HDV Camera Market ... Lets talk Cameras
 

I m in the market for an HDV camera ...

I m trying to decide on which camera to go with .. here are my specifications

- I need an HDV camera for Web scene applications.
- I would like the HDV camera to record both HDV and SD even might have a need for DVcam
- I would also need an HDV camera for feature Porn shooting to be released on DVD and/or broadcast HD signal.
- I would like the camera to offer balanced audio
- Lastly, The camera needs to be on the lower end of the HDV scale, Mainly cus we are shooting porn, traveling to shoot also. this can put alot of wear and tear on a camera, hense why I would liket o go with an HDV 1080i rather then a Braodcast 50i-60i

for this reason, the new canon HDV camera isnt a condender, niether is all of JVCs HDV products. PAnasonic has some interesting Camcorders comin out, how ever they re price point is as high as canons.

So after some research I ve narrowed it down to these SONY cameras. (Being a broadcast cameraman for 17 years, I m a big Sony Supporter)

HDR-FX1 ..... (doesnèt have Balanced audio but can be added) Approx $3150.00
HDR-FX7 .... (also doesnèt have balanced Audio, however is lighter then FX1) AApprox. $3200.00
HDR-Z1U ..... (this camera carries all the Specs I want, and is #1 contender)
Approx. $4550.00
HDR-A1U (Has Balanced audio, However this is a Single CCD camera, @ 3mp)
Approx. $2000.00 A great camera to shoot Web only scenes with.

LAstly the only worth while HDV VTR i found was also a SONY, HVR-M15U @ approx. $2350.00



I welcome all comments ... What are you using? and how has it been preforming under Low light or no light conditions .. do you have any samples?

i use the hdr-fx1 and its amazing with low light. its also rather light, i suggest getting the 0.8x wide angle lens from www.bhphoto.com its worth it.

dude...you HAVE to get the Z1U.

It shoots PAL as well as NTSC.

pal is for wanna be euro fags ;-)))

LOL .. Actually when shooting in pal and then upconvert to edit in NTSC .. it really aids the film look .. An old Film school trick

What I d like is a Z1U and a A1U .. That way I got an HDV for simple reality web scenes and one for more PRO AM stuff ... However add the Playback deck and we re close to 10 000 ... I think my MAtrox RTX 100 Extreme Pro will be able to cpature HDV off a 1394 .. however I think a new HDV capture card might be needed

HDR-FX1 is more then good,i use it and really like it,have 4 of them,for more shots i do,and more angles,really satisfed!

have you used it in the SD settings ? And is it switchable 4:3 to 16:9 ?
Also since it doesnt have Balanced audio, what have you been doing for sound quality .. that on board mic isnt the best .. I looked at the specs for it, and Im really not impressed (the Mic) ...

It is so much easier to convert it to 24fps from PAL.

Come on Tony...get with the program. :winkwink:

I capture from my HC-1 using 1394 but I would suggest getting a breakout box and a deck too. You can pick up a new Sony HDV deck for about $2k

:pimp

the only worth while HDV VTR i found was also a SONY, HVR-M15U @ approx. $2350.00 (B&H price)

Get the FX1/7 and buy 200$ worth attachable mic
here you go - you've got all those specs you've mentioned

I doubt you'll need Z1 if you plan to shoot for web only.

Bookmarking this thread.

ooo I know where that Camera will be used and I'm happy

We shoot with Panasonic HVX - 200 and it was WELL worth the investment, this camera can shoot all that you mention. And a ton more...

Sebastian

I second that. The HVX has to be your choice for all that you mentioned, and it will still be usable down the road seeing that it shoots real HD.

Get the one they used in the flinstones movie. I think it was a onemegabird.

We have the Sony HVR Z1U, it's an absolutely amazing camera, never had a complaint. You would absolutely love it.

for the fx1 16:9 is the default, you can reset it to 4:3 and the default is 29 fps and you can change that to 24 fps if you want that film feel

Is there a way to record HD onto the mini dv tapes with this camera yet?

I know the P2 cards are not cheap for the amount of storage you get.

$1300 for 8GB is a little more than I am willing to pay.

Look into the JVC Hd110

co-sign..:thumbsup

Sony's FX and Z cams do record on DV tapes

I'm happy with my Sony HDR HC1. Perfect size.

At present no. Shooting in real HD requires a P2 card or external device like a Firestor. Putting HD on tape requires compression. Cameras that shoot "HD" to tape actually shoot HDV which is a compression based format and not true HD.

what the hell did you get one of those for? :1orglaugh

:winkwink:

I hoped they had added a way to use DVCPRO HD for on board compression with the camera...but i guess if they do that then they won't sell the firestore storage and P2 cards.

oh yeah.. i've a ton of shit on this on deja's newgroups.. always gets ppl fired up

there are people who still think that 1080i is the ONLY true HD format...

:pimp

We had Sony HDR-FX1, it's a nice camera, with low light it's working ok, but with no light it's dead. My guess get Sony HVRZ1U 1080i HDV CAMCORDER
it cost 4348$ in this shop
http://www.dbuys.com/product/?9690&hit_id=8696251&Campaign_id=24&cart_id=173921 73

Main thing - do not to buy dcr-hc30 - i have - not glad.

Woo hoo .. this thread took off .. Sorry I had an appointment at the Massage parlor (no Happy Ending!) :P

The PAna looks good However its sitting in the 5500$ price range, Plus you need the P2 card .. and Again Im not looking for HD but for HDV ... i do not want to invest inan edit suite, lens, etc for true HD .. not at the price people want to pay for Porn nowadays ..

Looks like lots of votes for the Z1 ... I got my hands on an FX1 for the weekend .. I ll test it out and bring back my findings ...


Anyone have any experience or has heard anythign about the Canon HD camera????

I had gotten a firestore when they first came out... Oh 5 years ago or something like that .. it was for specific MAinstream project. They wanted to edit on Non Linear and Capture time was a problem ... SO I shot with a D35, Recorded both with the firestore and a 3A deck (betacamsp) ... I gotta say Im glad I backed up the recording with the Betacam cus in the end we ended up going with a linear BeatcamSp edit suite since the record compress of the Firestore sucked .. the longer the takes were the more the audio would lose sync .. not impressed at all

I got the new B&H catalog today... I will be off pleasuring myself now... :)

A small camcorder for such a big boy ... LOL

Not at all the type of camera I d be interested in ... Single ccd, Not too hot under Low Lux, .. no enough manual controls ..etc

Eventhough the A1U is a single 1/3 ccd its CMOS @ 3 mp and those little buggers throw out a sweet looking image with the correct lighting ...

This is what I am looking to get.
http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Broadcastan.../main_img2.jpg
http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Broadcastan...HDV/home.shtml

We use the Sony HVR Z1U and it's a pretty good camera. It performs great in low light conditions and can do pretty much anything you need. You can shoot DVcam, SP, HDV. It can also do both PAL and NTSC which comes in handy if you work for both North American and European clients. :)

NIce interesting thread VIdvicious :)

I'd love to see Z1 / V1 comparison table

The Z1 is an awesome camera but with the HDR-FX1 you can buy a wireless adapter to allow for XLR inputs so you can run a boom mike BUT make sure its synched correctly so you dont have a delay. You can also hardwire the adapter for XLR.

Either one of those two, just depends on your budget.

The V1U is the Z1U's lil brother .. it's lighter wieght, and utilizes the new CMOS CCDs like the A1U single CCD version. I've heard great things about this new CCD .. it somehow resembles the CMOS chip in DSLRs ... for crispness. uses less power, among other things .. However I'm not too sure about the low lux capabilities in comparison to HAD CCDs ... Being from a broadcast background and having lifve the HAD? Sony era, I've have proven faith in HAD technology. To this day my favorite camera and the one that has lastest the longest (cuming 7 years) is my trusted PD150

Cost wise there is $100 diference between the Z1U and the V1U .. other then wieght Sony doesn't mention any improvement on the older Z1U

Sony has introduce the HVR-DR60 portable HHD (hard drive record) for HDV.
you can actualy record Both Tape and HHD simultaneously with time code synchronized !! ... 60GB for approx 1550$ USD

http://www.expandore.com/product/Son...es/HVRDR60.gif

ERR .. TRUE hd is a compression ... all digital video is a compression ratio. 6:2:2 Digital betacam, 4:2:2 DVCPRO, 4:1:1 DVCAM ... etc

Presently the raining champion for the last 4 - 5 years has been the HDW-F900 24p - CineAlta by Sony (the same camera used for lucas's Star Wars a 120 000 $ base cost camera (no lens/battery compartment). The record is on HD tapes Cameras use a Analog type/technology to record on to Digital Videotape (an oxiy moron, probably, never the less still a Tape record and compressed)

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...meCineAlta.jpg

Hdr-z1u . . .

UPDATE ****

Just spoke with an HD expert (thanks EM) after a very long discussion, we set our sites on the Canon XH-A1... What a sweet pice of technology . take back everything I said about Canon video .. LOL

Looks like this is the new #1 condender !!!

http://www.expandore.com/product/Canon/XHA1.jpg

Yeah...he really knows his shit.

that new canon is sweet. I would like to get some feed back on it.

Anyone use this yet?

:thumbsup

We'll let you check out the Z1U in Vegas ;)

and it'll have the 24p option for shooting feature movies

nice thread..
looks like somebody is hoping santa thinks he was a good boy.

more about it here:
http://www.digitalproducer.com/artic...e.jsp?id=53375

really interesting topic. I like to go here http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ when I am buying new cameras. Good write-ups and practical tests.