OK which would you buy if you had 20 grand to spend? DVCPRo50 VS HDV-fx1 that's what I am looking at...
Again just wanted to get a few opinions... thanks

You'd need to raise your budget.

It’s really not a budget but a grant. We only get to purchase 1 camera and 1 set of lights... The catch is we told them we would put a small name plate on the camera saying who gave it to us and credits at the end of each production... Not bad for 20 grand... SO we are at a cross roads with technology and buying a camera. We have until the end of Jan to buy. We are looking at the DVCpro 50 with 2/3 inch chips but again here comes the FX1... we really don’t want DV25 with 4:1:1I just thought I would see what people thought about DVCPR50 VS the FX1...thanks

Personally, I'd go with the DVCPRO50. Since I assume you are talking about the SDX900, $20k isn't going to get you there. The body alone will run you $25k and when you include everything else needed for studio or field production you are looking at another $20-30k depending on the quality of the glass you choose, unless you want to rent lense(s) each time you shoot.

On the FX1, you could blow out a full video/audio/support package for less than $10K, or go with the pro version for under $15k. That still leaves alot of room for lighting.

I think for the budget you have, it is best to stay in the DVX/XL-2/FX1/Pro range for the camera and make sure you get all the other tools needed to get the best pictures out of your choice.

Mike: please post more often. You're giving some excellent advice here! Much appreciated,

The colour space for HDV is 4:2:0

This is what I needed for help... perfect. Also I just read the story in Videomaker about HDV and it says basically the same about HDV... thanks again...