Panasonic DVX100A: zoom not good enough for weddings?
 

This camera looks great in all respects except for the telephoto limit if 40mm. Right now I'm using a DSR250 with a 72mm telephoto limit. 40mm vs. 72mm sounds like a huge difference, but in practise, is it really? Has anyone found the Panny DVX100A to be too limiting in the zoom department? Has anyone done a comparison?

I've been using a DVC-80, which is basically the same camer without the 24p or cinigamma and I think it has been great for the 3 weddings that I have done with it. I even do dance concerts and thought I might have a problem, but it worked out real nice and I was able to zoom in more than enough, in fact I like the fact that it is wider than my GL-1.

No problem with 10x optical
 

I too shoot with a DVC80, same lens specs as DVX100/A. If I'm shooting a wedding solo, I'm never back more than four or five rows from the bride and groom. When shooting with two cameras, the DVC80 gets the closeups and the GL2 gets the wide shots from the back. But I've shot ceremonies solo with the DVC80 from the back of the church (church's restriction), and never had a problem.

Bottom line, unless you're covering a wedding in a huge cathedral and have to shoot from a balcony, the DVX100's 10x optical zoom will give you the reach you need. You can always buy the telephoto extender too.

Happy shooting,

T.J.

That's the down-side to having a built in w/a lense. I shoot with a PD-170 and VX2100. My assistant shoots with a DVC-80. I always have him go for the wide shots. I'm able to get the nice emotional close-ups.

<<<-- Originally posted by Glen Elliott : That's the down-side to having a built in w/a lense. I shoot with a PD-170 and VX2100. My assistant shoots with a DVC-80. I always have him go for the wide shots. I'm able to get the nice emotional close-ups. -->>>

Glen,
Have you ever compared the zoom of the DVC80 with that of the PD170? I would be really interested in whether there is a huge difference.

10x to 12x doesn't sound like a huge difference but unfortunately it IS. It's night and day in comparison. Though- you'll find yourself working with a w/a lense adapter shooting indoors for bridal prep segments often. The great thing about it is the 170 comes with a w/a lense in the box!

I feel an even more perplexing issue between these two cameras is the low-light capability. My assistant is constantly complaining how bad his footage looks compared to mine in dim receptions. I see, first hand, all the time how much of an advantage the 170 has in low light compared to the 80.

I firmly believe the PD-170 and VX2100 are the absolute best wedding/event videography cams at their price point- bar none.