An Observation: HV20 vs. HVX200

[overstreet1983]

I own an HV20 and have an HVX200 for a two week DP gig I'm doing for a short film. While doing some lighting setup tests with the HVX200, I decided to bust out the HV20 with a large LCD monitor for comparison, and to my surprise, the HV20 (with the exposure lock trick) is comparable if not sharper than the HVX200. The image rendered was nearly identical. I'm sure the compression would be an issue after the recording process (I didn't record from either camera in this comparison) but ... I liked what I saw on the LCD. The HVX200 is a nice camera for sure, but ... I was able to expose the scene properly a lot quicker with the HV20, and for the $600 I paid ... I think the value is insane. Just the fact that you can even COMPARE the two cameras is pretty ridiculous.

The depth of field really isn't THAT bad on either camera. Also, I know both cameras aren't especially known for their low-light performance, but for my purposes, I don't know why you would want to shoot a film without proper lighting anyway. Just my 2 cents on both cameras anyway.

Matt

[Ian-T]

Thanks for that insight Matt. Discussion about these two cams can be found here and in other forums.....it's been hotly debated before. Though the HVX is a much better all around camera the HV20 is definitely sharper. There have been other users mixing footage from both cams. You can tweak the heck out of an HVX while filming...but some prefer the look of the HV20 out of the box for tweaking in post. I totally agree with you on your low light point.

[Sean Michael]

I agree with your point...the fact that you can even compare these two cameras is ridiculous. It seems like the HV20 is the best camcorder deal OF ALL TIME.

In the past, there was a pretty obvious difference in image quality between consumer cams and pro cams. Now you need to examine the image with a microscope to tell the difference.

[Erik Bien]

I don't really have an opinion one way or the other ...