Looking for a memory HD camcorder, confused!!!

[gagnonf]

Hi!

I have a Sony DCR-TRV25 which, admitedly, I haven't used now for a couple of years. Been doing mostly photography.

However, I'm looking to get back into video and am looking to upgrade my machine. Easy on the cash.... I have only a small budget. But I noticed today you can (or so it seems!) get a prety decent machine at less than $600!!! Amazing!!!

I shoot moslty inside, so low-light performance must be good. Also, I got fed-up with the tape handling (I know, I know, when you're passionate, that should not stop you...) so I'm looking at memory card but I have my doubts.... Is this really as good as tape, quality wise? What's the catch here?

Finally, editing in HD, I heard, was still a challenge. I have an old version of Premiere which, likely, I'm going to have to upgrade. Will all of this work with Essentials?

Thanks in advance for guidance/tech upgrade.

[edDV]

There are several recent threads that discuss pros/cons of AVCHD and HDV.

I'm in the HDV camp myself. I consider the Canon HV30 a dream bargain and HDV is much easier to edit. Tapes are also cheaper (~$2/hr) and make a good backup medium. Flash workflow is subject to probable data loss. AVCHD is a pain to edit unless you use a digital intermediate. Post edit picture quality goes to HDV.

[Braindrain]

Used to be firmly in the DV (miniDV, that is) camp, myself. I was almost sure my next camcorder was going to be HDV.

However, newest Canon HD flash cams record at max AVCHD bitrates and give the HV30 a run for its money for pre-edit PQ. No idea about post-edit as I haven't post-edited footage from a HV30, personally.

I really hated bringing a bunch of tapes on vacation and the subsequent super slow transfer to PC. Flash cards transfer to PC way faster and a 32GB SDHC gives ~3 hrs of AVCHD full-spec recording. I bought a 16GB SDHC and always bring a laptop when travelling. Super easy to transfer the footage to PC at the end of every day and free up the card for the next day.

Yes, editing AVCHD is a royal pain in the arse but have found encoding to an intermediate (read: Cineform) is a very acceptable solution.

No, I'm not a professional. However, both output quality and ease of use (in all aspects) are pretty important to me.

Pricegrabber advises the cheapest price for a Canon HF200 is $589 right now. Of course, lots of other HD flash cams to choose from.

So, pros and cons for both. In the end, it's what works for YOU that matters.

[edDV]

I agree with your analysis so long as the Cineform NeoScene digital intermediate ($129) is used. Upper level flash cards are on the expensive side vs. tape and usually are too expensive to use for backup. That means a small hard drive needs to be carried which is bulkier than MiniDV tapes.

[gagnonf]

Ouch! Slow down guys!

AVCHD vs HDV, what are the manufacturers, differences, prices?

[edDV]

AVCHD - Canon, Sony, Panasonic, others
Prices ~$599 to $2400

HDV - Canon, Sony, JVC, etc.
Prices ~$599 to $4500

See reviews at www.camcorderinfo.com

You have the format pro/con above.

[Braindrain]

Upper level flash cards are on the expensive side vs. tape and usually are too expensive to use for backup. That means a small hard drive needs to be carried which is bulkier than MiniDV tapes.

Yeah, you're right there. However, prices are dropping like a rock. I can pick up a decent retail (non-eBay) 16GB SDHC Cat6 for ~$30 CAD. I'm sure it's even less in the US.

I carry a laptop with me all the time so no prob. I do see 16GB SDHC's dropping to about a HDV tape's price in ~ 1 year. So, eventually cost neutral. At least, I hope.

[netmask56]

I use a Sanyo Xacti HD1000 - uses flash memory and was great for my trip to the US last year. Editing is now quite easy with SONY Vegas 8 or even the latest version of Womble. Since then Sanyo have brought out several new models. As I live in Australia I bought mine via Internet from Hong Kong - delivery to my door by FedEx was 3 days and cost a little over au$600.
This is the updated model from a New York store - prices are a bit higher than Hong Kong
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/569230-REG/Sanyo_VPC_HD1010BK_Xacti_VPC_HD1010_H...efinition.html