advice to take an important decision at DVinfo.net

Samer Aslan · April 4th, 2010, 11:26 AM

I am about to buy my first hd cam,and i need some advice before i make my move.
I am a freelance and i do many kind of works,for industrial video's and spot for company and work for tv. I have to decide between Panasonic AG-HPX500E or Sony PMW-350K.
I'd like to buy pmw350 but the only thing am worred about is the cmos rolling shutter thing.
Wil it be a limition (a defect).I will be able to do any kind of work with that cam,(I know it's impossible to have a perfect cam that is good for every kind of work)...but i can afford one only.
thanks, everybody.
great forum
Samer

Tim Polster · April 4th, 2010, 02:41 PM

My main concern with rolling shutter is how it handles camera motion, mainly skew and on/off sharpening along with jello from vibrations. If you are not filming live sports or a lot of action, problems with CMOS chips should not be on your radar.

I like the HPX-500 as it is CCD but it will only get "longer in the tooth" as time goes forward as it is not a full raster camera which the PMW-350 is. If you can afford the PMW-350, I would buy it as it is more future proof than the HPX-500.

But try before you buy for this kind of purchase.

Steve Phillipps · April 4th, 2010, 02:49 PM

The PMW350 seems to be the cam of the moment and as such if you did buy one and found it no good I'm sure you could sell it again pretty quickly.
I'd be careful with things like the HPX500, as Tim says they are getting a bit old now. I'd rather have one than a PMW350 I think though! But that's just me.
Have you checked out the JVC HM700? CCD, full raster 1280x720, upscales to 1920x1080. Cheap media.
It's a difficult time at the moment. Might be wise to wait until after NAB too, you never what might show up there.
Steve

Tom Roper · April 4th, 2010, 05:14 PM

Skew only happens when there is relative motion across the frame. If you are shooting from the shoulder, and panning with the action to keep your subject framed, I doubt you would notice skew even at high zoom magnifications. In two and a half years, I've only noticed skew a few times. There was an instance with the cam on a stationary tripod, and a child on a skateboard zoomed by in front of the camera, appearing to be leaning backwards slightly. At other times, I suppose you could notice if your subject was a horse running in front of a picket fence, and you were panning to keep the horse framed, the fence posts could potentially skew a bit, but even this seldom becomes noticeable unless other aspects of the exposure are poorly chosen, such as using high shutter speeds that cancel motion blur.

Jello wobble on the other hand, has never been noticeable to me shooting handheld, but can be a problem when the camera is rigidly mounted on a tripod, at high zoom magnification, and there are vibrations introduced or windy conditions. Either case would adversely affect the images even without CMOS because it's still fundamentally caused by shaky video. CMOS just adds a wobble component to it.

Samer Aslan · April 5th, 2010, 03:08 AM

I really needed this kind of answers, I have to tell you the truth, I'm in love with this cam, I've had tried it already more than once, and you will find this hard to believe: I think I will be the first one here in Italy to buy this cam (pmw350), I’ve called many dealer's to ask if they have sell one, and all of them answered: not yet.!! and I'm talking about one week ago from now..
I've used the HPX-500 and I didn’t like it that much, here in Italy many people got it.
I have read all that you have mentioned here in your forum about the pmw350, and I heard great things about it (always from this forum)
Thank you for helping me to decide, I will buy it this week, good luck to you all...
I will continue to follow this forum, I think now that I need the nanoflash…you never finish buying.
Thanks
Samer

April 4th, 2010, 11:26 AM	#1
Samer Aslan Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Padua/Venice - Italy Posts: 131	advice to take an important decision I am about to buy my first hd cam,and i need some advice before i make my move. I am a freelance and i do many kind of works,for industrial video's and spot for company and work for tv. I have to decide between Panasonic AG-HPX500E or Sony PMW-350K. I'd like to buy pmw350 but the only thing am worred about is the cmos rolling shutter thing. Wil it be a limition (a defect).I will be able to do any kind of work with that cam,(I know it's impossible to have a perfect cam that is good for every kind of work)...but i can afford one only. thanks, everybody. great forum Samer

April 5th, 2010, 03:08 AM	#5
Samer Aslan Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Padua/Venice - Italy Posts: 131	thanks I really needed this kind of answers, I have to tell you the truth, I'm in love with this cam, I've had tried it already more than once, and you will find this hard to believe: I think I will be the first one here in Italy to buy this cam (pmw350), I’ve called many dealer's to ask if they have sell one, and all of them answered: not yet.!! and I'm talking about one week ago from now.. I've used the HPX-500 and I didn’t like it that much, here in Italy many people got it. I have read all that you have mentioned here in your forum about the pmw350, and I heard great things about it (always from this forum) Thank you for helping me to decide, I will buy it this week, good luck to you all... I will continue to follow this forum, I think now that I need the nanoflash…you never finish buying. Thanks Samer

April 4th, 2010, 02:41 PM	#2
Tim Polster Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 2,231	My main concern with rolling shutter is how it handles camera motion, mainly skew and on/off sharpening along with jello from vibrations. If you are not filming live sports or a lot of action, problems with CMOS chips should not be on your radar. I like the HPX-500 as it is CCD but it will only get "longer in the tooth" as time goes forward as it is not a full raster camera which the PMW-350 is. If you can afford the PMW-350, I would buy it as it is more future proof than the HPX-500. But try before you buy for this kind of purchase.

April 4th, 2010, 02:49 PM	#3
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	The PMW350 seems to be the cam of the moment and as such if you did buy one and found it no good I'm sure you could sell it again pretty quickly. I'd be careful with things like the HPX500, as Tim says they are getting a bit old now. I'd rather have one than a PMW350 I think though! But that's just me. Have you checked out the JVC HM700? CCD, full raster 1280x720, upscales to 1920x1080. Cheap media. It's a difficult time at the moment. Might be wise to wait until after NAB too, you never what might show up there. Steve

April 4th, 2010, 05:14 PM	#4
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	Skew only happens when there is relative motion across the frame. If you are shooting from the shoulder, and panning with the action to keep your subject framed, I doubt you would notice skew even at high zoom magnifications. In two and a half years, I've only noticed skew a few times. There was an instance with the cam on a stationary tripod, and a child on a skateboard zoomed by in front of the camera, appearing to be leaning backwards slightly. At other times, I suppose you could notice if your subject was a horse running in front of a picket fence, and you were panning to keep the horse framed, the fence posts could potentially skew a bit, but even this seldom becomes noticeable unless other aspects of the exposure are poorly chosen, such as using high shutter speeds that cancel motion blur. Jello wobble on the other hand, has never been noticeable to me shooting handheld, but can be a problem when the camera is rigidly mounted on a tripod, at high zoom magnification, and there are vibrations introduced or windy conditions. Either case would adversely affect the images even without CMOS because it's still fundamentally caused by shaky video. CMOS just adds a wobble component to it.