Suggestions on replacement camcorder

[cobra jet]

I was looking for advice or suggestions for a replacement for my Sony DCR-HC 40. I have owned several Sony camcorders over the years and have been extremely happy with them. I have recently started to edit and author DVD’s, mostly of my son’s sports teams. I am becoming dissatisfied with the picture quality of the end product. I am not ready to make the jump to HD yet, but I am considering a 3CCD camcorder. The two camcorders I am currently looking at are the TRV900 or TRV950. Would either camcorder be a good choice for shooting fast moving content like a baseball game? I recently started to shoot in widescreen mode because I have just purchased a new DLP TV. I would like my DVD to play in widescreen on a widescreen TV and letterbox on an older set. I am using Premiere 6.5 to edit & I am in the process of upgrading my authoring software as I am still using Movie Factory 2SE.

[edDV]

Here is an incomplete overview of Sony SD 3CCD models. The linked reviews overview the main issues.

There are many other reviews online. For your needs consider the TRV-950 or one of the larger VX models (better low light performance).

Consumer
DCR-PC1000
DCR-HC1000 http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony-DCR-HC1000-Camcorder-Review.htm

Small format prosumer
~1998 DCR-VX800
~2000 DCR-TRV900
~2002 DCR-TRV950 / PD-100A (professional version)
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/sony_dcrtrv950_camcorder_review_2.htm

Large format prosumer
~1998 DCR-VX1000
~2002 DCR-VX2000 / PD-150 (professional version)
~2005 DCR-VX2100 / PD-170 (professional version)

[cobra jet]

Thanks for the info:
Any big differences between the TRV900 and TRV950 as far as shooting sporting events? Also, do they both shoot the same type of footage in 16:9 mode? I was not able to find the answers in the link provided.

[edDV]

Thanks for the info:
Any big differences between the TRV900 and TRV950 as far as shooting sporting events? Also, do they both shoot the same type of footage in 16:9 mode? I was not able to find the answers in the link provided.

The 950 is a much better camcorder whith design elements shared with the VX-2000. The 900 was a first generation design.

[cobra jet]

One last question: Would it be wiser to purchase something like a Sony HC3 even though I am not immediately planning on shooting/editing in HD. Would the picture quality be about the same between the HC3 in DV mode as the TRV950. I was surprised to find that on eBay both were about the same price.

[edDV]

One last question: Would it be wiser to purchase something like a Sony HC3 even though I am not immediately planning on shooting/editing in HD. Would the picture quality be about the same between the HC3 in DV mode as the TRV950. I was surprised to find that on eBay both were about the same price.

My assumption is the 950 would look better at SD resolutions. The HC3 would look better at HD resolutions assuming bright outside lighting. The 950 has 3sensors and has low compression. The HC3 is highly compressed with one sensor.

[slacker]

From what I understand the HC3 is going to record better than your other stated options, both in HDV and DV modes. The HC3 recording in HDV mode and downconverted to SD while transferring to the computer is going to be noticeably better than the HC3 shooting in SD, or any of their other SD only camcorders in this price range. In SD compression is the same as in any other SD camcorder. CMOS is the future.

To really confuse you, take a look at the new Sony HDR-FX7 announced yesterday at www.camcorderinfo.com.

[edDV]

There is a pro/con story about SD performance. Here's a portion of the HC3 review at camcorderinfo.com

"The HC3 also shows more in-camera sharpening than did the HC1. The result is stair-stepping along curved lines, something which we don't expect to see in HD video and which disappoints us. While not excessive, the sharpening is definitely noticeable, as is the haloing that occurs along most borders. Noise is also more prevalent in the HC3 than it was with the HC1, which managed to confine it to fine grain patterns; in the HC3, noise and sharpening combine to produce slight blurring along high-contrast areas.

We also compared the HC3 to the top SD models of Canon and Panasonic, and to the top Sony DVD camcorder. The Canon Optura 600, which has a larger 1/2.8” CCD (though much lower effective video resolution), produced a less detailed image, as the picture is only standard definition NTSC 640 x 480. Both cameras produce similar color performance, appear to have commensurate levels of apparent sharpness, and show the same stair-stepping in a close view. Saturation levels are higher in the Optura 600, however, and the color balance is better in the Sony.

The Panasonic PV-GS500 had even more in-camera sharpening problems. Noise levels were also higher in the Panasonic, though the noise was of a fine grain variety rather than the blocky noise in the Sony HC3. There’s no question that the HC3 produces much better video performance and is a better value when it comes to video quality.

The Sony DVD505 has the same CMOS imager as the HC3, producing a similar color balance and saturation levels. Due to the significantly reduced bit rate of DVD camcorders, however, the DVD505 produced fuzzier images."

So the answer would be "it depends". When you move up the the VX-2100/PD-170 class, those would clearly produce a superior SD picture.

[slacker]

edDV,

The camcorderinfo article does not mention downconverting HDV to SD prior to PC capturing. Am I thinking of another camcorder? I am going to have to look for the article which addresses the process.

cobra jet,

Back to your original post, first of all, baseball is not a very fast moving sport, try football, soccer and/or basketball. After videotaping my daughter's and sons' sports going on 15+ years now, I will tell you what CAN make shooting home video a frustrating experience....

1. A limited zoom... 20x optical with silky smooth zoom action is a MUST.
2. A louzy internal microphone... A quality stereo internal or external is a MUST.
3. Weak battery life... The longer is always better and never less than 75 minutes.

Sounds silly but the Sears VHS camcorder I purchased and used 20 years ago produced a higher quality product in many ways than some of the newly released miniDV camcorders I have recently used, even by today's standards. I never had to post process the video (color correction) or the audio (noise reduction) back then, which I seem have to do on everything these days.

For the price ($1150) I don't think you can beat the HC3 on features. The HC3 is what I've been looking at for this season. I do like the Canon XH A1 for considerably more money, BUT IT IS CONSIDERABLY MORE MONEY.

[edDV]

edDV,

The camcorderinfo article does not mention downconverting HDV to SD prior to PC capturing. Am I thinking of another camcorder? I am going to have to look for the article which addresses the process.

I've only had experience with the HC1 for a couple of days and never checked out the DV conversion. Google should find something.

You can get the operation manuals online
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=HDRHC3&LOC=3