Just ordered one -- questions!

Mike Condron · June 29th, 2005, 04:50 PM

Alex,
You can put filters on the hood that goes over the wide angle lens if you mount a wide angle lens. You just don't want to put filters between any aux lens and the camera because this will put the aux lens out away from the camera. Most if not all aux lenses are designed to be mounted directly to the camera with nothing in between. If you do not have an auxillary lens mounted then you can mount 58mm filters on the front of the VX2100.

If you are going to be shooting under fluorescent lights then you should do a white balance at the time of the shoot. Actually you should white balance whenever you start a shoot or whenever the light has changed or may have changed. It takes no time and doing it often will give you great comfort.

The VX2100 has two ND filters built in. The ND1 filter is equivalent to 2 f-stops or the light is reduced to 1/4 of what it is without the filter inserted. The ND2 filter is equivalent to 5 f-stops or the light is reduced to 1/32 of what it would be without the filter inserted. The camera will tell you when it is a good idea to insert the ND filters and when to take them out. Inserting them will let the camera aperture operate in a normal range. Shooting outside in the sunlight will most always require an ND filter.

Mike Rehmus · June 29th, 2005, 07:30 PM

The camera already has a built-in set of ND filters. You really don't need a Flo filter. This is a video camera that is capable of white-balancing in a flo-lit environment fairly well by itself. You can touch it up in post if necessary.

Remember, filters can only take away, they don't add anything. So they cannot add missing specral content in the lighting.

Tom Hardwick · June 29th, 2005, 11:59 PM

The VX has two built-in ND filters and rarely needs more. If you want to use maximum aperture you can always up the shutter speed.

The manual white balance should take care of any lighting conditions you come across, it has a huge range, and any slight modifications can be done in post.

tom.

Tom Hardwick · June 30th, 2005, 12:02 AM

Ooops, sorry guys. Didn't see your posts (above) and I seem to have said the same words.

Alex Barabas · June 30th, 2005, 06:29 PM

Hmmm... they decided to send it UPS ground shipping (which was free)... I'll go ape if it comes busted up!! I presume they're packed well in Sony's box???

Ok in summary, I got an extra battery, some tapes, firewire cable, a fluid head tripod, a rode videomic, a uv filter, a clear filter, and a circular polarizing filter... extra charger and hard case are going to have to wait because I haven't found anything worthwhile yet.

What kind of battery life are you guys getting w/ the stock 330 and the 570 batteries?

Mike Condron · June 30th, 2005, 07:34 PM

Alex,
The VX2100 comes with the firewire cable but having two isn't a bad idea. Leave one at the computer and keep one in the camera bag in case you ever need one while traveling.
The 330 stock battery is good for about 30 minutes. The 560 should be good for at least 2-3 hours maybe 4 hours.
Rest easy. The camera will be arrive safely as the packaging is more than enough but be sure to check the box for obvious external damage and don't let the delivery guy get away until you have inspected the exterior on the box.

Alex Barabas · June 30th, 2005, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Condron

Alex,
The VX2100 comes with the firewire cable but having two isn't a bad idea. Leave one at the computer and keep one in the camera bag in case you ever need one while traveling.
The 330 stock battery is good for about 30 minutes. The 560 should be good for at least 2-3 hours maybe 4 hours.
Rest easy. The camera will be arrive safely as the packaging is more than enough but be sure to check the box for obvious external damage and don't let the delivery guy get away until you have inspected the exterior on the box.

I work at Best Buy part time so the firewire cable was $1.38 and the camera's being delivered to the store just in case I'm not home at the time... any problems and I'm getting a full refund before I even accept it from the store.

Anthony Mooney · July 1st, 2005, 01:02 AM

hi

No dout that the VX-2100 is an amazing camera, but lets a biit radical here:)
On B&H , VX-2100 and PD170 have a dif of something like 800 and there's also a rebate of $300 if I am not mistaken - this way dif goes down to $500.

The XLR adaptor+the wide angle that you will need in the fututre will be more than $400. Plus you will have "dv cam" also.

Regaring xlr adaptors: I have both of them (studio 1 pro and Beachtek) and dislike both. Studio seems like a toy, and it needs to clip on my belt(think now they have news ones that go under the camera like the Beachtek).
The beachtek, it sees like a solid piece has the a very silly problem : While yoiu record you cannot use the roll-on faders because the noise gets into your recording.

What I am trying to say is that both adaptors don't deserve their prices.

Regarding shot gun mic : I don't how will you use the camcorder. I do wedding s and I realise that the mic that has the least use is the shot gun.
End up working with two wireless and 2-3 voise recorders..and no place for the shot gun mic. All though is a good thing to have it (for occasions) it's much better to use a cheap on camera mic ($50-$100) to get the ambient.

I know that it will sound crazy but it not, when it comes to weddings and events is better to work with cheap mics. Why? because there is no need to spent on mics that gives you great freq range and pic up the AC!
The same goes for sophisticated MP3 recorders or MD to record a simple human voise. You don't need it since human voise has a limited range.

o,,think was in the mood for typing! I hope that I helped a bit

Have fun with your new gear!

Anthony

Alex Barabas · July 1st, 2005, 12:04 PM

Here's why I got the VX2100 over the PD170...

1.The price including tax, was 2385. I was also able to get a 4 year service plan that covers everything on the camera (including lens and battery) for $175. The ease of use for the service plan was a big part in my decision.

2. I threw it all on 6 months no-interest financing from the store (I've got better things to do right now with my working capital). My choices for the no-interest financing were the XL2, FX1, or the VX2100.

3. I don't need the XLR ports at the moment -- it seems like the Rode Videocam will do it all for me.

4. Looking at this from a business sense, I'm trying to maximize my short-term return on investment because the sooner I can get a positive cash flow on these projects, the sooner I can get cameras that are now beyond my price range with features that will let me work on larger projects. (HDV, 24p for example). For the projects I'm working on, the VX2100 will get me the same return that the PD170 will -- and by minimizing cost, I've also minimized my potential losses.

Alex Barabas · July 3rd, 2005, 04:51 PM

What about a good lavalier mic that doesn't need XLR? I'm worried about noise on the mini-jacks, but since the mini-jack inputs are stereo and the mics are mono, could I just combine the 2 channels in post -- wouldn't this cancel out the interference just like a normal balanced connection?

Mike Rehmus · July 3rd, 2005, 05:02 PM

It isn't audio noise that a twisted-pair cable with a balanced input on the camera, rejects. It is electrical noise that, if induced in both sides of the tightly twisted cable, is cancelled out because the camera circuit is measuring for a differential signal between the wires and ignores the signals that are the same on both wires.

Alex Barabas · July 3rd, 2005, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Rehmus

It isn't audio noise that a twisted-pair cable with a balanced input on the camera, rejects. It is electrical noise that, if induced in both sides of the tightly twisted cable, is cancelled out because the camera circuit is measuring for a differential signal between the wires and ignores the signals that are the same on both wires.

Yea but since the Videomic sends a mono signal over 2 channels and is recorded as 2 channels -- couldn't I do the same in post by combining the two channels?

Mike Rehmus · July 3rd, 2005, 09:21 PM

You are missing the point. The noise is added to the signal if it gets to the recording circuitry. In a balanced system, the noise is cancelled before it gets to the recording stage.

If you subtract one signal from the other in Post, you cancel both the noise and the sound.

David Ennis · July 4th, 2005, 10:14 AM

Anthony's message above was that if you're going buy an XLR adaptor and a wide angle lens for the VX2100, you're up to the price of the PD170/wide angle package with rebate. That certainly got my attention. The PD170 has additional advantages.

Alex Barabas · July 4th, 2005, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred Retread

Anthony's message above was that if you're going buy an XLR adaptor and a wide angle lens for the VX2100, you're up to the price of the PD170/wide angle package with rebate. That certainly got my attention. The PD170 has additional advantages.

2740 roughly... 2930 shippsed on the PD170... about 200$ difference still, but I see the point. I can live w/o those features... and the financing is worth a lot more as well.

June 29th, 2005, 04:50 PM	#16
Mike Condron New Boot Join Date: May 2004 Location: Modesto California Posts: 16	Alex, You can put filters on the hood that goes over the wide angle lens if you mount a wide angle lens. You just don't want to put filters between any aux lens and the camera because this will put the aux lens out away from the camera. Most if not all aux lenses are designed to be mounted directly to the camera with nothing in between. If you do not have an auxillary lens mounted then you can mount 58mm filters on the front of the VX2100. If you are going to be shooting under fluorescent lights then you should do a white balance at the time of the shoot. Actually you should white balance whenever you start a shoot or whenever the light has changed or may have changed. It takes no time and doing it often will give you great comfort. The VX2100 has two ND filters built in. The ND1 filter is equivalent to 2 f-stops or the light is reduced to 1/4 of what it is without the filter inserted. The ND2 filter is equivalent to 5 f-stops or the light is reduced to 1/32 of what it would be without the filter inserted. The camera will tell you when it is a good idea to insert the ND filters and when to take them out. Inserting them will let the camera aperture operate in a normal range. Shooting outside in the sunlight will most always require an ND filter. __________________ Mike

June 29th, 2005, 07:30 PM	#17
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	The camera already has a built-in set of ND filters. You really don't need a Flo filter. This is a video camera that is capable of white-balancing in a flo-lit environment fairly well by itself. You can touch it up in post if necessary. Remember, filters can only take away, they don't add anything. So they cannot add missing specral content in the lighting. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

June 30th, 2005, 07:34 PM	#21
Mike Condron New Boot Join Date: May 2004 Location: Modesto California Posts: 16	Alex, The VX2100 comes with the firewire cable but having two isn't a bad idea. Leave one at the computer and keep one in the camera bag in case you ever need one while traveling. The 330 stock battery is good for about 30 minutes. The 560 should be good for at least 2-3 hours maybe 4 hours. Rest easy. The camera will be arrive safely as the packaging is more than enough but be sure to check the box for obvious external damage and don't let the delivery guy get away until you have inspected the exterior on the box. __________________ Mike

July 3rd, 2005, 05:02 PM	#26
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	It isn't audio noise that a twisted-pair cable with a balanced input on the camera, rejects. It is electrical noise that, if induced in both sides of the tightly twisted cable, is cancelled out because the camera circuit is measuring for a differential signal between the wires and ignores the signals that are the same on both wires. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

July 3rd, 2005, 09:21 PM	#28
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	You are missing the point. The noise is added to the signal if it gets to the recording circuitry. In a balanced system, the noise is cancelled before it gets to the recording stage. If you subtract one signal from the other in Post, you cancel both the noise and the sound. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

June 29th, 2005, 11:59 PM	#18
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	The VX has two built-in ND filters and rarely needs more. If you want to use maximum aperture you can always up the shutter speed. The manual white balance should take care of any lighting conditions you come across, it has a huge range, and any slight modifications can be done in post. tom.

June 30th, 2005, 12:02 AM	#19
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Ooops, sorry guys. Didn't see your posts (above) and I seem to have said the same words.

June 30th, 2005, 06:29 PM	#20
Alex Barabas Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 61	Hmmm... they decided to send it UPS ground shipping (which was free)... I'll go ape if it comes busted up!! I presume they're packed well in Sony's box??? Ok in summary, I got an extra battery, some tapes, firewire cable, a fluid head tripod, a rode videomic, a uv filter, a clear filter, and a circular polarizing filter... extra charger and hard case are going to have to wait because I haven't found anything worthwhile yet. What kind of battery life are you guys getting w/ the stock 330 and the 570 batteries?

July 1st, 2005, 01:02 AM	#23
Anthony Mooney Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Long Branch NJ Posts: 69	hi No dout that the VX-2100 is an amazing camera, but lets a biit radical here:) On B&H , VX-2100 and PD170 have a dif of something like 800 and there's also a rebate of $300 if I am not mistaken - this way dif goes down to $500. The XLR adaptor+the wide angle that you will need in the fututre will be more than $400. Plus you will have "dv cam" also. Regaring xlr adaptors: I have both of them (studio 1 pro and Beachtek) and dislike both. Studio seems like a toy, and it needs to clip on my belt(think now they have news ones that go under the camera like the Beachtek). The beachtek, it sees like a solid piece has the a very silly problem : While yoiu record you cannot use the roll-on faders because the noise gets into your recording. What I am trying to say is that both adaptors don't deserve their prices. Regarding shot gun mic : I don't how will you use the camcorder. I do wedding s and I realise that the mic that has the least use is the shot gun. End up working with two wireless and 2-3 voise recorders..and no place for the shot gun mic. All though is a good thing to have it (for occasions) it's much better to use a cheap on camera mic ($50-$100) to get the ambient. I know that it will sound crazy but it not, when it comes to weddings and events is better to work with cheap mics. Why? because there is no need to spent on mics that gives you great freq range and pic up the AC! The same goes for sophisticated MP3 recorders or MD to record a simple human voise. You don't need it since human voise has a limited range. o,,think was in the mood for typing! I hope that I helped a bit Have fun with your new gear! Anthony

July 1st, 2005, 12:04 PM	#24
Alex Barabas Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 61	Here's why I got the VX2100 over the PD170... 1.The price including tax, was 2385. I was also able to get a 4 year service plan that covers everything on the camera (including lens and battery) for $175. The ease of use for the service plan was a big part in my decision. 2. I threw it all on 6 months no-interest financing from the store (I've got better things to do right now with my working capital). My choices for the no-interest financing were the XL2, FX1, or the VX2100. 3. I don't need the XLR ports at the moment -- it seems like the Rode Videocam will do it all for me. 4. Looking at this from a business sense, I'm trying to maximize my short-term return on investment because the sooner I can get a positive cash flow on these projects, the sooner I can get cameras that are now beyond my price range with features that will let me work on larger projects. (HDV, 24p for example). For the projects I'm working on, the VX2100 will get me the same return that the PD170 will -- and by minimizing cost, I've also minimized my potential losses.

July 3rd, 2005, 04:51 PM	#25
Alex Barabas Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 61	What about a good lavalier mic that doesn't need XLR? I'm worried about noise on the mini-jacks, but since the mini-jack inputs are stereo and the mics are mono, could I just combine the 2 channels in post -- wouldn't this cancel out the interference just like a normal balanced connection?

July 4th, 2005, 10:14 AM	#29
David Ennis Fred Retread Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Hartford, CT Posts: 1,227	Anthony's message above was that if you're going buy an XLR adaptor and a wide angle lens for the VX2100, you're up to the price of the PD170/wide angle package with rebate. That certainly got my attention. The PD170 has additional advantages. __________________ "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence..." - Calvin Coolidge "My brain is wired to want to know how other things are wired." - Me