I was wonder whats the difference between
Canon Vixia HF100 and Panasonic HVX200
Yea I know it's a dumb and obvious question as in price wise.
But I Really want to know. THANKS.

I'm not as knowledgeable as some of the other members on this board but from what I can tell this is whats different between the two cameras.

1. The canon is a 3.5mm microphone jack and the Panasonic is XLR compatible for bigger and badder (professional) microphones.

2. The big difference is the Panasonic is a 3CCD camera and the Canon is CMOS. In short, the Panasonic will get you better picture quality.

3. The canon has a few manual controls it looks like it has focus and exposure controls according to the amazon product description. The Panasonic has manual apeture, iris, zoom, focus and gain functions. The HVX200A also has interchangeable lenses and more "pro" functions.

There are many more things that set these cameras apart from each other, but these are just a few things I've gathered by looking at both of the amazon pages. I have not had any experience with either of these cameras but I have had experience with the HV30 which seems to be similar to the Canon HF100 except the HF100 lacks a manual focus wheel.

I was wonder whats the difference between
Canon Vixia HF100 and Panasonic HVX200
Yea I know it's a dumb and obvious question as in price wise.
But I Really want to know. THANKS.

As stated, the Panasonic is a 3 chip progressive CCD chip camera and the Canon is a single CMOS sensor. This accounts for a huge amount of picture quality, nonetheless there are a ton more professional features to do with cinegamma color, compression (a lot less of it on the Panasonic), as well as the overall craftsmanship of construction of the camera itself. XLR input for audio (also mentioned) make a huge difference for connecting professional microphones to the camera.


The HVX200A also has interchangeable lenses

The Panasonic HVX200A does NOT have interchangeable lenses. It has a fixed lens. It's still a fantastic lens and the glass alone is 12x better than the Canon's tiny little lens.

The Panasonic HVX200A does NOT have interchangeable lenses. It has a fixed lens. It's still a fantastic lens and the glass alone is 12x better than the Canon's tiny little lens.Whoops my mistake. :D

Would anyone of you guys recommend getting the Canon XL2 or the panasonic HVX200?
Which one is "better" or is it just a person to person preference?

Would anyone of you guys recommend getting the Canon XL2 or the panasonic HVX200?
Which one is "better" or is it just a person to person preference?

The Canon XL2 is a standard def camera only and the HVX200 does standard def and HD. My personal preference would be the Panasonic hands down, not only because of HD shooting, but the overall aesthetic of the camera has a much more pleasing image to me.

The Canon XL2 is a standard def camera only and the HVX200 does standard def and HD. My personal preference would be the Panasonic hands down, not only because of HD shooting, but the overall aesthetic of the camera has a much more pleasing image to me.

We start editing tomorrow night, so hopefully by next week I'll have some stuff from my film shot on an HVX200A with a redrock. I have only seen it on a 7" monitor, but looked incredible there.

but doesn't the Hvx only shoot to P2 cards for HD.
It doesn't shoot HD on to HDV right?
Is it true that P2 cards are just as good as regular SD cards?

but doesn't the Hvx only shoot to P2 cards for HD.
It doesn't shoot HD on to HDV right?
Is it true that P2 cards are just as good as regular SD cards?

The Panasonic HVX200A shoots in the DVCPRO HD format, which has a lot less compression than the MPEG2 based HDV format.

Yes, you cannot record HD to tape on the HVX200A, only Standard Definition to Mini DV tapes. The new HPX170 is basically a very similar camera to the HVX, but it has no cassette at all. The main function is the
"tapeless" format to P2 cards.

The P2 cards are a robust and well tested machination much like SD cards.

Why do the p2 card cost like 100 times more than the SD card if they are so similar?

Why do the p2 card cost like 100 times more than the SD card if they are so similar?

Because they are Panasonic's proprietary hardware and codec. You are paying for their "RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT" for the technology and because people are willing to pay for it.

Haha.
figures.
How do P2 cards compare with miniDV?

Haha.
figures.
How do P2 cards compare with miniDV?

In what way?

Practical usage or picture quality?

You have the entire "tapeless workflow" debate that deals with the pros and cons of not having tape anymore and what that means for storage, loss of data, recovery of files, as opposed to the convenience of a cassette.

In terms of picture quality, there's no comparison between Standard Def Mini DV and the P2 card DVCPRO HD. You can do variable frame rates (slow motion and fast motion), it's High Definition with more than twice the picture resolution.

also like 50 times more expensive.
Is it true that a 16 GB P2 card only gives you like 20 min HD?

also like 50 times more expensive.
Is it true that a 16 GB P2 card only gives you like 20 min HD?


Depends on the settings and the data rate you set.

also like 50 times more expensive.
Is it true that a 16 GB P2 card only gives you like 20 min HD?


In my experience closer to 15 minutes. The workflow is very nice with two cards though. Fill a card, and while it dumps you fill the second card. Post a craigslist ad and (at least in my area) you'll have 15 guys who will rent you a 16 gig for $20 a day, or get one from a rental house for about $50 to $75 a day. The ays of tape are numbered. P2 may not be the final answer, but flash storage is here to stay.

thanks guys. I really appreciate it.