Hi,

Im a bit of a pickle. Im really starting to get into movie making and editing. I make snowboarding and skateboarding videos with a sony dv. Im looking into an HD camera. I orginally thought I was getting the HDR-FX7 but after reading some reviews im not sure. Ive read get reviews about the XH A1. The XH A1 is $2000 more than the HDR-FX7, and im also saving up for a laptop and editing software. So im looking at about close to $6000 worth of equipment. Is the XH A1 worth spending $2000 more dollars. I was hoping that you guys here could help me out and point me in the right direction. Thxs.

P.S. does the xh a1 have a function on it that lets you record in dv.

You might want to check out http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/open-dv-discussion/29995-gigantic-camera-should-i-buy-thread.html Rather than rehash everything here, this should give you everything you want to know... and then some.

The XH A1 and its newer sibling can record in DV format, however the consensus is you'll get better video by recording in HDV and converting to SD in the camera for the capture process. The added benefit is that you'll have the source HDV footage if you ever want it in HD for future productions.