Christmas and HD Cams

[Bill Tabor]

Well, seems it's been a couple of years at least since the Hd camcorders have been out and prices have dropped considerably and hopefully features have improved. How many of you would like to make it a Merry Holiday and get yourself a new HD camcorder? I have to admit my mind is wandering that direction.

What is the latest on this topic though? I've looked around - did a few searches here and found very little on people discussing Hd camcorders or the technology required to edit and display the images within the forum. Also not much on the Pros and Cons. I do remember issues related to low light performance and problems with sequences containing lightning.

Surely it is by now a good time to start a thread on the opinions of the best models, whether the tech is good enough for chaser use yet, what the best editors are for HD, what equipment (computer, etc) is required, what burners, which formats are best (ex 1080i/1080p) along with personal experiences.

So how about it? Are you converting to HD, or have you already? What tidbits of knowledge have you found along the way that you would like to share and discuss with the rest of us?

 

[Bill Tabor]

Best hd camcorder of the year is listed as the Canon Hv20 http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/CamInfo-Selects-2007-33545.htm#Camoftheyear

However yesterday I was searching around (I think on camcorderinfo.com) and found an article about a new Sony prosumer type Hd camcorder to be released by December 2007 that was below $3000 - perhaps substantially below as I recall - maybe $1900. It was black and looked similar to a Vx2000. Anyway, now I can't find the article or the camcorder because I cleared my browser history and didn't bookmark it. Anybody know what I'm talking about. I think it is already released. We should likely take a good look at it if we can find it.

 

[Bill Tabor]

Ah!!!! Finally. This was driving me mad. I've spent a few hours trying to find this new professional Hd camcorder the HVR-HD1000U MSRP $1999
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/conten...HDV-Camcorders-with-the-HVR-HD1000U-33224.htm

What do the rest of you think? Is anyone familiar with this hd cam?

Note these are listed online at B&H Photo for $1599 but they show out of stock but will be shipped when in stock.

It includes Super Night Shot. I wonder if that mode would be reasonable for night tornadoes? I know I used to use the old Night Shot mode on one of their analog camcorders and it worked better than nothing to help see tornadoes in low light in lightning.

Looks like it uses a single Clearvid CMOS and records up to 1080i on mini-dv tapes in MPEG-2 format.

Min Illumination 4 Lux f1.6 at 18 db. Will also shoot 6 megapixel stills.

 

[David Drummond]

Ah!!!! Finally. This was driving me mad. I've spent a few hours trying to find this new professional Hd camcorder the HVR-HD1000U MSRP $1999
http://www.camcorderinfo.com/conten...HDV-Camcorders-with-the-HVR-HD1000U-33224.htm

What do the rest of you think? Is anyone familiar with this hd cam?

You don't want this camera for storm chasing. I have done extensive research on it, intending to buy one, and instead settled on the HX1 (looks like a VX)
It's basically the buts of an HC7 handicam repacked into a bigger case. It's a single chip (not 3ccd).

I had an EXCELLENT review I had found from an industry insider that actually got his hands on one. I can't seem to find the link now, but it had several dealbreakers for me on it for chasing. One was the lux rating and the the single chip.

At least wait til it's been out a bit and put to some real world use and gets some more hands on reviews.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Unfortunately the rule of thumb with anything shoulder-mounted that is priced cheaply is that it is something to avoid. The shoulder-mount form factor makes it 'look' like a pro camera, but when you look at the specs, it is really an overpriced version of a smaller consumer camera, packaged into the shoulder-mount shell at nearly twice the cost.

This the same phenomenon as the old DVC-7. Shoulder mount camera sold as a 'pro' cam, with the specs of a single-CCD consumer cam at 2 or 3 times the price. Those things sold like hotcakes just because of their looks, but everyone who bought one said the picture quaity was disappointing.

The specs are all that matters. Lux rating below 3, zoom length, manual focus, infinity lock, and either 3CCD or non-rolling shutter CMOS are things to look for.

 

[Bill Tabor]

Yeah, other forums I've read on this thing say it is likely a repackage of the HDR-HC7 which has the same sensor - though supposedly it has a slightly better image - perhaps due to a larger lens?

Are you aware of any decent HD cams yet Dan that will do 720p or 1080p with decent low light and not crazy expensive?

 

[David Drummond]

Yeah, other forums I've read on this thing say it is likely a repackage of the HDR-HC7 which has the same sensor - though supposedly it has a slightly better image - perhaps due to a larger lens?

I wish I could find that last review I was talking about. Actually the lens WASN'T larger, it just looked like it until you got a good close look.

There is some speculation that after this comes out, a much more "professional" version of this camera won't be far behind. Guess we'll have to wait and see. I like the form factor, but in the very end, all that matters is what quality video can you get out of it.

 

[Bill Tabor]

I wish I could find that last review I was talking about. Actually the lens WASN'T larger, it just looked like it until you got a good close look.

There is some speculation that after this comes out, a much more "professional" version of this camera won't be far behind. Guess we'll have to wait and see. I like the form factor, but in the very end, all that matters is what quality video can you get out of it.

Yeah David I read both of those comments on a forum talking about it:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/experiences/aero.mspx

Here's Sony Promotional video on YouTube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5HmX6GlKCFo

I've got two plasma tv's one operating at 720P and the other at 768P with Dish HD and there's no doubt HD can be beautiful. I'd love to keep and document all my storms on it whether I sold video or just for my own pleasure or to share with other chasers. HD is sweet!

 

[Billy Griffin]

Bill, have you checked into the Canon line of HD cameras? I have both the XH-A1 and the XL-H1. Both offer a spectacular image.

 

[Bill Tabor]

I haven't gone into details on any of them yet Billy. I'll have to take a look at the models you mention though. How is their low light performance?

I notice there are two options in HD cams the cmos and what was the other CCD? Wonder which is better? Also while 3 cmos often are considered better than one, I've read that one can be better if it is large enough and uses the proper color control. Then there is the format HDV recorded to mini-dv as opposed to AVCHD. Any opinions on these? Looks like a whole new world to check out.

I remember my old days when originally hunting for a new digital camcorder. I checked out a ton of models and even bought one or two then found they had crappy low light performance or inability to zoom easily and stay on infinity and I took them back. I eventually settled on a vx2000 which is just great all around although perhaps the vx2100 is better.

 

[Dan Robinson]

CCDs are better than CMOS for chasing, as CMOS chips tend to have worse low-light performance. Many CMOS chip cameras have rolling shutter problems which make them useless for lightning, although I've seen footage from a few newer CMOS cameras that do OK with it. CMOS chips do better in well-lit situations than most CCDs. AVCHD is supposed to be a slightly better compression codec than HDV, but at the expense of needing more processing power to handle it on the computer end. AVCHD is not yet supported in many editing software packages.

 

[fplowman]

My Panny AVCHD HSC1u cam uses a SD card variant to save the footage on. Solid State! I love this aspect. The computer to edit on the other hand will require me a new purchase of a much much more speedier CPU, RAM and MB along with upgrading my software to Vegas 8. All in all probably 3k to edit properly. Thats the down side.

 

[James Langford]

B&H has a great deal on the Canon HV-20 right. It's not as good as it was a few days ago (included a $150 gift card), but it is still good:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/481076-REG/Canon_2059B001_HV20_2_96MP_CMOS_HDV.html

$750, free shipping, no tax for most, and a $75 gift card.

James

 

[Wesley Luginbyhl]

B&H has a great deal on the Canon HV-20 right. It's not as good as it was a few days ago (included a $150 gift card), but it is still good:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/481076-REG/Canon_2059B001_HV20_2_96MP_CMOS_HDV.html

$750, free shipping, no tax for most, and a $75 gift card.

James

I knew I should have waited just a bit longer. I got the HV-20 for $850 including shipping just over a month ago. I have only taken it out once so far, but I have really enjoyed that camcorder. It really is a good camera. If I would have seen that deal and didnt have this camera yet, I would be all over that.

 

[Billy Griffin]

Both the XHA1 and the XLH1 perform beautifully in low light conditions! I've been very, very pleased with both of them. Yep, you're paying for that Canon name, but also the quality that comes with it as well.