I'm in the market for a new camera... I thought it might be an interesting thread to see what gear were all using and we love what we have. plus it might help shed some light on which camera to go with.

I'll start....

I use the DVX100B.

1) I love the manual controls that are so easy to get to and not hidden in menus.
2) Love the option to shoot in 24P
3) the cinegamma is also nice, provides a pretty decent film look
4) XLR inputs...
5) The size seems perfect. Large enough to hold a steady picture, small enough to easily move the camera.

2 FX7's paid for themselves long long ago and keep making me $$. That's about all you can ask for from a piece of gear.

What I like best... It's paid for and it's mine!

Here are some for the Sony Z1

Positives
1. Manual white balance
2. Adjustable semi-auto exposure control (that I covered in an older thread under the Sony Z1 area)
3. Position of LCD
4. Position of iris dial/wheel
5. Six assignable buttons
6. Sony's all-scan feature

Negatives
1. No "expanded view" while recording
2. Bad in low-light situations
3. Easy to accidentaly bump the shutter speed wheel without realizing it
4. Useless peaking (though some poeple claim that it works well for them)
5. Focus distance readout disappears from screen after a few seconds while in manual focus mode

Alec Moreno
http://www.1Day1ShotProductions.com

I love my Canon 5D MKII

SWEET -
- Amazingly crisp footage
- Low light better then your vision
- Shooting through awesome glass
- Great DOF so you can separate your subjects from the background.
- Cheap media cards
- Sharp LCD screen
- lightweight, small form factor
- Now with all manual controls!!


NOT SWEET-
- Rolling shutter
- No image stabilization
- 12 min record time
- No audio controls
- people pose for you haha


This is my fav. camera to use now. I almost use it exclusively.

I love my Canon 5D MKII

This is my fav. camera to use now. I almost use it exclusively.

How lucky you are in the NTSC land... :(

Here are my Top 5:
HD1000U
Pro's:
1. 1080i for under $1600
2. Stunning images in good lighting for BD or DVD output
3. No image smear from CMOS and excellant battery life
4. Good Audio with supplied microphone
5. shoulder mount body is good for run and gun shoots

Cons:
1. Poor Low-light performance
2. Gain and Iris controlled through exposure setting (no separate manual control)
3. No XLR connectors
4. Rolling shutter can be an issue for some
5. Eyecup position not adjustable and not comfortable for me (though one of my shooters thinks it is just right)

PD170
Pros:
1. Excellent low light performance
2. Great manual controls
3. XLR audio
4. Good image quality under most settings
5. Portable

Cons
1. It is SD
2. CCD color can smear
3. Battery life can be an issue on all day shoots
4. Can be awkward when handheld for extended run and gun shoots
5. only one shoe can make rigging difficult and forward mount of shoe can make camera very nose heavy when mounting accessories.

I agree with those guys about the "auto-payable for itself" mode.

:D

I just got a Sony Z5 after long consideration between that and the XH A1
even after all the debate about rolling shutter which almost put me off. I'm so glad it didn't, the whole issue has been blown was out of scale.

The Z5 is an amazing camera, very pro, aperture ring, 2 XLR, 20x zoom, same wide angle standard as 35mm (looks amazing on a big TV) so much width. The camera is fantastic in low light, colors are the best I have seen, fantastic LCD.

Cons:

rolling shutter (does not bother me anymore)
controls are a bit fiddly for non Sony users

One of the best on the market.

Luke

I love my Canon 5D MKII

- people pose for you haha

.

This would be a down side... LOL

Stephen, for next season, I am planning /still debating (FX7 vs. HD1000U) then I have to convince the wife to get a Canon Rebel TS1 for shooting Bride Prep ( we have a 50mm 1.8 than I can use). I want an ROI after 2 weddings so spending $ 4K is not feasible for me.

My 2 cents

2 FX7's paid for themselves long long ago and keep making me $$. That's about all you can ask for from a piece of gear.

That's my philosophy the quickest ROI.

Stephen, for next season, I am planning /still debating (FX7 vs. HD1000U) then I have to convince the wife to get a Canon Rebel TS1 for shooting Bride Prep ( we have a 50mm 1.8 than I can use). I want an ROI after 2 weddings so spending $ 4K is not feasible for me.

My 2 cents

Noel -
Not sure why the debate between the FX7 and the HD1000U, but the FX is a lot more camera IMO. It's not "perfect", but bang for the buck is tough to beat. Whatever its weaknesses, it's a nice size with good easy to work controls.

If Sony would release a "FX7 MkII" that incorporated the new Exmor "R" sensor and the current Bionz technology (tapeless preferably, but dual mode would be handy), they'd have a potent camera. The XR500/520V is pretty incredible in it's low light performance, but I keep wanting to rip the guts out and put them into something more the size of the TRV900 or the FX7... I keep wishing for an ISO9002 garage shop!! The XR500 is one of the most enjoyable cameras to shoot (very little stress worrying about how the image will come out - the artificial intelligence built in does amazing things....) and hard to beat for IQ in a small package.

The initial argument for a DSLR that shoots video is easy - it can double as a "B" or "C" camera as long as the image quality is good and it intercuts well, and typically costs less that another "big" video camera. The ultimate question is whether the image quality satisfies you.

In the end a tool is a tool, some do some things better than others, and the one irreplacable "asset" is the nut behind the viewfinder....

HMC150:

Pros:
1. Good in low light for HD, tolerates increases in gain very well also
2. Tapeless workflow
3. Instant review of footage
4. Good focus assist features
5. Light weight for a prosumer level camera
6. Wide angle lens
7. Long record times (3 hrs at max quality on a 32g card)
8. Dual XLR inputs
9. Great color reproduction and film like image

Cons:
1. AVCHD can be troublesome to edit on older computers
2. Less zoom than some others (the trade off for the wide angle)
3. Expensive batteries and no generics in sight
4. Some see the image as softer due to lower resolution sensors than other HD cameras. (the trade off for Pros #1 and 9)


Canon HV30:

Pros:
1. Cheap
2. Very good image quality when there is adequate light
3. Footage cuts well with the HMC150 footage (also with XH-A1 footage)
4. Cheap
5. Small and lightweight
6. Good Canon customer service
7. Did I mention it was cheap?


Cons:
1. Poor low light sensitivity compared to prosumer camcorders.
2. Toy-like, consumer appearance

Sorry, double post

What, no A1 yet?
Well, here goes.

I have had mine for only a few months, but really like the controls for exposure being very accessible. The iris ring is great and the shutter speed and gain switches are easy to operate without having to look at them. Also 2 ND filters. These are great features for those needing to work fast.
The picture is pretty good too. The opportunities to fine tune the picture are pretty substantial.

downsides

1. No switch for optical stabilzer. Have to go through menu to switch on and off, which means stopping the camera.
2. Same thing with audio input. Have to stop camera to switch between XLR and on cam mic.

Mark, just to clarify, is this the Sony A1 you are referring to or the Canon XH A1?

Sorry, that was the Canon XH-A1.