Comments on: Micro Indie Cinema - Z1U or DVX100b? http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/ An Ongoing Case Study in Art & Commerce Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:15:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Aron Campisano http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-434999 Aron Campisano Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:32:57 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-434999 Here's something you're not going to hear every day... if, for whatever reason, you go DVX-100 in this day and age, I HIGHLY recommend using the the PAL version of the camera, the AG-DVX100BE. The 4:2:0 color space of the PAL DVX is MUCH nicer for color correction than than the 4:l:1 NTSC 24p camera. It's NOT subtle, it's a profound difference. I also highly recommend transcoding to Cineform and tweaking from there. However, if you're not an image quality snob, forget it. Dealing with 25p to 24p conversion issues can be a pain. I shot my first feature, The Master Plan, with a PAL DVX for this reason: http://www.TheMasterPlanFilm.com During production, I broke the camera, and shot a few scenes with a rented NTSC DVX, and the difference was obvious to me. 24p 4:1:1 NTSC does not like to be color corrected! The PAL DVX also upconverts to HD fairly well, using InstantHD. My current film's new promo mixes HVX-200 footage and PAL DVX footage... can you tell the difference? http://www.TheAdventureMovie.com - Aron Here’s something you’re not going to hear every day… if, for whatever reason, you go DVX-100 in this day and age, I HIGHLY recommend using the the PAL version of the camera, the AG-DVX100BE.

The 4:2:0 color space of the PAL DVX is MUCH nicer for color correction than than the 4:l:1 NTSC 24p camera. It’s NOT subtle, it’s a profound difference. I also highly recommend transcoding to Cineform and tweaking from there.

However, if you’re not an image quality snob, forget it. Dealing with 25p to 24p conversion issues can be a pain.

I shot my first feature, The Master Plan, with a PAL DVX for this reason:

http://www.TheMasterPlanFilm.com

During production, I broke the camera, and shot a few scenes with a rented NTSC DVX, and the difference was obvious to me. 24p 4:1:1 NTSC does not like to be color corrected!

The PAL DVX also upconverts to HD fairly well, using InstantHD. My current film’s new promo mixes HVX-200 footage and PAL DVX footage… can you tell the difference?

http://www.TheAdventureMovie.com

- Aron

]]> By: steve http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-130242 steve Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:08:10 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-130242 Now you have the Sony hvr-v1u with true 24P, and priced very aggresively. a 3 chip cmos camera that takes beautiful HD footage you can film out with. needs a little extra lighting in low light scenes as perhaps its only fault. $3,349 after 300 rebate a B&H. this is not a little one chip hd camera you can dismiss offhand. so do you want to shoot in 24p dv or 24p HD - thats the only question? of course you will need an hd editing box, and system upgrade to edit your footage. well worth the effort. i pushed thru a system wide hd upgrade this year for one simple reason. if i am going to bust my ass shooting, i sure as heck want it to be hd. i did a 300 man hour 30 sec spot recently as example. it looks awesome on the hdtv... Now you have the Sony hvr-v1u with true 24P, and priced very aggresively. a 3 chip cmos camera that takes beautiful HD footage you can film out with. needs a little extra lighting in low light scenes as perhaps its only fault. $3,349 after 300 rebate a B&H. this is not a little one chip hd camera you can dismiss offhand. so do you want to shoot in 24p dv or 24p HD - thats the only question? of course you will need an hd editing box, and system upgrade to edit your footage. well worth the effort. i pushed thru a system wide hd upgrade this year for one simple reason. if i am going to bust my ass shooting, i sure as heck want it to be hd. i did a 300 man hour 30 sec spot recently as example. it looks awesome on the hdtv…

]]> By: Will http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-29573 Will Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:08:31 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-29573 WOW! the last guy just said it all straight. This was a big decision for me, because I was ans still kinda am worried that if i go dvx100b that it will be way out dated soon. But i spoke with a panasonic salesman awhile ago and he said for me to run the HVX the way that I can currently run the DVX would cost me around $15000! not fucking worth it. Plus even with HD like how long do I have to wait to export it at full res? oh wait I can get a blu-ray burner at Fry's....NOT! And seriously how much does a blank blu-ray disc cost? like 10 box or something...yea DVX hello. WOW! the last guy just said it all straight. This was a big decision for me, because I was ans still kinda am worried that if i go dvx100b that it will be way out dated soon. But i spoke with a panasonic salesman awhile ago and he said for me to run the HVX the way that I can currently run the DVX would cost me around $15000! not fucking worth it. Plus even with HD like how long do I have to wait to export it at full res? oh wait I can get a blu-ray burner at Fry’s….NOT! And seriously how much does a blank blu-ray disc cost? like 10 box or something…yea DVX hello.

]]> By: DeadW8 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-10805 DeadW8 Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:52:51 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-10805 Wow...great arguments from both. But in my opinion, its too soon to decide and the camps are too drawn away from each other. So in a situation like that, logic says its better to get the affordable 24p camera (which im getting for my first film) because you can always upgrade. It sucks not to enter a festival because you arent able to lose the interlaced formats (who doesnt want to watch Days of Our Lives on the silver screen?! lol). As it becomes more practical to convert, then people can choose where to start. Filmmakers, stick with 24p, its the whole look and feel of your film. Documentary-makers can go avant-garde with their projects. Because no matter how vivid and clear the image...itll still look like lil Alex coming out of the coma. Wow…great arguments from both. But in my opinion, its too soon to decide and the camps are too drawn away from each other. So in a situation like that, logic says its better to get the affordable 24p camera (which im getting for my first film) because you can always upgrade.

It sucks not to enter a festival because you arent able to lose the interlaced formats (who doesnt want to watch Days of Our Lives on the silver screen?! lol).

As it becomes more practical to convert, then people can choose where to start. Filmmakers, stick with 24p, its the whole look and feel of your film.
Documentary-makers can go avant-garde with their projects.
Because no matter how vivid and clear the image…itll still look like lil Alex coming out of the coma.

]]> By: Indies on a tiny budget - DVX or Z1U at FresHDV http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-6493 Indies on a tiny budget - DVX or Z1U at FresHDV Tue, 16 Jan 2007 07:26:26 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-6493 [...] Josh Oakhurst and a friend discuss the merits of Indies-On-A-Budget purchasing the Sony Z1U over a DVX-100B for production. They argue cost vs. quality both ways, but I find it strange that the FX1 option isn’t part of the equation instead of the much more expensive Z1U? [...] [...] Josh Oakhurst and a friend discuss the merits of Indies-On-A-Budget purchasing the Sony Z1U over a DVX-100B for production. They argue cost vs. quality both ways, but I find it strange that the FX1 option isn’t part of the equation instead of the much more expensive Z1U? [...]

]]> By: Josh Oakhurst http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-2202 Josh Oakhurst Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:13:08 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-2202 Patrick Campell Your friend is indeed hitting the sprinkled cornflakes. The only way to convert a DVX into HD possible capture is via the $3,000 Andromeda mod which captures to a laptop or mac mini. Patrick Campell

Your friend is indeed hitting the sprinkled cornflakes. The only way to convert a DVX into HD possible capture is via the $3,000 Andromeda mod which captures to a laptop or mac mini.

]]> By: Josh Oakhurst http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-2201 Josh Oakhurst Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:11:09 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-2201 DPX Um, that's about the worst argument I've ever heard. HDV dropouts are not a problem unless you've damaged your equipment or are reusing/ abusing MiniDV tapes. There may be affordable uprezzing options IN THE FUTURE (as you say - they look promising), but if you need HD now, the Z1 is the way to go. As far as you last paragraph goes - the whole point of the article I wrote was the that the Z1U is more utilitarian the and the DVX for this type of production. Too many people think they must have 24p for a project to be good. - That's a myth I'd like to dispel. DPX

Um, that’s about the worst argument I’ve ever heard. HDV dropouts are not a problem unless you’ve damaged your equipment or are reusing/ abusing MiniDV tapes.

There may be affordable uprezzing options IN THE FUTURE (as you say - they look promising), but if you need HD now, the Z1 is the way to go.

As far as you last paragraph goes - the whole point of the article I wrote was the that the Z1U is more utilitarian the and the DVX for this type of production. Too many people think they must have 24p for a project to be good.

- That’s a myth I’d like to dispel.

]]> By: dpx http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-2199 dpx Tue, 05 Sep 2006 07:35:02 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-2199 "And to sweeten the deal, when those distributors come knocking again for the HD rights, you’re already in the game, whereas your DVX100b counterparts will be SOL." What about when you get a few nice HDV dropouts? Who's SOL now? There also more affordable uprezzing solutions for DVX users like InstantHD from Red Giant that look promising. Bottom line, both cameras will do the job and they are almost equal when you are comparing progressive SD to downconverted HDV. Just use what you can get your hands on and stop making excuses because you think you need to shoot 1080P HD @ 60fps for it to be good. “And to sweeten the deal, when those distributors come knocking again for the HD rights, you’re already in the game, whereas your DVX100b counterparts will be SOL.”

What about when you get a few nice HDV dropouts? Who’s SOL now?

There also more affordable uprezzing solutions for DVX users like InstantHD from Red Giant that look promising.

Bottom line, both cameras will do the job and they are almost equal when you are comparing progressive SD to downconverted HDV. Just use what you can get your hands on and stop making excuses because you think you need to shoot 1080P HD @ 60fps for it to be good.

]]> By: patrick campbell http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-2165 patrick campbell Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:23:47 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-2165 Hi, I'm having an disagreement with a production friend. He insists that it is possible to convert a Panasonic DVX100B to full HD (with memory sticks) for around $800? I think he might be sprinkling his cornflakes!! What do you say out there in videoland??? Cheers,Patrick Campbell, Director of Fairway to Heaven the new campy Caddyshack! Hi, I’m having an disagreement with a production friend. He insists that it is possible to convert a Panasonic DVX100B to full HD (with memory sticks) for around $800? I think he might be sprinkling his cornflakes!! What do you say out there in videoland??? Cheers,Patrick Campbell, Director of Fairway to Heaven the new campy Caddyshack!

]]> By: Blake http://www.joshoakhurst.com/2006/05/12/micro-indie-cinema-z1u-or-dvx100b/comment-page-1/#comment-894 Blake Wed, 07 Jun 2006 19:36:00 +0000 http://www.joshoakhurst.com/?p=200#comment-894 I would shoot 24p without question if you're making a NARRATIVE FILM. If you're doing a documentary or similar you can go 60i HDV. So for a movie, out of those two choices the DVX is the right one. Filmlooking the interlaced HDV (or any interlaced video for that matter) does not look anywhere close as good as 24p. And the gamma curves are crucial too in the DVX that the Sony doesn't have. Your movie will have a lot harder time getting out there if it is shot interlaced (believe me I know from experience - distributors and even festivals want a cinematic look - not a soap opera look). And if you need to go to HD just upconvert through a Teranex box to HDCAM or D-5 HD. I've done it with great results matching DVX footage to Varicam footage. In the end story matters most, but right up there is a cinematic look if you want your film taken seriously. -Blake I would shoot 24p without question if you’re making a NARRATIVE FILM. If you’re doing a documentary or similar you can go 60i HDV.

So for a movie, out of those two choices the DVX is the right one. Filmlooking the interlaced HDV (or any interlaced video for that matter) does not look anywhere close as good as 24p. And the gamma curves are crucial too in the DVX that the Sony doesn’t have. Your movie will have a lot harder time getting out there if it is shot interlaced (believe me I know from experience - distributors and even festivals want a cinematic look - not a soap opera look).

And if you need to go to HD just upconvert through a Teranex box to HDCAM or D-5 HD. I’ve done it with great results matching DVX footage to Varicam footage.

In the end story matters most, but right up there is a cinematic look if you want your film taken seriously.

-Blake

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