Marc in Brazil

[Marc Burleigh]

Hi all. First up: a heartfelt thanks for all the nuggets of wisdom and technical experience I've gleaned from a month or so of lurking on this board while trying to figure out my next camera purchase.

I've been all over the web, and while I've found other sites with some precious titbits of information, this here forum is a regular warehouse of knowledge -- on par with that final scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And I dare say there's a few bullwhip-cracking characters running around. And a few biblical relics to be found too.

So here I am, presenting myself from the deep green jungles of Brazil (actually more the concrete tower city of Sao Paulo), where I'm a correspondent for a major news organisation. My main brief is to write, but my passion is pictures. I was a TV reporter for a while, so I knew all about preening in front of lenses. I gotta say, it's a lot more fascinating playing around on the other side of the box though.

Anyway, I've had a second-hand PD150 for a little while. I was using that here for a bit when Something Bad happened to it (an absence of blue that no amount of white balancing could fix). While it was off on a three-month enforced repairs stay in the Sony ClubMed, I got to looking at upgrading.

Initially, it was the HVR-A1 that got my attention. I got this close to plumping for that. Until. Until a careful look through the posts here made it clear that the lowlight ability was a downer, no matter how good the daylight pix looked.

Then I decided to massage my credit card and go all the way for a Z1. Might still do so, though not right away. The advantage of PAL/NTSC switching was very tempting, as was the rest of its features and its durability. But the problem I have down here in Latin America is lugging around a beastie that 1) attracts thieves' attention and 2) is mine, not the company's, and therefore an insurance hassle.

So for now it will be a hybrid set up. I've gone for an HC7 camcorder (I would have gone for the HC9 but couldn't find a PAL version of that in the States, and the differences are minimal in any case). That should give decent good-light pix, and I've splurged on all the usual extras (wide-angle, external mikes, etc.). And it's discreet, so I can shuffle in to places where a larger cam could cause problems.

For the low-light work, I'm just hoping my trusty PD150 comes back home soon.

So there it is. Pleased to be here. Thanks for having me.

[Ben Dailey]

Nice to meet you Marc. I'm new here as well.
I hope you get your camera back soon.