Review: Hands-On Experience With The Panasonic AG-HVX200
-->
Bryan Tanori (the main guy over at The Tanori Group) is a good friend of mine and also the proud new owner of a Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 based HD camcorder. I consulted with him during the purchase to help plan his camera package and he returned the favor by bringing his new camera up to my neighborhood this past Saturday so we could take it out in the field and get some hands-on experience shooting with it.
I have been secretly lusting after this camera since it first came on the market, but had to settle on the Sony HDV solution because it was a better fit (at the time) for the kind of shooting I do most frequently. I've played with the AG-HVX200 a little at trade shows, but this is the first chance I've had to field test it and really get a feel for its pros and cons.
Let me start by just saying that I love this camera. It has a lot going for it and is a phenomenal bargain at the price. The Tanori Group's camera package came in at around $10k with matte boxes, filter kits, tripod, 9" HD LCD field monitor, and travel cases added in. Due to a limited amount of time and bad weather, we didn't get a chance to use everything and test all of the various camera settings, but we did shoot about 60 minutes worth of exterior footage on the north end of Manhattan (and a few minutes of my daughter running around the apartment.) That was plenty of time to form some opinions about the camera and get a sense of the image quality.
 PANASONIC DVCPRO AG HVX200P CAMCORDER VIDEO PACKAGE  US $2,400.00
|
 Panasonic AG HVX200 Camcorder Black US $3,000.00
|
 PANASONIC DVC PRO P2 MODEL AG HVX200P WITH LEICA F 16 42 55MM LENS US $809.92
|
 Panasonic AG HVX200 Camcorder Black 64GB 16GB P2 cards included US $1,681.00
|
We spent the first hour setting up the camera and working our way through some of the internal menus. We also attached the 9" LCD monitor with an Israeli arm to use as a field viewfinder. We set the camera to record 1080 24p to the P2 cards during the duration of our testing since it is theoretically the best quality available for people wanting to achieve a film look with the camera - that being our primary goal.
From a physical standpoint, the camera feels very solid. It is a little bulky, but hand-holds easily enough. One huge plus is that the connector for the component output that we used with our field monitor actually locks to the camera. The USB, Firewire, and S-Video cables that you typically find on cameras in this price range have no way to positively lock the cables in place and it is easy to knock them loose in the field. This can be a nightmare with the camera on a crane or if you are recording to an external deck or routing to a field switcher. I wish someone would invent a BNC style connection for the USB and Firewire cables on video cameras since they seem to be the connectors of choice in the industry.
The audio controls were logically placed and easy to access as were the shutter controls, the focus control switches, the built-in ND filters, and the gain and white balance switches. The exposure control is in a very similar location to those on the Sony and Canon HDV cameras but I found myself having a hard time locating it by touch. I'm not sure why, but I always had to stop and locate it visually, which was a bit frustrating.
From a physical standpoint I found three main problems. The first is the orientation of the menu control buttons on the top of the camera. When accessing the menus you will nearly always be looking at the flip out LCD screen. The button group has a left, right, up, and down button with a selection button in the center. It all makes sense except that when looking at the LCD screen, the up and down buttons are actually facing right and left and the left and right buttons are up and down. If you turn the camera so that the buttons are oriented properly you can't view the screen. It was very frustrating to navigate the menus like this.
The other problems I noticed had to do with the LCD screen itself. It feels very delicate and I don't know how well it would hold up in field use. That's ironic because the overall impression of the camera is that it is solid and sturdy. The other frustration is that the LCD screen is not touch sensitive. So much of your interaction with the footage you shoot happens through that screen and it just makes sense that it should be a touch screen. But, instead, you have to use the confusingly oriented buttons on the top of the camera. The touch screen technology is in widespread use on consumer level cameras and it should be incorporated in future versions of this one as well.
Once we had the camera setup to record 1080 24p to the P2 cards and mounted the 9" LCD filed monitor, we headed out to make some images. The camera makes amazing images - period! The most basic shots had an impressive film-like quality and the color and clarity were amazing. We stood around for nearly five minutes just saying "Wow" over and over again.
With the field monitor attached, the camera is pretty top heavy, which made hand-held shots tough. So, we detached the it and worked in tandem. The first images we shot were out the windows of my car as we drove to the marina at 200th street and then later up to Fort Tryon park to shoot some images overlooking the Hudson River.
At a 1/60th shutter speed the moving images showed very little strobing - amazing considering the high contrast of the daylight city images. We later ran a series of pans with the shutter at 1/60th, 1/48th, and 1/24th to assess the image strobing at 24p. At the 1/24th setting there was none at all, but I need to see the footage on a large 1080p monitor to determine the overall level of blurring introduced by the slower shutter speed.
We are still assessing the images and I am waiting on copies to include with this review, but I was very impressed with the quality we saw on the monitor.
The major problem I encountered during the shooting centered on the focus ring. It seemed to take a lot of movement on the ring to shift the focus. It felt off and I never got comfortable with it. There may be a sensitivity setting in the setup menu, but we didn't have time to look once we discovered the problem.
One quality of this camera that I enjoyed the most was that it runs silent when recording to P2 and there is no lag time when you hit the record button. As a matter of fact, the camera keeps a record buffer going so that when you hit the button it actually has a couple seconds recorded already. This is a handy feature when doing documentaries or events.
I'm looking forward to spending some more time playing with the camera's image setup controls and also shooting some over and under cranked footage. I also need to hook up some mikes and test out the audio components as well.
Once I get some of the footage, look for stills and a few sample video clips.
If you have specific questions about the camera, please leave a comment below and I'll do my best to answer them.
Andrew Seltz
The Go-To Guy!
|
PANASONIC DVCPRO AG HVX200P CAMCORDER VIDEO PACKAGE US $2,400.00
|
 Panasonic AG HVX200A 16 GB P2 Camcorder w Pelican Case accessories MINT US $2,000.00
|
|
Panasonic AG HVX200 Camcorder Black US $3,000.00
|
PANASONIC DVC PRO P2 MODEL AG HVX200P WITH LEICA F 16 42 55MM LENS US $809.92
|
October 30th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Andrew, thanks for great articles focused on the production side of things!
October 30th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Jason,
You’re welcome. I’ve had quite a bit of hands-on experience with production and enjoy being able to share that with others. Someday I’ll even figure out how to make a few bucks in the process. (If you buy any gear, go to B&H using the banner on this page. Every bit helps.)
If you’ve got any specific questions about production, leave them in a comment and I’ll do my best to bring you an answer.
Andrew
December 16th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I dig; I was really close to getting the HVX to replace my DVX-100b (which I still have and use for wedding work). However, I went by way of Canon SLR for the low light performance and lens interchangeability. Needless to say, there are some features you mentioned on the HVX that I certainly wish I had. Cheers,
November 29th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Andrew!!
Loved the article bro, and haven’t really warmed up to my hvx200 Yet. What are some really great need to know tips for beginners, where do i start? what should I do with this thing
November 29th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Also for starting out, what do you think are essential add ons to the camera and why?
November 29th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
SG1,
My essential add-ons are entirely dependent on the type of productions you will be doing.
Start with a good tripod (if you spent less than $1000 on it you didn’t get a good one.) It should have a ball leveling head, a quick release shoe, and telescoping legs that lock and release with one lever. Carbon fiber legs are a plus! The Manfrotto 519/546 Combo is a nice choice. Having a fluid head that can be balanced, a head that can be leveled separately from the legs, and fast reliable leg locking will be a huge asset in any kind of production.
Next, I would probably go for a good multi-stage matte box with flags to hold filters and shade the lens from flares. I like to use the flag as a lens cover – pull it down to cover the box and your glass is protected. Redrock Micros Matte Box is a nice choice. There are others higher and lower on the price scale – but avoid the really cheap stuff. Your matte box will get a good workout and you need it to be reliable. Make sure you have 4×5.65 filter stages.
Add a nice collection of neutral density filters to your kit (include some graduated ND filters too), a polarizing filter, and I liked to have a couple grades of pro-mist filters for interview work.
I also got a nice daylight balanced on-camera LED light. These things are just incredibly useful to have around for fill light or even a key light in a close-up. I like the Lite Panels line of LED lights – very durable and well built. But, there are a ton of cheap knock-offs out there too if you are on a tight budget.
Finally, you want to have a good sturdy case to hold everything. I bought a Porter Case Camera Case with Built-In Cart that served me well on the road. You can flip the handle out and stack cases on top when hauling gear through airports or in and out of locations. Then, fold the handle down and you can carry the camera onto a plane. This is a real back saver.
Now, I haven’t touched on audio gear, but this is the kind of stuff I wanted for my camera rig to give me versatility in the field (most of my shooting is location work with a tight crew.)
Let me know if you have other questions or want suggestions for specific applications.
Andrew
November 29th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
SG1,
If you are just getting started with your camera, my first suggestion is to get very comfortable with the location and operation of all of your manual controls – focus, exposure, white balance, etc. You need to be able to find these controls in the dark and understand how they work.
Never trust auto focus or auto exposure to give you a good image. Practice setting exposure in different lighting environments and watch your footage to see how the camera reacts.
Find the zebra pattern controls and experiment with them. These will help you manage exposure in the field.
Once you are comfortable with the controls, just go out and shoot a bunch of different stuff. Different locations and lighting conditions. Inside and outside. Natural and artificial light. Low light and bright light. Shoot hand-held and on a tripod. Zoom and rack-focus.
That should give you a good start at mastering your camera.
Andrew