Advice needed: PD150!!

[Stephen McCutcheon]

Hi there,

I'm about to buy a camera on the below link on ebay but I thought it sensible to seek abit of expert advice first. It's a camera for a documentary shoot in China and being in the sticks abit, it's not the place to buy wrongly. It's a PD150 with Operation: 460hrs, Drum: 250hrs, Tape: 110hrs and threading 1110 times.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tab%3DWatching

Camera seems in good knick with a minor scuff on the rocker zoom and no other marks visible. Seller also has a first class rating.  I'm just being really careful with this one, so any advice would be hugely appreciated.

Cheers,

Stephen

[Don Bloom]

can't tell you to buy it or not but by the hours showing the camera appears not to have been used very much over the years.
Since the 150 has been out of production for (IIRC) about 3 possibly 4 years replaced by the 170 it has very low hours on it.
Again i'm not going to tell you whether to buy it or not but if I as looking for another 150 to add to my bag I might consider it ;-)

Don

[Stephen McCutcheon]

Hi there Don,

I recently heard from some people I trust that the PD150 was obsolete now and used models up for sale have most likely had their drum heads refurbished. However from reading into the DVinfo forums I happened to notice that you're using a 'PD170/150 combo.' Does this mean the 150 is still good enough when the need is enough? In other words to settle on a PD150 when the a good 170 isn't available should be reasonable, right?

The need for the camera actually comes because I do have an NTSC PD170 now, but we've shot previous footage for a documentary entirely in PAL meaning to carry on and convert in the final edit, isn't a heinious crime, but it makes more sense to go for a PAL camera if we can, hence the hurry on the above model. Perhaps some oracle on this board even knows where to lay hands on a good PD170 model??

Either way it's good to have feedback when one's stuck in a rut. Thanks.

Stephen

[Don Bloom]

Well it's obsolete in the sense that it's is an SD camera, and has been replaced by the 170. Besides that it's still a great camera. I DID have the heads replaced last year after the camera had over 1000 hours of tape run time so it is a very robust camera. I really didn't want to buy a new camera so for very little money in comparison to a new camera I had the work done by Sony. I've had extreme good luck with all of my Sony products, the 150,170, 250 and others so I feel very good about their product.
there is liturally no difference in image quality between the 170 and 150 that I've seen. At least nothing that a quick little CC in post can't handle and then it might only show up in extreme cases. I do a lot of weddings and use the 2 for the ceremonies and have no work to do in post to match.

While the 170 is a bit better in extreme low light situations and has a better aperature control (more control of the iris) than the 150 I've never had a problem using eihter and as far as I'm concerned they are about 100% interchangeable.

IMHO the 150-170 combo is a great combo if you don't have 2 of the same.

Don

[Stephen McCutcheon]

That's really a relief to hear. And what a great resource this community is turning out to be.

I think I'm going to hold out for another 24 hours to see if a PD170 comes up for sale through the DVinfo 'private classifieds' but otherwise I'll most likely go for it.

Just one or two quick questions. Do you think the high number of threading times is a cause for concern (111)? Also, on a PD150 camera this age, is it possible the heads have also been refurbished? What other things can typically go wrong on these cameras that are worth asking the seller before buying?

Cheers
Stephen

[Don Bloom]

I would doubt the heads have been done due to the low hours. It's the hours not the age. With only 460 hours of operation and 250 of drum time I would be very surpirsed if the heads had been done since the clocks aren't reset when they do that.

As for the threading time, I wouldn't worry. Mine is a lot higher than that and I don't use the camera as a deck-it's just the number of times a tape has been inserted and threaded. Doesn't mean the tape has been run thru it (thats the tape hours).
good luck in your "quest" ;-)

Don

[Stephen McCutcheon]

Cheers for all that. I'm moreorless set then. If a better PD170 fails to appear in the Private class ads over the next 24 hours I'll settle on this one then.

Thanks,
Stephen

[Shaun Roemich]

When you get it, make sure the back focus is adjusted right. This CAN'T be user fixed and I've had two cameras get "bumped" over the years and the back focus hasn't been right since. Use telephoto to focus on an object some distance away and then pull out wide. If that object begins to get soft, I personally would avoid the camera. Use a TV or monitor if you like for better resolution than the LCD panel.

Mine has been an absolute work horse and I love it. Oh, and make sure the video out rca connector works, if that's important to you. They have a habit of becoming wrecked if the user hasn't been careful plugging and unplugging connectors.

[Stephen McCutcheon]

Hi there Shaun,

Great advice that I'll be sure to use when the camera arrives. Advice like this is always appreciated.

Unfortunately no PD170 seems to be showing up on the private classifieds, so I'll be settling on the PD150 at this point - time constraints and all that.

Cheers,
Stephen