HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? at DVinfo.net

Pete Larson · December 2nd, 2011, 04:34 PM

I've been researching both of these cams a lot lately. Looking to move up from my HMC 150. I have the funds to buy either camera especially right now while the 370 is on instant rebate. However I also have a chance to buy a factory new sealed box 300 for 4000! Which way would you go and why? I'll tell you upfront I'm leaning very heavily towards the 300 because of the price break I'm getting. I see it as a strong incentive since I'll also need to buy new batteries, P2 cards and tripod set up either way I go because obviously my 150 does not share any of the same equipment with these other models.

I have the post end covered with a robust Mac and FCP.
Your help is appreciated very much!

Konstantin Kovalev · December 4th, 2011, 06:07 AM

Well, the 370 has three things going for it over the 300, which are:
- World frame rates (the 300 is NTSC/PAL depending on where you buy)
- A lot less CMOS skew than the 300, putting it in line with other camcorders for performance.
- A noise filter than can be useful for certain shots where you need all the gain you can get.

If any of these things are important to you, then it's most likely worth it.

Pete Larson · December 4th, 2011, 02:15 PM

Thanks for your help! I totally agree with the issues you mentioned. And that's why I'm torn. However first I probably should have mentioned before the reason I'm considering these cams is because I want a full sized shoulder mounted cam. But in a price within my budget. The 300 is new but older technology. Still plenty of horse power for me.

Also in regards to the improvements in the 370 over the 300 most of what I've been reading the improvements bring with them problems too. Probably because Panasonic tried to correct the 300's faults with firmware updates and artificial fixes as opposed to improved hardware design.

Sanjin Svajger · December 5th, 2011, 07:53 AM

A slow CMOS chip in an ENG type camera is a no-no if you ask me. If you plan on shooting from a shoulder I would advise you to get a camera with a faster CMOS chip - the 370.

I personally haven't used neither camera. So I don't know how bad the cmos skew is on the 300. I'm just applying simple logic here...

Jim Forrest · December 5th, 2011, 08:03 AM

Would you mind saying were you can get it for 4K?

Konstantin Kovalev · December 6th, 2011, 03:48 AM

Quote:

A slow CMOS chip in an ENG type camera is a no-no if you ask me

I'll have to agree here, the AVC-I recording on this camera can keep up with constant moving detail in every frame, so the sensor should too. A lot of people would already prefer to have CCD's in a camera like this to avoid skew and uneven brightness from strobing/flashing lights entirely.

The skew on the 300 is supposedly twice as bad, but the 370 is equal to an EX3 in 1080p, and even faster in 720p. It's not possible to get the 370 to skew in 720p unless you whip it around at a long zoom range.

Sanjin Svajger · December 6th, 2011, 04:03 AM

I guess that you should try the 300 out and see if the skew is bothering you. That's the only way to know...
But if you can get a new 300 for 4k what I would do is buy the camera and sell it for 5.5k and then buy the 370:)

Pete Larson · December 6th, 2011, 10:24 PM

Yes! That was my thought too. I figure if I don't like the 300 I can always sell it for what I bought it for and maybe more. Besides that all the extra accessories would still be usable on the 370 so I wouldn't lose out there.

As for where I'm buying it. I'm not going to say until after I buy it. But I will say it's a small outfit that happened to have the unit for sometime and they just want to move it now. It's a one off and there won't be anymore deals at this price that I know.

By the way I called Panasonic support today they called me back within 5 minutes and were very helpful. I wanted to make sure the firmware update was still available for the 300 as I know it is an important one. They confirmed it is and offered to email me the page link. Comforting to know.

Pete Larson · January 23rd, 2012, 03:48 PM

Well after careful thought I decided to buy the HPX 370! I ordered it today. The HPX300 is still available. If you're interested in buying it let me know and I can get you the contact information for the company selling it.

Konstantin Kovalev · January 24th, 2012, 12:35 AM

That's great, if you need any help on settings and the like, feel free to ask. The 370 isn't a camera one just turns on and runs out the door shooting before getting to know how it works.

Also, one tip ahead of time: When setting the back-focus of the lens, don't zoom all the way out to wide angle, but to the z50 mark. The reason for this is that the lens has a slight shift in focus at the half zoom position if the lens is "properly" adjusted. Since at 4.5mm and f/2.8 everything from about a couple feet to infinity is going to be in focus anyway, perfect accuracy there isn't as important as at z50.

Glen Vandermolen · January 26th, 2012, 06:18 AM

If I were in the same situation as the OP, I'd have gone for the HPX250. Same chipset at the 370, smaller form factor (unless you want shoulder-mount) and the best part - about $2,000 cheaper. That can buy a lot of extra P2 cards. And I don't mind the fixed lens.
Still, the HPX370 is an excellent camera. Congrats!

Pete Larson · February 1st, 2012, 12:23 AM

Thanks for the help guys. I am loving this camera so far. I'm by no means ready to use it on a job yet but I have been shooting with it every free minute I have and it's starting to feel familiar. For me the biggest challenge is focusing manually all the time. Not bad when doing a static shot locked down on a tripod but when I'm trying to do shots of two or more people at the same time it's tricky pulling focus accurately between them smoothly. I guess that will improve with practice. Before I've almost always used auto focus in those situations because it was available and more accurate than I.

Here's a question. I was down at the cove filming some birds and seals yesterday. When I got the footage back home and loaded into FCP I noticed a lot of chromatic aberation on the edges of some of the black birds. Is there a way to adjust for that? I have CAC turned on in the menus but that's about as far as I know to take it. Also the CA seems to be more noticeable at the edges of the lens. Any suggestions?

Konstantin Kovalev · February 1st, 2012, 05:11 AM

Yeah, this lens has fairly high CA on the long end of the lens that the CAC doesn't seem to do anything about. Since purple is a color that rarely appears in nature, or anywhere really, I usually just desaturate the purple color range in post. This usually leaves green CA, but I find that green is less offensive than magenta, and not worth bothering with.

It's a really good idea to keep your aperture around f/2.8 when shooting contrasty subjects from afar, and ideally f/4, anything wider is going to CA all over the place.

December 2nd, 2011, 04:34 PM	#1
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? I've been researching both of these cams a lot lately. Looking to move up from my HMC 150. I have the funds to buy either camera especially right now while the 370 is on instant rebate. However I also have a chance to buy a factory new sealed box 300 for 4000! Which way would you go and why? I'll tell you upfront I'm leaning very heavily towards the 300 because of the price break I'm getting. I see it as a strong incentive since I'll also need to buy new batteries, P2 cards and tripod set up either way I go because obviously my 150 does not share any of the same equipment with these other models. I have the post end covered with a robust Mac and FCP. Your help is appreciated very much!

December 4th, 2011, 06:07 AM	#2
Konstantin Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 81	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? Well, the 370 has three things going for it over the 300, which are: - World frame rates (the 300 is NTSC/PAL depending on where you buy) - A lot less CMOS skew than the 300, putting it in line with other camcorders for performance. - A noise filter than can be useful for certain shots where you need all the gain you can get. If any of these things are important to you, then it's most likely worth it.

December 4th, 2011, 02:15 PM	#3
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? Thanks for your help! I totally agree with the issues you mentioned. And that's why I'm torn. However first I probably should have mentioned before the reason I'm considering these cams is because I want a full sized shoulder mounted cam. But in a price within my budget. The 300 is new but older technology. Still plenty of horse power for me. Also in regards to the improvements in the 370 over the 300 most of what I've been reading the improvements bring with them problems too. Probably because Panasonic tried to correct the 300's faults with firmware updates and artificial fixes as opposed to improved hardware design.

December 5th, 2011, 07:53 AM	#4
Sanjin Svajger Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Slovenia Posts: 356	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? A slow CMOS chip in an ENG type camera is a no-no if you ask me. If you plan on shooting from a shoulder I would advise you to get a camera with a faster CMOS chip - the 370. I personally haven't used neither camera. So I don't know how bad the cmos skew is on the 300. I'm just applying simple logic here...

December 5th, 2011, 08:03 AM	#5
Jim Forrest Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Washington DC Posts: 368	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? Would you mind saying were you can get it for 4K?

December 6th, 2011, 04:03 AM	#7
Sanjin Svajger Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Slovenia Posts: 356	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? I guess that you should try the 300 out and see if the skew is bothering you. That's the only way to know... But if you can get a new 300 for 4k what I would do is buy the camera and sell it for 5.5k and then buy the 370:)

December 6th, 2011, 10:24 PM	#8
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? Yes! That was my thought too. I figure if I don't like the 300 I can always sell it for what I bought it for and maybe more. Besides that all the extra accessories would still be usable on the 370 so I wouldn't lose out there. As for where I'm buying it. I'm not going to say until after I buy it. But I will say it's a small outfit that happened to have the unit for sometime and they just want to move it now. It's a one off and there won't be anymore deals at this price that I know. By the way I called Panasonic support today they called me back within 5 minutes and were very helpful. I wanted to make sure the firmware update was still available for the 300 as I know it is an important one. They confirmed it is and offered to email me the page link. Comforting to know.

January 23rd, 2012, 03:48 PM	#9
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? Well after careful thought I decided to buy the HPX 370! I ordered it today. The HPX300 is still available. If you're interested in buying it let me know and I can get you the contact information for the company selling it.

January 24th, 2012, 12:35 AM	#10
Konstantin Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 81	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? That's great, if you need any help on settings and the like, feel free to ask. The 370 isn't a camera one just turns on and runs out the door shooting before getting to know how it works. Also, one tip ahead of time: When setting the back-focus of the lens, don't zoom all the way out to wide angle, but to the z50 mark. The reason for this is that the lens has a slight shift in focus at the half zoom position if the lens is "properly" adjusted. Since at 4.5mm and f/2.8 everything from about a couple feet to infinity is going to be in focus anyway, perfect accuracy there isn't as important as at z50.

January 26th, 2012, 06:18 AM	#11
Glen Vandermolen Space Hipster Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,596	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? If I were in the same situation as the OP, I'd have gone for the HPX250. Same chipset at the 370, smaller form factor (unless you want shoulder-mount) and the best part - about $2,000 cheaper. That can buy a lot of extra P2 cards. And I don't mind the fixed lens. Still, the HPX370 is an excellent camera. Congrats!

February 1st, 2012, 12:23 AM	#12
Pete Larson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 31	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? Thanks for the help guys. I am loving this camera so far. I'm by no means ready to use it on a job yet but I have been shooting with it every free minute I have and it's starting to feel familiar. For me the biggest challenge is focusing manually all the time. Not bad when doing a static shot locked down on a tripod but when I'm trying to do shots of two or more people at the same time it's tricky pulling focus accurately between them smoothly. I guess that will improve with practice. Before I've almost always used auto focus in those situations because it was available and more accurate than I. Here's a question. I was down at the cove filming some birds and seals yesterday. When I got the footage back home and loaded into FCP I noticed a lot of chromatic aberation on the edges of some of the black birds. Is there a way to adjust for that? I have CAC turned on in the menus but that's about as far as I know to take it. Also the CA seems to be more noticeable at the edges of the lens. Any suggestions? Last edited by Pete Larson; February 1st, 2012 at 12:24 AM. Reason: Typos

February 1st, 2012, 05:11 AM	#13
Konstantin Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 81	Re: HPX 370 or HPX 300 what would you get? Yeah, this lens has fairly high CA on the long end of the lens that the CAC doesn't seem to do anything about. Since purple is a color that rarely appears in nature, or anywhere really, I usually just desaturate the purple color range in post. This usually leaves green CA, but I find that green is less offensive than magenta, and not worth bothering with. It's a really good idea to keep your aperture around f/2.8 when shooting contrasty subjects from afar, and ideally f/4, anything wider is going to CA all over the place.