Pro Version of HC3?

[Hse Kha]

Will there be a professional version of the HC3 or will the HC1 continue in its incarnation as the A1?

[Jason Burkhimer]

there has been no annonuncement for a pro version of the hc3. and i personally havent heard any rumblings. I assume that eventually, we will be flooded with HDV options in the same way that DV is now...

-burk

[Alexander Karol]

I highly doubt it. Not only would it be ergonomically awkward, I believe that the main reason that the HC1 has been pulled out of the market is because it has drastically decreased sales for the A1 and FX1. I believe that the A1 will remain the cheaper pro option for a while.

[Philip Williams]

Originally Posted by Alexander Karol

I highly doubt it. Not only would it be ergonomically awkward, I believe that the main reason that the HC1 has been pulled out of the market is because it has drastically decreased sales for the A1 and FX1. I believe that the A1 will remain the cheaper pro option for a while.

That sounds very possible. It really wouldn't make sense to pull the HC1 so soon. The HC3, while a nice family HD camcorder, is no HC1 replacement. In my opinion Sony is very agressive in protecting its higher end products and frequently cripples lower end models.

Honestly, I really liked the HC1 - and I'm no Sony fan. I actually applauded them for creating such a capable product at such an affordable price. Apparently they've rectified that error.

Its all good though, the other manufacturers will kick in soon enough to fill the vacuum.

[Hse Kha]

I agree with you guys. I don't see how the HC3 can be converted to a "pro" version. Can you image that toy with a shotgun mic? LOL

Its a shame the HC1 is going. I love mine and I will hang on to it.

Personally I doubt that they would keep the A1 going without the HC1. How would they justify a production line for just the A1? Not feasable...

[Alexander Karol]

What do you mean? They don't need to justify anything. Sony's professional camcorders are handled by their broacast department which is completely separate. I can't think of any reason as to why they would pull the A1 out of the market, regardless of what happens with the HC1. The price gap is huge between the A1 and the Z1 and the feature set included reflects this.

[Holger Leonhard]

pro version:
- cine gamma
- progressive mode or at least cineframe
- manual shutter and more manual control (independent gain settings p.e.)
- underscan display (!)
- symmetric mic input with phantom power (maybe via special adapters because of the big size of XLR), manual audio control

what do you need more ?

[Alexander Karol]

Won't happen. Trust me!

For $300 more you can get the A1.

[Robert M Wright]

Where the heck would you fit XLR input connectors on an HC3? If you added a piece like on the A1U, it would probably be a little top-heavy, I would think.

[Alexander Karol]

Guys, this is a CONSUMER camcorder. The HC1 is a PROSUMER camcorder. Do you see a pro version of the HC90? PC350? Nope! It's not going to happen.

[Robert M Wright]

Maybe they'll put out a pro version of the Sanyo HD1, complete with XLR inputs (LOL). Now that would be a sight!

[Alexander Karol]

Hahahahaha! That would be so funny.

[Jeff DeMaagd]

I am still puzzling over the rumored elimination of the HC1 from the HDV lineup, especially from a company that maintains a dizzying array of products with only slight differentiations in most of their other categories, esp. digital cameras and camcorders. That said, the HC1 model is technically a year old now, though I would have hoped that its replacement didn't remove useful features.

[Alexander Karol]

The HC3 is not replacing the HC3 per-se. It's more of a necessity. Think about it, who would buy the HC3 when they can get the HC1 for cheaper? Heck, the HC1 has kept people from getting the FX1 and A1. It's a good move by Sony. Snatch one while you guys can!

[Stu Holmes]

Originally Posted by Alexander Karol

Think about it, who would buy the HC3 when they can get the HC1 for cheaper?

I don´t beleive for one second that the street-price of HC3 is going to be more than HC1.
HC1 is available currently for about USD1500 from people like B&H.
Price of HC3 in Japan is already going to be about USD1300 i beleive. (Yes i know there are complications with doing a simplistic straight currency conversion)

HC3 will be on sale internationally in non-Japanese markets from April.
I´d expect the price to stay firmish for a couple of months and then, simply due to competition to sell it (when units arrive in volume at stores), price may drop a little.

i´d say by about May or June, you should be able to get HC3 for street-price of maybe USD1200-1300. Something like that. Unless demand is SO high (for summer...) that there´s no reason to discount them.

Street-price of HC3 should get to around 80% of current HC1 street-price in fairly short'time frame, IMHO.

Finally, it´s my opinion that Sony have no plans at all to do a ´pro´version of HC3. It´s an out-and-out design for the masses, trying to achieve critical mass in HDV camera sales. I think it won´t be THAT long before we have a sub-1000dollar HDV Sony cam. I think that A1 will continue in production for quite a while, until maybe replaced by someting like an A5, at a guess.
And i do think that there is some credibility to the theory that FX1 sales and A1 sales were dwarfed by HC1 sales, certainly more than Sony maybe expected, so they have readjusted their product line now to protect the R&D they made into A1 and FX1 cams.