Hello,

I am in the process of buying some new prosumer cameras and I will be doing sporting events with them not all the time but occasionally. I know the CMOS chips have rolling shutter effect and not very good for fast motion shooting, but are there any cameras that hide this better than others, or would it be better to stick with something with CCDs?

There are very few prosumer cameras other than JVC that still use CCDs that I have come across. The one in my price range is the HM100U either that or some older HDV cameras.

Thanks
Mark

It's a very good question Mark. I moved from CCD (Z1) where I thought nothing of running with the camera hand-held over rocky ground -- to an NX5 (CMOS) where I know the same shot will be ruined by Jello effects varying the height of objects within the frame as I shake the camera. Mercalli and the like claim to address these very visible faults but not as far as I can see. And don't start me on flash banding.

tom.

I was concerned about this as well when I added FX7s to my mix of FX1s because I needed the longer zoom the FX7 provided. Turned out to be a complete non-issue for me, at least for soccer and baseball. Zero rolling shutter effects, ever.

I haven't used a CCD cam in years.

You're at the wrong end of Canada from me or else you could come down and shoot with my last FX7 and see for yourself.

I'm not saying Tom is wrong -- while I shoot fast action I don't move the cam very much. Maybe there is a difference.

I am currently looking at a new prosumer camera to replace my PD170's and Z1U and looking at the Panasonic HMC40 or the JVC GY-HM100 and some of the videos I have seen on youtube of the HMC40 show very strong wobble and picture distorton when fast panning. Just wondering if the cmos issues are more pronounced in some cameras over others or maybe better to stick with CCD.

I also notice that a lot of the broadcast cameras by Sony and other companies still use CCD over CMOS. Just an interesting observation.

Thanks
Mark

I have found the EX1 a great camera for shooting fast outdoor sports with no ill effects. Shoot in 50/60p with shutter off and you get awesome images.

while I shoot fast action I don't move the cam very much. Maybe there is a difference.

Agreed, rolling shutter does not look objectionable when the movement is in the action and not the camera.