Some background

This is killing me, I've just, in the last few weeks, started to get a real feel for this cam (the pdx), and now I wonder if it wasn't a mistake to buy it in the first place. I shoot two things, kid vid and narrative fictional pieces. I shoot all in 16x9.
I have apsirations to shoot a full length feature over the next couple of years-I probably won't start until after may of next year, but I'm thinking if I wait that long the pdx will not be worth much when I do sell it. Also lighting for it is a hassle, and the new cam sounds like it might prove more managable in this reguard.
I just don't know what to do- and I suspect I will regret any decision I make.
Anyone else thinking abou this stuff?

Michael, I'm guessing you're considering the A1 with XLR inputs? Isn't that going to be almost $1000 more than a PDX10?

Well that or the hc1 with an adaptor, either way I'm going to have to lay down some money. What is the current projected price on the A1? The last thing I read was that it was going to retail for 3500.00 usd.
Anyway, I'm hip to the expense- I'll need a new monitor too, and probably a couple of other things...
Wow, I hate thinking about this stuff.
How long will 3ccd mindv cams hold their value? I seem to remember that analog cams were still doing well, even several years into the minidv thing, but the existence minidv has created an infrastructure that did not exist when it was introduced, an infrastructure that HDV seems to fit right into; threrefore ,it seems to me that used minidv prosumer gear has limited sales potential in the future.
Tell me I'm goofy, and I'll sleep easier tonight.

Some background

This is killing me, I've just, in the last few weeks, started to get a real feel for this cam (the pdx), and now I wonder if it wasn't a mistake to buy it in the first place. I shoot two things, kid vid and narrative fictional pieces. I shoot all in 16x9.
I have apsirations to shoot a full length feature over the next couple of years-I probably won't start until after may of next year, but I'm thinking if I wait that long the pdx will not be worth much when I do sell it. Also lighting for it is a hassle, and the new cam sounds like it might prove more managable in this reguard.
I just don't know what to do- and I suspect I will regret any decision I make.
Anyone else thinking abou this stuff?
I don't think the HVR-A1 is going to change much your situation.
Is not that I see anything wrong with it.
But if you are going to upgrade, go for HVR-Z1 which has more pro options.
That's what Boyd, our fearless leader, did.

I don't think the HVR-A1 is going to change much your situation.
Is not that I see anything wrong with it.
But if you are going to upgrade, go for HVR-Z1 which has more pro options.
That's what Boyd, our fearless leader, did.


hmmm. There may be something in that.... No way can I afford a z1, but maybe I should just keep the pdx until I can afford the big upgrade. By this time next year, the used market on ALL these cams will most likely be booming.
I just don't know what to do.

My fear is this, I am worried that the window of opportunity for minidv features, which has only been open for a few years anyway, will soon close for good.

I hear there is a guy selling his FX1 for a great price.. LOL

How long have you had the PDX10?

How long have you had the PDX10?

Less than a year. It is my second cam, and my first 3ccd cam.
I'm open to the idea that i may not have a skill level that would make such a purchase reasonable- my only argument would be that the better the camera, it seems the more you learn while using it. Although, I suppose bad camera's provide learning experiances too :)

eBay is meant for you, guys, not this site...

eBay is meant for you, guys, not this site...

Excuse me? I'm not peddeling my Cam, I'm asking for advice, and opinions from people who may or may not be having thoughts along similar lines. Furthermore, Tommy's comment about his FX1 was a joke- believe me though, I'd buy it if i had the cash, and I'd be happy to have had a first chance at it before it went on Ebay.
Wow. Just Wow.

I think this is a valid question. The HDR-HC1 is a new camera and it's currently in an "introduction" phase and purchasing considerations should be evaluated.

Migrating to HD/HDV takes time and money. From what I figure just about any processor less than 2 GHz is useless for HD/HDV. Personally I would set up a "migration path". Find out what you need and what it gives you compared to what you got.

What you can do now is sell your camera, buy a HDR-HC1, FX-1, Z-1 or some other existing HD-camera. Since this is posted in HC1/A1 forum I assume you are thinking about one of them. And I can guarantee you that if you buy one of those you will have regrets after that to. Marketeers call it "post purchase behaviour" and we all regret or have second thoughts if we did the right purchase. Especially when we are finding "nicer" alternatives.

I would think you have probably lost the prime part of the money of the camera's worth. I think that the first years after a big purchase is the time when it's looses its value the most. So I still think that you will get a part of your money back to invest in a new camera.

If you can do what you do now with your camera then keep it. Wait until you are getting ready to shoot your feature. A lot is happening in this area. The new Panasonic coming up, perhaps newer CMOS versions in a year or two...

Hope you find out what to do! Good luck! /Fredrik.

Boyd, our fearless leader, did.

Heh, right now I don't feel much like either of those... just returned from a difficult two week production of "Valkyrie" at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. That's too long a story for here...

But the Z-1 came through like a champ in PAL DVCAM mode. I'm really getting to like that camera. I haven't sold the PDX-10 yet, and not sure that I will. For one thing, with the 2x teleconverter it works really well to shoot our performances from the back of the house. The teleconverters for the Z-1 are not that powerful, and the lens is wider to start with. Plus of course they will be much bigger, heavier and more expensive on the Z-1.

Anyway, it is a terrific camera but in a whole different league than the PDX-10. Of course it costs 3x as much also. I haven't followed the new Sony too carefully, but inital reports made it sounds less than ideal. It loads from the bottom, the LCD screen is rather small and has a low pixel count. The XLR box is evidently an extra cost option. Just about all the physical controls are replaced with touch screen menus. More troubling, the consumer version does not have manual iris or shutter speed control. Is the pro version different in this regard? One would hope so...

Regarding "when should I sell"... with all due respect it sounds like you may just have a case of buyers remorse. You don't seem to have a clear need to upgrade right now. In my case, I needed PAL capability and wasn't interested in making an investment in a PAL only camera, so the Z-1 was a logical choice.

I think you probably take your biggest cost hit the moment you walk out of the camera shop door with your purchase. It would be misguided to sell the camera now just because you think the value will go down IMO. I also think this is a less than ideal time to purchase a new camera unless you can clearly define a need, which you haven't. The longer you wait the more options you will have. And I would certainly want to see a lot of user feedback about those little 1-chip Sony HDV cams before jumping on that horse...

Tell me I'm goofy, and I'll sleep easier tonight.


Regarding "when should I sell"... with all due respect it sounds like you may just have a case of buyers remorse. You don't seem to have a clear need to upgrade right now. In my case, I needed PAL capability and wasn't interested in making an investment in a PAL only camera, so the Z-1 was a logical choice.

I think you probably take your biggest cost hit the moment you walk out of the camera shop door with your purchase. It would be misguided to sell the camera now just because you think the value will go down IMO. I also think this is a less than ideal time to purchase a new camera unless you can clearly define a need, which you haven't. The longer you wait the more options you will have. And I would certainly want to see a lot of user feedback about those little 1-chip Sony HDV cams before jumping on that horse...

Guess I get a nice rest later. :)

Hi Boyd, I was hoping to get your input. Thanks for your honesty. As I expected, your logic is sound. However, although I can see how my initial post might give the impression that I have buyers remorse, the truth is pretty much just the opposite,I have a hunch that i should sell the camera, but an unwillingness to do so, because i like it very, very much. And I DO agree that this is no time to buy a new camera. My plan was to use the money from the sale as a nest egg and save for another camera, which I intended to purchase at the beginning of next summer- the delay was because of personal time constraints, the possiblity of new hdv solutions, and the buyer feedback reasons you've mentioned above.
BUT I'm not going to sell. I think I'll hold onto the pdx for another couple of years and upgrade then.
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts.

I have a hunch that i should sell the camera, but an unwillingness to do so, because i like it very, very much..

In that case, I think you would be shocked to actually hold and carry an FX-1 or Z-1. They are so much bigger than the PDX-10. My shoulder is sore right now after a day of lugging it around several airports ;-)

I love the Z-1, and the size isn't that big a deal for me, but it sure would have been easier to travel with a PDX-10. OTOH, the Z-1 certainly impresses people when they see it... looks a lot more professional. This might be either good or bad depending on the circumstances.

The little Sony HDV cams might be a step in the "too small" direction for my personal taste however...

>Heh, right now I don't feel much like either of those...
>just returned from a difficult two week production of
>"Valkyrie" at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
>That's too long a story for here...

bienvenido. sounds like a fun production.
tell us more in another thread.

>I think you probably take your biggest cost hit
>the moment you walk out of the camera shop
>door with your purchase. It would be misguided to
>sell the camera now just because you think the
>value will go down IMO.

actually, i'll turn it around.
"it would be misguided to buy a camera just because
you think the value will go down"

michael, sell the camera if you really think it
won't serve you. but i agree with boyd, you haven't
shown the need to buy a different camera.

>But the Z-1 came through like a champ in PAL DVCAM mode.
>I'm really getting to like that camera.
>I haven't sold the PDX-10 yet, and not sure that I will.

i'm sure when i sell my pdx10, it won't sell for much.
but i would have gained an infinite amount of experience,
enjoyed the moments and earned a decent amount of
money.

i wonder why tommy is selling his FX1?

you want a sore shoulder? Just try carrying around a Z1 with a mattebox and RedRock Micro on it. Ain't a shoulder camera that way, no sir. Adds about twice the weight once you throw on a 105mm Nikon lens.

i wonder why tommy is selling his FX1?

I've had it for five months and have not used it at all. There is a chance it might be next summer before I could put it to good use. Of course if no one bites on it I don't think my feelings would be hurt if I had to keep it!

Michael,

I read through this post, maybe I can help you get more ideas about this because I did own DSR-PDX10s and the similar cams (AG-DVC30 and NV-GS400s), then HDR-FX1 and HDR-HC1.

So, let's discuss little by little, fearture to feature, so figure out which is better in each situation. I would figure you would need A1 instead of HC1, so you still have good period of time to think it over. To me, it is good to look over to justify my migration and maybe it would be useful for other people's decision making, too.

When you talk about shooting in 16:9, DSR-PDX10 was one of the first affordable professional cam to support better quality anamorphic. But with HDV, you have waaay higher resolution (while within the limit of MPEG2 compression, which means within reasonable motion), so I look back at the similar footage I shot with PDX10, I see the lack of feeling from the atomosphere. HDV can offer you (within the limit of motion) better feel of the place it was shot at, what kind of material the cast is wearing. However, this extra details might hinder you from making the audience understand the main idea of the story (depending on how you make the video). The audience might get too attracted by the hi-res scene, forgetting to read the main idea. I read the study about films that 24 frame make the film look less live, thus forces the audience to realize it is not live, so they concentrate more to understand the story. This goes to the same for hi-res audio or some other audio technologies. A good monoral recording is better than bad stereo or surround recording. The main idea is to make the audience understand the story. Then again, after clearing this philosophy, if you use the ability to expand the expressions with high resolution, it might give you the power to make people touched even deeper.

so, this time was about the difference in the resolution. I do love to see higher resolution of the HDV footage I shot, but I tend to get infatuated by how the video look and I do get carried way by that. After all, it should matter by WHAT was there or what happened there.

I will look for "me and my bike" footage shot with DSR-PDX10 for you to compare side by side with the ones by HC1 and FX1 that I posted last week at my site.

Wow. That would be really nice. thank you.
The new, wife approved, plan is to keep the pdx and sock away a little cash each month until we have enough for an upgrade. This should provide enough time for the format to shake itself out a little in the marketplace.

Wow. That would be really nice. thank you.
The new, wife approved, plan is to keep the pdx and sock away a little cash each month until we have enough for an upgrade. This should provide enough time for the format to shake itself out a little in the marketplace.

I couldn't find the quite the same one (with my wife shooting with tripod chasing me as the cast on my bike), but found one that is shot with PDX10, GS400 and GS100 all at the same time with tripod static position.

First, you have to register at my site. It is easy, normal Mambo site registration procedure.
Take a look. (http://www.xtream.ne.jp/content/blogcategory/48/62/)

Does anybody rememer if I had the routine shot with PDX10?