canon hv30 overpowering a vx2000?
 

I currently shoot with a vx2000 and want to give HD a try. Not having the cash to buy my dream camera, an hdr-fx1000, I need to settle for less. So anyway i found someone who wants to trade me straight up my vx2k for his HV30 and a century .3 fisheye. I shoot primarily bmx so the fisheye will be great for me. Just wondering what you guys think? Will I miss my vx2k or will I never look back?

I know the HV30 has manual setting, just wondering if they are as easy to access as they are on the vx? I need manual white balance, shutter speed, and iris. try not to be biased because this is the sony vx section. thanks fellas

I'd ask if you can try out the HV30 for a couple days first....

What the HV30 does not have is the low light of the 2100... but in good light
the HV30 blows the 2100 out of the water...

Luke:

I have both cameras. The VX2000 has had its day. While the adjustments are easier on the VX2000, after a learning curve, you will out shoot the VX2000 in all situation-- except in a dark room.. in that situation, just turn on some lighting...

I have 2 PD-150s that I have not taken out of the closet since getting 2 HV 30s. I loved those Sonys, but the HV30 looks better in most situations. I don't think you will look back. Also, with a little tweaking the footage matches up well with my Sony Z5.

-William

I sold my VX2000 over a year ago and bought a HV20. I'll admit that I get a little irritated jumping through hoops to get the settings working manually on the HV20. Then I see the picture and all is forgiven. I'm amazed at the quality.

I wouldn't hesitate to make the trade at all. Especially given the age of the VX2000. Depending on how heavy you've used it, it's gotta be getting close to end of life although they are built like a tank.

Ok, looks like I'm going to trade. I have a pentium dual core 1.9 gig laptop with 3 gig of ram. Will that be able to handle HD? Also all I have is firewire. Do I need an HDMI or DVI in/out to edit?

You only need firewire for capture. You don't say what editor. But Vegas and Cineform's NeoScene (98.00 at one of the sponsers) will give you plenty of power to do the editing. Check those fora for more information

Yeah, you'll love the hv30 for sure, the only thing I could see being a downfall is the HV's lack of a top handle/grip, which I think is indispensible when filming action sports (skate, bmx) esp. for low angle shots. No doubt you could rig someting up though, lots of people out there fabricating handles to mount on the hv.

DO IT, you won't regret it!!

HV30 is a very capable camera. But it is a consumer cam after all. There're ways to work things around. I use it in weddings too. One thing to do for sure is to learn the "light trick" to lock down gain in dim situation.

I have the HV30 and VX2100 and i prefer using the VX2100.
The HV30 has some incapabilities like heavy motor noise. Default white balance, exposure settings look quite bad. The manual controls are not user friendly. And everyone knows about the zoom button...

I bought the HV30 to do interviews on the streets and other daily work , but i ended up using the VX2100 after all. Mainly because of the motor noise which is just plain terrible. But also because you really need to setup the HV30 beforehand.

I still take the HV30 with me on trips and use it like a normal consumer would use , but that's about it.

My aim is a Sony Z5 next year. :-)

For serious work, I added a shotgun mic for interview instead of using the onboard mic.

The zoom rocker button sucks. But I always use the camera on tripod. Then mount the remote control on the handle and wire an optical cable to the front to use it as LANC control.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-vix...t=missing+lanc

Hey Taky. That looks very nice. Will try that toslink trick.

I use a Rode NTG2 on top of the HV30 or by using a bracket. The NTG2, however, picks up sounds so clearly that i still hear the motor noise. :-(

BTW. Your HV30 batteries are still going strong. :-)

hey chris, I'm glad the BP-2L24H battery is still working great for you. I am also using NTG-2 on top of the camera. But I don't notice any camera noise.. oh I have bad hearing =)

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My main concern is the noise which comes and goes every few seconds.
I returned it to Canon once because of this. But they tell me this is 'normal'.

Mount the HV30 on a mono pod and turn it over... it works great... all you have to do
is flip the video with your NLE during post edit... very easy...