The gigantic "which camera should I buy" thread!

[Kenneth Michiels]

Hello,

i'm about to buy a canon xha1 from [ ebay link removed by Admin ]

Do you think I have a good and trustable deal?

Greetings,

Kenneth

[Heath McKnight]

I'm always wary of buying through eBay--mostly because of gray market cameras, not so much scams. Scams are easy to spot.

heath

[Chris Hurd]

For Kenneth Michiels: No Ebay links here please. We refer *all* where-to-buy questions exclusively to our trusted site sponsors: http://www.dvinfo.net/sponsors

[Craig Bellaire]

Well in my opinion on a camera is this. Watching the media and camera formats for 18 years in the industry. There is so much change and to fast of change. Mini DV is still the way to go for this year. It has 10 years under it's belt and works... Yes I work in Video....The hdv format is really trash.... sorry... I have 2 xl2's and a xhg1 HDV camera... and the compression is very sad.. I couldn't believe how bad the compression is on the HDV format..for 8 grand maybe I was thinking of "Better then Beta cam Look was to much" So if you don't want to spend a fortune on a camera... then buy a SD mini dv 3 chip camera, which has a better compression ratio, easer on computers and looks great... if you need to uprez to HD then use a 200.00 dollar software plug in and call it the film look....When will you need to show Hi def video any way?... Anyway just my 2 cents worth... and yes I happen to have a PDX-10 camera for sale.... not a sales pitch... but buy the camera which will fit your needs and not take your wallet... thanks

[Bill Spearman]

Out of curiosity, what did you decide to use?

[Bob Kerner]

Hello. I'm currently using an HV 20 and am anticipating purchasing a 3 chip rig in the near future. I'd like a better lens with more control, additional audio inputs, HD and the ability to do 24p to name a few things (in the new camera). Right now I'm looking at the Sony Z1 and the Canon XGxx rigs. Interchangeable lenses are Not important.

Here are my preliminary questions and I greatly appreciate input from those who use these cameras:

1) CMOS or CCD and why?
2) Does one brand have better low light performance than the other?
3) Is the glass better on one than the other? Yes, the Sony is Zeiss but is there a performance improvement over the Canon lens?
4) Should I concern myself with compatability issues between my HV20 and a Sony, if I choose Sony? Will it cause issues in FC?
5) Any known defects/or problems with either one?
6) I want those XLR inputs, right? Every now and then someone says "XLR not critical" over in the audio forum...makes me wonder.
7) Any ergonomic issues? I will, of course, try them both out but is there anything I should keep my eyes open for in terms of handling?

I'm really struggling with direct to disk and the Panny P-2 card issue. The cards are expensive and I can't see myself affording a bunch of spares in case I fill one up in the field. I don't carry a laptop in the field. I'd like to hear arguments in favor of the Panny, that it's not as expensive as it looks to maintain the P2 card system compared to tape.

Thank you one and all..
Bob

[Philip Williams]

I assume you mean the V1 and not the Z1, since the V1 offers the 24P option?


I'll take a stab at some of these with my limited experience.

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

1) CMOS or CCD and why?

Bright lights (like cars driving at night toward your camera):
CMOS = No smear. CCD = smear. Note that the Canons do a pretty good job at this, certainly better than some CCD cameras.
CMOS = Rolling shutter effect. Look it up if you're not familiar. Not usually a big deal and you're actually already dealing with it with your HV20.

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

2) Does one brand have better low light performance than the other?

I think the concensus is that the XHA1/G1 has better low light than the V1, probably due to the larger sensors. Don't know if the diff is huge though. I used my XHA1 at a wedding recently and shot in some Extremely dark situations. Its doable.

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

3) Is the glass better on one than the other? Yes, the Sony is Zeiss but is there a performance improvement over the Canon lens?

All the lenses in this price range have some chromatic aberation.

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

4) Should I concern myself with compatability issues between my HV20 and a Sony, if I choose Sony? Will it cause issues in FC?

Someone should be able to answer that definitively, but from what I've read it appears the HV20 and the V1 use pretty much the same method to put 24P to tape. 60i HDV is fully compatible between all the cams.

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

5) Any known defects/or problems with either one?

Er.. you'll just have to research that yourself. I can vouch for my XHA1, its stellar.

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

6) I want those XLR inputs, right? Every now and then someone says "XLR not critical" over in the audio forum...makes me wonder.

Well it sure is nice to buy a professional micrphone and plug it right into a nice heavy duty XLR connector. Yes, you can get an adapter and mount it to your cam and run it through the 1/8" plug.. but why spend an extra couple hundred bucks and add bulk to your camera if you don't have to?

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

7) Any ergonomic issues? I will, of course, try them both out but is there anything I should keep my eyes open for in terms of handling?

The XH cams are pretty heavy, so they do get tedious if you do mostly handheld work. Obviously a tripod or shoulder brace will fix that right up. This is one area where the V1 is most definitely superior, its quite compact and light in comparison.

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

I'm really struggling with direct to disk and the Panny P-2 card issue. The cards are expensive and I can't see myself affording a bunch of spares in case I fill one up in the field. I don't carry a laptop in the field. I'd like to hear arguments in favor of the Panny, that it's not as expensive as it looks to maintain the P2 card system compared to tape.

The HVX is technically my favorite cam, but its forte is really narrative type work doing documentaries and films. For event videography and such... I don't think that was their target audience. It is an awesome cam though if it fits into your workflow and budget.

[Heath McKnight]

Bob,

I'd start hunting around DVi, because we answer a lot of those questions you're asking. For instance, CMOS run on less power than CCD, plus a lot of the architecture is onboard the chip vs. CCD. Lastly, there is less light smear, ie, when you shoot something like a light or a bright spot, etc., you won't see a "star" effect.

Philip did a great job explaining, too.

heath

[Bob Kerner]

Thank you, Philip, for excellent answers. Yes, I think weight will factor in somewhere. I do mostly documentary-type work filming material for educational purposes in and around hospitals. I'm 70% handheld so I don't want to lug around a monster.

[Heath McKnight]

A little more, after re-reading Philip's answer...The native chip resolution of the XH series is 1440x1080, Sony is 960x1080 and the HVX is 960x540.

The resolution on the XH (And XLH1) series is higher, but all cameras output nicely. However, if I'm shooting in anything higher than 720p on the HVX, I notice noise around the edges, likely due to its lower resolution.

I'm used all three cameras (A1, V1u, HVX), and feel anyone of them is excellent. I am getting used to P2, and like that I can shoot in native 24p without a pulldown (no 60i stream); I like the look of the V1u best; I like that I can capture A1 24f footage in Final Cut Pro as 24p, and the pulldown is removed.

Unlike the Canon pro HDV cameras, the HV20 does 24p vs. 24f, though it supports 24f playback (hello, "deck!"). No problems shooting between the HV20 and the A1/G1, H1, V1u or HVX.

Heath

[Heath McKnight]

Originally Posted by Bob Kerner

Thank you, Philip, for excellent answers. Yes, I think weight will factor in somewhere. I do mostly documentary-type work filming material for educational purposes in and around hospitals. I'm 70% handheld so I don't want to lug around a monster.

V1u may be your answer; it's such a small camera. I used it a week ago, all handheld, for almost 4 hours without a problem.

heath

[Jim Andrada]

Re XLR or not:

If your mics require phantom power from the camera, XLR equipped cameras will usually provide it. And the comment re having to lug a separate adapter with you to attach to better mics with their XLR connectors if your camera doesn't have XLR is another good reason.

On the downside, XLR connectors do add bulk to a camera all by themselves.

From a pure audio point of view (which is where I think many of the XLR/non-XLR discussions arise on the audio forum) it would all depend on what you're recording, what mics you're using, whether the compressed audio recorded in the camera is good enough, how well the cameras mic amps stack up, etc etc etc. For dialogue, the in camera recording should be fine. For recording a string quartet, I'd forget about recording to the camera except as a backup or to help sync the video to the audio you record separately

[Jim Nicholls]

Does anyone know of tapeless, battery powered, video cameras that are compact, capable of higher frame rates and sensitive. Need not be DV quality. We hope to use something like this for recording in a rugged, non manned environment.

Jim

[Cemil Giray]

I would welcome advice as well. I need a light, rugged tapeless camera and do not want to commit without some community feedback. Advice?

[Jim Nicholls]

Ok I am replying to my own posts here but this is what I have found. A useful source of unusual camcorders and camera/recorder combinations may be your local "Spy Shop". For example in Australia:

http://www.eyespyworld.com.au/index.php?id=1

Here is an device that looks to be a good candidate:

http://www.elmo.co.jp/suv-cam/en/index.html

Apart from this there are a range of digicams that have video recordeing capabilities. The Panasonic Lumix range will record in "widescreen" with 28mm equivalent FOV. The Canon Ixus 850IS (in Australia) will do 640 X 480 at 30pps with 28mm equivalent FOV and 320 by 240 at 60 pps (presumably 56mm equivalent FOV).

Jim