HD Camera

[Lukiebaggs]

Hi everyone - Im a newbie

im a film student and am looking into getting a professional camera. Im from Ireland so I deal in Euro - I have experience with Sonys HD-FX1E

but Ive been told Cannon recently relased a rival camera which boasts higher resolution.

Basicaly Im hunting for a bargain. I might even be interested in a 2nd hand model - but If I can get a good deal on a new one i'd go for it.

Have you seen any good deals online for a HD camera at a moderate price range? I'm thinking less then 3000 Euro.

[daamon]

Hi Lukiebaggs,

Welcome to the forums.

Try hunting around over at www.camcorderinfo.com for reviews on different cameras. I don't belive that have a "Buy / Sell" section, but there may well be sponsored ads.

There's always eBay, but be aware of what you're bidding on and that it comes with all you need. This also applies to some online "shops" - they appear to be good deals, but all you literally get is just the camera, and they charge you for the rest as "optional extras" making very little difference in the end price, and possibly end up paying more...

[edDV]

Lukiebaggs,

Be clear whether your focus is film student or engineering geek. Crossing international format borders will require you spend time being the latter.

A sub $1000 PAL MiniDv cam is all you need to learn the film craft. Once you get good, you can rent high end gear and assemble a crew like the pros do.

[trevlac]

@Lukiebaggs

Talk about some of these cameras blur the line between pro/consumer. For the record, pro cameras have more manual options, XLR audio, and may cover both PAL/NTSC in one unit (the pro version of the FX1 does).

In your price range ... here are the HDV cameras available as far as I know. The $2700 Sony is the cheapest pro. The FX1 is a "consumer" camera (really just depends upon what you need - clearly good consumer cameras are better in many ways than pro ones).

HDV 24p 1280x720 == JVC for $5499
HDV 30p 1280x720 == JVC for $2599
HDV 60i 1440x1080 == Sony for $1900, $2700, $4000, $5000
HDV 50i 1440x1080 == Sony (PAL) for $1750 & $3300 (They are cheaper than the NTSC ones)
DVCPRO HD 24p ???x1080 == Pana for $10K (Not available until December)
HDV Cannon XL-H1 30p,24p,60i == $9k (Not quite available) I would think the p's were 1280x720 and the 60i is 1440x1080 because that is HDV standard ... as I recall it also outputs higher ... just not to tape.


Prices mostly from B&H
========================================

Bottom line ... If you must have HDV the deals are in the lower end Sony ... but you are quite limited there. It is of course all about compromise and cost.

Frankly ... given the rate of change and the market ... solid advice is to wait. However, I would wait to buy any camera and rent / borrow vs buy a miniDV ... if you really want HDV.

[edDV]

Frankly ... given the rate of change and the market ... solid advice is to wait. However, I would wait to buy any camera and rent / borrow vs buy a miniDV ... if you really want HDV.

I couldn't agree more. In addition to entry cost and quick obsolescence, HDV is a total pain to edit with today's computers.

As a student, you need to try many experiments and edit quickly while you learn technique.

I would stick with DV format but would add the requirement for manual audio level controls (e.g. AGC off) if any pro mics are to be used. Consumer AGC is a pain.

[ribac]

What you guys think about NV(PV for NTSC) GS400 from Panasonic??

[edDV]

What you guys think about NV(PV for NTSC) GS400 from Panasonic??

The GS-400 is viewed favorably. Search the forums "GS-400" and see many discussions.