Best small camera?

Michael Y Wong · April 28th, 2008, 02:02 AM

Hi Jason

Was going to post earlier but it seems that everyone already has.

HV20/30 has pretty much the best low light performance in the 1/3" CMOS cam category. It is head and shoulders above the original 1/3" Cmos sony hc1 and is just as good as if not better then the newer sony hc7 with ClearVid Cmos sensors.

With that said it is definately no FX1 nor can it compare with any 3 chip ccd 1/3 cam but you can't expect it to be. From watching your control of colour correction & grading I'm quite sure you can definately get quite a bit of the this little cam.

Dunno if you require 24/30p but from what I recall it is the only little cam in this class with this feature.

For it to fullfill your needs; I would say that it would mostly depend on what you will be using the camera for. For extremely dark situations it will definately drive you crazy, but that would go for pretty much any camera.

Michael Y Wong · April 28th, 2008, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yang Wen

Hey Ram, nice clip. Which stabilizer did you use with the HV30 for those flying shots?

Nice to see one of my old Merlin's being put to great use!

Definately looking forward to seeing what you can push out of that little setup Ramesh; as I will surely miss shooting with that setup.

Yang Wen · April 28th, 2008, 09:06 AM

Also keep in mind that in the 24P mode, the HV30 can shoot in 1/24 shutter speed, which allows you to capture just a bit more light.. it makes the video a bit more smeary but for static scenes, it works well.

Dave Blackhurst · April 28th, 2008, 10:36 AM

Don't know if tapeless is on the menu for consideration, but the new SR11/12 with similar tech to the EX1 (bionz/exmor) is putting out some good video so far for me. AVCHD of course, but worth a look.

Slightly better image quality than 7 series sensor, but limited manual control compared to HC7/9. So far face recognition feature looks to make up for it. Hunts when zoomed in low light, but seems OK in wide end, even in poor light conditions. Manual focus knob is actually quite usable, shot some zoo footage and auto kept locking on the cages (brighter and foreground, actually quite intelligent for "normal" shooting), so had to manually focus on dark animals in dark recesses... tough conditions for any camera.

Image quality is very impressive, see discussions in the AVCHD section. Good lattitude, incredible detail, and very smooth (no stepping in gradients!) natural color overall.

And the 10Mpixel still camera is not bad at all <wink>.

Ryan Koral · April 30th, 2008, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Magbanua

hi all.

i'm looking for a small video camera preferably 3CCD/3CMOS, in the tradition of the trv-900. which would be the best option?

the HV20 seems a crowd favorite but I'm wary of the 1 chip/lowlight performance.

thanks!

i have a trv900 w/ a scratched lens that i'll sell you. best deal in town. :P

April 28th, 2008, 02:02 AM	#16
Michael Y Wong Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Ontario Canada! Posts: 353	Hv20/hv30 Hi Jason Was going to post earlier but it seems that everyone already has. HV20/30 has pretty much the best low light performance in the 1/3" CMOS cam category. It is head and shoulders above the original 1/3" Cmos sony hc1 and is just as good as if not better then the newer sony hc7 with ClearVid Cmos sensors. With that said it is definately no FX1 nor can it compare with any 3 chip ccd 1/3 cam but you can't expect it to be. From watching your control of colour correction & grading I'm quite sure you can definately get quite a bit of the this little cam. Dunno if you require 24/30p but from what I recall it is the only little cam in this class with this feature. For it to fullfill your needs; I would say that it would mostly depend on what you will be using the camera for. For extremely dark situations it will definately drive you crazy, but that would go for pretty much any camera. __________________ dreaming hobbyist + storyteller www.michaelywong.com

April 28th, 2008, 09:06 AM	#18
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	Also keep in mind that in the 24P mode, the HV30 can shoot in 1/24 shutter speed, which allows you to capture just a bit more light.. it makes the video a bit more smeary but for static scenes, it works well.

April 28th, 2008, 10:36 AM	#19
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Don't know if tapeless is on the menu for consideration, but the new SR11/12 with similar tech to the EX1 (bionz/exmor) is putting out some good video so far for me. AVCHD of course, but worth a look. Slightly better image quality than 7 series sensor, but limited manual control compared to HC7/9. So far face recognition feature looks to make up for it. Hunts when zoomed in low light, but seems OK in wide end, even in poor light conditions. Manual focus knob is actually quite usable, shot some zoo footage and auto kept locking on the cages (brighter and foreground, actually quite intelligent for "normal" shooting), so had to manually focus on dark animals in dark recesses... tough conditions for any camera. Image quality is very impressive, see discussions in the AVCHD section. Good lattitude, incredible detail, and very smooth (no stepping in gradients!) natural color overall. And the 10Mpixel still camera is not bad at all <wink>.