PD170 And JVC GY-X2B
 

I currently own a PD-170 and needed a second camcorder for some music videos we are going to shoot this spring. I had a hard time looking for a cheap second camcorder and was itching to get one of the larger half inch chip camcorders to look "more professional." The only one I found was a well used JVC miniDV but passed it up. I simply could not find another DV cam again. So out of frustration I gave up on that and would just rent a camera for the three events where we had a two man crew. I still wanted a big cam to impress the unknowing at the office and larger shoots so I bought a funcional JVC GY-X2B in Super VHS! I bought it really just for show but the thing put out a good image and that got me thinking.....

To make a long story short, That JVC is now my secondary camera. I tested it alone, as a camera recording into the Sony, as a playback into the Sony; and I can't see that big of a difference. I think the Sony has better color but the JVC has better optics and a better zoom and can really get closer and gets a sharper image. The auto focus on the Sony really shows up in comparison as inferior but the manual on the Sony brings it closer but not the equal in my humble opionion.....

What a shock; as long as the tape is recorded into the Sony from the JVC after recording, I can't see that much difference in image quality. There is no reason for me to look for another DV machine. Am I missing something here.....

Here are pictures of the duo:

http://fortressoffreedom.com/Office97.jpg

http://fortressoffreedom.com/Office100.jpg

I would say this combo is good enough for major network acceptance as long as you convert it to Digibeta at the end.....

The Caps will probably have to be replaced shortly on the X2B. They tend to leak with time.

Thanks, though I only need the thing to work for the next couple on months and then it gets put out to pasture. Still, it was strange to see just how well the old stuff can perform. My biggest problem was getting a seven pin male to four pin male SVHS cable to connect the camcorder to the other - B and H are about the only major player that has those in stock.

That thing is huge... how much did that set you back, if you don't mind me asking.

That thing cost me about 825USD. There was another make that I could have got for 500USD but had problems with the image. This one was complete in every respect with the plate and all. The store I got it from gives a warranty/exchange on these items and basically threw in the DC converter and some cables with it. The image was as good as new and I spent a few days messing with it looking for problems. The Canon lens had no scatches on it and taped material was reproduced faithfully. This thing is professional and appears in the inventories of cameras in PBS. I can get a studio viewfinder for like a grand and the old mic. still goes for eight hundred dollars but looks like old technology. The thing is fourteen pounds and built like a tank.

Ebay cameras go for less without any warranty and miss some parts like a mic. holder that runs about two hundred dollars. The PD170 is a far better thing to run around town with if you shoot documentaries. That camera made up my mind that if I can find a 16:9 HD camera in the next few years that is a llght weight - I will buy that over a full sized model. I don't shoot for clients that need to be impressed and running around with that monster is a problem and it would just not get used as much as the PD170 which I just grab and take with me at a moments notice. These things are mostly manual control, so if you are a newbie you had better know what you are doing or you can screw things up - don't ask me how I know.....

I should also add that I am doing an article on the whole experience and purchased it as a guy off the street would and so far the experience is a good one. The idea being to get material that can make it on TV with as few bucks as possible. The nice thing about this is that I have to train our actors and actresses before we do location, and I can just hand them the tapes at the end of each session for them to look at. The batteries are another problem as they are big and heavy. Anyway, all will play out in the next little while and be faithfully archived.....