Yeah, those were the years when digital first started coming out.

The classic users (BetaCam) said DVCPro and mini-dv will never replace Beta. It hasn't, exactly, but DigiBeta is.

The classic users (Avid, NT, even Premiere) said (Apple G3s and now G4s) and Final Cut Pro will never go anywhere. It did.

The elitists (people who use REALLY expensive equipment and judge quality based on price of the gear, not their own skills) said the same things as above, but were a bit nastier about it. And most of those elitists (not all those who use really expensive equipment are these elitists, by the way) are out of business because their egos are huge and their talent sucks.

Film loyalists (like my film school professor) said film would NEVER be replaced and digital movies was a crock of s--t. Will film ever be replaced? Who knows for sure, but digital movies are here to stay, from a $400 DV camera up to the 10 megapixel CineAlta Lucas is using in two weeks to shoot Episode 3.

I think a lot of the people, myself included, who trash or praise the HD10 do so without seeing it and testing it. Well, I have now, to a degree. It's all speculation, and it turns into flame fests on occasion. After a while, you kind of want to tune out everyone's speculation and theories until someone gives a full review, and I think Paul M. will be our man!

So, my final semi-first impression of the HD10: good quality, so-so camera design. But, no matter what happens, it's another evolution of the digital cameras and formats we love to use.

heath

I will say one thing, though, thanks to everyone here, I was able to be more objective when I went in for my demo. Instead of being really excited or pessimistic (I was going both ways over the last two months), I went in like a news reporter. And speaking of which, that doesn't seem to be too tough a gig. Ha ha, just kidding. I don't want to report TV news!

heath again

<<<-- I don't want to report TV news! -->>>

I would love to drop by WRAL or KOMO with a news story done on the HD10. Maybe a tornado or flood. It would be fun to see how it would look broadcast on a station that does news in HD in the studio but not in the field.

Steve, thats pretty true. This JVC "HD" camera might be something useful for news stations, since most of them now broadcast in HD from the studio, but not in the field....interesting.

<<<-- Originally posted by Steve Mullen : <<<-- I don't want to report TV news! -->>>

I would love to drop by WRAL or KOMO with a news story done on the HD10. Maybe a tornado or flood. It would be fun to see how it would look broadcast on a station that does news in HD in the studio but not in the field. -->>>

WPTV, my station, is like that, too. Broadcast in HD, studio cameras are in HD (I should find out the specs) and the field stuff is DVCPro. That would be fun, too...Only problem is, you'll need to downconvert to BetaSP or DVCPro if they don't have HD decks to get it on the air.

That ALSO reminds me of 1999, when everyone laughed at me for taking my (then new) XL-1 out for photog training. One of my assignments with a cool reporter and photog was the ticket buying "insanity" a week before Star Wars Ep. 1 opened (I was there the night before, too, shooting on a DVCPro as people waited overnight). We were out shooting, me on the XL-1, the photog on DVCPro. And I didn't even have a mic other than the camera's. Suffice to say, they needed an extra bite, and I had shot one (with the cam's mic, no less) and we used it. And no one new.

Two years ago, I shot girl's softball for sports, and the News Director said the video was great, and was shocked to learn it was mine!

And people still call mini-DV subpar compared to something like DVCPro!

heath

Actually, DVCPro *IS* the exact same format as MiniDV and DVCAM, and Digital8. All DV25, the only differences between them 4 formats are the cameras associated with them, the tape size, and most importantly, the speed of the tape. DVCam is just MiniDV tape, but it just runs faster for less dropouts, correct? Pretty much the same with DVCPro, and the cameras that use DVCPro are much better then them that use Digital8 or MiniDV.

Maybe what I'm trying to say here is, why is everyone so down on this camera before anyone has personally seen it? I was raving about the XL-1, which didn't quite MEET my expectations, but no one else had one, so I was immediately the envy of just about everyone I knew.

And, yes, before anyone buys one, demo it, even in the store! I didn't demo the XL-1, but I bought it nonetheless, and think, in hindsight, that wasn't smart. The closest I came was some people doing commercials on film and video (they chose the XL-1, but still slammed me for buying an Apple and later, for buying FCP--go figure), and I got to hold it and look at it. But I don't remember turning it on.

heath

Yes and no. Yes to what you said, no to aesthetics. You're answers are from the book, but have you seen all those cameras together? I'll go with DVCam on any day that ends with a "y" over the other cameras (minidv, dvcpro and digital8, which is one notch above garbage). Look at the images on the same monitor, because no two monitors are the same. It'll surprise you. Panasonic was able to get many TV stations in small to midlevel markets to upgrade. But, here's a question that boggles my mind: why didn't any of the top 30 stations go digital? They're still on 1980s-era BetaSP (not too bad, actually, at the stations with engineers from the time the cams/decks were bought)...I can understand waiting for HD, but many of the stations who have old BetaSP don't have the original engineers, or even good ones (sorry to the good ones reading out there), so the quality looks like crap. Tapes always creasing (even new ones), the image looking washed out...And, using both Ike and Sony Beta, I like Ike's colors better.

We use both DV25 and DV50 at my station and the difference is amazing. Of course, we use these decks almost 24/7/365, so the wear and tear is incredible.

heath

<<<-- Originally posted by Alex Knappenberger : Actually, DVCPro *IS* the exact same format as MiniDV and DVCAM, and Digital8. All DV25, the only differences between them 4 formats are the cameras associated with them, the tape size, and most importantly, the speed of the tape. DVCam is just MiniDV tape, but it just runs faster for less dropouts, correct? Pretty much the same with DVCPro, and the cameras that use DVCPro are much better then them that use Digital8 or MiniDV. -->>>