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Christmas and HD Cams

Bill Tabor said:
Never mind..I finally got hold of the sales guy online and he said that wasn't the complete kit. The actual kit they have listed for $4499, though I believe he said it was currently going for $2999. Hmm....

He recommended instead the Sony HVR-A1U which is normally $2999 but onsale for $2499 this week:
http://www.bestpricecameras.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=484329
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I beg of you with no interest in this transaction. Do not buy from these people. Buy from BH if your going to buy. Mark my words.. You will be sorry if you pay these people your hard earned cash.
 
Stay away from Best Price Cameras and any seller offering at those prices - they are a classic 'bait and switch' scam shop! Always check resellerratings.com, or better yet just stick with B&H. If it is steeply discounted, the place is a scam. There are no true deals like that in the realm of cameras. You will never get the camera with everything that is supposed to come with it at that price, and may never get it at all. Read the thousands of horror stories at resellerratings.com. These places are well-known criminals but somehow allowed to keep operating.
 
fplowman said:
I beg of you with no interest in this transaction. Do not buy from these people. Buy from BH if your going to buy. Mark my words.. You will be sorry if you pay these people your hard earned cash.
Click to expand...

I'll back you up here. In researching digital SLRs a while back I came across this outfit and found out that they're not a trust worthy organization. (if they're who I'm thinking of) Couple more like them with unusually low prices. Too good to be true? You got it.

Also: the Canon HV20 HDV, I think I've got a new equipment crush.
 
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Well I finally have an HD tv, and I finally watched some of the footage from my sony HC1 on it. I've trashed this camera in posts on here before, and it's not going to stop here.

I watched some of the ice footage I shot last week, and it looks pretty amazing on there. Any day light shot looks amazing. Then I watched some storm footage. What a piece of crap camera this is. Noise jumps out waaaaaaaaaaay before it is at all dark out. What is equally as bad is the patchy tendency of the colors on the storms. It's just abrupt all the time, with few shades in the gradients. You see patchy purple/blue or patchy green sort of changing places in the storm base.

I've come to the conclusion to stay the hell away from HD unless it is a 3 ccd version. And like I mentioned in the other threads on cameras, I'd be pretty cautious of Sony's latest lux ratings on these things. They all dropped with several 5 lux, or 3 lux versions. I believe that latest version of mine says 5 lux now....maybe it's the HC5 I forget. Well the online review of it on camcorder info.com made its low light abilities look WORSE than my HC1(which is rated 7 lux...their lowest). Mine isn't just bad, it's jokingly bad....and it starts so far before anything I'd really consider low light. But I do have some night video in a city that looks really good, with really no noise in the dark sky portions. I think that's just what it does with contrast between the brighter city lights and the darkness. As far as storms go, may as well put the thing back in the bag if it is an hour or so before sunset. Hell, the way it gives goofy colors(lacking many levels to define an area) to storms, may as well leave the thing in the bag all the time. What a waste of $1400. I hope to sell it to some non-chaser before the season, but only if I can figure out a way to get an FX1 or something with 3 ccds(not likely lol).
 
Yeah the apparent $3,000+ for an entry level 3 ccd Hd cam is a bit daunting. I've spent enough on electronics in previous years and with the cost of everything else going up it gets tougher all the time to justify those prices particularly if there's a chance I won't make the effort to put out a dvd highlights video.

So you are probably right though Mike...3 ccd being the entry requirement. As mentioned, what about the Hv20? The other guy says he loves it. As I recall it won Camcorderinfo.com's 20007 contest. I wonder if it is decent in low light? Derek have you tested this on storms and clouds?
 
Bill Tabor said:
Y As mentioned, what about the Hv20? The other guy says he loves it. As I recall it won Camcorderinfo.com's 20007 contest. I wonder if it is decent in low light?
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I can't speak for the picture quality, but I did handle it when it first came out as I was in the market for an HD camera. I went with the Sony, the HV20 is so cheapy feeling, just constructed of light cheap plastic, not that the Sony HC models are tanks, but IMO their construction is leaps and bounds above the HV20, and I can't imagine that the HV20 out performs the Sony in terms of picture quality all that much, at $1000 a piece or whatever they are now for a HD camcorder you can't expect all that much above beyond what the typical consumer needs the camera for. It's like anything else you get what you pay for, personally if I could do it over again if unable to save and splurge on the FX models I would strongly consider forgetting the Consumer HD's and going with a Sony VX model.
 
Does anyone have any chase video samples that were shot with the HV20? I've been researching this camera also but am very leery on taking the plunge. I checked YouTube and they did have many video samples, but with YouTube's lower video resolution output, I really can't see the clarity I'm looking for.
 
I don't use a true camcorder, but the camera I use takes really good quality photos and video. I use the Sony H-9... nice camera for only $400. Great first time out type. I'm dreading the day I have to drop over a grand on a good cam. :eek:
 
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Jeremy Ludin said:
Does anyone have any chase video samples that were shot with the HV20? I've been researching this camera also but am very leery on taking the plunge. I checked YouTube and they did have many video samples, but with YouTube's lower video resolution output, I really can't see the clarity I'm looking for.
Click to expand...

I too have been looking at the camera. After reading the review at camcorder info, I have no doubts you're going to get a good picture. All the user reviews have been positive as well.

My only question is exactly what it'll perform like for a storm chaser in low light situations.

That said, considering its low light ratings as compared to other camcorders out there -- very solid -- and considering that I've seen plenty of nice video done in low light that looks good enough and probably isn't done by extremely expensive camcorders, I'm guessing it would perform just fine.

However, I'd really like to see some storm chaser footage on one of them before taking the plunge.
 
Hi Derek,

If you manage to find some chaser footage with the HV20 could you post the link? I am considering taking the plunge as well, and would like to know how it performs. I definitely want to get an HD camcorder, preferably during January so I have a few months to practice (incuding practicing editing) before May! Speaking of editing - what software do you recomend for an HV20 - or any other HD camcorder?
 
K Johnson said:
Hi Derek,

If you manage to find some chaser footage with the HV20 could you post the link? I am considering taking the plunge as well, and would like to know how it performs. I definitely want to get an HD camcorder, preferably during January so I have a few months to practice (incuding practicing editing) before May! Speaking of editing - what software do you recomend for an HV20 - or any other HD camcorder?
Click to expand...

I'll make sure to share anything If I find it. As another user mentioned, youtube has some videos of HV20 footage.

I don't have much experience editing video, but I have done a bit with windows movie maker. (or some similarly named program that comes with Windows XP) For simple editing, this seems to work fine.
 
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