Just Ordered PD170 at DVinfo.net

Nathan James · March 2nd, 2007, 11:43 AM

Hey guys,

Been awhile since I posted....last time I was getting everyones oppinions on what I should get cameras wise......Last year I went ahead and bought 2 GL2's....and a whole bunch of other gear.....while I am happy with the GL2's outdoors...they just plain suck indoors in low light.....yeah Im sure if I got all the proper lighting they would be fine...but no bride wants her reception or indoor ceremony all lit up......I have been kicking myself for not getting the Sony's......

Another reason I went with the GL2's was for the frame mode.....I have started to get into low budget film making with a great buddy of mine and liked the idea of having frame mode......The other night I was watching videos and I noticed that...wow there was no grain in this shot...and the camera was outside in total darkness except for 1 porch light....and I thought back...oh yeah...this footage was from a vx-2100.

So I decided to get one of these bad boys....I splurged and got the PD170....$300.00 rebate....couldnt beat it.....then after I get done shooting our movie.......Look for it soon....www.chinawhitemovie.com... I think I am going to sell one of my GL2's and get a VX2100...so that will give me 3 cameras for the ceremony....2 having great low light functions...

Anyway this was a boring post...but thought maybe I would share in my excitement...and maybe some of you owners of the 170's or 2100's would share in your satisfaction of owning them...and hey maybe some of you went from the GL2's to these like me....

Sam Rosado · March 2nd, 2007, 12:39 PM

Although I do not own a pd170, I would sure love to buy that gl2 from you!

Nathan James · March 2nd, 2007, 01:04 PM

Although I didnt write this post to advertise my GL2....I am sure there is another section for things like this.....you can sure offer me a price.

Like I said I have a movie I am shooting with it from March 19th through mid April.

I have only shot 3 weddings with it...plus the shooting of the movie.....

It is in mint condition...I also have the Canon hard case...and maybe willing to get rid of a coulpe accessories...

hit me up at janeychaos@yahoo.com if you wanna talk more.....

Mark Bournes · March 3rd, 2007, 08:08 AM

Nathan, I shoot triathlons for series here in Florida, they start before the sun comes up, and we use 4 pd170's, they work well in low light situations. We leave it in auto lock since the sun is coming up as we're shooting the race and the footage looks great. you wont be dissappointed in picking one up.

Bryan Wilkat · March 3rd, 2007, 10:53 AM

the sony's have a digital effect called "flash" and if you put it as low as you can without it being off, it looks like "frame mode", or "30p"..maybe even "24p". some people say the quality isn't as great but i shot the same subject twice, once with this mode, once without and then i captured it and zoomed in as far as i could and there was no loss in resolution, it was exactly the same. shoot with this flash effect and deinterlace for the best results, you'll be extremely satisfied!

Bruce G. Cleveland · March 4th, 2007, 06:58 PM

Nathan I made the same jump a few months ago. got 2 170's and 2 2100's. Never looked back, the low light with both cameras is unreal. You will be very happy.

Bruce

Nathan James · March 8th, 2007, 10:19 PM

wow.....just got my PD170......charged up the battery and tested it out.....I went into the kitchen and turned off all the lights....there was 1 light on in the living room....and a TV on....to the naked eye the kitched was very dark.....In automatic mode I turned the Sony on and pressed record......recorded my kids for a bit...then I turned on a small light on my fridge water and ice dispenser.....fimled some more....then the kids opened the fridge door.....

When I plugged in the tape into the tv and watched this footage back I was blown away....even without any light on...there was very minimal grain....this camera can not be beat it low light...never again will I have to worry what kinda of lighting I will run into at a reception.....I was so unhappy with my GL2's indoors.....I will be selling 1 of them for sure....after the movie raps.....I love the GL2 for its...handy tote around use...and the picture outside is awesome...and frame mode is really cool....but I think I found a new best friend in this PD170.......

Update: Went outside in pitch dark......walked around and filmed....1 street light lit the road....I did not see any grain in my image until I bumped it up to 15 db and 18 db......12 was awesome.....cant wait to take this its first wedding March 17th 2007....

Tom Hardwick · March 9th, 2007, 11:24 AM

Nathan - you've found out what every wedding filmmaker has discovered - that the PD170 is king-of-the-hill for any sort of event work. It's tough as nails, has a wonderfully sharp and flare-free lens and will serve you well. Until you work alongside cameras costing three times as much, you'll know for sure that in the low-light stakes you have the very best.

Often at weddings I've put mine alongside guests 'palmcorders' to show them what my side-screen looks like beside theirs. One woman exclaimed that she thought my camera was putting out some sort of mystical, magical light that enabled my screen to be good as daylight, while her's looked like she had mud on the lens.

Use the wide-angle converter though - the 170's lens is not really wide-enough for tight spaces. The 0.7x isn't really wide enough for me either, so I went for a 0.5x non zoon-through.

tom.

Chris Barcellos · March 9th, 2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

Use the wide-angle converter though - the 170's lens is not really wide-enough for tight spaces. The 0.7x isn't really wide enough for me either, so I went for a 0.5x non zoon-through.

tom.

Agree with this. I shot my VX 2000 against the FX1 yesterday for a test in another thread, and the VX is definitely not as wide.... of course, that probably has to do with the fact that the VX is a 4:3 chip and the FX1 is a 16:9 chip, rather than a difference in optics.

Tom Hardwick · March 9th, 2007, 02:38 PM

No, it's certainly a difference in optics. Both cams paint 1"/3 chips but the FX1 does it with a focal length of 4.5 mm and the VX does it with a 6 mm lens.

March 2nd, 2007, 11:43 AM	#1
Nathan James New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Grand Junction, Colorado Posts: 22	Just Ordered PD170 Hey guys, Been awhile since I posted....last time I was getting everyones oppinions on what I should get cameras wise......Last year I went ahead and bought 2 GL2's....and a whole bunch of other gear.....while I am happy with the GL2's outdoors...they just plain suck indoors in low light.....yeah Im sure if I got all the proper lighting they would be fine...but no bride wants her reception or indoor ceremony all lit up......I have been kicking myself for not getting the Sony's...... Another reason I went with the GL2's was for the frame mode.....I have started to get into low budget film making with a great buddy of mine and liked the idea of having frame mode......The other night I was watching videos and I noticed that...wow there was no grain in this shot...and the camera was outside in total darkness except for 1 porch light....and I thought back...oh yeah...this footage was from a vx-2100. So I decided to get one of these bad boys....I splurged and got the PD170....$300.00 rebate....couldnt beat it.....then after I get done shooting our movie.......Look for it soon....www.chinawhitemovie.com... I think I am going to sell one of my GL2's and get a VX2100...so that will give me 3 cameras for the ceremony....2 having great low light functions... Anyway this was a boring post...but thought maybe I would share in my excitement...and maybe some of you owners of the 170's or 2100's would share in your satisfaction of owning them...and hey maybe some of you went from the GL2's to these like me.... Last edited by Nathan James; March 2nd, 2007 at 01:09 PM.

March 3rd, 2007, 08:08 AM	#4
Mark Bournes Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Jupiter, FL Posts: 565	Nathan, I shoot triathlons for series here in Florida, they start before the sun comes up, and we use 4 pd170's, they work well in low light situations. We leave it in auto lock since the sun is coming up as we're shooting the race and the footage looks great. you wont be dissappointed in picking one up. __________________ Mark www.sharkvp.com

March 8th, 2007, 10:19 PM	#7
Nathan James New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Grand Junction, Colorado Posts: 22	wow.....just got my PD170......charged up the battery and tested it out.....I went into the kitchen and turned off all the lights....there was 1 light on in the living room....and a TV on....to the naked eye the kitched was very dark.....In automatic mode I turned the Sony on and pressed record......recorded my kids for a bit...then I turned on a small light on my fridge water and ice dispenser.....fimled some more....then the kids opened the fridge door..... When I plugged in the tape into the tv and watched this footage back I was blown away....even without any light on...there was very minimal grain....this camera can not be beat it low light...never again will I have to worry what kinda of lighting I will run into at a reception.....I was so unhappy with my GL2's indoors.....I will be selling 1 of them for sure....after the movie raps.....I love the GL2 for its...handy tote around use...and the picture outside is awesome...and frame mode is really cool....but I think I found a new best friend in this PD170....... Update: Went outside in pitch dark......walked around and filmed....1 street light lit the road....I did not see any grain in my image until I bumped it up to 15 db and 18 db......12 was awesome.....cant wait to take this its first wedding March 17th 2007.... Last edited by Nathan James; March 9th, 2007 at 08:56 AM.

March 2nd, 2007, 12:39 PM	#2
Sam Rosado Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: bridgeport ct Posts: 161	Although I do not own a pd170, I would sure love to buy that gl2 from you!

March 2nd, 2007, 01:04 PM	#3
Nathan James New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Grand Junction, Colorado Posts: 22	Although I didnt write this post to advertise my GL2....I am sure there is another section for things like this.....you can sure offer me a price. Like I said I have a movie I am shooting with it from March 19th through mid April. I have only shot 3 weddings with it...plus the shooting of the movie..... It is in mint condition...I also have the Canon hard case...and maybe willing to get rid of a coulpe accessories... hit me up at janeychaos@yahoo.com if you wanna talk more.....

March 3rd, 2007, 10:53 AM	#5
Bryan Wilkat Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 171	the sony's have a digital effect called "flash" and if you put it as low as you can without it being off, it looks like "frame mode", or "30p"..maybe even "24p". some people say the quality isn't as great but i shot the same subject twice, once with this mode, once without and then i captured it and zoomed in as far as i could and there was no loss in resolution, it was exactly the same. shoot with this flash effect and deinterlace for the best results, you'll be extremely satisfied!

March 4th, 2007, 06:58 PM	#6
Bruce G. Cleveland Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Oshkosh, WI Posts: 190	Nathan I made the same jump a few months ago. got 2 170's and 2 2100's. Never looked back, the low light with both cameras is unreal. You will be very happy. Bruce

March 9th, 2007, 11:24 AM	#8
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Nathan - you've found out what every wedding filmmaker has discovered - that the PD170 is king-of-the-hill for any sort of event work. It's tough as nails, has a wonderfully sharp and flare-free lens and will serve you well. Until you work alongside cameras costing three times as much, you'll know for sure that in the low-light stakes you have the very best. Often at weddings I've put mine alongside guests 'palmcorders' to show them what my side-screen looks like beside theirs. One woman exclaimed that she thought my camera was putting out some sort of mystical, magical light that enabled my screen to be good as daylight, while her's looked like she had mud on the lens. Use the wide-angle converter though - the 170's lens is not really wide-enough for tight spaces. The 0.7x isn't really wide enough for me either, so I went for a 0.5x non zoon-through. tom.

March 9th, 2007, 02:38 PM	#10
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	No, it's certainly a difference in optics. Both cams paint 1"/3 chips but the FX1 does it with a focal length of 4.5 mm and the VX does it with a 6 mm lens.