Will the FX7 do the job for me?

[Mikko Lopponen]

Originally Posted by Marcus Marchesseault

I pointed my V1 up at my ceiling fan on it's highest speed. I can pretty much freeze it's motion cleanly at 1/250th shutter without noticeable rolling shutter effect. Above that shutter speed, the blades start to look curved. It really isn't noticeable and I really don't see any reason someone would want to shoot at faster than 1/250th shutter. It would simply be a waste of light in anything but a photo-finish camera at an Indy car race. CMOS is just fine.

Shutter speed doesn't affect bending. You will just see it more clearly as the motion blur goes away. One of the worst things about a rolling shutter isn't the fact that moving objects bend, it's the wobbly action that goes on when the camera shakes. You can see it pretty badly in cellphone cmos-cameras, they look horrible when shooting motion. HC1 has a moderate amount of it and its just about usable, but I've heard the fx7 should have a faster scanning speed.

[Mike Burgess]

Have not heard about this bending of objects. How bad is this with the FX7? My video will be aimed at large screen TVs. I do not want a camera with a serious weakness that will be very noticable on a large flat panel HD TV. How common is this rolling shutter? Is there anything that can counteract this affect? Or will I have to spend much more money to get an HD camcorder without one?

I know my finished product will not be able to compete with someone shooting with an $8000.00 camera, but I want it to look as good as possible with the money I have to spend.

Mike

[Mike Burgess]

This bending of vertical objects. How bad is this with the FX7? Are there any examples out there showing this? Can it be adjusted?

Thanks.
Mike

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Vertical bending is an aspect of any lower end fixed CMOS system at high shutter speeds, usually in the 250 or higher range. It's referred to as "Rolling shutter" and can be Googled for a lot of low view or high view information.
Ironically, doing so turns up DVInfo.net as the primary place people are talking about the issue, which also demonstrates it's not a real issue at all, once you know what to avoid. There is a tremendous amount of information out there, and along with that, some misinformation.

[Mike Burgess]

Thanks for your help.

Mike

[Steve Nunez]

I think the FX7 is a great camera and would be well suited to your videography needs. It is very sharp, in fact it's the sharpest shooting HDV cam I've owned and tried- and I've tried a few....get one you'll be pleased.

[Mike Burgess]

Thanks Steve.

[Santi de la Fuente]

I received my FX7 today and I'm very happy. I tested it today recording inside my house and I liked the results. If tomorrow doesn't rains I will do more test outside.

[Vaughan Wood]

Steve,

Do you have both the Canon and the FX 7?

Can you tell us how you find the differences in low light reception work particularly?

...and any other titbits of course.

Cheers Vaughan

[Mike Burgess]

Thanks to all for their encouragement. I have read and reread all the responses thus far and am very encouraged. I guess that with the amount of money envolved, I am very, very cautious, so forgive me if I seem to be asking the same questions over and over.

So far, I like the FX7 the best, followed by the Canon HV20, and then the Sony HC7. I think I will spend the extra money for the FX7 due to the extra weight. That weight will help me keep the cam steady when doing hand holding. Most of the time I use a tripod, but on occasion, I hand hold the cam. With the little, light, camcorders, I have more of a tendency to shake more (age I guess). On a big screen plasma, that shake would be very annoying. Also, I am hoping that with the heavier camcorder, the fluid head on my tripod will pan smoother.

I am interested in hearing from all of you who have shot video with the FX7 in one or more of the following situations and have first hand experience.
1. Nature scenes...the big outdoors. Grand vistas. How accurate are the colors in your scenes? How clear is the video? How is the detail, clarity, for distant objects? Is it anything like what I can see on Discovery HD on my plasma?
2. Moving objects...cars, trains, other quick moving things. How is the auto focus? How much blurring is there? Any macroblocking? How much pixalation?
3. Sound...realistic capture. Dynamics; does it capture the differences between loud and soft with some degree of accuracy? Clarity; does the sound, sound natural? Unwanted sounds; is there much in the way of camcorder noise, unwanted wind noise?
4. Image control...eliminating any unwanted enhancements like overexposure, too much color, incorrect color, edge enhancements, etc.

I really want to capture video that is heads and shoulders above what I now get with my 9 year old Sony DV camcorder. And I would like to be able to show off my stuff on a plasma and have the video knock the socks off anyone who is watching. Mind you, I don't have a lot of money, so I can't afford a 4, 5, or 8 thousand dollar camcorder. In fact, the FX7 will be taxing my finances enought as it is. But I want to get the best product that I can, for the kind of video I will be shooting (scenery, trains, airshows, and eventually family), for the small amount of money I have to spend.

I hope many will respond.

Thanks.
Mike

[Steve Nunez]

Yeah I've had just about all the HDV cams and the FX7 is the sharpest of the bunch. It has a great zoom lens and enough adjustments to keep just about anyone happy. The Canon XH has more adjustments- almost too many- I think the FX7 will do for most shooters.
In default mode the FX7 produces cleaner video than my A1 did (less noise) and has a nice form factor.
The A1 is simply awesome in it's adjustment offerings- but for those that don;t utilize all the tweaks- you'll be better suited with the less expensive FX7. The A1 is a bit soft but does allow for beautiful tonalities- the FX7 is similar to the PD150 but in widescreen HDV- as where the Canon is like the GL2 but in HDV....some guys love the Sony look while others prefer the Canon.
I feel the Canon is the better of the two cameras but also comes with the higher pricepoint......but dollar for dollar the FX7 is a fantastic value.
The Canon HV10 is probably the best bang for the buck period- but for those wanting the longer zoom lens and incredibly sharp video without haloing- the FX7 is hard to beat!

The FX7 is overshadowed by the A1 and rightly so- but you must take into consideration the higher price as well. My biggest gripe with the FX7 was the lack of "DV signal rec" via firewire- so external DTE devices such as firestores that use that signal to record to external device wont work remotely- as you'll need to trigger them on the unit.....that's a poor ommision considering the Canon DOES have that signal. If the FX7 had utilized that signal I might have kept it- but JVC's new HD Everio seems better suited as a all-in-one unit.....so the FX7 was sold.

I really can't recommend the FX7 enough- it's truly a great camera that's overshadowed and overlooked for a more expensive Canon that is better only in it's adjustability- otherwise performance in indeed very similar.

Good luck to all.
(Just my personal observations- others may vary)

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Steve Nunez

but JVC's new HD Everio seems better suited as a all-in-one unit.

Another person who is curious about what seems like an obvious solution -- put the HDD "IN" the camcorder -- and forget the tape transport entirely. This allows lets JVC be free of HDV specs while still using MPEG-2. For NLE's that support MPEG-2, rather than "just" HDV, JVC's move to an industry standard rather than a marketing standard -- is great news.

Now if only we find a 720p24, 720p25, 720p50, and 720p60 version at NAB.

UPDATE: the are video samples at the HD100 forum. Classic very tiny CCD problem. Near zero lattitue! The V1 really solves the lattitude problem.

[Chris Hull]

Originally Posted by Mike Burgess

Thanks to all for their encouragement. I have read and reread all the responses thus far and am very encouraged. I guess that with the amount of money envolved, I am very, very cautious, so forgive me if I seem to be asking the same questions over and over.

So far, I like the FX7 the best, followed by the Canon HV20, and then the Sony HC7. I think I will spend the extra money for the FX7 due to the extra weight. That weight will help me keep the cam steady when doing hand holding. Most of the time I use a tripod, but on occasion, I hand hold the cam. With the little, light, camcorders, I have more of a tendency to shake more (age I guess). On a big screen plasma, that shake would be very annoying. Also, I am hoping that with the heavier camcorder, the fluid head on my tripod will pan smoother.

I am interested in hearing from all of you who have shot video with the FX7 in one or more of the following situations and have first hand experience.
1. Nature scenes...the big outdoors. Grand vistas. How accurate are the colors in your scenes? How clear is the video? How is the detail, clarity, for distant objects? Is it anything like what I can see on Discovery HD on my plasma?
2. Moving objects...cars, trains, other quick moving things. How is the auto focus? How much blurring is there? Any macroblocking? How much pixalation?
3. Sound...realistic capture. Dynamics; does it capture the differences between loud and soft with some degree of accuracy? Clarity; does the sound, sound natural? Unwanted sounds; is there much in the way of camcorder noise, unwanted wind noise?
4. Image control...eliminating any unwanted enhancements like overexposure, too much color, incorrect color, edge enhancements, etc.

I really want to capture video that is heads and shoulders above what I now get with my 9 year old Sony DV camcorder. And I would like to be able to show off my stuff on a plasma and have the video knock the socks off anyone who is watching. Mind you, I don't have a lot of money, so I can't afford a 4, 5, or 8 thousand dollar camcorder. In fact, the FX7 will be taxing my finances enought as it is. But I want to get the best product that I can, for the kind of video I will be shooting (scenery, trains, airshows, and eventually family), for the small amount of money I have to spend.

I hope many will respond.

Thanks.
Mike

for nature the fx-7 will be ideal, 20x and d extender that can be put on the no 1 assign button to give what is as good as a 30x zoom,i see no loss as such in quality with mine using d extender.
i use a rode stereo mike with mine as the on;board mike is not that brilliant and unless used with a tripod all the time you do get some handling noise.
the only thing i personally dislike about the picture is green it has a mushy pea look to my mind,i have tried three fx-7s and greens have been the same with them all,other colors i find fine.
unlike my hc-1 which gives better color on manual white balance my fx-7 is best left on auto.
i have the same trouble as you holding small cams handheld but at times i have use the fx-7 handheld without too much shake,but more often use a brace or tripod.
whatever hdv cam you get it will blow your 9 year old sony cam away picture wise,i wish you luck chris hull