Come on everybody...

[MinionZombie]

Cross your fingers for the DVX100BE I know Dj, "eBay!!!" ... but like I keep sayin', having never used it (recently tried to understand it, but it just blew my brain out all over the wall) and no way would I drop over 2 g's on eBay! Anyway, friggin' Panasonic are draggin' their electronic asses getting stock shipped out (happened earlier in the year too according to DVXUser, where other folk bought it from the same place I'm getting it from - small world), anyway, I keep ringing up to ask if the stock is in and it's always "in a few days" or they say "either later today or on thursday" or something ... it's like tickling the bellend and nothing more, it's like dangling a fat, juicy carrot before the eyes of the perverbial ass ... it's like dangling a DVX100BE in from of a MinionZombie without giving it over ... oh wait, that is what it's like. *sigh* Just wanted to vent the frustration of being so close, yet so far ... I want to start pushing buttons and pouring over definitions in the manual...I want to caress that Deicomar lense... I think I'd better go to the toilet...you Yanks ever have this much hassle buying a DVX ... from a shop (screw eBay! :lol).

[DjfunkmasterG]

Nope, we don't have these hassles... Cause we use EBAY you could also try www.bhphoto.com They are in the states but at least they have the camera's in stock. You're gonna pay for shipping though. Most of the little shops get jerked around by the pro-sumer camera companies. Which is why everyone turns to eBay. You just have to know what to look for. Besides Minion, if you use PAYPAL or a VISA card and don't get the item or it is messed... you get your money back. Every camera I bought for DEADLANDS was bought on eBay. Sometimes you have to trust even those you don't want to trust.

[Danny]

Sometimes you have to trust even those you don't want to trust. COUGH- labour party -COUGH!

[Eyebiter]

Avoid buying cameras on ebay, massive scams going on. Not to mention those places that advertise the DVX100 for a five hundred less than retail. Scam city. Thread re: List of authorized panasonic dealers http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=12269 Another suggestion is to check resellerratings.com Finding a UK panasonic dealer http://www.panasonic.co.uk/customer-...er-locator.asp

[DjfunkmasterG]

Avoid buying cameras on ebay, massive scams going on. Not to mention those places that advertise the DVX100 for a five hundred less than retail. Scam city. Thread re: List of authorized panasonic dealers http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=12269 Another suggestion is to check resellerratings.com Finding a UK panasonic dealer http://www.panasonic.co.uk/customer-...er-locator.asp Not everyone is a scammer. As I said I have bought every camera I used on DEADLANDS off eBay and never got scammed. Everyone who complains about eBay never uses eBay and just goes of some story they heard from someone who heard from someone etc etc. There are plenty of reputable sellers on eBay. I know who they are in the US, and I am sure in the UK they won't be hard to find either. You just have to look & read.

[MinionZombie]

Like I said earlier, I'll eventually get around to using eBay, but to buy something small like a DVD ... I certainly will not being forking over my £2500 over the internet, and especially not on my first try. I've never spent more than around £400 online (and that was once). As this £2500 is the only chunk of £2500 I have available, I'm going the safe and steady route. Aye, tried the Panasonic dealer thing before but Preston's had the best price and I'd be getting all the equipment I'm after from there, it's also better to establish a rapport with them as they are known to provide good after sales service (heck, if they've been going since the 1960s they must be doing something right). The dealer search is actually pretty crap, all the ones in my area are either Shop @ Panasonic dealers, who mainly do TV's and the others are on the level of consumer cameras, not even pro-sumer, let along professional, so it basically came down to Preston's. Another dealer in Cardiff quoted me, but they were over my budget (also a "small" dealership) - you've gotta set a budget a stick to it, especially when you don't have a lot of free cash hanging around (another reason I'm not dropping this precious £2500 via the internet).

[LouCipherr]

I dunno, I can understand the hesitation to spend that kind of $ on ebay or over the internet, but like Dj has said, every one of the cameras used for our flick he bought right off ebay and had no issues with any of the transactions. He either got lucky as hell, or there's not as many scammers as one might think selling prosumer cameras. Just be careful how you purchase... ...use PAYPAL or a VISA card and don't get the item or it is messed... you get your money back What he said. LC

[LD-50]

[QUOTE=DjfunkmasterG;38186]Not everyone is a scammer. As I said I have bought every camera I used on DEADLANDS off eBay and never got scammed. Everyone who complains about eBay never uses eBay and just goes of some story they heard from someone who heard from someone etc etc. There are plenty of reputable sellers on eBay. I know who they are in the US, and I am sure in the UK they won't be hard to find either. You just have to look & read.[/QUOTE Let's be fair, what about those cats that tried to sell you that xl2 that turned out to be an optura ? In general, I think it is safe to buy off e-bay, especially people like electronixmax, don't now what would be the uk equivalent. They actually have pal cameras pretty often, so if you can afford the shipping, it might make sense. There are scams, but you will see many more scams for more expensive/rare items than this. Probably about 35% or better of 16mm gear on ebay is fake. Not that the item in qestion was never for sale, but people just copy legit ads for gear, down to the typos, and scam people that way. I guess they go for bigger ticket items so they have less risk, needing only one big patsy rather than many little ones. It is usually quite obvious when it's a scam in the case of film gear and lenses, because it is usually apparent the seller doesn't have clue one about the **** they are selling. Try asking if it comes with a bag of extra f-stops. Probably 60% of alienware products. It is generally safe to buy from e-bay, but caveat emptor, and if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

[DjfunkmasterG]

The XL2 thing was someones high jacked account it turned out. However, Paypal took care of it and gave me all my money back which is why I never worry. Anyway, Minion... You said you were paying 2500 pounds for that camera. Why on earth would you pay 2500 pounds ($4751 american dollars) for a camera you can get for $3295 dollars by going here http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont....x=2&image.y=9 Currently out of stock, but even with shipping to you location the total was like $3350.

[LD-50]

The XL2 thing was someones high jacked account it turned out. However, Paypal took care of it and gave me all my money back which is why I never worry. Anyway, Minion... You said you were paying 2500 pounds for that camera. Why on earth would you pay 2500 pounds ($4751 american dollars) for a camera you can get for $3295 dollars by going here http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont....x=2&image.y=9 Currently out of stock, but even with shipping to you location the total was like $3350. I was talking about the one whose house you went to ? I thought you never gave them any dough after seeing it in person. But that does bring up a good e-bay point, if it ain't paypal, put it on your DNFW list. The XL2 thing was someones high jacked account it turned out. However, Paypal took care of it and gave me all my money back which is why I never worry. Anyway, Minion... You said you were paying 2500 pounds for that camera. Why on earth would you pay 2500 pounds ($4751 american dollars) for a camera you can get for $3295 dollars by going here http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont....x=2&image.y=9 Currently out of stock, but even with shipping to you location the total was like $3350. I was talking about the one whose house you went to ? In PA ?I thought you never gave them any dough after seeing it in person. But that does bring up a good e-bay point, if it ain't paypal, put it on your DNFW list.

[axlish]

I agree, although I know my money is safe, I'd much rather go with a reputable business to get such an expensive camera. Also, there are things like the warranty to consider if you are getting a used model. I agree with MZ, wait...

[DjfunkmasterG]

I was talking about the one whose house you went to ? I thought you never gave them any dough after seeing it in person. But that does bring up a good e-bay point, if it ain't paypal, put it on your DNFW list. I was talking about the one whose house you went to ? In PA ?I thought you never gave them any dough after seeing it in person. But that does bring up a good e-bay point, if it ain't paypal, put it on your DNFW list. Oh yeah...I forgot about that. No That was someone who had a new XL1s and offered it for sale and I offered to pick it up and it was not an XL1s. I forget what that one was. I was pissed because I had to drive to Macungie Pa and I really needed that camera. All in all thought 75% of the time ebay is trust worthy. Like LD-50 says. If they don't have paypal add them to your DNFW list. The one good thing about PAYPAL 95% of the time you will get your money back.

[MinionZombie]

Like I said in an email to Deej, but to clarify to anyone else reading, the £2500 is for camera and extras (battery, mic, tripod) so it's actually £2000 for the DVX100BE - and that's including the ass rape level of VAT we have to pay here in the UK (17.5%), so the camera - without gordon brown's favourite form of rape - it's £1685. As I've never used eBay - I don't even understand it yet, and I've been looking into it, even got my Dad to help out with the research and small print reading (he has the patience for it, I don't ). Eventually I'll use eBay, but for small, inexpensive items - a DVD for example - but when having never used it, I'd never blow my only wodge of available dough via that service for the camera. So with the money being so precious to me, I want to do it right. There's also the matter of warranty as well as repairs. Now, Preston's is about 20 minutes down the road ... America is a bit further away... Looking into a Panasonic specialist shop nearby to see if they can get one brought in (maybe Panasonic will pull their f*cking finger out if sending to one of their own shops), but whether they're of a competitive price or not ... who knows. A question about the DVX100B - what's the battery that is included like? Does it last a good amount of time, or is it like those slim, crap batteries that last about 40 minutes with the screen flipped out? If it's a decent battery included with the camera, then I wouldn't need to buy another battery...at least for a while. For this much money, I wanna do things right and cautious ... if I had a stash of cash then I'd be more carefree ... but like I said, that wodge of £2500 is the only wodge of cash I've got available, and it's only because it's inheritence money too... i.e. it's a rare wodge of cash to be found in my coffers.

[axlish]

I had a question re: the PAL version of the DVX that anyone that feels like it can answer. The preferred setting on the DVX is 24p. How does this apply to the PAL model which will need to be set at 25 fps?

[EvilBread]

You tried creative video? they are one of the biggest providers of equipment to production companies across the UK.