Howdy from Texas,

<< it's only useful for shallow DOF which some of us think is overated. >>

There's much more to it than that... a large portion of the "film look" is in the high-end motion picture glass, such as very fast Arri or Cooke prime lenses. It's not just a shallow depth of field... in fact you can have deep focus if you want it. The main thing is the quality of the optics, the cinema-style glass. It makes a huge difference which is not neccessarily related to DOF. There's a 2/3rd-inch version of the P+S adapter which allows PL-mount lenses on HD cameras; in my opinion this is where the real DV revolution lies, not so much with the standard-definition stuff we're talking about here.

Originally this thread was about shooting National Commercials and Music videos, and shorts for television...No one is going to shoot a big budget video or commercial on mini dv...Unless it's some kind of "Reality" concept MTV is going to laugh at a video shot with an XL1, I don't care if you're Allen Davieu, the camera has too many limitations, period...I purchased the DVX because of the way the 24p looks right out of the box...It gives me a good platform to work with...A little advice for anyone worried about chip size and bla bla, use your eyes and look at the raw, unfiltered image, and realize how much further some shaping and filtering can take it...Someone earlier brought up Ansel Adams...To make a living while doing his landscapes he used to shoot weddings...I'm sure he didn't use the same large format camera for that. My point is, the right tool for the right job. Using skills and the DVX, I can fool people, maybe not DP's, but the public (And some executives at Sony) into thinking it's film...I just did it. I wouldn't attempt it with a PD150 or XL1, and I wouldn't bring a pea shooter to a gun fight. Also very shortly, there will be a mini 35 adaptor for the dvx...Then you'll have a cannon.

<<<-- Originally posted by Stephen van Vuuren : <<<-- Originally posted by Dylan Couper I pick b) because of the mini35. Way more useful than 24p.
If a mini35 is not in the budget then neither is a film transfer negating the 24p, so I'd say the pros and cons of each camera balance out evenly. -->>>

Many indie people shoot on the hope of getting money to transfer to film, most don't have film transfer or many either items in the budget.-->>>

I have to agree with Stephen on this. I am in exactly this situation; shooting an indie hoping to later raise the dough to transfer to 35mm. If your camera budget is under $4000, and you're planning on going to film afterwards, the DVX100 wins. It looks A LOT better than the XL1s when transfered to 35 (by the folks at DuArt labs). Now, the footage I saw of the XL1s was not using the mini35, but by default the DVX100 has better specs than the XL1s, and if a mini35 comes out for the DVX100, the result should be amazing.

So, Stephen, my answer is a)DVX100 if you're hoping for 35mm in the future. If you already have an XL1s, it will also produce good enough images for the big screen, but with slightly fuzzier results.

I guess if you don't have the budget for the extra Canon lenses and add ons, the DVX100 is a better value for the dollar, and if you want the filmy look, it's probably a better choice for the lowe budget Indie-only types.

A DVX100 with a mini35, now that would be something...

<< A DVX100 with a mini35, now that would be something... >>

Actually I think this is a distinct possibility. P+S has a version for the Sony PD150; shouldn't be too much trouble for them to do a DVX100 version as well. I would love to see the results from that!

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Hurd : << A DVX100 with a mini35, now that would be something... >>

Actually I think this is a distinct possibility. P+S has a version for the Sony PD150; shouldn't be too much trouble for them to do a DVX100 version as well. I would love to see the results from that! -->>>

I know for a fact it will be available soon...I'm sure the boys at ZGC will make some dough off that....That was one of the deciding factors for purchasing the DVX for me....I can't wait to see what it will look like through my Ultra Primes...