Adam Wilt from DV Magazine reviews Panasonic HVX200 and gives it DV’s Award of Excellence!
Here’s the scoop:
Pros:
Flexible P2 solid-state recording. Support for 480-, 720-, and 1080-line formats. Variable frame rates. High-quality DVCPRO intraframe compression. Full frame shown on LCD and EVF. FireWire and USB file transfer. Tasty 4.2 mm wide-angle zoom with minimal aberration.
Cons:
Expensive P2 solid-state record-ing. Coarse, low-res CCDs with noticeable aliasing. Side-heavy when handheld. Power zoom lacks slow, fast speeds. Hard to zoom smoothly. No 25 Hz format support. No letterboxed down-conversion.
Bottom Line:
The HVX200 “Manycam” offers unparalleled flexibility, shooting four image sizes in two aspect ratios at three different bitrates with 11 frame rates plus true single-frame. It records on tape and solid-state P2 cards, with Panasonic’s naturalistic image rendering. Its SD pictures are very good, but its HD pix lag the competition in fine detail.
Remember: You can already get REAL footage from the HVX200, even footage at 60p (frame rates supported by HVX200). The camera should be available in stores, so you might also want to get my recommendations for accessories for HVX200.
hey I’m considering buying an hvx200 package. why shouldn’t I do it? the hvx has been available for almost two years now, is it almost outdated? what’s coming from Panasonic and Sony in the near future that is similar? if you can answer these question’s it would really help me out. thanks.
-fellow filmmaker
Does the hvx200 have a hdmi output. Just wondering
Thanks
Rob