AG-HVX200

The other day I got to try out the new Panasonic AG-HVX200, and I was quite impressed, especially with the 60p mode. However, it is quite expensive with all of the P2 cards and housings.

I was on bhphotovideo.com today, and I saw that they had the HVX for about $5,495 US. However, the Gates housing was very pricey at about $6595 US. I thought that was pretty expensive. I read on this forum that it doesn't come with a port, and the wide angle one is $4482, according to underwaterul.com.

Then I saw an Equinox housing for $2999. And it comes with a LCD monitor. That price seems shockingly low; is there a problem with it? Why does the Gates cost so much more?

Thanks,

Junz

From what I have heard, Gates has opted for a smaller production quantity of the Panasonic HVX200 housings, and have to somehow recap their production/development costs. This will give a higher price. I might however been missinformed, so it may be better to call Gates directly and ask. They are great people to deal with.

Anders

To say the Panny is a good camera is an understatement. It opens up a whole new playing field of opportunities to the shooter......topside that is.

It has never really been put through extensive tests underwater short of some initial trials by Scubadru, our fellow moderator in this section. There is a pretty extensive thread relating to the options and points for this camera including certain issues for taking it underwater and being able to work with it at a level reflective of its capacities.

I would strongly suggest you weigh up the financial implications connected to getting this camera wet. The only P2 cards available are the 8Gb which when shooting in HD the two cards will only offer 16 minutes recording time. There have also been issues raised by terrestrial users of this camera with regards to the reliability of related accessories such as the 100Gb dedicated (?) FireStore external drive, the promised Cineporter has yet to be released (correct me if I'm wrong but I've not kept up to the exact minute on accesories for the camera) and the P2 store storage device. The images from topside are stunning and the abilities of the camera speak for themselves. Allowing for over and under cranking of the framerate for fast and slo mo applications would be amazing for certain aspects of wet environment filming.

Hope you do your homework before taking the plunge with this camera. The port issue was relating to the Fathoms Engineering super wide lens offered through Gates. Gates do have an 80degree option for much reduced cost.

Regards,

Mark.

Does Scubadru have any footage shot with the HVX200 he can show me?

Some representatives of Panasonic (along with Fujinon, Sony and Kodak) were at the International Wildlife Film Festival last week, and I got to watch some footage (topside) from the HVX200. I was stunned that it actually looked better than some footage shot with a Sony CineAlta HDW-730 that people were showing. The 60fps footage shot in the 720p mode with the HVX was nothing less than stunning. I also got to shoot some, and the P2 cards and the P2 Store worked flawlessly.

All I can say is this, and I should mention that it's from personal experience: RUN SCREAMING from Equinox.

I got the Pro-Pack series housing for my DVX100a, and it was absolutely the worst investment I ever made. Bulky housing that was obscenely negatively bouyant, and a plexi dome port. The lens reflection was terrible and the LCD monitor was just shy of useless unless you were shooting directly into the sun.

I used the rig successfully on only one shoot, which was about a community sailboating program in Boston. The majority of my shots were surface shots anyway, and let me tell you - holding that rig (without lights) steady to shoot at a 45-degree angle for an hour at a time was a real workout.

I tried to cut corners and save money by buying a far less-expensive housing. I'll never, ever do it again.

Thanks for the info. I will make sure to stay clear of it.

Junz,

A buddy of mine also had the same kinda experiences with an Equinox housing for the A1U, be careful again in your housing selection, cheaper doesn't necessarily mean that you save money in the long run!!

I had asked Dru to post some of his test footage as he had reported the imagery he shot to be slightly soft. Still waiting for the images to be posted. I know he's on the road for three months or there abouts so it may be a while in coming, if ever.

Personally I would put the focus issues down to there not being a suitable external monitor available to handle the rez of the camera therefore rendering close focus checks almost impossible. Some have tried even topside to use an SD monitor as a field monitor to check composition and focus. Whilst the composition was not an issue the focus remained in doubt. This has also been debated to death in other threads on this forum.

Dunno if this is legal but if you want pointers to discussion groups dedicated to the AG-HVX200 you can go to Here

Cheers,

Mark.

Why wouldn't it be legal?

This is a very tough decision between the FX1 and the HVX200. I thought the footage I shot with the HVX looked better than the footage I shot with the Z1U did when I tried them out. I really like the fact that the HVX records to DVCPRO and has variable framrates (some people managed to get it to go from 2fps to 60fps in increments of 2), but I am not sure if it justifies the cost.

Junz,

Legal in the sense of board etiquette, steering people from here to another site etc.

This is a serious camera. If you got the dosh, and lots of it, mixed with the time and work to allow this investment to pay off then I salute you and shout GO FOR IT. If you decide thats the way you're gonna go then I wish you all the best and admire your balls for taking this puppy on. Be sure to keep us posted of your adventure and be lucky.

Mark.

Junz

I would suggest you first decide what you want to do with the camera first then choose the camera that fits your needs. I bought HVX200 for the variable fps at 720P. No other camera at this price range can do it. Other issues (P2 storage etc) have already been discussed in wetpixel and other forums, so please do a search for the other threads. Nothing I show you is going to be different except perhaps that it's underwater. I tested settings for my workflow only, not for general stuff. I believe Alan Roberts of the BBC has already put out a white paper of his findings, much of which I concur with except his treatment of skin detail and detail settings. The HVX200 is a prosumer cam with pretensions for broadcast.

If you are not sure about the camera, rent one to see if it's the one for you. I believe there are a few people who are renting the housings and cameras out. Contact Gates about that. Relying on my or anyone else's test and results will only confuse you more.

If you are a video professional, then you have to test yourself to see if you like the results. The P2 workflow is different and requires more initial purchases including a card read/storage etc and a rework of your present workflow.

I'm sure you already have Pana's excellent DVD on the ins and outs of the camera and accessories. Just realize the sensor is 960x540 and the inherit pros and cons of pixel shifting (lack of detail vs bigger pixels etc) and go from there.

The settings I use for underwater I hope to list out later once I'm happy with them. And hopefully I'll be showing some captures from the next 2 mths.

Junz,

If you're still interested in this camera I suggest you take a look at some of the considerations.

Mark

Oops,

Seems the link is not working. Go to dvinfo.net and take a look at the P2 discussion arena where you will see some of the problems people are dealing with when switching to this system.

Mark.

The settings I use for underwater I hope to list out later once I'm happy with them. And hopefully I'll be showing some captures from the next 2 mths.

Any word on those settings scubadru? I have been shooting with the HVX since May and have been pretty happy with it. It is a heavy pig to haul around but great in the water - the Gates housing is awesome. I have had a few problems with grainy footage (blues and blacks). Any ideas on that? I will be trying a low master pedestal (-15) this week, I have heard that may help. Any thoughts or ideas would be most welcome.