I'm in the stages of purchasing an HDV cam, and I'm set on the A1U (read all of it's features and reviews). This will be my first HDV cam and even thou I would shoot personal projects i would also like to rent / freelance with it. Doing some research online, I have not seen this camera for rent as compared to Sony HDR-FX1 / HVR-Z1 (even XL1, Pan 24p 100a, etc). Would this camera not be considered a Production rental canidate for events, docs, etc. It has Pro features such as DVcam, XLR, Timecode. This would be used as a B-camera such as GL2/XL1 and PDX10/PD170.

Is their a market for this camera as a rental / paid freelance work? Would anyone know its rental rate? How much would you charge for a A1U Rental? Would it make sense in jumping directly into the Z1, even thou twice the price? I would like to work this camera time to time to help lower its cost :-)

Thanks in Advance
Steve Peralta
New Jersey / New York

Hey,

i think there are a couple of downsides to the A1U (i am an owner).

1. This camera has a 4:2:0 8-bit Chroma Sub-Sampling ratio, which i have heard is not Pro-HD quality, I am not 100% about this so called fact and whether it pertains to the other sony HDV cams.

2. Motion tends to be a slight problem, panning and bad zooming features. Zooming can be corrected with a LANC add-on.

the only real way, that i feel i could rent this camera out, is if i rented it as an upgrade to a PD-170 DVCAM camera package, it has superior image quality and works well as a DVCAM camera. It has all the necessary options and is cheaper.

Besides the motion problems and sample ratio I feel this camera was a great buy, especially with the $500 rebate from sony. I use this for making pilots, recording performances and personal stuff, and i don't regret it at all.

Gabe

I think it would depend on the market, though it would be nice to know the general ranges used. I know one guy that rented out his Z1 and some equipment for a while, knowing that and taking about half that might get a starting point for the equipment. The only problem is that I don't talk to him very often, once a month would be very lucky and I already met him twice this year.

That doesn't help with camera operator time though, that too depends on what your local market will bear, such as what do you think your time is worth and whether you can convince people to pay that.

I know people that rent / freelance with GL2 (the b-cam of the xl1 series)
It is not as much demand as the main 3 chip cameras. I know the HDV is new to the video market, I believe as time catches on i guess the potential of the A1U will be noticed. Z1 are going for 200 - 300 per day.

Is their a market for this camera as a rental / paid freelance work? Would anyone know its rental rate? How much would you charge for a A1U Rental?
Thanks
Steve