Can't Make Final Decision Between Sony Hvr-a1u Or Panasonic Ag 100a
Any Idea?

Sony HDR-FX1 vs. the Sony DVW-709, the Sony DSR-570, and the Panasonic AG-DVX100a



http://www.filmguideseattle.com/hdr-fx1.htm

If you just want to use SD then the DVX100 is probably better but if you want HDV then the DVX100 is out since it's only SD. What kind of stuff are you going to shoot?

You are comparing apples and oranges. Are you going to use the superior resolution of HDV? Or are you mainly using SD? If the latter is your case, stick to the Pana. Not because it has 3CCDs, but because you'll get more manual controls with it. The performance of the CMOS and the 3CCD chip will be unoticeable really. Having more manual control will lead to superior footage.

I Want To Shoot Concerts And Some Music Performers In My Home
I Need Good Sharp Picture And A Good Sound
I Think Hvr A1u Is Good For Me But What About Panasonic Ag Dvx200?

Lol, you're again comparing apples and oranges. If sharpness of pictures are your main concern, then the A1U will definetely be your best option. HDV has four times the resolution of SD.

The A1U has some pretty nice XLR inputs for mixer line feeds. Also it has a pretty good picture over any SD camera. This thing beats out my Betacam I sold this last fall. Plus if you plan on viewing in the future HD format is the future. 16 by 9 will be standard soon enough... You might regret the 4 by 3 image later.

Good Luck!

The A1U has some pretty nice XLR inputs for mixer line feeds. Also it has a pretty good picture over any SD camera. This thing beats out my Betacam I sold this last fall. Plus if you plan on viewing in the future HD format is the future. 16 by 9 will be standard soon enough... You might regret the 4 by 3 image later.

Good Luck!

Hi Jeff,,,are any of the video's on your website shot with the A1? Nice work.

I am a little confused, and would appreciate any clarification regarding whether the Sony HDR-HC1 and the Sony HVR-A1 shoot in true 16:9?

I read the following on the web:

FX1 has 16:9 CCDs (960x1080 pixels each)
HC1 has a 4:3 sensor, 2.9MegaPixel gross

Are the HC1 and the A1 only 4:3?

Thanks in advance.

The HC1 has a 4:3 sensor, but it only shoots HDV in true 16:9. The extra pixels are used for the still camera function which is about a 3 megapixel 4:3 image. The extra pixels are also used for the EIS (electronic image stabilization).

Laurence,
from everything I had read including HC1 manual I had thought it was a true 16:9 aspect ratio camera, but then a well known Digital Transfer Owner made the following remark in an email to me:

Since these cameras [HC1-A1U]are not widescreen we don't recommend them for movie work.

Which also had lead to my confusion.

Thanks for clearing this up for me.

What I've been wondering about is - how do the dvx100a and the hc1 compare to each other?

Has anybody shot them both side by side. I'm just curious what the actual quality of the image is like - or not alike.

Yes, I know it's 2 totally different things - but really - I would love to have an idea of how the 2 looked, so I could make a choice about a second camera.

Thanks,
Milt Lee

Laurence,
from everything I had read including HC1 manual I had thought it was a true 16:9 aspect ratio camera, but then a well known Digital Transfer Owner made the following remark in an email to me:

Since these cameras [HC1-A1U]are not widescreen we don't recommend them for movie work.

Which also had lead to my confusion.

Thanks for clearing this up for me.

If a camera is HDV is it 16:9?

My friend, Chuck Olson of Minnesota Stories - http://mnstories.com just got one of these cameras and it was soooo much fun. and it has a really long flip out window - so my impression was that it is wide screen. I could be wrong.
M.

Yes the HC1 and A1 both record true widescreen HDV!

To re-paraphrase Lawrence: The HC1 has a 4:3 sensor, but it shoots HDV using a wide-screen shaped subset of those pixels.

The extra pixels (i.e., above and below the area used for video) are used for the still camera function, which produces a 4:3 image.

Bob, the recorded HDV has a resolution of 1440x1080 resolution, so the 16:9 final image is achieved in part by using non-square pixels. In contrast, the JVC HD1 records 1280x720, which is 16:9 with square pixels. This MAY be what your guys was referring to?

As far as I know HDV footage is always 16:9. (The Sony cameras' 1080i, and the JVC's 720p30 and 480p60 modes, are all 16:9).

My friend, Chuck Olson of Minnesota Stories - http://mnstories.com just got one of these cameras and it was soooo much fun. and it has a really long flip out window - so my impression was that it is wide screen. I could be wrong.
M.
He has a good website. Do you know which videoblogs are done with the A1U?

What I've been wondering about is - how do the dvx100a and the hc1 compare to each other?

Has anybody shot them both side by side. I'm just curious what the actual quality of the image is like - or not alike.

Yes, I know it's 2 totally different things - but really - I would love to have an idea of how the 2 looked, so I could make a choice about a second camera.

Thanks,
Milt Lee

The video image from the Hc1 is about four times sharper than that of the DVX100a! I worked on a short last year that was shot on a DVX. One of my favorite things now is to show that footage side by side with footage from my A1 (different footage but the same town). They're not even in the same ballpark. The A1 makes the DVX look like a webcam!

The video image from the Hc1 is about four times sharper than that of the DVX100a! I worked on a short last year that was shot on a DVX. One of my favorite things now is to show that footage side by side with footage from my A1 (different footage but the same town). They're not even in the same ballpark. The A1 makes the DVX look like a webcam!

Those would be fighting words on some websites!!!!
I would like to see A1U footage sometime.

I was in a Apple store once and saw FX1 footage they had and it was really good. I thought at the time why are all this people complaining about HDV?

Those would be fighting words on some websites!!!!
I would like to see A1U footage sometime.

I was in a Apple store once and saw FX1 footage they had and it was really good. I thought at the time why are all this people complaining about HDV?

If the lightings good, Z1/FX1/A1/HC1/H3 footage all looks about the same. It's only in low light that the footage from the Z1/FX one stands out.

Yeah, these would be fighting words on some websites I know but it's the truth. Even downrezzed to SD, the A1 looks better, especially if you are rendering directly from HDV to SD MPEG2 for DVD authoring. They may not like it but it's the truth.