the cheapest i've seen is 3999 at BHPhoto. I dont know what the rules are on the board and if you cant really say who sells its that cheap legitamatly...But umm...who sells is for 3700?

Do you think i could get the same good look from a stock xl2 as a modified DVX100b...can you tell im into cars?

Define modified? The XL2 can achieve a more shallow DOF than the DVX because the lens is twice as long. I see that you shoot long (zoomed) with your GL2 quite a bit. The bigger chips of the XL2 will give you an even more shallow DOF.

Check eBay, there are a couple legit resellers selling the camera for around $3700 last I checked.



ash =o)

i mean like...a DVX with a matte box and filters...

Unless you already have 4X4 filters dont mess with the matte box. You can get good 72mm filters cheaper. I think the ideal set-up for you would be an XL2 with a 16X manual lens which is GREAT for music videos. It does not have any image stabilization but you can get used to that... the XL2 is easy to balance on your shoulder...


ash =o)

any reason you say not to mess with a matte box?

Over-priced and the main purpose it serves is so that you can use your existing film filters.


ash =o)

Well, another thing that had me on the edge was the xl2 "features tour" from DVcreators. If someone did this for the DVX...haha BTW...I have until friday night to decide. Anything else i should consider? and again..were can i find the camera cheapest new?

A useful point to make, but in this case the format change is so significant it's going to make a lot of content look very dated a few years from now. If you shoot widescreen HD video you don't have to worry about that, and you might even find you like the artistic results. Any SD camera you buy today will be obsolete at some point in the relatively near future, so it's arguably not a very good investment. (But in the right hands you might be able to pay it off before it's totally out of date.)

I wish i lived somewhere where i could actually see them both side by side...but ive never even seen em for sale in stores haha. I dunno, ill make up my mind eventually...I can't believe it's this hard though...I've read up on these cameras since they've been out, and now at this point in time...I dont know what to do. The whole FX1 and the future HD thing sounds like the best thing to do...then the second thing would be the xl2 since its Native WS chips. So i don't know...I'll know soon enough though.

Those would be my recommendations given your situation and budget. If you could swing it you might be happier with the HVX200, but that's some real money by the time you're done buying P2 cards or DTE recorders.

Again... it is not just an issue of camera or format, it is an issue of WORKFLOW. Look at Guiseppe's stuff, lots and lots of great post work. Doing that in HD or HDV will require a significant hardware upgrade. The obsolete/investment argument is silly, in 5 years the difference in what a used XL2 is worth and what a used FX1 is worth will be marginal. Cameras are not investments, they are tools that depreciate. Unless you can make MORE money, RIGHT NOW by shooting in HD there is no reason to do it... For the record I just starting working on a show that is all HD, shot on Varicams so my comments are coming from an objective place.



ash =o)

Giuseppe,

Do you have the means to rent the XL2 and DVX100b? I know the DVX100B is so new that finding one to rent may be a little harder, but it may be worth a try. I rented a Z1 a few months ago and it was a good experience actually getting to use the camera. As you can see from my sig, I've got the XL2. It was between it and the DVX100a (at the time) when I got it. While I like the XL2, the DVX is like the X-Girlfriend that you always wonder what would have happened if you had married.

Wait a minute, you're 18... you don't know anything about that yet.

I know you said that you needed the camera by Friday, but if you can hold out for a little while longer on the purchase (and save more in the mean time), the HVX200 may be the best camera in the world for you, as it will shoot anything the DVX100B will, but it will do it with native 16:9, if I've read everything in this forum correctly.

PS: Ash is a great one to listen to, as he has the XL2, DVX100a, AND most recently... the DVX100B

One other thing -

I was thinking about adding another camera over the last month, and to date the HVX200 looked the best to me, I was just waiting for it to be released.

But I decided to hold of for a while. I just could not justify the price of the storage necessary to hold the footage. One day I shot all day long, I simply could not have afforded to do that with the HVX200 and P2.

So I decided to get a ReflecMedia GreenScreen studio set up and Century .7x Wide Angle adaptor instead of the HVX200.

HD/HDV will always be there in the future if you want to switch. Have any of your current clients / projects asked you to get HDV/HD?

Now, after saying all of that - IF I did not already have an XL2, and IF the HVX200 turns out to be the camera that it's supporters think it will be, I would get the HVX200 and shoot DV with it, and keep the option open for shooting DVCPR0 HD/50/25 in the future.

None of the clients have asked for HD nor Widescreen actually. They are very happy with what they get and they should be for what they pay for it. I can't really wait any longer either cause i was actually supposed to start shooting a new video tommorow(wed). But I told the client im just upgrading equipment and it will be another week or so. The HVX would be the best camera, but i just can't afford that kind of money right now, and even if i could, i doubt i'd spend that much on a camera...With me spending 2200 for the GL2 brand new already makes me hesitant on spending 4 grand at the age of 18 for a camera. But i love it, and i don't ever wanna stop :)

As of today, i called Randy at EVS and he was the most help anyone could have given. He also said the DVX would be a better camera. So right now im thinking DVXB, Formatt, Case, 2 batteries, and I should have an adapter tomorrow so...Something along those lines...What do you guys think?

It seems to me that you really want an HD camera that shoots progressive.
Why not then hire cameras, and save until you can afford what you want.

My biggest regrets in life always come from moments of impatience. Hire a DVX or XL2 and charge a little more for what you do. As the the jobs come, save your money and in no time you can have an XL H1 or an HVX2000