VX1000 General Discussion (gear/set-ups, filming/editing, tips/advice, etc.)

[grindr]

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Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

Unfortunately can't help you tech wise but the good thing about TRV900's are the low price. I've been using one for 3 years that was 150 bucks on eBay and they're always around that much. Think I'm even going to get a second one. For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

My buddy has a Japanese vx and it seems to work fine. What sucks about vx is the ~$800 for the camera and then the price of the lens stacked on top of that. But yeah, may just buy another one, unfortunate 'cause this one's only been in my possession for about a month. What kind of lens are you running?

[BacksideWallride]

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Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

Unfortunately can't help you tech wise but the good thing about TRV900's are the low price. I've been using one for 3 years that was 150 bucks on eBay and they're always around that much. Think I'm even going to get a second one. For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

[close]

My buddy has a Japanese vx and it seems to work fine. What sucks about vx is the ~$800 for the camera and then the price of the lens stacked on top of that. But yeah, may just buy another one, unfortunate 'cause this one's only been in my possession for about a month. What kind of lens are you running?

Semi embarrassed for this, but the Opteka Baby Death .03x

Honestly with the TRV900 having 3 CCDs and that lens, many people have seen my edits and thought I used a VX with an Mk1... But I don't have the extra money for what I wish I could have, an American VX1000 with Mk1. Work with what ya got, I reckon

[grindr]

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Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

Unfortunately can't help you tech wise but the good thing about TRV900's are the low price. I've been using one for 3 years that was 150 bucks on eBay and they're always around that much. Think I'm even going to get a second one. For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

[close]

My buddy has a Japanese vx and it seems to work fine. What sucks about vx is the ~$800 for the camera and then the price of the lens stacked on top of that. But yeah, may just buy another one, unfortunate 'cause this one's only been in my possession for about a month. What kind of lens are you running?

[close]

Semi embarrassed for this, but the Opteka Baby Death .03x

Honestly with the TRV900 having 3 CCDs and that lens, many people have seen my edits and thought I used a VX with an Mk1... But I don't have the extra money for what I wish I could have, an American VX1000 with Mk1. Work with what ya got, I reckon

I'd be interested in seeing some of that footage. Aint nothing wrong with using that opteka, but I've got the century baby death. Hopefully you don't run one of those X handles hahaha.

[BacksideWallride]

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Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

Unfortunately can't help you tech wise but the good thing about TRV900's are the low price. I've been using one for 3 years that was 150 bucks on eBay and they're always around that much. Think I'm even going to get a second one. For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

[close]

My buddy has a Japanese vx and it seems to work fine. What sucks about vx is the ~$800 for the camera and then the price of the lens stacked on top of that. But yeah, may just buy another one, unfortunate 'cause this one's only been in my possession for about a month. What kind of lens are you running?

[close]

Semi embarrassed for this, but the Opteka Baby Death .03x

Honestly with the TRV900 having 3 CCDs and that lens, many people have seen my edits and thought I used a VX with an Mk1... But I don't have the extra money for what I wish I could have, an American VX1000 with Mk1. Work with what ya got, I reckon

[close]

I'd be interested in seeing some of that footage. Aint nothing wrong with using that opteka, but I've got the century baby death. Hopefully you don't run one of those X handles hahaha.

Oh shit just checked its actually an Albinar .03x fish-eye. Think I had an opteka before, though. I've been thinking of a legit handle, not those things, although I grew up filming Hi8 in the 90's gripping the camera for several years so I'm pretty steady, but the handle is one of things about the VX I'd like to have.

[Sila]

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Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

Only difference in a Japanese one is that the buttons and menu are in Japanese..

[silhouette]

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Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

[close]

Only difference in a Japanese one is that the buttons and menu are in Japanese..

No, they also shoot at a slightly higher frame rate and footage caught on a Japanese VX with the proper settings will look smoother than the same clip caught on a PAL VX (so, the opposite of sucking - people actually go out of their way to find Japanese VX's). Most videos don't mix VX types so it's hard to exactly spot the difference until one plays both types of VX clips back to back.

TRV-900's are dope, some cool videos have been made with it. In general, 3CCD Mini-DV cameras other than the VX I find underrated.

[Thomas]

Yeah, Japanese VX, like US VX are NTSC and shoot at 480 60i.
I think they also have a 16:9 shooting option which is just a cropped 4:3 just like on VX2000/2100.

PAL VX shoot at 576 50i, so slightly lower framerate, but slightly greater resolution.

From what I heard, one of the main advantage of Japanese VX is that they were produced for a longer time so you might find some newer camera which would be more reliable.

How much are you guys paying in the US for mini DV tapes ?
I used to buy 10 pack from Amazon for 25€, but now I see that it is the price of the 5 pack 

[pedro_mayn]

How much are you guys paying in the US for mini DV tapes ?
I used to buy 10 pack from Amazon for 25€, but now I see that it is the price of the 5 pack 

Sorry to hijack your question, but..

Are Mini DV tapes still in production? Or are we talking about a mega leftover of stock? It surely cannot be that much in demand to be making them still..

[BacksideWallride]

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How much are you guys paying in the US for mini DV tapes ?
I used to buy 10 pack from Amazon for 25€, but now I see that it is the price of the 5 pack 

[close]

Sorry to hijack your question, but..

Are Mini DV tapes still in production? Or are we talking about a mega leftover of stock? It surely cannot be that much in demand to be making them still..

I'm not sure they're still in production but I have lucked out going to drug and grocery stores. Since people usually go to Best Buy or tech stores they sell out at those places. I've been to a few CVS and Walgreens and found them in their lil electronics area, funny enough usually some audio cassettes and blank VHS's will be there too. Also check Office Depot/Office Max if your city has them.

Unfortunately I think I got everyone at every spot (think even got a pack at a Kroger) and may have to pay quite a bit more from Amazon/eBay

[pedro_mayn]

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How much are you guys paying in the US for mini DV tapes ?
I used to buy 10 pack from Amazon for 25€, but now I see that it is the price of the 5 pack 

[close]

Sorry to hijack your question, but..

Are Mini DV tapes still in production? Or are we talking about a mega leftover of stock? It surely cannot be that much in demand to be making them still..

[close]

I'm not sure they're still in production but I have lucked out going to drug and grocery stores. Since people usually go to Best Buy or tech stores they sell out at those places. I've been to a few CVS and Walgreens and found them in their lil electronics area, funny enough usually some audio cassettes and blank VHS's will be there too. Also check Office Depot/Office Max if your city has them.

Unfortunately I think I got everyone at every spot (think even got a pack at a Kroger) and may have to pay quite a bit more from Amazon/eBay

I think it is mainly camera shops that sell them in the UK. The guy in Swansea that stocks sells them for a steep price unfortunately. But luckily eBay have a few deals from time to time.

[pizzafliptofakie]

I actually got myself a TRV 900 about a month ago as well as a Baby Death lens. Haven't really busted it out cuz of winter but I'm real excited to finally have a camera at my own disposal.

[realriis]

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Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

Unfortunately can't help you tech wise but the good thing about TRV900's are the low price. I've been using one for 3 years that was 150 bucks on eBay and they're always around that much. Think I'm even going to get a second one. For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

no difference between Japanese and US VX1s, I have a Japanese one currently, and have plenty of experience with American models. They are actually the same, except one has cropped 16:9 mode which is useless, and one doesn't. Japanese VX1's are cheaper because Americans don't speak Japanese, therefore they can not read the menu or buttons. If you have experience with VX's though, the layout is the same, so you won't have an issue. I got mine in incredible condition with a hard case, 6 tapes, 5 batteries, and a bunch of accessories for like 300 bucks. They're definitely out there, just find one on YAJ and find somebody to ship it to you. Best of luck to you my man, you'll find one. 

[realriis]

Expand Quote

Didn't want to start a new thread, figure this would fit in here.
 The audio in my TRV900 tends to completely go out when a loud noise happens (ie someone popping or landing). Any ideas on what the problem could be?

[close]

Unfortunately can't help you tech wise but the good thing about TRV900's are the low price. I've been using one for 3 years that was 150 bucks on eBay and they're always around that much. Think I'm even going to get a second one. For the life of me I can't find a VX under 800 which I don't have except the Japanese ones, which I hear kinda suck

Oh yeah, and recently I was talking with an old head about cameras, and he was looking at my Japanese VX and said he was surprised that the body was aluminum, because US models are plastic. This probably isn't true, but who knows.

[specialgee]

no difference between Japanese and US VX1s, I have a Japanese one currently, and have plenty of experience with American models. They are actually the same, except one has cropped 16:9 mode which is useless, and one doesn't. Japanese VX1's are cheaper because Americans don't speak Japanese, therefore they can not read the menu or buttons. If you have experience with VX's though, the layout is the same, so you won't have an issue. I got mine in incredible condition with a hard case, 6 tapes, 5 batteries, and a bunch of accessories for like 300 bucks. They're definitely out there, just find one on YAJ and find somebody to ship it to you. Best of luck to you my man, you'll find one. 

yep both are the same, JPN VX1000 are NTSC so 29.97fps and less resolution lines than a PAL one
got mine 3 years ago on YAJ for like 90 bucks, great condition fully functionnal with accessories and stuff so you can definitely squeeze one out for cheap

フリーマックスb

[obscurepurity]

Hey dudes,

More and more I've been seeing standard quality videos (vx1000, trv-900 quality) uploaded to YouTube that playback with insanely good quality, the same smooth quality as if you're watching the video on VHS/DVD on a television. 

If I had to guess it's because the video is exported to 1080p HD at 60fps, but whenever I've tried to export my footage the same way and upload it to YouTube, it doesn't play as clear as the other videos I've seen.  Anybody have any tips or suggestions for how to properly export the footage to get the same quality as the examples below? 

Many thanks in advance <3

[obscurepurity]

I don't think it's just the export settings. I think you have to edit them on the HD timeline, not the SD 4:3

Yes, you're definitely right about that. 

When I was doing some testing and trying out different exports from Adobe Premiere, I definitely set the project and sequence/timeline settings to HD settings, but it's still likely I wasn't using the ideal option.  I'm still not 100% confident that my export settings were the best options either, at least for what I was trying to achieve. 

Hoping that someone here with more experience in HD can school me on the proper way to export to 1080p/60fps so that my future uploads will come out nice n' crispy.

[Thomas]

To be honest I never tried to edit in a HD timeline, but I don't understand why it would be different than editing in native resolution and upscale to HD during the export...
If anyone ever tried that it would be nice to know.

[doyle]

The only thing about editing on the SD timeline then exporting HD is that the frame rate will likely not be 60fps like those examples (if that's what you're going for).

Edit in an HD timeline at 60fps, export as H.264 at 12mbps and you'll have the best possible quality.

Here are Youtube's recommended settings for each resolution/frame rate.


So essentially, even if you upload a 30fps standard def video at full uncompressed quality, Youtube will compress it to 2.5mbps. If you take this same video, upres it and export at 60fps, it'll look way better at 12mbps. If you don't like that "smooth 60p" effect that the video gets, you can just export it at 30fps and it'll still technically be 4x the quality of the full quality SD upload.

[E]

I know this is technically the VX thread, I tried searching and couldn't find a general filming topic, point me in the right direction if there is one.

I just got a Panasonic HMC150 and I was hoping some of you may be willing to share your settings for the camera in outdoor daylight setting.

Hoping to dial it in as I film more but figured you guys might have some good tips/advice for me. Don't have the fisheye yet but wanna get the MK2 eventually.

[sphincterparty]

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Hey Pals, so I just recently got a mk1. When I tried to attach it to my vx1000 it would not lock. I followed the directions thoroughly i.e lined up the two dots underneath the mic, rotated both dots until it stopped, and then rotated the outer half to the left. It still came off... i tried it from other directions but still had no luck.


Has anyone else had this problem? If so were you able to fix it? Is there a technique that I should use?

Thanks Pals!

[close]

you might have bought a vx2000 mk1 by accident. if thats the case youll want to buy a vx1 bayo

http://www.bayorings.com/index.php/online-shop/bayorings/vx1000-replica-bayoring-22.html

[close]

It's a vx1000

Could it possibly be that my bayoring on the vx1000 is no good? It looks fine but maybe there's something missing that I don't know about..

[close]

Post a picture if you're unsure. The lens should mount to the camera regardless of it's orientation as long as the slots and pins are aligned.

It ended up being a defective lens. I sent it back to Century Optics around the holidays and they said they won't being sending me another mk1 till the 22nd of January.. Waited almost a year to get this one and now the process is being prolonged .. Pretty unlucky but whatever.

I expect them to say that I have to wait even longer, so in the meantime I was thinking about buying 3CCD lens' on the vx1000 market, but not really sure if its worth. If any of you pals have a suggestion I'm all ears.

[Little Debbie]

I know this is technically the VX thread, I tried searching and couldn't find a general filming topic, point me in the right direction if there is one.

I just got a Panasonic HMC150 and I was hoping some of you may be willing to share your settings for the camera in outdoor daylight setting.

Hoping to dial it in as I film more but figured you guys might have some good tips/advice for me. Don't have the fisheye yet but wanna get the MK2 eventually.

i honestly don't even mess with the scene files any more, just leave them stock and take care of saturation and contrast in post. lately i've been preferring B-press and cine-like as a nice combo. if it's hella bright out and 1/2000 and f9.6 is still too overexposed, throw that ND filter on one stop. i prefer to white balance in the shade.

HD footage color corrects very nicely so it's safer to get a flatter, less saturated image. but by all means, try to nail the shot you want in-camera. for me, composition and camera movement (or the lack thereof) are more important and something you can't fix later.

[silhouette]

I expect them to say that I have to wait even longer, so in the meantime I was thinking about buying 3CCD lens' on the vx1000 market, but not really sure if its worth. If any of you pals have a suggestion I'm all ears.

There's no such thing as a 3CCD lens, 3CCD essentially means your camera has three chips to handle the coloring instead of just one. The lens doesn't make a difference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-CCD_camera

I'd say just film long lens for now, but you've probably done your fair share of that waiting for your MK1 already. In my opinion it would be a waste of money to spend on a lesser fisheye than the one you're about to get just because you're impatient right now (unless you can afford to fuck around with gear, in which case you do you). Once you get the MK1 you're probably never going back (but you'll also have an emergency backup if you ever smash the real deal).

[specialgee]

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I expect them to say that I have to wait even longer, so in the meantime I was thinking about buying 3CCD lens' on the vx1000 market, but not really sure if its worth. If any of you pals have a suggestion I'm all ears.

[close]

There's no such thing as a 3CCD lens, 3CCD essentially means your camera has three chips to handle the coloring instead of just one. The lens doesn't make a difference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-CCD_camera

I'd say just film long lens for now, but you've probably done your fair share of that waiting for your MK1 already. In my opinion it would be a waste of money to spend on a lesser fisheye than the one you're about to get just because you're impatient right now (unless you can afford to fuck around with gear, in which case you do you). Once you get the MK1 you're probably never going back (but you'll also have an emergency backup if you ever smash the real deal).

great insight, I guess sphincter was talking about this lens which happens to be called 3CCD
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3gWRa9piQw

the test footage looks decent, more similar to an MK2 so not sure you'd get the bang for the bucks if you already purchased the MK1

[silhouette]

Oh yeah now that makes sense, I did try looking up '3CCD lens' before reacting as to avoid sounding stupid, but that brand never showed up in my Google search.

For casual/local filming, I've been using a cheap 3CCD Mini-Dv cam with one of these Opteka clones: https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=103218.0 the distortion on 4:3 looks good enough to me. I don't know about the '3CCD lens' but just in case, those work quite well and don't break as easily as other knockoffs I've seen on lens hits. But yeah, long lens filming is always great practicing and you've got a MK1 on the way so...

[sphincterparty]

Oh yeah now that makes sense, I did try looking up '3CCD lens' before reacting as to avoid sounding stupid, but that brand never showed up in my Google search.

For casual/local filming, I've been using a cheap 3CCD Mini-Dv cam with one of these Opteka clones: https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=103218.0 the distortion on 4:3 looks good enough to me. I don't know about the '3CCD lens' but just in case, those work quite well and don't break as easily as other knockoffs I've seen on lens hits. But yeah, long lens filming is always great practicing and you've got a MK1 on the way so...

If the fisheye footage is going to look drastically different from the 3ccd lens/mk1 I don't think it will be worth the investment. I do have enough money saved up where I could just get another mk1, but hopefully I'll have some good news from Century in a few days. Thanks pals.

[globe fusion]

sorry for oversized pic

4 bar glitch popped up on the tape through my capture cam. can i get rid of this (cleaning tape?) somehow or am i screwed for this clip/tape?

[realriis]

sorry for oversized pic

4 bar glitch popped up on the tape through my capture cam. can i get rid of this (cleaning tape?) somehow or am i screwed for this clip/tape?

spicy. only one way to find out, pop a cleaner in your cap cam. but also, you won't fuck up your camera checking this one tape for glitches one time. sometimes capture cams take a shit and refuse to read good tapes. just a symptom of age. could be a million things, including head alignment on the cap cam, in which case just get a new one. that said, if it doesnt play back on ANY camera but the original one you shot it with, the head alignment on the original is fucked. or you have really bad luck. either way, pop a cleaner in the cap cam and try it again, and if it still doesnt work try to play it back off the camera you shot it with. process of elimination or some shit. just keep in mind that if a cleaner tape is needed often, the camera might need a real head cleaning with solvent. best of luck to you.   

[globe fusion]

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sorry for oversized pic

4 bar glitch popped up on the tape through my capture cam. can i get rid of this (cleaning tape?) somehow or am i screwed for this clip/tape?

[close]

spicy. only one way to find out, pop a cleaner in your cap cam. but also, you won't fuck up your camera checking this one tape for glitches one time. sometimes capture cams take a shit and refuse to read good tapes. just a symptom of age. could be a million things, including head alignment on the cap cam, in which case just get a new one. that said, if it doesnt play back on ANY camera but the original one you shot it with, the head alignment on the original is fucked. or you have really bad luck. either way, pop a cleaner in the cap cam and try it again, and if it still doesnt work try to play it back off the camera you shot it with. process of elimination or some shit. just keep in mind that if a cleaner tape is needed often, the camera might need a real head cleaning with solvent. best of luck to you.   

i'll have another go, ran a cleaning tape in my cap cam and the bars were still there. checked through my vx and the bars were there too.

popped in a brand new tape in the same vx, recorded 2 mins and then put it in the cap cam. no glitch whatsoever.

i think it's the tape itself. some dust mightve infiltrated it or something.

thanks

[cosmicgypsies]

fellas, what render settings are you guys using? filming on an xm1 (eu variant of the gl1) but i figure the settings will be about the same. mp4, avi, mov? been so long since i fiddled with SD i've forgotten most of it. using sony vegas.

[E]

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I know this is technically the VX thread, I tried searching and couldn't find a general filming topic, point me in the right direction if there is one.

I just got a Panasonic HMC150 and I was hoping some of you may be willing to share your settings for the camera in outdoor daylight setting.

Hoping to dial it in as I film more but figured you guys might have some good tips/advice for me. Don't have the fisheye yet but wanna get the MK2 eventually.

[close]

i honestly don't even mess with the scene files any more, just leave them stock and take care of saturation and contrast in post. lately i've been preferring B-press and cine-like as a nice combo. if it's hella bright out and 1/2000 and f9.6 is still too overexposed, throw that ND filter on one stop. i prefer to white balance in the shade.

HD footage color corrects very nicely so it's safer to get a flatter, less saturated image. but by all means, try to nail the shot you want in-camera. for me, composition and camera movement (or the lack thereof) are more important and something you can't fix later.

Thank you! ND Filter is a good tip, I shot some test footage in bright daylight the other day and it was overexposed because I forgot about the ND Filter.