VX1000 with Amphibco Housing

Hi all

I've got the chance to pick up a Sony VX1000 and Amphibco VH1000 housing very cheap (under £750 / $1400), but I wanted to know if by todays standards this camera would now be obsolete?

I still can't make up my mind over HD so I'm looking at this package as a second system (which I need) for some filming that I'm going to be doing later this year. When it was released it was a prosumer 3 CCD camera, so I was hoping that it would be ok, but I know how much things have moved on since it was brought out so I thought I'd better ask you lot for some advice!

Also anything I need to know about the housing? Any vignetting problems or anything else like that? I'm not worried about the size of the housing/camera package as I won't be going on an airplane with it - it would be use purely for filming in the UK.

Cheers, Simon

There's no question but that the DCR-VX1000 broke incredible new ground and ushered in a new world of shooting. It is a model that stayed on top of the field for many years which, in itself, was amazing. However, the world has come a long way since then. The 1000 is still a fine dv cam but you can't compare its resolution to the Sony 900,950 which replaced the 900, the 2000 or the 2100 which replaced the 2000. In other words, unless you are a rank beginner and only want to get your feet wet before upgrading, I think you would be making an error in this purchase. For 1000 more, you can find a much better cam with housing. I wouldn't personally recommend HDV for a complete beginner as it is not as error forgiving, has more editing concerns and might be discouraging to some.

My 2 cents,

Steve <;^--> B)

Hi Steve, thanks for the info. I'd pretty much come to the same conculsion myself, but thought I'd better ask just in case anyone had a different opinion.

I've got another quick question if anyone knows the answer. I'd heard that the Amphibco VH1000 housing could be modified easily to fit the VX2100. Anyone know if there is any truth to this?

Cheers, Simon

Hi Simon,

For what its worth. I still use my trusted old VX1k for everyday client DVD's here in Palau. It has spent its complete lifespan locked in a Sealux housing to combat the extreme humidity of the region. This camera has now been working for me for almost 8 years with no problems. I have looked after it as much as it has me. I still get amazing footage from it espacially on the shallower reefs on sunny days, the image can be incredible in those situations. We get a lot, I mean A LOT of pro camera people coming here with on different productions. On a few occasions people have asked whether the loop DVD I have running in my shop was shot on DigiBeta or another format are amazed when I tell them its all from the VX1k.

I must admit that newer camera beat it hands down especially in low light situations (one thing to think about when filming in the UK I guess) but throw some light into the system and it works fine. It all depends on what you're looking to do with it. I still rate this camera, me being too nostalgic possibly, as I have never had any cause for doubts. Its a solid camera and one that has definately earned its retirement spot in my small array of previous systems showcase.

As for the vignetting problems I have heard that this seems to be the case with a lot of housing options from that particualr manufacturer. If you're in the UK take a look around for some of the European housing offerings should you decide to go for a different system. The German company Sealux are an incredible, small, company with great client care. This is just from my experience with them and in no way undermines the products of other housing manufacturers some of whom sponsor this site.

Cheers,

Mark.

Hi Simon,

There is a great offer on a TRV950 with Amphibico housing, a Light and motion monitor and hard case in the classifieds.

Its a great work horse cam with a proven track record and award winning film behind it.

Its around the £2100 ono price and the seller is a very decent, honest, upfront, good looking and sexy bloke.

Dive safe

DeanB

Where is the puking smilie when i need it.....

Or there abouts...

Dive safe

DeanB

Hey guys thanks for the input.

I need a system for shallow water filming - max 3m, but in the UK in October that could mean getting the same amount of ambient light as at 15-20m in the tropics! So low light performance is a factor. When I saw the price of the VX1000 and housing I thought it maybe worth a punt, but I'm not so sure now.

If everything pans out then we are going to be on standby/filming 6 hours a day, so I need two systems as I can't risk battery failure or any downtime changing tapes/batteries etc without a second system up and running.

The options at the moment are either to get a new HD rig which would blow away anything I have at the moment, or a very cheap, but good quality SD set up that would compliment what I have.

Dean £2k+ is a bit much (for me) for a SD set up, I'd rather spend the extra and get HD. Sorry mate

Thanks all for your advice!!

Cheers, Simon

fair play Simon,

I'm open to decent offers.. Had a look at other similar systems on other sites and thought that was about right.

and if you can get a full HDV set-up for a bit extra than around £2k give me a ring I could use a back-up as well.

Hope your search goes well

Dive safe

DeanB

Dean, don't get me wrong £2k's a fair price for sure, but when I can get a decent HDV set up for around £3.5k I'd rather pay the extra. To go SD at this stage I'd want to pay no more than 1k for a used system. Who knows how long I'd use it before I went HDV anyway? Make more sense?

Cheers, Simon

Hi Simon,

At that kinda depth, even in the challeged viz conditions of the UK, I really don't think you'll see any great disadvantages of using the VX1000. If your budget is an issue get the cam, do the job (?) get paid (?) and then move on to your HD(V) system. Makes sense to me.

Cheers,

Mark.

It's basically going to be filming on spec. It may be a total blow out, which is why I didn't want to spend too much at this stage. Ah well the VX1000 system has sold in the time I've been dillying around, so it's not an option now anyways!

Thanks for everyone's input though, it's appreciated.

Cheers, Simon