I want to go totally tapeless and also want to move away from Sony as I found their support very lacking.

I don't do weddings at all but do a few corporate or charity shoots. My main focus though is pilots/tasters for TV which means I could be called to film anywhere from a workshop to a beach, day or night. I therefore need something that has a half decent auto focus for when I have to run and gun, but also something that takes great looking footage in Manual control.

It must also be good in low light.

I don't know much about anything other than the Sony camcorders so I really would appreciate anyones assistance on the other great brands out there.

My budget is around £2500 - £3000 ex VAT

I also need to buy pretty soon so the camera must be out now.

Thanks for any help.

Hi Alan

I went with two Sony EA-50's ..you have the nice big APS-C sensor and it has amazing features ..I find it hard to fault ...and of course interchangeable lenses plus grab a Novoflex adapter and you can use your still camera lenses (but no autofocus on them) The stock lens only goes down to F3.5 but it hasn't been an issue for me .. when light is low I trow on a Tokina 11-16 F2.8 and lock the focus at about 2.5 feet and you have a point and shoot camera that's in focus from about 2' to infinity. Really nice units ..I love mine!

Chris

Hi Alan - the £3217 Sony NEX-EA50 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-NEXEA50EH-NEX-EA50EH-Profi/dp/B00A41NKN4/?tag=hybrcamerevo-21) is a terrific large sensor camera, but you said you wanted "to move away from Sony", and sadly, it is out of your "£2500 - £3000 ex VAT" price range.

The best camera in your price range is the pro Canon XF100 (£2717 at Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-XF100-HD-PAL-Camcorder/dp/B0051U6NP0/?tag=hybrcamerevo-21), £2403 on eBay (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575034783&toolid=10001&campid=5337235943&customid=&icep_item=400509327437&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229508&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg)).

With its 50mbps bit rate and 4:2:2 color space, its output is accepted by the BBC. It records to CF cards instead of tape.

Here is an example of what this camera can do:


Valentina e Giuseppe on Vimeo


If you don't need 50mbps, and want to save a few pounds, the next best option is the £1650 Panasonic AG-AC90 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-AG-AC90-Camcorder-1080-pixels/dp/B00ABDBYCE/?tag=hybrcamerevo-21). The AC90 also records to less expensive SDHC/SDXC cards.

Here is an example of what this camera can do:


Test of Panasonic AG-AC90 in the Dominican Republic on Vimeo


It is also very good in low light:


Panasonic AG-AC90 low light test on Vimeo


Here is a side-by-side comparison of these two cameras and your Z5 from slashcam:

HD camcorder reviews/tests and comparison of Panasonic AG-AC90,Canon XF100 and Sony HVR-Z5 Best values highlighted sorted by On the m (http://camcorder-test.slashcam.com/compare-fac69ad73e77dff1be95901830239cf1.html)

Hope this is helpful,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution (http://hybridcamerarevolution.blogspot.com)

Think the ac90 and the xf100 are good examples, but from what I have seen the xf100 is not such a good low light performer. I personally would stay clear from the ea50, not that it's a bad camera but if you are used to a z5 and want a similar camera the large sensor ea50 could disappoint you.

The Panasonic looks nice, it's also in my price range but am looking at the JVC HM600 Any thoughts on this camera?

Hi Alan
I'm in a similar position, wanting to update.
The JVC HM-600 looks good to me. I've been hiring the 700 series of this camera (the 700 is an older version, a shoulder mount non cmos sensor , so not as good as the 600 in low light - but I really like the pics and recording to SD cards is brilliant).
Also looked at Ex3's and the PMW-200 - and like you I'm a bit over Sony (and expensive SxS cards).
BBC have just bought a ship load of JVC 600's for their Journos, it's a great all round package.
Nice lens on the 600 too!
Happy shopping.

If you can afford it, get the HM600 (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575034783&toolid=10001&campid=5337235943&customid=&icep_uq=JVC+HM600&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=11724&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229508&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg) (the BBC actually bought HM650s with wi-fi). If you don't need wi-fi, the HM600 (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5575034783&toolid=10001&campid=5337235943&customid=&icep_uq=JVC+HM600&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=11724&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229508&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg) is a great camera.

Philip Johnston over at HD Warrior thinks highly of it:

1st Exclusive Review of the JVC HM600 on Vimeo

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution (http://hybridcamerarevolution.blogspot.com)

Sony PMW 200 gives you the three 1/2 sensors a lot of networks require to be considered broadcast material. you can also buy adapters so you can use inexpensive SD media in the SxS slots. Or you could use an external recording solution like the Atomos Ninja or Samari.

I know you said you wanted to get away from Sony but they sure do make some good cameras! I have owned my two V1U's for about four or five years now and luckily have never needed Sony support so have not had a bad experience with them.

The lack of progressive support from JVC is worrying me, someone already uploaded an mpeg file for me to try in Edius that was shot on the JVC and it would not recognise the file.

Then there are the Panasonic 160A noise issues and build quality that I hear about.

I have a dealer sitting waiting for my call ready to sell me either of these cameras, decisions, decisions.

I think if the JVC could shoot progressive straight into my editor without any trouble it would sway me but I can get the Panny 160A for £500 cheaper and £500 is a lot of money.

I shall keep reading reviews and chatting to you good people and make my mind up this week. :)

someone already uploaded an mpeg file for me to try in Edius that was shot on the JVC and it would not recognise the file.
Weird, Edius even reads anything I trow at it, are you sure it was a unaltered raw file from the camera and what edius version are you using?

I use Edius 6.08

The file I tried to import was a .MOV I just checked it.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7711130/GREENLAKE_PAN2.MOV

I just downloaded the file you linked to and that one imported and plays without a issue in Edius 6.54

The Panasonic looks nice, it's also in my price range but am looking at the JVC HM600 Any thoughts on this camera?

I feel your pain. :) I would love to buy a HM600, or even a Panasonic AG-AC130A, but both are a bit too much money for me.

I briefly test-drove a Canon XF100 and found I didn't like the camera's ergonomics or its ridiculously tiny and near-useless viewfinder. Plus I use Sony Vegas Platinum Movie Studio as an editor, don't want to upgrade to Vegas Pro, and to boot, Platinum Movie Studio can't handle the MXF files the XF-100 generates.

So I'm thinking I'm going to buy either an AC90 or a Sony NX70, even though I think that the increased price of the Sony (over the Panasonic) basically covers the cost of the shotgun mic it comes with, the rainproof/dustproof body, and the 96GB of onboard memory it has, and doesn't necessarily get you better image quality.

I'm interested in the Canon XA20 too, but it doesn't offer storable scene files like the AC90 or XF100 do, or the ability to create custom picture settings. Plus, I'm a bit annoyed with Canon for the way they've been dragging out the release date of the camera. First it was going to be released in mid-June. Then the date got pushed back to 'end of June', and now it's 'sometime in July'.

If you've got the cash and don't mind stretching a bit, the HM600 would probably be a good buy. While I don't have a lot of interest in, or respect for, JVC's low-end offerings, their pro line stuff (generally the HM-600 and higher series cameras) seems to be worth the money. Failing that, you could get an AC130 if you don't mind its funky AF and ND filter system.