I'm sorry if similar post has been debated b4, but I'm new here and interested to hear your honest opinion about Sony PD-100a camcorder and how it compares to PD-150P in terms of performance, primarily picture and audio wise ?

Also, I've looked around a liitle without any luck in finding out whether the Time Code can be user set on PD-100a, more specifically am I able 2 set the first tape @ 01:00:00:00, the second tape at 02:00:00:00 and so on, for easier time in post ?

I'm still deciding on either one of these 2. I have budget of about 4G for a camera alone, but know that I have 2 spend a few $ on accessories, so I'd rather maybe buy a cheaper camcorder now (especially if it's as close PD-150 as it can be) and buy more accesories with an understanding that I will probably have to get something better in cpl of years anyway.

I want to use the PD 100a (or PD-150) to shoot a social documentary this summer intending it for couple of festivals and tv bradcast if I can, and also to use the camcorder 2 possibly freelance with it in my area later on.

Any real experience and comments regarding these 2 babies are welcome.

Thanks.

I've used the PD100 for about ten months recently and found the image very nice when well lit but grainy when things get dim. For a documentary I worked on we used the PD100 with the Sony XLR adapter plugged straight into a Neumann U-87 to record narration. There is a strange buzzing noise which follows any sound that probably wouldn't get noticed unless you were using headphones; no one noticed it in the finished product but I could still hear it when I focused my attention on it.

Now I'm the owner of a PD150 and though I've only had it for less than a month I can say that the picture holds up better in low light and seems better overall (though I haven't a PD100 to compare it to directly anymore), the audio is fine in Auto mode but incredibly noisy in Manual (not so in the PD100). The Auto mode seems remarkably free of artifacts - pumping and the like - so it isn't a huge issue but an obvious 'dumbing down' of this model by Sony.

The time code can be set on the PD150 but not on the PD100.

Hope that helps.