at that. The LCD just doesn't do the footage justice at ALL... A good image that a client can see ifs a big one..

As far as also having a pelican case.. that does bolster the ego and looks all pro.. But so darn not functional. WHen I had my HVX in one... one that I still own and don't use much except if it gets shipped... well it just stayed in that. Keeping it in the pelican case keeps it all wrapped up and becomes a chore to carry and lug around. Now my backpack.. that's an easy load and comfortable.. and it also doesn't SCREAM expensive gear inside like a pelican case does.. or even a portabrace case does, for that matter. Go for functionality, and a backpack is awesome and the cam comes with me a lot. In a pelican.. I'd be knocking people flying ..

Ash Greyson · July 29th, 2006, 11:13 AM

My work speaks for itself and I always BUDGET a camera even if I own it. Even if I am doing a $20K commercial, there will be a line for a camera ($200 per day for XL2 kit, $500 for HVX kit, $1000 for Vari Kit, etc.) This ends all confusion as I give the client OPTIONS for what camera they want. If you have to screw on a matte box to stay out of trouble you have not managed the clients expectations properly and this is THE biggest mistake I see from freelancers and small production houses.

ash =o)

Christian Schmitt · July 30th, 2006, 11:02 AM

Good point Ash!
I simply would do both: accurate info for the client on what to expect for the pricetag AND some pimping.
Especially with smaller projects: the client won´t know the difference between DV and DigiBeta, but he will feel more secure if he sees a "big" camera , sth he doesn´t see at RadioShack.
Hehehe - I guess its the old Siegmund Freud thing, big camera, big ...

Dylan Couper · July 30th, 2006, 12:35 PM

I still shoot some live events on my old XL1's when I don't need HD. Other events I shoot on the HVX200 with a matte box. I get about 5x as many requests for business cards when using the XL1.

Take that for what it is worth.

Corey Callahan · July 30th, 2006, 12:48 PM

quite a range of answers here. Let me throw this question out there as well....

Again, keeping in mind that I am "interested" in buying one of these, I am hoping that I can rent the camera out to help subsidize the cost.

What is a typical day rate for these cameras?

I noticed a "brand new and upcoming" rental house here in Vancouver renting it out for $250.00 and that sort of ticked me off.

Your thoughts?

Bill Pryor · July 30th, 2006, 02:39 PM

I'd say $250 is a little high, but they can get that now because it's pretty new.

Ash Greyson · July 30th, 2006, 05:43 PM

$250 with no P2 cards is pretty standard... remember the rental places charge you for everything...

ash =o)

Gary L Childress · August 3rd, 2006, 12:22 PM

Just to add to this bling bling thing, 16x9 is selling a nice little cover for the front of your mattebox. A little extra protection, nice little bling. Don't know if it only fits on the Chrosziel or if it fits on others.

Erik Vilinskas · August 8th, 2006, 01:29 AM

The prevailing rate here for an HVX with four 4GB P2 cards is $300+ a day.
Hope that helps.

Jon Fairhurst · August 8th, 2006, 11:20 AM

Professional Video and Tape in Portland quoted me $300/day for the HVX alone. $450 with the kit, including P2 cards and P2 store.

Ouch!

Gary L Childress · August 8th, 2006, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

Professional Video and Tape in Portland quoted me $300/day for the HVX alone. $450 with the kit, including P2 cards and P2 store.

Ouch!

I assume that means no sticks or heads?

Jon Fairhurst · August 9th, 2006, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary L Childress

I assume that means no sticks or heads?

Probably not. As they say, "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." After hearing $450 a day, I stopped asking questions...

Bill Pryor · August 9th, 2006, 06:17 AM

That's way overpriced for that camera--probably because it's still new and fairly rare. The rates will come down and be in line with everything else in a few months, I bet.

July 30th, 2006, 12:35 PM	#19
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	I still shoot some live events on my old XL1's when I don't need HD. Other events I shoot on the HVX200 with a matte box. I get about 5x as many requests for business cards when using the XL1. Take that for what it is worth. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

August 3rd, 2006, 12:22 PM	#23
Gary L Childress Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 42	Mattebox Bling Just to add to this bling bling thing, 16x9 is selling a nice little cover for the front of your mattebox. A little extra protection, nice little bling. Don't know if it only fits on the Chrosziel or if it fits on others.

August 8th, 2006, 01:29 AM	#24
Erik Vilinskas New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 19	HVX Rental The prevailing rate here for an HVX with four 4GB P2 cards is $300+ a day. Hope that helps.

August 8th, 2006, 11:20 AM	#25
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Professional Video and Tape in Portland quoted me $300/day for the HVX alone. $450 with the kit, including P2 cards and P2 store. Ouch! __________________ Jon Fairhurst

July 28th, 2006, 10:33 PM	#16
Justyn Rowe Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 54	Great ideas here with all of this. Personally the HVX gets a lot of good looks and a lot of attention. People calling it pro.. more so than I got with my XL1 even back then. The Matte box and rods and all that are a nice touch. The other MAJOR thing that I would recommend would be a nice HD monitor. Tha'ts how I justified the small form factor by just point at the image it produces and say.. look at that. The LCD just doesn't do the footage justice at ALL... A good image that a client can see ifs a big one.. As far as also having a pelican case.. that does bolster the ego and looks all pro.. But so darn not functional. WHen I had my HVX in one... one that I still own and don't use much except if it gets shipped... well it just stayed in that. Keeping it in the pelican case keeps it all wrapped up and becomes a chore to carry and lug around. Now my backpack.. that's an easy load and comfortable.. and it also doesn't SCREAM expensive gear inside like a pelican case does.. or even a portabrace case does, for that matter. Go for functionality, and a backpack is awesome and the cam comes with me a lot. In a pelican.. I'd be knocking people flying ..

July 29th, 2006, 11:13 AM	#17
Ash Greyson Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 1,689	My work speaks for itself and I always BUDGET a camera even if I own it. Even if I am doing a $20K commercial, there will be a line for a camera ($200 per day for XL2 kit, $500 for HVX kit, $1000 for Vari Kit, etc.) This ends all confusion as I give the client OPTIONS for what camera they want. If you have to screw on a matte box to stay out of trouble you have not managed the clients expectations properly and this is THE biggest mistake I see from freelancers and small production houses. ash =o)

July 30th, 2006, 11:02 AM	#18
Christian Schmitt Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Germany Posts: 59	Good point Ash! I simply would do both: accurate info for the client on what to expect for the pricetag AND some pimping. Especially with smaller projects: the client won´t know the difference between DV and DigiBeta, but he will feel more secure if he sees a "big" camera , sth he doesn´t see at RadioShack. Hehehe - I guess its the old Siegmund Freud thing, big camera, big ...

July 30th, 2006, 12:48 PM	#20
Corey Callahan New Boot Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 23	quite a range of answers here. Let me throw this question out there as well.... Again, keeping in mind that I am "interested" in buying one of these, I am hoping that I can rent the camera out to help subsidize the cost. What is a typical day rate for these cameras? I noticed a "brand new and upcoming" rental house here in Vancouver renting it out for $250.00 and that sort of ticked me off. Your thoughts?

July 30th, 2006, 02:39 PM	#21
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	I'd say $250 is a little high, but they can get that now because it's pretty new.

July 30th, 2006, 05:43 PM	#22
Ash Greyson Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 1,689	$250 with no P2 cards is pretty standard... remember the rental places charge you for everything... ash =o)

August 9th, 2006, 06:17 AM	#28
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	That's way overpriced for that camera--probably because it's still new and fairly rare. The rates will come down and be in line with everything else in a few months, I bet.