Comments

Coursedesign wrote on 10/21/2004, 8:07 PM
Oodles of people use it with Vegas.

Vegas supported 24P before Final Cut Pro did...

The only competition in this price range right now is the Canon XL2.
The Canon has a longer telephoto lens (20x instead of 10x), and of course interchangable lenses (including a 3x wideangle (24-72mm equivalent) that is rentable nationwide and is incredibly sharp and avoids the flare problems of screw-on lens adapters. It also has native 16x9 chips, which is a major benefit IMHO, and of course real 24P and 60i.

Downside: it is larger and a bit more expensive than the DVX100a.

randy-stewart wrote on 10/21/2004, 11:08 PM
I still like the Sony DSR-PD170. It's better in low light. And now that Ultimate S is here, 24P is no problem to create. ;-)
Randy
ReneH wrote on 10/22/2004, 6:32 AM
In terms of reliability how do the two brands/cameras compare? I will be looking at buying, hopefully soon, and reliability is an isssue I was seriously considering. Thanks all.
David_Kuznicki wrote on 10/22/2004, 6:43 AM
I've had no problems with the Panasonic so far!
(and the 24p mode is gorgeous, in my opinion!)

David.
farss wrote on 10/22/2004, 6:50 AM
If you go to www.dvxuser.com you'll find a section just for veggies, need I say more?

It's a fine camera from everything I've read and heard. But (big BUT) it's not the camera for every situation. It's built for movie making, can't think of a better description, yes it's low light capability sucks, but when you make movies YOU (or the DOP) control the lighting, if you cannot control the lighting you're not making a movie, if your talent cannot hit a mark, you are not making a movie.
So if you want to gun and run, shoot weddings or docos I'd still stick with the PD170, like everything there isn't one shoe fits all and I doubt there every will be, same goes for most things, cars, planes, trains, pets and women.

Bob.
pelladon wrote on 10/22/2004, 8:23 AM
Don't have it, but I've used it and seen footage created with it...NICE. Especially outdoor shots. I've seen XL1's footage and they're both tops. Very low noise. Even shots with low-lighting were okay (this was a opera concert I watched). If low-lighting is a premium, you might want to check out the PD-170, but the AGDVX100a is one fine camera. Built-in mic is okay too.

Not exactly a light camera, kinda gets heavy to hold for long, but definitely test it out.
randy-stewart wrote on 10/22/2004, 9:34 AM
PH125,
The Sony's have a good rep for reliability but so do most cameras in that price range. Another deciding factor is price. Sony is running a promotional $300 rebate on the PD-170 right now through Dec I think. It's only for the mainland US however (not Alaska & Hawaii). That bummed me out as I live in Hawaii and just bought my camera 4 weeks ago. But the local retailer that I bought the camera from gave me two boxes (20 total) of DVCAM Sony tapes which were easily over a $300 dollar value to make up for it so I felt good. Base price for the camera was $3199 plus tax. With the rebate, it would be hard to pass up. By the way, the PD-170 comes with built in ND filters and a $400 wide angle lens adapter. Sweet. You can see some footage I shot recently on my home web site here: http://www.cr-home-videos.com/samplevideos.html . Just go down to the title PD-170 Footage Shot In Hawaii and click. It's encoded for WMP 10 at 1mbps so not full quality but I think you will get an idea of this cameras brilliant picture quality. I am very happy.
Randy
Barry_Green wrote on 10/22/2004, 10:09 AM
The DVX integrates perfectly with Vegas. In fact, I got Vegas after I got the DVX -- I bought Vegas specifically to use its 24P capabilities with the DVX. Can't be happier -- Vegas is an incredible program, and the marriage with the DVX is perfect.

As for buying a new camera, the DVX is an excellent choice for most circumstances. Low light is within spitting distance of the PD170. The XL2 does most of the things the DVX does, and some things the DVX doesn't (full res in 16:9, interchangeable lenses, long telephoto) but doesn't do some things the DVX does (no true manual focus or manual zoom on the stock lens, etc). Of course you can buy a manual lens to get those features, but then you give up OIS and autofocus. Of course, you can buy another lens to get those features, but then you're up around $7,000 vs. $3500 for the DVX.

XL2 or DVX comes down to this: do you NEED long telephoto? If so, XL2 is the choice, hands down. Do you NEED full-resolution 16:9? If so, the XL2 is quite a bit ahead. You can get 16:9 on the DVX with the anamorphic adapter but it's a bit of a pain to work with.

If you don't NEED those items, then the DVX will do everything you need and cost $1500 less.

Another cam to keep your eye on is the Sony FX1, due to be released in about three weeks. Looks to be basically a PD170 with high-def recording added to it, and native 16:9 chips. Looks very, very interesting.
flippin wrote on 10/22/2004, 10:33 AM
I bought a Panasonic DVX100A about 8 months ago around the same time that I upgraded from V V3 directly to Vegas 5.

The DVX100A functions seamlessly with Vegas 5. I mostly use it to capture outdoor sports events, especially baseball. No complaints at all! Both the vidcam and the NLE are a dream come true, IMHO. Slow motion effects via velocity envelopes in Vegas 5 work very well with the higher frame-rate settings on the dvx100a.

On a more dissonant note, I have had very very poor experiences with dvxuser.com. That website does have some regular contributors that are knowledgeable; however, many of the contributors are not qualified to discuss much of anything beyond their own fantasies. What is perhaps worse, in my opinon, that group spends an awful lot of time sucking up to each other while avoiding rational, collegial discussion of substantive issues. They tend to gang up and drive out newcomers who bring different experiences to the mix than what they want to hear. You "might" be able to get some useful dvx100a-specific information at dvxuser.com, but this Sony forum is far superior for all Vegas topics. In fact, when I was visiting the dvxuser site (quite a few months ago--I won't go back) it seemed to me that most substantive questions about Vegas were referred almost automatically to this site.

Best regards,

Lee
donp wrote on 10/22/2004, 11:36 AM
I have a DVX100a and have been shooting at 24pA for a while. My DVX and Vegas have worked perfectly. Join the DVX users forum and then call Rush H. at EVS and tell him your a DVX user member and you will get a discount (around $100) for him on your DVX100a. Spot and Gary Kleiner have joined the DVX forum, that has gotten some rave reactions there.
Trichome wrote on 10/22/2004, 12:20 PM
DVX100A owner here, couldn't enjoy the images more.
Side-by-side comparisons to the XL1 swayed my purchase.
24P is so smooth and natural looking. Integration with Vegas is seemless.
David_Kuznicki wrote on 10/22/2004, 12:35 PM
On a more dissonant note, I have had very very poor experiences with dvxuser.com. That website does have some regular contributors that are knowledgeable; however, many of the contributors are not qualified to discuss much of anything beyond their own fantasies. What is perhaps worse, in my opinon, that group spends an awful lot of time sucking up to each other while avoiding rational, collegial discussion of substantive issues. They tend to gang up and drive out newcomers who bring different experiences to the mix than what they want to hear. You "might" be able to get some useful dvx100a-specific information at dvxuser.com, but this Sony forum is far superior for all Vegas topics. In fact, when I was visiting the dvxuser site (quite a few months ago--I won't go back) it seemed to me that most substantive questions about Vegas were referred almost automatically to this site.
______________

It's a shame that you feel that way-- I post over at dvxuser all the time & find it a valuable resource. I will certainly say that their Vegas forum is not as well-rounded as this one is... but then, *this* is the official site.

They certainly do get fed up with certain questions ('What is that *thunk* when the camera is powered down?' for example), but then, so do these forums ('How do I remove the vocals from a song' always starts a good flaming!).

So take the good with the bad, I suppose-- without them, I wouldn't have known to buy my camera through EVS, wouldn't have bought either their batteries or filter test DVD (very cool, imho!), or even how to effectively operate my DVX.

David.
flippin wrote on 10/22/2004, 5:23 PM
David,

I agree--it's a shame. However, please don't assume that I was alienated from the dvxuser.com site because of something trivial like being chastised for "too many questions that had already been answered a zillion times". Quite the contrary, in fact. I never got to the point of asking those guys any technical questions.

If you are interested: The trouble started because I gave a careful and highly detailed account of how I purchased my DVX100A, with complete manufacturers accessories, for $3000 + an additional $300 for a high-qulaity wide-angle lens. This discussion was posted on their "buying gear" topic page as a contribution to a pre-existing string.

The responses were incredible, literally. That is, they were absolutely without credibility. I was called a liar and a fool and I was informed that I could not possibly--under any circumstances!--have ever purchased a new DVX100A with accessories for under $3500 at the time. One of dvxuser guys accused me of being the president of the company I was discussing(whose prices and practices I was obviously lying to them about). Numerous dvxuser sycophants joined in the harangue. And they gave the familiar dvxuser chant: "Only buy from R___ at EVS, he's the only guy that will take care of you--everyone else will cheat you. Period. That's all you need to know about buying the DVX100A". Now, I don't know much about EVS--many people do seem quite smitten by them--however, I do know that I got my vidcam for ~$300-$400 less than EVS's price at the time (even with their famous discount).

What finally bugged me the most was the banal consistency of the responses--not one of their members ever dissented from the party view and ever said so much as, "geez, that guy tried awfully hard to fully and carefully document the comprehensive details of his purchase to us--maybe he is not actually the great Satan, or totally stupid, or whatever". Whatever...

This, and more of the same, all happened ~8 months ago--maybe the environment there is much more collegial and professional now. Still, I find that I am really happy working with my Panny and Vegas 5 without any further discussion at the dvxuser site.

I'm sorry if this account offends anyone; clearly, we must all judge for ourselves what is good/bad/accepatable/unacceptable, etc.

Best regards,

Lee