Who has converted to HD?

[fplowman]

Well its official, Im in the Hi Def crowd. I know there are others in the community that are using HD. i have seen some of you with Sony's FX1.

Ok so I called the video supply store I use here in KC locally and they informed me they could no longer rent me a DVX100. They were all Hi Def.

I use my DVX100A and rented another for weddings ( 2 cam ) and the like.

Wow as you can appreciate this puts me kind of in a bind. My equipment is antiquated to the point I cant rent the other equipment I need to do my business.

So I thought, the hell with it. Ill jump into HD.

Pros:
1.Wow HD is neato, almost 3d like.
2.Tornado footage in HD. Again wow neato!
3.Seems to be the trend for the future.

cons:
1.I dont have an editing machine to do HD nor software. ( required upgrade to Vegas 7 and a new computer ) $1,800
2.I dont have an HD TV to preview or even appreciate the footage I get in the field. $2,000
3. i didnt have an HD cam

Ok so again like many things in life Im irrational and sell out my existing gear at an extreme loss ( depreciative value of electronics ) and buy into this

Doohickey:

The Panasonic HSC1U
AVCHD Panasonic HD Pro Camcorder.

Its really small like a consumer camcorder, but it does 1080i video on an SD card ( SDHC actually ) 3 ccd 1/4 chipper.

I really, really like this camera. If you cant tell.

Did I mention i like this camera?
Well heres why. When making a purchasing decision I toiled with the idea that I would be trading my DVX100A SD camera with all the manual features I need as a pro/semi pro camera for another "consumerish" type camcorder just for HD capability.

Well as I progress through life I decided really I didnt want to do any more weddings etc. anyways, meeting deadlines and keeping happy customers seemed to take alot of time and became challenging when factoring in my day job.

Back to the cam.
This camera has auto everything. And the auto is fast. It will make it trouble free I think for in and out of a vehicle and the fast pace of a chase and shoot some professional HD video at the same time. It also allows me to toggle through a menu ( which im starting to get the hang of ) and manipulate manual features quickly.

The low light capability seems adequate. I think it will do just fine for low light capability after having done a little testing.

It came with this 40 Gig small hard drive device for storing the video on. the SDHC cards that come with the cam are 4 gig and hold 40 minutes of HD at highest quality setting. 400 min of video total.

Ok so there are pros and cons here. Mostly Im going to spend more $$$ to use this thing and edit the footage and enjoy it in my living room. The codec is new and is going to be a few more weeks before Vegas supports it. In the mean time Ill collect footage and edit it later when i get the cash to upgrade software and computer.

But the cam is nice and Im sure will make for some great tornado footage to come. I just jumped ahead of technology a little bit and left the old stuff behind.

Who here is using HD these days? Who wants to or is going to soon?

 

[Bill Hark]

I would like to change to HD, but I am waiting a while longer for the equipment to improve. I just bought a VX-2100 during the summer of 2005 and I hate to spend the extra money especially since I don't yet have a television to view HD or editing ability. My main concern is low light capability and problems with nightime lightning. Maybe the next generation of HD camcorders will be better.


Bill Hark

 

[fplowman]

I would like to change to HD, but I am waiting a while longer for the equipment to improve. I just bought a VX-2100 during the summer of 2005 and I hate to spend the extra money especially since I don't yet have a television to view HD or editing ability. My main concern is low light capability and problems with nightime lightning. Maybe the next generation of HD camcorders will be better.


Bill Hark

I think the low light capability is going to be adequate..What about the lightning? Does it adversly effect the cam or video in some way?

 

[Bill Hark]

Below is a quote from Dan Robinson on an earlier thread about HD camcorders.

The CMOS 'rolling shutter' will make a frame with a lightning bolt divided horizontally, with differing brightness levels or even cut off completely at the horizontal split point.

The HDV artifacting is blocky pixelation along the lightning channel and in parts of the illuminated sky and ground

I haven't heard of the new models being any better. I think the low capability will improve but there may always be the problems with lightning. Maybe someday, there will be a less compressed form of HD video easily available that will show less artifact. The less compressed the starting material, the easier and better editing.

Bill Hark

 

[fplowman]

ahhhh, ok

But this is a charged coupled device in the new cam i got. not a cmos sensor.. Hopefully they arent rendering footage the same.

 

[Billy Griffin]

I converted to HD some time ago. I now have the XH-A1 and the XL-H1, both 3-CCD / HDV 1080i camcorders made by Canon. The XH-A1 is more compact and a great field camera, while the XL-H1 is more of a "true broadcast" type camera, a little bulky, but I can also get true, uncompressed 1080i video from the outputs of the camera.

The footage is absolutely stunning! And while not quite the quality of something, say, like Discovery HD presentations, I'd put it, honestly, really darn close! The resolution is breath-taking.

I'm using Sony Vegas software to edit in HDV, and I've also found a Philips DVD recorder that will record, believe it or not, a component (RGB) video signal. I've been working on compiling a bunch of my footage shot in and around Mt. Rainier National Park into a presentation in HD, and some of the footage has been shown on networks already.

I have enjoyed every minute of having HD recording capability and have no regrets. Enjoy your new technology.

 

[John Wetter]

ahhhh, ok

But this is a charged coupled device in the new cam i got. not a cmos sensor.. Hopefully they arent rendering footage the same.

New sensor, same shutter. I think this is likely here to stay until some of the higher end cams come down in price.

 

[Josh Morgerman]

I haven't yet, but I need to. One of the comments I got Re: my Dean footage was that it would have been better in HD format. My camcorder died during that chase (fortunately toward the end, after the brunt of the storm had passed) and I had to recently buy a new one. This time around, I went with another consumer model. If I'm going to go HD, I want to really do the research and pick the right product, and I just don't have the time right now-- so I stuck with what I know for the time being.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Am I the only one where this thread keeps popping up as 'unread' in 'list new posts'? The last post on this thread keeps getting a new timestamp and moved to the top.

 

[David Drummond]

EDIT: It's because someone voted in the poll. Every time someone votes on a poll it refreshes as a updated thread.

 

[Caleb Lawrence]

You thought about the Panasonic HVX200 after you ditch your DVX, Plowman?

 

[fplowman]

Hey Caleb,

I have considered the HVX. I no longer do video really for anything other than chasing. I used to do weddings and corporate video with a small production company I had founded.

Im too busy with too many things going on. I had to eliminate the things I was doing that didnt make as much as the other things i was doing if that makes sense.

For now Im just going to chase with this consumerish 1/4 chipper. Although low light isnt as good as I would like but it is still functional with the right settings.