HD Video Cameras

[Scott Brady]

Are any of you using HD cameras professionaly, or as a prosumer?

I am looking for some feedback on these units, overall quality and durability.

Any thought? :lurk:

 

[bigreen505]

This Luminous Landscape article is worth a read. I don't have enough experience to comment, but both the Sony and Panasonic cameras are very nice and I don't know anyone personally who has experienced any problems with either. The video and sound quality is high, but external mics are definitely preferred. Unfortunately I can't offer enough personal experience to suggest any one over another, but for some reason I seem to gravitate to the Sony's.

One comment is that the video quality is very high and looks, well, professional. As a result, minor shaking is very obvious and more bothersome than a lower quality camera. Invest in a decent tripod and/or steady cam setup (I can send plans for a very good home remedy if you want) as the built in image stabilization is only somewhat useful.

Assuming you are wanting to produce DVDs, the camera may be the heart of the system, but in the long run will probably represent a small part of the total investment after you look at mics, editing hardware and software, tripods, etc.

 

[SinCity4r]

I've got the sony hdr-hc1 and love it.

Here is a recent video from it (obviously downsized).
http://joelrasmus.com/gallery/v/Random-Videos/4runner/sp06.mov.html

I added a wide angle lens and a mic for it also.

Quality is great, it's a sony. Durability seems good, nothing has broken and it's been on quite a few trips so far.

 

[Desertdude]

That is a real nice hd camera there is a full review with specs on it here

Sony, Canon, Panasonic are about to come out with new cams again this is a volatile time in video camera world

here is more reading than you can stand

the guys who video taped and created the HBO special Bagdad ER shot the whole program on Sony HVR-Z1U camcorder you can see specs of those cameras here

Farther research reveals the consumer HD cams use a single 4:3 aspect ratio CMOS chip- (complementary metal oxide semiconductor)

The pro-sumer cams use three, native 16:9 CCDs (charge coupled device) each 1/3-inch in diagonal and including 1.12 megpaixels gross

you can read about CMOS vs CCDs here it is amazing how long ago the technology was developed

The beauty of the smaller sony HD cams are that they are light, unobtrisive, relitively inexpensive, and nearly automatic to operate.

If you want to step up to a more pro camera the Panasonic AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD / P2 Camcorder - with many more manual features and lens options - this cam also records to both DV tape and a P2 card for instant access editing - all in HD

I am waiting a bit more to see what Canon comes out with, but for the money the Sonys are right on target

Something to ponder - DVD's are not HD ready yet - HD is quite a buzz word right now and it will drive the sales up - content is still king no matter what you shoot it on :victory:

 

[Brian894x4]

I've got the sony hdr-hc1 and love it.

Here is a recent video from it (obviously downsized).
http://joelrasmus.com/gallery/v/Random-Videos/4runner/sp06.mov.html

I added a wide angle lens and a mic for it also.

Quality is great, it's a sony. Durability seems good, nothing has broken and it's been on quite a few trips so far.

Cool video. I'm amazed at how steady the camera is in your in car shots. I don't know if that's just the mount or your suspension or what. In my truck, even with a mount, the camera is bouncing all over the place. I'd be interested to see how you have the camera mounted inside?

I was just recently faced with the decision to go with a prosumer HD or SD camera and looked at the Sony. In the end, I went with a Panasonic DVC30 for more of the prosumer features. Hard to say if I made the right decision or not. I really wanted the prosumer features my camera offers and since most of my videos will be for a wider consumer audience or low res on the web, I figured it made more sense.

But that video, even in low res does look VERY nice!

 

[SinCity4r]

Thanks Brian. The mount is a Hama from I/O Port Racing. It does jiggle some, so I guess a lot of the steadiness comes from the in-camera steady shot.

Here is a picture of the camera on the mount (sorry for the poor pic quality, its a crop)

I'm sure the Donahoe coilovers help a touch also