Arsalan Butt
September 14th, 2013, 10:34 AM
Hello: I stumbled upon this forum few days ago when I started researching about my first camera purchase. I am a professional photographer and now that one of my siblings has graduated from film school, we have stepped into the wedding video arena as well. We have been shooting mostly with DSLRs but on occasion have used a Sony HDV1000u. Coming from a DSLR, I found the gain noise and having to deal with tapes extremely frustrating.
Hence the search for a tapeless camcorder, ideally for under $2000 but I could spend upto $2500 if I could really get a lots of bells and whistles for $2500. Being an ex-Canon shooter (I shoot Nikon now), naturally, the first pull was towards Canon and in my price range was XA20. However, my local retailer (whom I buy all of my DSLR stuff from) can get an XA20 for $1899 before taxes and XA25 for $2199 before taxes. I am not looking at XA25 since I don't need the SDI port.
This camera would be the main video camera at the weddings and I am hoping someone can help me with the following concerns/needs:
1: While people find its compactness useful, I am concerned that it is too light and small in hands or atop a 504HD head that I use. Anyone coming from a bigger cam found the transition odd?
2: I can get XA20 for $1899 or a Panasonic AG-AC90 for roughly the same price from B&H. It seems a little bit bigger (physically) and has more "on body" controls than Canon, which I really like. Moreover, I have read at several places that the AC90 has really clean low-light performance which is a big plus for me. Several XA20 threads I have gone through on this forum have made me realize that many XA20 owners own the AC90 cam as well. Would you give up one for the other? The big negative point I read almost everywhere about AC90 was that it had a plasticy feel to it. Is the XA20 like that all? Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a local retailer that stocks pro video cams here in Vancouver and therefore cannot go into a store and play with different models.
3: Is XA20 a good enough camera to e the main video camera coupled with one or two DSLRs?
4: Since I am new to filming, this might be a real 'duh' question. The last wedding my team was at, we were asked by the DJ if we could hook up our main video camera into his system so he can project it onto a screen through a projector. As he was requesting this, he took out coaxial cables (or atleast what ooked like coaxial cables to my inexperienced eyes) from his bag and passed them to me. I was like, errr...this isn't going to work with the Sony HDV1000u or any of my DSLRs for that matter. Almost every wedding I have been the photographer at, I have seen the video being projected live on a screen but never paid attention to the "how". Can someone please advise on how this is done and whether I have to have an SDI port to accomplish this or whether I can use of the output ports of XA20/AC90 (component for example) and just use an adapter to plug the component/composite cable to a coaxial cable? This would be a critical piece in my final decision.
5: Being a CMOS sensor cam, does it get affected by the rolling shutter issue that all DSLRs do? Does the AC90 have this problem as well?
6: Last but not the least, it seems that $1799 would be an excellent price for XA20 considering that it is being sold for $2199 everywhere. Would you rather buy this than the AC90 at the same price or should I jump on it? I must mention here that I have been "kind of" looking at the Panasonic HMC150 as well. I am surprised that despite being a 5 year old model, it still goes for the price it does and is still selling and getting positive reviews.
I know I have asked too many questions while providing long-winded details, but I thought it would be better to tell where I am coming from rather than asking few brief question in my first post to this forum!
Many many thanks in advance.
Hence the search for a tapeless camcorder, ideally for under $2000 but I could spend upto $2500 if I could really get a lots of bells and whistles for $2500. Being an ex-Canon shooter (I shoot Nikon now), naturally, the first pull was towards Canon and in my price range was XA20. However, my local retailer (whom I buy all of my DSLR stuff from) can get an XA20 for $1899 before taxes and XA25 for $2199 before taxes. I am not looking at XA25 since I don't need the SDI port.
This camera would be the main video camera at the weddings and I am hoping someone can help me with the following concerns/needs:
1: While people find its compactness useful, I am concerned that it is too light and small in hands or atop a 504HD head that I use. Anyone coming from a bigger cam found the transition odd?
2: I can get XA20 for $1899 or a Panasonic AG-AC90 for roughly the same price from B&H. It seems a little bit bigger (physically) and has more "on body" controls than Canon, which I really like. Moreover, I have read at several places that the AC90 has really clean low-light performance which is a big plus for me. Several XA20 threads I have gone through on this forum have made me realize that many XA20 owners own the AC90 cam as well. Would you give up one for the other? The big negative point I read almost everywhere about AC90 was that it had a plasticy feel to it. Is the XA20 like that all? Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a local retailer that stocks pro video cams here in Vancouver and therefore cannot go into a store and play with different models.
3: Is XA20 a good enough camera to e the main video camera coupled with one or two DSLRs?
4: Since I am new to filming, this might be a real 'duh' question. The last wedding my team was at, we were asked by the DJ if we could hook up our main video camera into his system so he can project it onto a screen through a projector. As he was requesting this, he took out coaxial cables (or atleast what ooked like coaxial cables to my inexperienced eyes) from his bag and passed them to me. I was like, errr...this isn't going to work with the Sony HDV1000u or any of my DSLRs for that matter. Almost every wedding I have been the photographer at, I have seen the video being projected live on a screen but never paid attention to the "how". Can someone please advise on how this is done and whether I have to have an SDI port to accomplish this or whether I can use of the output ports of XA20/AC90 (component for example) and just use an adapter to plug the component/composite cable to a coaxial cable? This would be a critical piece in my final decision.
5: Being a CMOS sensor cam, does it get affected by the rolling shutter issue that all DSLRs do? Does the AC90 have this problem as well?
6: Last but not the least, it seems that $1799 would be an excellent price for XA20 considering that it is being sold for $2199 everywhere. Would you rather buy this than the AC90 at the same price or should I jump on it? I must mention here that I have been "kind of" looking at the Panasonic HMC150 as well. I am surprised that despite being a 5 year old model, it still goes for the price it does and is still selling and getting positive reviews.
I know I have asked too many questions while providing long-winded details, but I thought it would be better to tell where I am coming from rather than asking few brief question in my first post to this forum!
Many many thanks in advance.