Which HDV comes close to the pd170 for lowlight? at DVinfo.net

Fellipe de Paula · May 23rd, 2008, 12:00 PM

Thinking about to upgrade all my pd170's to hdvs:
Which HDV comes close to the pd170 for lowlight quality? (indoor, wedding, lowlight sources)
And the most valuable for a $5000 budget?

Travis Cossel · May 23rd, 2008, 12:25 PM

You might want to specify if your budget is for each camera or total.

Fellipe de Paula · May 23rd, 2008, 01:02 PM

each camera... Thx :)

Tom Hardwick · May 23rd, 2008, 01:05 PM

Question 1: EX1
Question 2: US$? Probably a shoot out between the XH-A1 and the discontinued (by the sound of it) V1.

Fellipe de Paula · May 24th, 2008, 01:31 PM

Found a great deal here to buy XH-A1. Would you think it'll be my best choice?

Tom Hardwick · May 24th, 2008, 01:46 PM

If you went the Z1 /Z7 route then you'd be able to use all those NPF batteries you've bought.

Fellipe de Paula · May 24th, 2008, 01:59 PM

nice point. So z1 would be the best option for wedding? what about lowlight quality? I use the sony oncamera light 10w/20w on my pd170, would it be enough for z1?

Tom Hardwick · May 24th, 2008, 02:04 PM

Good - you're coming round. I chose the Z1 (with an FX1 for backup) when I moved from the PD. I shoot a lot of weddings, and although the Z1 isn't as good in the gloom as the PD, its video amplifiers are far less noisy and intrusive. The tradeoff between grain and sharpness is a good one, and I've shot entire wedding chunks at +18dB on the Z1 and even off DVD it looks fine.

Nothing wrong with the Canon though, and its longer zoom is a delight for picking off guests on a summer lawn.

tom.

Tom Hardwick · May 24th, 2008, 02:05 PM

Oh, forgot to say - I too use the 20-DW2 on my Z1, diffused with a Lumiquest Mini soft-box. All those NPF batteries soldier on.

Pietro Impagliazzo · May 24th, 2008, 02:07 PM

EX1 in interlaced mode is quite fast on low light, faster than the Z7.

And the Z7 equals the EX1's low light performance in progressive.

EX1 would not be the best choice for recording weddings, unless you buy loads of 16gb cards.

Z7 would be the best choice for you, you record to tape, and later you can buy some fast CF cards, record to them and only use the tapes as backup.

Hope this helps brazilian buddy ;).

PS: Like people said Z1 must be a good choice too, but I can't say nothing about it. Never used one.

Robert Bec · May 25th, 2008, 01:08 AM

pietro

dont you find with your z7 the photographers flash causes pixelation when you slow it down in post

Rob

Tom Hardwick · May 25th, 2008, 01:18 AM

Fellipe, I'd gently warn you about buying a CMOS camera for wedding videography, and here's why.

This short movie beautifully exposes (Ha!) the truth about the EX1's rolling shutter. That police car's strobe sequence can look a lot like the guests crowding round the wedding cake cutting.

http://freshdv.dreamhosters.com/mjep...r_artifact.mov

or

http://tinyurl.com/57umxo

You may find this sort of 'half frame over-exposure' to be acceptable (though I don't) but slowed down (as I often like to do) it looks just awful.

tom.

Fellipe de Paula · May 25th, 2008, 08:58 AM

Tom, thanks for your sharing. I always preferred ccds instead of cmos. (just preference, no fundamentals hehe).

I'm searching more infos about the z1... (I liked that camera).

Terry Esslinger · May 25th, 2008, 12:54 PM

Besides the XLR inputs, what significant differences between the Z1 and FX1?

Tom Hardwick · May 25th, 2008, 01:10 PM

43 differences between the two cameras. I have both, and will always, always, pick up the Z1 in preference to the FX1.

Here's some very good reasons.

XLR inputs
underscan
fine tune of the manual white balance
more assign buttons
focus assist (not expanded focus, note)
black stretch

and that's just for starters.

tom.

May 23rd, 2008, 12:00 PM	#1
Fellipe de Paula Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brazil Posts: 57	Which HDV comes close to the pd170 for lowlight? Thinking about to upgrade all my pd170's to hdvs: Which HDV comes close to the pd170 for lowlight quality? (indoor, wedding, lowlight sources) And the most valuable for a $5000 budget?

May 23rd, 2008, 12:25 PM	#2
Travis Cossel Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 2,933	You might want to specify if your budget is for each camera or total. __________________ Black Label Films www.blacklabelweddingfilms.com

May 24th, 2008, 02:07 PM	#10
Pietro Impagliazzo Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rio de Janeiro, BR Posts: 170	EX1 in interlaced mode is quite fast on low light, faster than the Z7. And the Z7 equals the EX1's low light performance in progressive. EX1 would not be the best choice for recording weddings, unless you buy loads of 16gb cards. Z7 would be the best choice for you, you record to tape, and later you can buy some fast CF cards, record to them and only use the tapes as backup. Hope this helps brazilian buddy ;). PS: Like people said Z1 must be a good choice too, but I can't say nothing about it. Never used one. __________________ Pietro Impagliazzo flickr.com/photos/impagliazzo

May 25th, 2008, 12:54 PM	#14
Terry Esslinger Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sacramento, Elk Grove. Calif Posts: 306	Besides the XLR inputs, what significant differences between the Z1 and FX1? __________________ Puttin the wet stuff on the red stuff!

May 23rd, 2008, 01:02 PM	#3
Fellipe de Paula Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brazil Posts: 57	each camera... Thx :)

May 23rd, 2008, 01:05 PM	#4
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Question 1: EX1 Question 2: US$? Probably a shoot out between the XH-A1 and the discontinued (by the sound of it) V1.

May 24th, 2008, 01:31 PM	#5
Fellipe de Paula Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brazil Posts: 57	Found a great deal here to buy XH-A1. Would you think it'll be my best choice?

May 24th, 2008, 01:46 PM	#6
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	If you went the Z1 /Z7 route then you'd be able to use all those NPF batteries you've bought.

May 24th, 2008, 01:59 PM	#7
Fellipe de Paula Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brazil Posts: 57	nice point. So z1 would be the best option for wedding? what about lowlight quality? I use the sony oncamera light 10w/20w on my pd170, would it be enough for z1?

May 24th, 2008, 02:04 PM	#8
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Good - you're coming round. I chose the Z1 (with an FX1 for backup) when I moved from the PD. I shoot a lot of weddings, and although the Z1 isn't as good in the gloom as the PD, its video amplifiers are far less noisy and intrusive. The tradeoff between grain and sharpness is a good one, and I've shot entire wedding chunks at +18dB on the Z1 and even off DVD it looks fine. Nothing wrong with the Canon though, and its longer zoom is a delight for picking off guests on a summer lawn. tom.

May 24th, 2008, 02:05 PM	#9
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Oh, forgot to say - I too use the 20-DW2 on my Z1, diffused with a Lumiquest Mini soft-box. All those NPF batteries soldier on.

May 25th, 2008, 01:08 AM	#11
Robert Bec Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 358	pietro dont you find with your z7 the photographers flash causes pixelation when you slow it down in post Rob

May 25th, 2008, 01:18 AM	#12
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Fellipe, I'd gently warn you about buying a CMOS camera for wedding videography, and here's why. This short movie beautifully exposes (Ha!) the truth about the EX1's rolling shutter. That police car's strobe sequence can look a lot like the guests crowding round the wedding cake cutting. http://freshdv.dreamhosters.com/mjep...r_artifact.mov or http://tinyurl.com/57umxo You may find this sort of 'half frame over-exposure' to be acceptable (though I don't) but slowed down (as I often like to do) it looks just awful. tom.

May 25th, 2008, 08:58 AM	#13
Fellipe de Paula Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Brazil Posts: 57	Tom, thanks for your sharing. I always preferred ccds instead of cmos. (just preference, no fundamentals hehe). I'm searching more infos about the z1... (I liked that camera).

May 25th, 2008, 01:10 PM	#15
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	43 differences between the two cameras. I have both, and will always, always, pick up the Z1 in preference to the FX1. Here's some very good reasons. XLR inputs underscan fine tune of the manual white balance more assign buttons focus assist (not expanded focus, note) black stretch and that's just for starters. tom.