CineTech22's information is correct regarding effective resolution, exposure latitude, etc. Film is a chemical process, and the amount of detail that can be delineated on essentially a molecular level on celluloid is staggering, even with 16mm. BTW, DV resolution is 720x480, not 640x480, but your point still is made--WAY less info than film. As far as the focus operation is concerned, there is an aftermarket "follow-focus" rig available to address this, but yes, the stock camera doesn't let you set your focus-pulling marks.
I would contend, however, that you've lost the forest for the trees. This camera DOES spell the end of 16mm as the preferred medium for indie filmmakers. Premium Panasonic DV tapes are about $5/cassette (63 minutes). And are reusable. What does 16mm cost in stock and processing for an hour of footage?
The path to indie glory is no longer only "shoot in 16mm, blow it up to 35mm for festivals or limited release, get discovered". Now we have "shoot in anamorphic DV, release on DVD, get discovered" as the new, much more cost effective option. Another note: DV footage shot on a DVX100a looks great uprezzed to HD, even better than some low-end prosumer HD cams out there, mostly due to its great color abilities.
I have used both the DVX100 & 100a, and have run up against their limitations. Exposure and depth of field are the biggest and require a lot of production compensation to get around--lots of zoomed, wide open aperture shots with heavy ND filtering to get that truly cinematic look.
Still, if you know what you're doing, this camera is fantastic. Audio is superb (phantom-powered XLR's--yeah, baby!!), 24p is beautiful to work with, color is very "film-like", and although it is easy to "bloom" the whites and "crush" the blacks, the range is better than most DV cams, and both can be avoided by indie filmmakers who pay attention to settings and lighting.
Would-be filmmakers who want to go this route need two important accessories: the 16x9 anamorphic adapter by Panasonic (AG-LA7200g), and Barry Green's book/DVD package http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/dvxbook . By understanding the camera's strengths and weaknesses, you can get fantastic results from the DVX100a. If you are an independent fillmaker with a limited budget, buy this camera, the anamorpic adapter, Barry's book, and do some test shots to figure it all out, Then spend the $$$THOUSANDS$$$ you've saved by shooting with the DVX100a and use it for better lighting, production, script doctors, better actors, and more time in post. The result will be far more impressive than 16mm done on a shoestring--a turd that could more easily be blown up to 35mm, but is far less likely to be worth it.
That's my take, anyway. This camera does for independent filmmaking what the Alesis ADAT did for digital audio recording in the 90's--completely "democracizes" the field so that young, up-and-coming creative people can produce work of incredible quality for very little money and absolutely no "studio" control.
So buy this camera, indulge your creative freedom, make your prize-winning indie film, and "stick it to da MAN!"
I have been using the DVX100A in Iraq for over a year; I had started shooting on the previous model, the DVX100 -and then upgraded to this one. Filming in 24p(Advanced) letterbox format. Between the two cameras I have shot 300 hours of material in difficult conditions. The DVX100A is a very serious improvement over the DVX100 -and the difference lies in better signal processing that stretches the exposure range of the camera. My material shot with the DVX100A has much better latitude -the skies don't burn out so much, detail is better, colors are richer -and the blacks are far nicer and less noisy.
I owe a great deal to Panasonic for making a camera like this -it really is the best low-budget filmmaking tool around. The quality is something like shooting on 16mm film -but much easier and much less expensive. If you are a documentary filmmaker, or interested in shooting an indy film -this is an excellent choice. The only DV camera I would consider buying, in fact. Now Panasonic has released a HD camera with a similar form factor called the AG-HVX200 which may be a better choice for productions with slightly more financing -but the DVX100A is going to stay around for a while as the standard for what DV tape can do in SD. It remains a very viable camera for making films.
A side issue:
Many people have commented that they prefer to use an anamorphic adapter on this camera to give a 16:9 aspect ratio without losing resolution -I think this is a toss-up. The anamorphic adapter itself will slightly lessen the sharpness of the image, and close-up focusing is very difficult. I think the option of using "letterbox" or "squeeze" (the same thing, in terms of resolution) gives very nice results without adding extra weight and optical issues to the camera. It's analogous to the difference between shooting Cinemascope and Super35 on film -Cinemascope uses the whole area of the negative, but Super35 (which crops the top and bottom of the frame to get a wide aspect ratio) has much nicer optical resolution because you can continue using spherical lenses instead of anamorphic. I once asked Robert Richardson (ASC) about how he dealt with this issue when he was shooting widescreen on Super8mm film for inclusion in JFK -he preferred to simply letterbox the tiny frame and live with lower picture res than mess around with the focus problems of anamorphic lenses. The case with the anamorphic adapter on this camera is similar -I think you can get fine results using letterbox format on the DVX100A, with fewer complications.
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I just bought the DVX100AP to shoot a documentary, and I'm so glad this camera is available. I don't need soundmen, grips, or other crewmember to just shoot. The quality of the images from the camera, set on the cine-switch shot at 24fps are amazing no, not 35mm film shot by a member of ASC with a $100,000 Arri package, but compared with the 16mm world, this Panasonic liberates filmmakers from the world of chemical filmmaking.
You don't have to wait days to see your work back from a lab; you can plug in your firewire and capture to Avid Xpress. You don't have to pay through the nose for syncing, work prints, answer prints, release prints which are really besides the point for independant filmmakers anyway. If you've ever shot and cut film, you know what I mean.
No question: this is a pricey unit. No question, it is worth the money because even if the images aren't absolute film quality, they are not simple video either. When I first opened the camera and starting shooting, I couldn't believe what I saw in the viewfinder, not what I saw when I watched the footage on a tv, or on my plasma monitor. This camera loves to shoot well-lit shots too. If you take time to emulate film lighting of any kind, you will end up with a rich, detailed look that includes richness in the shadows and a wide exposure latitude.
Whoever said you can't do depth of focus with the DVX-100AP ain't trying hard. The utter crispness of the focus I've seen knocked me out. Other great issues: 2 XLR jacks, firewire connector, and usable on-board mics, which while not great for interviews, do a fine job for ambient and room tone captures, and in a pinch, with work in Avid, even interviews shot without an external mic are not only useable, but good. And nobody else need be there; no unwilling family members, no film-school whiners, no untrained sound recordists, no Arrifascists looking down at your Bolex.
I love film; I love the smell of film in the morning; but man, film is the crack of visual arts, and I have hocked blood to burn light onto Kodak emulsions. Freddy's dead. DVX-100AP my ass, honey.
And now, onto DSLR with even lower costs, no physical media, and better images.
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If you are an aspiring filmmaker, or even an experienced one, DV is a wonderful option! And other than the $100,000 HDDV cameras, you can't find anything that beats this camera, especially when you add on the anamorphic lens, which allows you to shoot in 16:9 without losing any resolution.
Whoever said Sundance doesn't accept DV hasn't paid attention. Last year, over 1/3 of all accepted FEATURE films at Sundance were DV. And the two the sold for the most $$$...both shot on DV. The cinematographer award went to a DV filmmaker (who shot Spkike Lee's Bamboozled, also shot on DV), and was yet a different film than the two big money winners.
My advice is to take a very close look at this camera if you have filmmaking aspirations. DV is the only sensible format. My other advice is to NEVER waste money on film school. Spend that money on making 3 or 4 DV films. You'll learn way more, and may even make something worthy of a great festival like Sundance.
But isn't this supposed to be a review about the AG-DVX100a? This camera blows me away. Blown up on the big screen, it looks slightly fuzzy compared to 35mm, but on a big screen TV, it looks wonderful, and MOST films made by indie filmmakers have a very short and limited release theatrically (if at all). Most are seen on cable or rented at the video store. The DVX 100a shoots in progressive scan. That gives it incredible resolution on a prog. scan DVD player and HDTV. It shoots a 24 frames per second (the same as film) if you have aspirations of transferring to 35mm at some point. And transferring to 35mm is about 10% of the cost of shooting on it, granted it's not the same quality. But if you shoot at 24P, editing software will automatically convert it to NTSC for you if transferring to film doesn't become an option. No issues at all.
This camera will truly blow you away if you compare its quality to that of past Sundance DV successes like Blair Witch, Tadpole, Pieces of April (which won an Oscar for best supporting actress), and Open Water.
Nobody I've ever met that wasn't brainwased from their wasted time and money at film school was ever disastisfied with the quality of this camera. Buy the camera, make a business card that says filmmaker, and go make a great looking film with this camera. You'll be amazed.
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If this is your first camera, you will be in trouble. Because, yes, the manual is very limited, and it has a lot of advanced features. However, this camera was not made for the beginner's market. This is my third video camera, an upgrade so that I can produce higher quality independent films. First, the 24P feature, it shoots 24 frames per second and I must say, it does look like film. It looks rather spectacular, actually. The first day I had it, I was a little overhwelmed. But, with every feature available as both automatic and manual, a little experimentation, the quality of my images has improved drastically. The 24P does take a little work and knowledge in order to make it work, but the result is well worth the time. Also, there is a spectacular user website out there with hundreds of users and experts who can help. Personally, I love that everything can operate manually, as I now am able to correct for poor lighting when shooting scenes that do not allow studio lights, like birthday parties, and the such. For a year, this was my dream camera, and once I got it, I was not disappointed. For any people out there who are considering this model, feel free to contact me, and I will either answer any questions I can or direct you to someone who can. This camera is an independent filmmaker's dream.
For the price, you just can't beat this device. I wanted something that would allow drag and drop of music files and would NOT require annoying bloatware on my PC like iTunes, (Someone gave my daughter an iPod, which was stolen a year later, and she subsequently realized that all the music on her PC had been converted to Apple's acc formatand there was no way to convert it back to wma with the included software!!!!)
