Sony HVR-HD1000

[Gene Moore]

Any thoughts on this mid-priced Sony model? It looks high end, but it's a one chip that may not be better than the dozens of single chip camcorders in the $1K range. So far reviewers opinions are widely varied on its low light capablilties.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...000U_HVR_HD1000U_Digital_High_Definition.html

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

i don't know that I would buy one that is still using tapes to record to. i'd look for something with solid state capability (internal hard drive/flash card). you're going to get better quality from solid state storage as opposed to tape format.

seems to get good reviews though

http://www.retrevo.com/s/Sony-HVR-HD1000U-Camcorders-review-manual/id/16690ci661/t/1-2/

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camcorders/sony-hvr-hd1000u/4505-6500_7-32578708.html

 

[Scott Weberpal]

I'd rather go with a used FX1 or FX7 for the $1520 price. I'm partial to the FX1 because it uses CCD vs CMOS, and I've had a lot of problems with CCD (especially single chip) showing a lot of the feared "jello effect" on bumpy roads. Not to mention, the FX1 is fantastic in low-light!

I still prefer tape over solid state as it is so much easier to archive on tape than it is on a hard drive. Hard drives have a tendency to fail at the worst possible time, and having tape I know my video is safe. The quality difference between the two is negligible.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

I'd rather go with a used FX1 or FX7 for the $1520 price. I'm partial to the FX1 because it uses CCD vs CMOS, and I've had a lot of problems with CCD (especially single chip) showing a lot of the feared "jello effect" on bumpy roads. Not to mention, the FX1 is fantastic in low-light!

I still prefer tape over solid state as it is so much easier to archive on tape than it is on a hard drive. Hard drives have a tendency to fail at the worst possible time, and having tape I know my video is safe. The quality difference between the two is negligible.

you can backup to a dvd and leave the session open, and add more to it at later date, that way if your hard drive does fail, you have a backup.

 

[Bill Hark]

I'd rather go with a used FX1 or FX7 for the $1520 price. I'm partial to the FX1 because it uses CCD vs CMOS, and I've had a lot of problems with CCD (especially single chip) showing a lot of the feared "jello effect" on bumpy roads. Not to mention, the FX1 is fantastic in low-light!

Can anybody give more detailes on the "jello effect." as mentioned by Scott. I assume he meant to say CMOS and not CCD. Is that effect different than the rolling shutter problems with CMOS and lightning. I use an old Z1 (similar to an FX1) that I bought off of ebay and have had good results especially for low light. At present, I am still avoiding single chip camcorders for my primary chase cam but use one for a dash cam.

Bill Hark

 

[James Hammett]

I've always thought the "jello effect" was the result of a low bitrate rather than the rolling shutter.

 

[Andrew Ryan]

I've always thought the "jello effect" was the result of a low bitrate rather than the rolling shutter.

Ye. CMOS is the sensor with the "jello effect" problem. It is caused by the rolling shutter rather than a low bit rate problem. Here's a great explanation on it if you care to learn more about it.

CMOS vs. CCD and the Jello Effect

Bottom line: each sensor is going to have its pitfalls. However, my camcorder uses a CMOS sensor and I haven't had any noticeable problems due to it.

 

[Jason Foster]

Boy do I feel a little dumb. The whole time I thought everyone was dissing the FX 1000. I was like "WHAT" that camera is nice.

Yeah....the shoulder mount HD1000 is probably one of the few junky Sony cameras there is. Granted it won't get you around the CMOS, but for a tad better camera...the A1U or FX7 as others have recommended. Of course you could go the opposite direction and go back to something like the HV series from Canon and save up for a better camera and sell the HV camera at that time.

 

[James Hammett]

Ye. CMOS is the sensor with the "jello effect" problem. It is caused by the rolling shutter rather than a low bit rate problem. Here's a great explanation on it if you care to learn more about it.

CMOS vs. CCD and the Jello Effect

Good read there...I'm guessing good optical image stabilization can help a lot with "jello" from vibration as I don't notice it with my CMOS Panny.

With a single chip you need to find a large single chip and the 1/2.9" sensor in the HD1000 doesn't qualify IMO.

As for the Canon HV series and "jello"...this just looks nasty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qC0_nIUq9s Maybe the image stabilization isn't up to par?

 

[Gene Moore]

Thanks everyone for the great information! Watching the jello effect and listening to the engine also implies the camera may be prone to electrical interference. Note during the test when the engine RPM's fall off, but the vehicle is still moving the jello effect is less. I have used the video option of my Canon 5D Mark II with good low light results in dark storms. That said, nearby lightning (especially overhead) completely scrambles the image.

So ... what to do? There is this camera: the Panasonic AG-MHC150 AVCCAM that could work, of course it's double the price. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/575992-REG/Panasonic_AG_HMC150PJU.html I think this camera is 2 years old now, but it's not dated technology yet, is it? To get something better I would have to jump to $4k, that's not justifiable for me since I don't market footage.

Low light capabilities are good with this camera, not VX-2000 good through. Many other cameras in this price range have to turn on gain to get decent low light images. The Sony camcorders in this range use the older tape option. I would like to shed tapes and tape heads that wear out/get dirty if I'm going to drop $3K.

 

[L.B. LaForce]

I've never had enough money to buy one of those nice camcorders, but I HIGHLY recommend the Panasonic HDC-HS700. It's a smaller camcorder, but it produces exceptional video quality, and excellent low light quality. For only $1024.00, its a GREAT deal. It can also record in 1080/60p vs the standard for most HD camcorders: 1080/30p, so you get more frames per second, and better quality video. I know a few people who have it and absolutely love it. The only real downside to it, is you need a pretty powerful computer, as to play the video smoothly in an editing program is very difficult on my laptop.

Also, this model is available in HDD format, or a flash media format (SD, etc..)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/674251-REG/Panasonic_HDC_HS700.html



Here is a link comparing a few of the camcorders mentioned here. I do see the FX1 is MUCH better at low light than the FX7.

This website is a great site for comparing camcorders, they list a ton of info:

http://camcorder-test.slashcam.com/compare-9ab1cc62b327895efecc86468ca9e1cf.html

 

[Scott Weberpal]

Can anybody give more detailes on the "jello effect." as mentioned by Scott. I assume he meant to say CMOS and not CCD.

Yes, I meant CMOS - thanks for catching that.