Digital Camcorder Hall of Fame - Who Gets In? Why?

[Paul Cascio]

Here's the critera:

Must be the best of its generation or truly revolutionary in performance, value, technology or function.

[Nate Haustein]

Canon XL-1 - a truly iconic form factor and feature set...plus I always wanted one.

[Don Bloom]

PD 150---king of low light and after the VX1000 and PD100 a world of difference. Never had the PD100 but I did have the VX1000 and while it was revoluntionary for it's time the PD150 was just in a whole different world.

[Charles Papert]

After that, the DVX100 for the 24p factor, and the HVX200 for solid state recording and overcranking.

[John C. Chu]

3 Cameras:

The Panasonic DVX-100. 24P. Enough said.

The Sony FX1:

I know the JVC came first, but I couldn't believe how good it looked on the big screen during a demo in New York City.

The Canon HV20, for the first time, a High Def Camcorder that shot 24p for $1,200.

[Paul Cascio]

Why the FX1?

Should the EX1 also belong?

[Kevin McRoberts]

Canon 5Dmk2 - despite its issues, and not really being a "camcorder," it ushered in a new era.

I might suggest the Z1U instead of the FX1, if only because of the XLR input - the "world camera" aspect doesn't hurt, either. Other than that, it's the only HDV camera I still use from time to time, and it has literally been dropped, kicked, and caked in mud, and still functions perfectly.

Other than that, agree wholeheartedly with the XL1, PD150, DVX100, HVX200, and HV20.

On the big end of things:
RED One
Panasonic Varicam and/or HDX900

[David Heath]

Surely right at the top of the list must be the Sony VX1000? Basically the first DV format camera, and the first digital camera for the consumer/prosumer market. Before the VX1000, all cameras at this price point were analogue - Hi-8 or a VHS variant.

I can still remember it's introduction - the recording quality could hardly be believed in something of the price.

Second to that I'd put the Sony EX. The first prosumer priced/styled camera that people used to high end cameras would wholeheartedly accept.

[Don Bloom]

yeah, had one and after using various S-VHS/VHS and Beta rigs the VX1000 was a revolution. Lots of money to buy, tapes cost an arm and a leg but WOW what a camera.
I might even still have one hidden away someplace around here.

[Garrett Low]

Sony DCR-TRV900? One of the first small form factor 3CCD cameras. It even had a focus ring.

-Garrrett

[Don Bloom]

The TRV900 was a great camera and matched beautifully with the PD150. I didn't have one but a friend of mine did and I used it a lot for a 3rd camera back when. I really liked it especially since it was so small.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Top game changer by company:

Sony: VX1000 - THE Digital game changer
Panasonic: DVX-100 - 24p
RED: ONE - "affordable" digital cinema.
Canon: 5D Mark II - big sensor, many lenses for the masses.

The only thing missing is the transition to HD. Who was the first to deliver 24p prosumer HD? The HVX-200 had 24p and over/under crank, but is there an earlier model of note?

[Kevin McRoberts]

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

Who was the first to deliver 24p prosumer HD? The HVX-200 had 24p and over/under crank, but is there an earlier model of note?

I believe that was the Sony V1U, albeit HDV and its various other foibles. An OK camera, but for some reason never excited me... perhaps it's the codec itself, the early jello-tastic implementation of CMOS, or how it was utterly destroyed in terms of downrange image quality once the HVX's DVCPROHD (not to mention over/undercrank and solid state media) was introduced.

The HVX quickly became a mainstay in the mid-level market, and the HV20 wasn't too far off to become the darling of the entry-level indie. I think the V1 just got lost in the production shuffle.


EDIT: just checked some dates in Wikipedia, and it appears I'm wrong... the HVX200 was released 12/2005, the V1U 9/2006, and the XHA1 sometime in 2006. The Z1U, which predates the HVX by about a year, does have a "Cineframe 24" setting, but in my experience its main function is to render your footage stuttery and unuseable.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Yeah the V1U had a 1/4" sensor, rather than the 1/3" size expected in the prosumer market. I'm not sure that it shot 24p.

In some ways, the V1U seems equivalent to the Nikon D90. The D90 was the first DSLR that could record video, but the performance (720p, low bit rate, lots of jello) was a bit below the threshold. The 5D2 introduction lagged by a couple of months, but the performance was good enough to spark a revolution.

So, yeah, I think the HVX wins the HD category. It was the camera I wanted - and the one I rented - until I bought a 5D2 in December, 2008. The JVC 1/3" HD cams were nice, but they were aimed at ENG 60fps shooting, rather than the 24fps filmmaker.

And yes, the HV20 is definitely the HD palm-sized winner. I remember shopping in that segment at the time and I had four requirements: 24p, audio in, manual focus, and manual exposure (even if I needed to futz around to get it.) I could find other cams that met two or three of the requirements, but only the HV20 met all four.

[Mike Beckett]

I had a V1 - it shot 24p/30p in the USA, 25p in PAL land.

I wouldn't consider it an entry for a hall of fame, but it was a solid workhorse.