New HD cam

[rbacevac]

Hello, I am about to buy a new cam , moving from old Pana GS400 .
I would like to get something prosumer, so at least with some manual control (maybe setting with lens ring as my old Pana).

I want true HD, now here comes my confusion what to get:

What frame rate should I get (50p...) not really expert on that
What format should have the camera..per my understanding all todays cameras film in some type of mp4, right?
Should I get camera with AVHCD?..

Basically I want to also make some wedding video just for fun, so at this point most video I want to edit in Premiere.

Could you give me general advise and maybe point me to some camera?

I live in Europe so Pal will be my format.

Thank you so much

[smrpix]

Could you give me general advise and maybe point me to some camera?

I live in Europe so Pal will be my format.

The general advice is determine which features you MUST have and pick a canon, sony or panasonic in your price range.

I use B&Hphotovideo to sort through models but it's obviously US centric.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Brand_Sony&ci=1918&N=4294548092+4291570227+...566+4291215468

(BTW, PAL is technically SD only, but this mis-usage is so common everyone knows what you mean.)

[2Bdecided]

That "PAL" list on B&H includes several models that aren't even listed on the manufacturer's own websites in the UK! They appear to be PAL European models, but we can't buy them over here! Maybe they're available in central Europe though. Could always order from the USA of course, but with EU 1 or 2 year warranties vs ? in the USA, I'd be wary.


I was looking at this...
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/cam-high-definition-on-memory-stick/hdr-pj650ve
...or this...
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/Camcorders/HD+Camcorders/HC-X920/Overvi...346/index.html
...but not this because I want 50p and it only does 50i or 25p...
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Camcorders/High_Definition_HD/LEGRIA_HF_G25/

There's a more expensive Canon model that does 50p...
http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Camcorders/High_Definition_HD/LEGRIA_HF_G30/

There are more expensive models from Sony and Panasonic too.

There are plenty of much cheaper models from all companies as well. The ones significantly cheaper than the ones I've listed above compromise low light performance, and manual controls. The slightly cheaper panasonic is worth looking that...
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/Camcorders/HD+Camcorders/HC-V720/Overvi...295/index.html

The older versions of most of these models are also decent, and can sometimes be found for less.


Apart from lack of manual controls, any "proper" HD camcorder is going to blow away the quality of your existing camcorder. (The ones at about £100 aren't "proper" HD camcorders - they might well give you more pixels but lower quality than what you have already - beware!).

Welcome to the world of rolling shutter / CMOS sensors though. Depending on your shooting style, you might not like that at all.

Finally, this seems quite helpful...
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/

Still trying to decide myself. It's probably time to upgrade for me because my Canon HV20's LCD screen just died.

One problem I face is that I doubt my PC is capable of editing 50p/AVCHD.

Cheers,
David.

[rbacevac]

Thank you for your kind answer.
Still I dont understand the file formats on todayś camcorders.
AVCHD is some kind of mp4 container, correct?
Basically what format should I get in order to have best capatibility to edit in Premiere?

Thanks

[smrpix]

Unless you're prepared to spend $4-$8k for P2 or XDCam you're going to be using some form of H.264 in some container. Premiere Pro (6+) handles these as well or better than most. If performance is sluggish you may have to go to a proxy workflow.

[budwzr]

AVCHD is some kind of mp4 container, correct?

AVCHD is a proprietary Sony/Panasonic consumer version of BluRay.

H264 is the generic name.

Mpeg4 Part 10 is the standard.