Camera advice

Bryan Daugherty · January 21st, 2009, 08:33 PM

In the right circumstances it delivers stunning results.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o..._screen_03.jpg
...and....
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...hy/IMG_009.jpg
...but sometimes it shoots mud that you have to fix in post..

PD170 on left - - HD1000U on rt
50 wat on cam light on 170 scene lit with rope/xmas lights as shown in the background. tent reception with no other lighting

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...en_campare.jpg

Adam Haro · January 21st, 2009, 10:53 PM

Thanks everybody for the replys. Bryan, your posts have been very helpful in the HD1000 thread. As it stands now HD is not popular in our market yet and we are pretty booked up for this wedding year with jobs that are contracted for SD.

I've got a wedding this Sat. I think I am going to test drive the GL2 before I decide to buy it and see how the footage compares to my DVC7 and HD1.

I haven't even switched my HD1 to the HD setting. I think I will start shooting test footage in HD that I can use to make sure my computer is up to the task of editing HD.

If the GL2 significantly outperforms my other 2 cams than I'll go for it, if not I'll finish the year with what I've got and get an XH-A1 at the end of the year.

Bryan Daugherty · January 21st, 2009, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Haro

...we are pretty booked up for this wedding year with jobs that are contracted for SD...I think I am going to test drive the GL2 before I decide to buy it...If the GL2 significantly outperforms my other 2 cams than I'll go for it, if not I'll finish the year with what I've got and get an XH-A1 at the end of the year.

Congrats on the heavy booking during the economic downturn. Trying before you buy is always a great option if you can. If you have any change of heart on looking at my PD170 I can PM before i put it up for sell later this year. Best Wishes.

Adam Haro · January 21st, 2009, 11:20 PM

Yeah we're one of those DJ companies that also offers videography so offering a package deal really helps bookings. But my degree is in broadcast production so I'm not one of those DJs that one day just decided I could shoot video without any clue as to what I'm doing. We already have 2 of those in my area.
Bryan, I'll definitely keep the PD17 in mind, thanks.

Bryan Daugherty · January 21st, 2009, 11:51 PM

One big thing in this area is that many of the photog's view us as nails on their coffins and not viable partners. I have talked to some brides at trade shows who even told me of one photo studio even has a brochure entitled "why videography is wasted money" But I am digressing from the OP, and falling off topic. Let us know what you think of the GL2 after you test run.

Tom Hardwick · January 22nd, 2009, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Haro

I came accross a GL2 with very low hours, the guy has only used about 10 tapes through it, and he will sell it to me for $1K.It seems like a pretty good deal, comes with widescreen lens, shoe mount Canon XLR adaptor, 1 battery and charger.So is this deal worth jumping on?

It sounds genuine though rather expensive but then all sellers are open to offers. You say a 'widescreen lens' - you mean it comes with an anamorphic (possibly Century?) This makes the camera far more useful in this day and age, and will see you through to making SD DVDs in 16:9.

The only downer here is that you have to learn to read a very horizontally compressed v'finder and side-screen, and composition can be difficult. You'll also have a restricted zoom range and won't be able to use a wide-angle adapter.

The XLR adapter is a goodie too - they're pretty rare and were outrageously expensive when new.
So go make a silly offer, knowing that there are secondhand FX1s out there at not a lot more.

tom.

Adam Haro · January 22nd, 2009, 12:11 PM

Aargh, darn typos, I meant wide angle. I could definitely look into an anamorphic lens, would that be better than using the 16:9 setting that the camera has? Would either cause a significant loss of clarity in the picture?

I will definitely make a lower offer but I don't see him coming down much, I know he checked ebay to set the price and saw alot of GL2s selling for $1200.

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

It sounds genuine though rather expensive but then all sellers are open to offers. You say a 'widescreen lens' - you mean it comes with an anamorphic (possibly Century?) This makes the camera far more useful in this day and age, and will see you through to making SD DVDs in 16:9.

The only downer here is that you have to learn to read a very horizontally compressed v'finder and side-screen, and composition can be difficult. You'll also have a restricted zoom range and won't be able to use a wide-angle adapter.

The XLR adapter is a goodie too - they're pretty rare and were outrageously expensive when new.
So go make a silly offer, knowing that there are secondhand FX1s out there at not a lot more.

tom.

Bryan Daugherty · January 22nd, 2009, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Haro

...I will definitely make a lower offer but I don't see him coming down much, I know he checked ebay to set the price and saw alot of GL2s selling for $1200.

You might check ebay yourself, I know last time i tried to do a sell price comparison on eBay for my PD170, I saw a lot of PD170's PRICED at $2500 and up but they had 0 bids, the ones that were SELLING were typically much less than that. He might be basing his pricing on other sellers just as unrealistic. Just a thought.

Adam Haro · January 22nd, 2009, 12:45 PM

So after more looking I found a lightly used HD1000u for $1200 with the basic accessorys, charger battery etc... I'm thinking for $200 more this might be a better way to go than the GL2.

Any thoughts?

Tom Hardwick · January 22nd, 2009, 01:16 PM

Sure the HD1000U isn't a PAL camera?

As to using an anamorphic on the GL2. Go that route if you're serious about making 16:9 SD DVDs. Using the camera's in-built 16:9 mode loses you 25% of the vertical resolution at a stroke (when viewed on a 16:9 TV. Letterboxed on a 4:3 TV there's no loss of resolution).

tom.

Noel Lising · January 22nd, 2009, 01:22 PM

Adam a brand new HD1000 goes for $ 1700 (Canadian) so it should be around $ 1500 (US), I would buy the HD1000 over a used GL2 @ at $1200.

There's a posting for Craiglist a VX2000 for $ 950 with wide angle lens. I am a vx2000 user and I love it.

Just my 2 cents but the decision is yours.

Bryan Daugherty · January 22nd, 2009, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

Sure the HD1000U isn't a PAL camera?

No it's NTSC and HDV. Adam, i don't know if this is the same one you are looking at but B&H has one in their used section for $1199.00 same price from a reputable source.

Used Sony | HVR-HD1000U Digital High Definition HDV | HVRHD1000U

Adam Haro · January 22nd, 2009, 02:25 PM

Bryan thats the one. I don't have any reservations about buying from B&H.

Lou Raguse · January 24th, 2009, 02:27 PM

If the price was equal, would you go for a Sony HVR-HD1000U or a Panasonic DVX-100b???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Haro

Bryan thats the one. I don't have any reservations about buying from B&H.

Perrone Ford · January 24th, 2009, 02:37 PM

Interlace only, no 24fps, no PCM audio... tapes.. weak low light performance...same money...

I'd take the DVX.

January 21st, 2009, 08:33 PM	#31
Bryan Daugherty Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lexington, Ky - USA Posts: 552	In the right circumstances it delivers stunning results. http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o..._screen_03.jpg ...and.... http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...hy/IMG_009.jpg ...but sometimes it shoots mud that you have to fix in post.. PD170 on left - - HD1000U on rt 50 wat on cam light on 170 scene lit with rope/xmas lights as shown in the background. tent reception with no other lighting http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...en_campare.jpg __________________ 3x-HD1000u - Ikan 8000HD- custom i7 PC - Vegas Pro 13 and 11 64 bit - Premiere Pro CS4 - and a whole mess of other equipment...

January 21st, 2009, 11:51 PM	#35
Bryan Daugherty Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lexington, Ky - USA Posts: 552	One big thing in this area is that many of the photog's view us as nails on their coffins and not viable partners. I have talked to some brides at trade shows who even told me of one photo studio even has a brochure entitled "why videography is wasted money" But I am digressing from the OP, and falling off topic. Let us know what you think of the GL2 after you test run. __________________ 3x-HD1000u - Ikan 8000HD- custom i7 PC - Vegas Pro 13 and 11 64 bit - Premiere Pro CS4 - and a whole mess of other equipment...

January 24th, 2009, 02:37 PM	#45
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	Interlace only, no 24fps, no PCM audio... tapes.. weak low light performance...same money... I'd take the DVX. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

January 21st, 2009, 10:53 PM	#32
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	Thanks everybody for the replys. Bryan, your posts have been very helpful in the HD1000 thread. As it stands now HD is not popular in our market yet and we are pretty booked up for this wedding year with jobs that are contracted for SD. I've got a wedding this Sat. I think I am going to test drive the GL2 before I decide to buy it and see how the footage compares to my DVC7 and HD1. I haven't even switched my HD1 to the HD setting. I think I will start shooting test footage in HD that I can use to make sure my computer is up to the task of editing HD. If the GL2 significantly outperforms my other 2 cams than I'll go for it, if not I'll finish the year with what I've got and get an XH-A1 at the end of the year.

January 21st, 2009, 11:20 PM	#34
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	Yeah we're one of those DJ companies that also offers videography so offering a package deal really helps bookings. But my degree is in broadcast production so I'm not one of those DJs that one day just decided I could shoot video without any clue as to what I'm doing. We already have 2 of those in my area. Bryan, I'll definitely keep the PD17 in mind, thanks.

January 22nd, 2009, 12:45 PM	#39
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	So after more looking I found a lightly used HD1000u for $1200 with the basic accessorys, charger battery etc... I'm thinking for $200 more this might be a better way to go than the GL2. Any thoughts?

January 22nd, 2009, 01:16 PM	#40
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Sure the HD1000U isn't a PAL camera? As to using an anamorphic on the GL2. Go that route if you're serious about making 16:9 SD DVDs. Using the camera's in-built 16:9 mode loses you 25% of the vertical resolution at a stroke (when viewed on a 16:9 TV. Letterboxed on a 4:3 TV there's no loss of resolution). tom.

January 22nd, 2009, 01:22 PM	#41
Noel Lising Major Player Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 789	Adam a brand new HD1000 goes for $ 1700 (Canadian) so it should be around $ 1500 (US), I would buy the HD1000 over a used GL2 @ at $1200. There's a posting for Craiglist a VX2000 for $ 950 with wide angle lens. I am a vx2000 user and I love it. Just my 2 cents but the decision is yours.

January 22nd, 2009, 02:25 PM	#43
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	Bryan thats the one. I don't have any reservations about buying from B&H.