AG-HPX500 at SXSW in Austin

[Allan Barnwell]

We are planning to have an HPX500 in our booth at SXSW on Monday, March 12th.

Come visit us and get a sneak peak at this camera and lots of other goodies.

I'll also have a demo unit of the Duel Adapter which lets you connect your P2 cards to your MacBook Pro's smaller slot (or PC laptop). I know what the pricing for this is going to be - and you'll like it.

I have free passes to the SXSW film & interactive trade show for those interested in visiting our booth. You can also register for the Apple Final Cut seminar we are hosting at SXSW (http://seminars.apple.com/goToEvent.html?id=60733).

Contact me for more info.

Allan Barnwell
Omega Broadcast Group
www.OmegaAustin.com

Could you guys shoot some footage of the same scene with all factors equal other than the camera with a HPX500 and HVX200 and post the clips in the forum?

I came to your class last year on the HVX and your studio would be the perfect place for shooting such footage.

I'd like to see what kind of footage that extra $22,000+ would buy...
($14k for HPX + $15k lens vs. $7k HVX)

I love my HVX and everything about it and have used it for about a year now. The only product at this point that could interest me in switching would be the HPX for the 2/3" 3-CCDs.

[Robert Lane]

Derek,

I hope to be getting a "500" to shoot some demo footage for Panny before the end of the month; if time allows I'll be doing a similar color-test footage sample clip as I did with the HVX and will probably post both on my P2 Specialist site after NAB.

The HPX500 is going to be far better than the HVX200 in image quality. Although I have not seen footage yet myself from the camera, everyone at Panny USA that I've spoken with has said the same thing: that it looks just like SDX900 footage up-rezzed. I've seen several projects, most notably Discovery Channel programs, shot and up-rezzed from the SDX and you can't tell it was originally SD-widescreen - absolutely amazing.

However, there is a caveat about that super-cool up-rezzed SDX footage: they used HD-spec lenses which have much better color transmission and sharpness than their non-HD spec cousins. And the price tag for these lenses can give you heart failure (if you're not used to the price-point), which start around $20k and go up to $60k. So does the HPX500 require HD-spec lenses to look as good? No, and here's why:

Although the 500 is compatible with most of the 2/3" inch lenses it has a unique built-in feature that allows the lower-cost, non-HD spec lenses to be used while electronically correcting for CA and VG in-camera. This functionality is only for specific lenses (which ones I don't know yet, but I believe there is one from both Canon and Fuji that are designed to talk to the camera) allowing these non-heart-failure-pricepoint lenses to achieve close to HD-spec lens results. Until I can test this myself I can't comment on exactly what this will look like but hope to find out soon.

There is another third-party device soon-to-be-released that will make the HPX an even more appealing choice: Zacuto is making their own 35mm Lens Adapter system based around Zeiss ZF lenses, however unlike every other adapter this one will work on both the HVX (and other handhelds) AND the 2/3" inch bodies as well! So that means if you plan on keeping your HVX and want to add the HPX you'll be able to use the same lens adatper for BOTH cameras! That's a first in the industry, and I'm on pins-and-needles to test that puppy when it finally arrives - hopefully by summer this year.

The HPX500 is targeted for the indie producer, which is the fastest growing segment of the video industry, and as such was designed to take all the capabilities of the HVX200 and translate them into a larger chipset with greater capabilities, both visual and technical, and is why it's at the price-point it is and still allows for VFR shooting. It is in fact, an HVX on 'roids - hopefully with better noise characteristics! (laughs)

Would I recommend switching to the HPX500 from an HVX200? Here's an endorsement: I've already sold my HVX rig to prep for getting the 500. Would I get the HPX2000 instead - or later on? No. The 2000 was specifically designed for the ENG/network market and as such didn't include features like VFR shooting and a few other "minor" things - like another $10k just for the body. I'd rather take that extra money and put it into the Zacuto lens adapter system and really make some rockin' footage!

As usual, great info Robert.

I'll look forward to seeing anything you shoot with the HPX500, especially after you mentioned the details above regarding the similarities to the SDX900.

I considered the SDX900 while waiting for the HVX200 to arrive, but just could not afford the whole camera+lens+deck package.

Now, just one year later, things have changed quite a bit. The HPX is about $10k less and with the use of the P2 system, getting a deck is no longer a must to capture the footage. I have the same opinion as you on the 2000. The cost and an additional factor that I did not read in your post, the fact it does not have the CineGamma settings feature. Both of those reasons make the HPX500 the clear choice for me at least.

That is if I decide to upgrade. It's a big jump in price, but if the image quality justifies it, I'll happily do so.

I am surprised to hear you mention the 35mm lens adaptor, as I was thinking that a 2/3" 3-CCDs camera would give enough Depth of Field. Any comparisons of a HPX500 and HPX500 w/ lens adaptor will certainly be interesting to see.

Thanks again Robert.

[Robert Lane]

Originally Posted by Derek West

...I was thinking that a 2/3" 3-CCDs camera would give enough Depth of Field...

Keep in mind that while 2/3" inch cameras do have *comparatively* shallower DOF characteristics than their 1/3" inch little brothers they still do not however have the ultra-shallow DOF of film camera/lenses, which is exactly why P+S makes the Pro-35 lens adapter for the 2/3" inch cameras. As I say, with the inception of the Zacuto Lens Adatper now you could have one system using the same lenses for either handheld or shoulder-mount bodies instead of 2 completely different systems.

Imagine, you've got the HVX and can't quite afford the 500 yet or, you ante-up to the 500 and only rent the HVX as-needed for b-roll or second camera. You could swap that lens adapter back and forth and keep the same, film-like look to all your footage. That's what's really got me excited about using the 500/200 as a tandem package.

[Allan Barnwell]

I can't promise to get the sample footage shot with everything we have going on at SXSW, but I'll try.

Also, the Duel Adapter was released to day with a special introductorty price of $99.

Allan

[Matt Maiellaro]

I'm playing at the Adult Swim party in Austin on the 16th! And, I just pre-ordered my Duel Adapter. We will be shooting five cameras that night, three 16mm, one DV and one HVX.

[Allan Barnwell]

Sorry to disappoint, but the only HPX500 in the US is still in Alaska according to Panasonic. We can't get it down to Austin in time for SXSW.

But I will have a Duel Adapter along with plenty of cool stuff, so please come see us if your at the festival.

Allan Barnwell
Omega Broadcast Group