Beefing up my handycam

[Matthew Chambers]

On a different note what do you think of the Ac 90? I was thinking of getting one for events and the like.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Matthew

I used to run Panny HMC82's and also AC-130's .. The next logical camera should have been AC-90's but the only two things that put me off were the fact that you have NO auto level control on the XLR channels (only manual gain controls) so trying to keep levels at a wedding ceremony is perfect but a nightmare at receptions where levels are changing constantly. Be a little careful with the super clean gain at levels over 21db ...the camera applies a very good and powerful noise reduction but it does tend to over-smooth larger areas so things like people's hair appears to look "spray painted" and quite often dense foiliage is over smoothed so it also looks smeared. Despite the tiny chips it does an very good job in low light but I would add a light for low light events otherwise the video will suffer.

Chris

[Dinh Hung]

Sony CX560V :)
http://nx9.upanh.com/b1.s37.d4/e5fcd...06zg2bryi2.jpg
http://nx3.upanh.com/b5.s37.d3/fa8d0...215l0oru0v.jpg

[John Nantz]

Originally Posted by Roger Gunkel

The client and guests are highly unlikely to be the slightest bit interested in your small camera, only in the end result. I have been using small cameras for years, which make me highly mobile and very unobtrusive, the clients love it!!

So don't worry, just enjoy the portability :-)

Way to go Rodger! I couldn't agree more. Some of our nicest family photos were taken with my wife's little Kodak "point-and-shoot" kind of camera because it was handy and easy to just take a "snap." People (talent) didn't feel intimidated by it's size where as me with my Nikon (35mm), f/1.4 lens, flash, and having to take time to set the shutter speed, f/stop, and focus were not only intimidated by the gear but also by the process.

Fast forward a couple decades and I'm finding the same thing is true with camcorders. There is a trade-off between producing Hollywood cinematic videos and capturing candid camera videos and as they say, there is a time and a place for everything. There is probably a part of the ceremony that is well suited for the camcorder with all the bells and whistles and it's probably when a three-legged tripod is required. On the other hand, the hand-cam-sized camcorder would work very well with a monopod doing candid shots.

Lighting: Now thats another item. That will make the operator stand out no matter what camcorder is being used so it's kind of a necessary evil.

Audio: A better mic than the camera mic is still needed but that doesn't have to be terribly conspicuous and a lavalier setup will add even a tad more to the camcorder.

Don't sweat what people think. Just do your work and be inconspicuous.

[Arthur Gannis]

Can't wait to get my Black Magic pocket. Slap that Panny 12-35 and shed over 30 lbs of gear in the process.