VX2000 -- various topics

Steve Gilmore · October 28th, 2003, 10:13 PM

Hey guys.

I just purchased a vx2000 And im pretty siked. I had bought a gl2 before,but sent it back because the quality on the vx2000 is better( for what i will be using it for that is). So im sure ill have plenty of questions for you guys down the road, just thought id introduce myself.

Steve

Anthony Milic · October 28th, 2003, 10:33 PM

Hey steve, welcome aboard!
Yeah, this place is great, everyone is so helpful and willing in offering advice and opinions.

I'm purchasing a new cam shortly. - have been bouncing back and forward between PDx10 and vx2000. hope I make 'the right' choice.

It will be interesting to see what you've got to say as a new vx user.

Again, welcome.

Anthony

Mike Rehmus · October 29th, 2003, 12:47 PM

Welcome to the club.

You wil find that the 2000 will accomplish tasks that few other cameras, even those above its price range can do.

Mark Goodsell · November 23rd, 2003, 10:16 AM

Congrats Steve. You're going to love the cam.

Just a friendly correction, it's spelled "Psyched", not "Siked"

Good luck

Mark G

Dave Largent · November 23rd, 2003, 03:42 PM

Steve: Most irritating thing about the VX is that it is constantly
powering down (i.e. going into standby mode). The only way to stop it is by leaving the tape door open; who wants to do that.
A little trick they don't tell you in the owners manual is, to bring it out of standby, press the photo button once.
Anthony: If shooting indoors under natural light is an important consideration for you in a cam, best get the VX; the PDX is very bad in low light.

Paul Tauger · November 25th, 2003, 02:52 PM

After shooting a lot with a tripod, I've gotten spoiled, and I'm no longer satisfied with what I can shoot hand-held. Side note: the optical stabilization on the VX2000, while not bad without an accessory lens, can not seem to handle an Optex .6x wide angle adapter -- it's as shaky as the standard lens without stablization, and as I get older (or drunker), it's becoming an issue.

I've decided the solution is a good shoulder mount. I've been faking it, using my tripod, with one leg draped over my shoulder. I look like an idiot, and it's not very comfortable, but it is effective. I'd like to find a good, light-weight shoulder mount. Because I do travel videography, it can't be very big or heavy. I don't need much -- only something that will let the camera balance on my should when I'm shooting.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Don Bloom · November 25th, 2003, 04:36 PM

Paul,
I've mentioned before that I've used and still do on occassion a shoulder brace by Studio1store dot com. I think its the same as the HabbyCam. In any case it works very well with my PD150 with a WA lens attachment, shotgun mic,on cam light and wireless receiver mounted to a bracket I fashioned for the back of the brace. There are some others but I can only speak of this one.
Good luck,
Don

Mike Rehmus · November 25th, 2003, 06:25 PM

The latest WEVA Newsletter, besides having a nice hands-on description of the PD170 has an interesting brief report on the Scorpion System that looks to be modular and will support the camera, lights, microphone, mixer and wireless modules. $139.50 list price. Located in Berkely, MI.

Rather than hook over the shoulder, you press it against your chest. Don't know how practical that is in practice.

Another one, from Anton Bauer, called the Stasis Power support system hangs on the shoulder with one of their batteries on the back of the shoulder hook. Might be OK but at $550 it seems a bit expensive although that seems to include a battery.

Arthur John · December 28th, 2003, 06:55 PM

I was just looking at a few posts concerning the ability to burn a time/date permanently onto the tape.

I read that the PD150/170 has the ability to burn a time/date month/hour/second onto the tape for video surveillance and law enforcement work, but can the VX2100 do that also?

I have read posts that say no, and yet other websites like b&H say you can.
Anyone have the real scoop here?

Curt Talbot · December 28th, 2003, 06:58 PM

I recently bought a used VX2000 supposedly with low hours.

The first time I used it there was some pixelization during the first 5 to 10 seconds and some audio dropouts during the first minute. After that it recorded fine for the remainder of the event (about an hour).

The next time I used it it showed a warning (C:31:23) then another warning (C:31:40) and then the tape cleaning warning. I ran the cleaning tape for 10 seconds. The warnings seems to have disappeared.

There is still a bit of pixelization during the start of the tape. After that it seems fine. It also takes about 5 seconds for the sound to cut in. After that it seems ok though the sound might cut out for a brief moment during the first minute of recording.

Any thoughts from anyone (other than warnings about buying used equipment :)?

Also, when a VX2000 'wears out' what are the warning signs?

thanks so much.

Mike Rehmus · December 28th, 2003, 10:22 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Curt Talbot : I recently bought a used VX2000 supposedly with low hours.

Also, when a VX2000 'wears out' what are the warning signs?

thanks so much. -->>>

Kind of what you have described but I'd try a thorough cleaning first.

Try to find out what brand of tape was used in the camera and, perhaps, stick with that.

If you have the camera cleaned professionally, I'd switch to Sony tapes and stick with them.

The camera doesn't wear out, but some of the consumables have to be renewed from time-to-time. Heads, pinch-rollers, bearings all wear out and can be replaced.

Gints Klimanis · December 29th, 2003, 05:01 PM

Although Mike suggested that you stick to a particular brand of tape, he also hinted that you shouldn't mix tapes from various manufacturers because the different types of tape lubricants apparently gum up the tape system.

Anthony James · January 10th, 2004, 04:05 AM

Hi guys, this may have been addressed previously, if so apologies.

Does anyone know if the VX2100 is still (or ever had) has an audio hum when using the LCD screen?

Any help / advice would be welcomed.

Cheers, Anthony.

Frank Granovski · January 10th, 2004, 05:10 AM

Welcome, Anthony. There's been a thread or 2 discussing this. I'll see if I can find the link.

Here's one of the threads, I think there's another one also.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=18621

Anthony James · January 10th, 2004, 05:14 AM

Thanks Frank. I am all set to get one, but non of the retailers i have contacted really know much about it, so any info would be appreciated!!

October 28th, 2003, 10:13 PM	#376
Steve Gilmore Tourist Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: baltimore,md. Posts: 2	New vx2000 owner Hey guys. I just purchased a vx2000 And im pretty siked. I had bought a gl2 before,but sent it back because the quality on the vx2000 is better( for what i will be using it for that is). So im sure ill have plenty of questions for you guys down the road, just thought id introduce myself. Steve

October 29th, 2003, 12:47 PM	#378
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Welcome to the club. You wil find that the 2000 will accomplish tasks that few other cameras, even those above its price range can do. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

November 23rd, 2003, 10:16 AM	#379
Mark Goodsell Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: WI Posts: 367	Congrats Steve. You're going to love the cam. Just a friendly correction, it's spelled "Psyched", not "Siked" Good luck Mark G __________________ Mark Goodsell

November 25th, 2003, 02:52 PM	#381
Paul Tauger Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles (recently from San Francisco) Posts: 954	Lightweight VX2000 Shoulder Mount? After shooting a lot with a tripod, I've gotten spoiled, and I'm no longer satisfied with what I can shoot hand-held. Side note: the optical stabilization on the VX2000, while not bad without an accessory lens, can not seem to handle an Optex .6x wide angle adapter -- it's as shaky as the standard lens without stablization, and as I get older (or drunker), it's becoming an issue. I've decided the solution is a good shoulder mount. I've been faking it, using my tripod, with one leg draped over my shoulder. I look like an idiot, and it's not very comfortable, but it is effective. I'd like to find a good, light-weight shoulder mount. Because I do travel videography, it can't be very big or heavy. I don't need much -- only something that will let the camera balance on my should when I'm shooting. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

November 25th, 2003, 06:25 PM	#383
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	The latest WEVA Newsletter, besides having a nice hands-on description of the PD170 has an interesting brief report on the Scorpion System that looks to be modular and will support the camera, lights, microphone, mixer and wireless modules. $139.50 list price. Located in Berkely, MI. Rather than hook over the shoulder, you press it against your chest. Don't know how practical that is in practice. Another one, from Anton Bauer, called the Stasis Power support system hangs on the shoulder with one of their batteries on the back of the shoulder hook. Might be OK but at $550 it seems a bit expensive although that seems to include a battery. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

October 28th, 2003, 10:33 PM	#377
Anthony Milic Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 103	Hey steve, welcome aboard! Yeah, this place is great, everyone is so helpful and willing in offering advice and opinions. I'm purchasing a new cam shortly. - have been bouncing back and forward between PDx10 and vx2000. hope I make 'the right' choice. It will be interesting to see what you've got to say as a new vx user. Again, welcome. Anthony

November 23rd, 2003, 03:42 PM	#380
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Steve: Most irritating thing about the VX is that it is constantly powering down (i.e. going into standby mode). The only way to stop it is by leaving the tape door open; who wants to do that. A little trick they don't tell you in the owners manual is, to bring it out of standby, press the photo button once. Anthony: If shooting indoors under natural light is an important consideration for you in a cam, best get the VX; the PDX is very bad in low light.

November 25th, 2003, 04:36 PM	#382
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Paul, I've mentioned before that I've used and still do on occassion a shoulder brace by Studio1store dot com. I think its the same as the HabbyCam. In any case it works very well with my PD150 with a WA lens attachment, shotgun mic,on cam light and wireless receiver mounted to a bracket I fashioned for the back of the brace. There are some others but I can only speak of this one. Good luck, Don

December 28th, 2003, 06:55 PM	#384
Arthur John Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Farmington, New Mexico Posts: 34	VX2100 Time/Date verification I was just looking at a few posts concerning the ability to burn a time/date permanently onto the tape. I read that the PD150/170 has the ability to burn a time/date month/hour/second onto the tape for video surveillance and law enforcement work, but can the VX2100 do that also? I have read posts that say no, and yet other websites like b&H say you can. Anyone have the real scoop here? __________________ Wisdom through experience brings a better understanding of not only what we can do, but also what we believe we can attain.

December 28th, 2003, 06:58 PM	#385
Curt Talbot Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Regina, SK Canada Posts: 104 Images: 1	Sound problem - used VX2000 I recently bought a used VX2000 supposedly with low hours. The first time I used it there was some pixelization during the first 5 to 10 seconds and some audio dropouts during the first minute. After that it recorded fine for the remainder of the event (about an hour). The next time I used it it showed a warning (C:31:23) then another warning (C:31:40) and then the tape cleaning warning. I ran the cleaning tape for 10 seconds. The warnings seems to have disappeared. There is still a bit of pixelization during the start of the tape. After that it seems fine. It also takes about 5 seconds for the sound to cut in. After that it seems ok though the sound might cut out for a brief moment during the first minute of recording. Any thoughts from anyone (other than warnings about buying used equipment :)? Also, when a VX2000 'wears out' what are the warning signs? thanks so much.

December 28th, 2003, 10:22 PM	#386
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	Re: Sound problem - used VX2000 <<<-- Originally posted by Curt Talbot : I recently bought a used VX2000 supposedly with low hours. Also, when a VX2000 'wears out' what are the warning signs? thanks so much. -->>> Kind of what you have described but I'd try a thorough cleaning first. Try to find out what brand of tape was used in the camera and, perhaps, stick with that. If you have the camera cleaned professionally, I'd switch to Sony tapes and stick with them. The camera doesn't wear out, but some of the consumables have to be renewed from time-to-time. Heads, pinch-rollers, bearings all wear out and can be replaced. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

December 29th, 2003, 05:01 PM	#387
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	Although Mike suggested that you stick to a particular brand of tape, he also hinted that you shouldn't mix tapes from various manufacturers because the different types of tape lubricants apparently gum up the tape system.

January 10th, 2004, 04:05 AM	#388
Anthony James Tourist Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, U.K. Posts: 2	VX2100 Audio/LCD problems? Hi guys, this may have been addressed previously, if so apologies. Does anyone know if the VX2100 is still (or ever had) has an audio hum when using the LCD screen? Any help / advice would be welcomed. Cheers, Anthony.

January 10th, 2004, 05:10 AM	#389
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Welcome, Anthony. There's been a thread or 2 discussing this. I'll see if I can find the link. Here's one of the threads, I think there's another one also. http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=18621

January 10th, 2004, 05:14 AM	#390
Anthony James Tourist Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, U.K. Posts: 2	Thanks Frank. I am all set to get one, but non of the retailers i have contacted really know much about it, so any info would be appreciated!!