• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Looking to buy a semi-pro HDV type vid camera. Suggestions?

I still reckon The sony VX2100 still is one of the best for low light situations. I have the PD150P which is ok, just dont haver the money to upgrade to any semi pro HD cams at the moment.
 
Wow, I want to thank everyone for their input. I think I will look at the FX1 for now if funds will allow. May also look at some of the high end consumer units. Thanks again.
 
Don't mean to jack the thread, but I'm also in the market for a newer semi-pro camcorder. It will be used primarily for chasing and high school football highlights. The camera I have now shoots great video in good light, but it really fails when it comes to shooting high school football under the lights and low light chasing situations. I've narrowed two choices down to these:

Sony HDR-FX7 $1999
Canon GL2 $2049

$2000 is really about as high as I would like to go, so these 2 are my limit on spending.

I read both are pretty good in low light, but have any of you had hands on experience with any of these two? Any help is appreciated.
 
Jason Boggs said:
I've narrowed two choices down to these:

Sony HDR-FX7 $1999
Canon GL2 $2049

$2000 is really about as high as I would like to go, so these 2 are my limit on spending.

I read both are pretty good in low light, but have any of you had hands on experience with any of these two? Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

The GL2 is NOT a high definition camera. The XH-A1s would be the HD equivalent and is about $1000 more than the GL2. The XH-A1s is the camera I will be purchasing in a few months.
 
Jason Boggs said:
Don't mean to jack the thread, but I'm also in the market for a newer semi-pro camcorder. It will be used primarily for chasing and high school football highlights. The camera I have now shoots great video in good light, but it really fails when it comes to shooting high school football under the lights and low light chasing situations. I've narrowed two choices down to these:

Sony HDR-FX7 $1999
Canon GL2 $2049

$2000 is really about as high as I would like to go, so these 2 are my limit on spending.

I read both are pretty good in low light, but have any of you had hands on experience with any of these two? Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Jason, you don't know how I envy you guys, Sony HDR FX7 costs 2400 Euros (when you're lucky) in Italy that is 3500 dollars:eek::eek: Prices in Europe are going nuts.

http://www.trovaprezzi.it/Fprezzo_videocamere-digitali_sony_hdr_fx7.aspx

Where did you find an FX7 with a so low price? (Best buy?)
 
Bart, I'm not really caring if it's a HD camera or not. I just want good video, and I've heard these 2 produce good video, even in low light. Again, 2 grand is my limit.

Andrea, the prices I got were from B&H photo.

EDIT: I know this thread is discussing HD cameras, but I saw no need in starting a whole new thread.
 
Jason Boggs said:
Bart, I'm not really caring if it's a HD camera or not. I just want good video, and I've heard these 2 produce good video, even in low light. Again, 2 grand is my limit.

Andrea, the prices I got were from B&H photo.

EDIT: I know this thread is discussing HD cameras, but I saw no need in starting a whole new thread.
Click to expand...
In that case I would go with the Sony. The Cannon is a great camera but I have hear a number of complaints regarding the durability of the tape deck and the cameras sensitivity to dusty environments.

On the other hand, Cannon's page for the GL2 does seem to be directly marketing to us storm chaser. :D:D:D:D
gl2x.jpg


The GL2 was for a while the choice camera of many indie film makers.
 
I think I like the GL2 better because from what I've read, it's better in low light than the Sony FX7. I'm not sure though.
 
That is because the Cannon uses 3 CCD sensors instead of 3 CMOS sensors which is what the Sony uses.

One big advantage with the Sony is that the FX7 is full 1080i. If it were me, I would go with the Sony solely for that fact (especially if you plan on selling any of your footage) but if you are absolutely sure you don't care about HD video go with the Cannon.

The Sony does have a much better battery life and in the long term may be the better choice as the next sees or two you may want to change to HD even if you aren't ready right now.

Here is an example of how the Sony preforms in low light...
32065017-2-440-SIC3.jpg

(Image is from CNet)

And the Cannon in low light....
20224838-2-300-SIC2.jpg

(Image is from CNet)
 
Yea, it's a toss up, but thanks for the tips Bart. It will be a tough decision.
 
Jason...I wouldn't worry about the HD thing too much since I believe you tend to do more news related video work. There is an advantage with SD in transition/upload times, and time is everything on the news cycles. HD certainly has a growing advantage in the stock video market, but there are plenty that will still purchase SD vs. HD.
 
i too am in the hd camcorder market, and am hoping to keep it under $800. one of the questions i have is in regards to which format of "storage" to use, hard drive or tape/sd card? from what i understand the hard drive format can hurt the video quality bc of how much it compresses the video, but how easy is it to transfer video from a tape to my laptop? i use the dvd burner on my laptop to make dvd's for friends/family, and currently i have a jvc everio that is pretty easy with transferring over video from the camcorder via a firewire cable. i don't want to sacrifice the quality of the hd video, but am worried about having to buy expensive video editing software, etc if i go with a camera that uses tapes. in reality how much would i be losing in video quality going with a hard drive camcorder and what are some of the other benefits of going with a camcorder that uses tapes or even sd cards? thanks!
 
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