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Do u love ur camcorder???

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fourthvisuals
Posts: 37 - Karma: 299

I wanna buy a new camera for the season and just need some quick opinions!

-sony hdr-sr 11
-canon hf 10

does anyone have some advice?hard drive or chip?

thx
Sep 29 2008 10:50AM
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craigenemy169
Posts: 70 - Karma: 10
hard drives will hold more data but a chip is much easier to transfer the data on...a lot of tv's and new laptops have a chip insert so u just pop it in and watch
Sep 29 2008 11:40AM
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USA
Posts: 2201 - Karma: 11
Unless you are using the Sony EX series, Panasonic hvx or hpx (which are all very high end cameras) use tapes, hard drives are weak and most other types of solid state kinda suck. p2 is beautiful though.
Sep 29 2008 12:22PM
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djikstra
Posts: 2471 - Karma: 6,014
word, harddrive cameras are only dank when they're good cameras
Sep 29 2008 3:53PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Well said Mr. Strenio.
Sep 29 2008 4:40PM
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Bowman
Posts: 38 - Karma: 10
tapes, homie. hard drives sound cool and stuff, but i tried a couple of my buddies and they just arnt worth the hassle that comes with them if theyre not super high end.

I was in exactly your situation last year and got a sony DCR HC52 at Best Buy. I forget how much it was but it was like $350 canadian i think...its great, its exactly what i needed. nothing fancy, but solid and some cool features like 40x optical zoom which is amazing and a super user friendly interface.

i hope you find a camera that makes you happy dude. im obsessed with mine.
Sep 29 2008 5:57PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
I love my Elura100, i love my HV20 and i love my XHA1. All of which are MiniDV canon camcorders. I don't think the Elura100 is in production anymore, but it had great ratings at the time. HV20 is a great camcorder, and alot of people are buying the new upgrade HV30. I doubt you are interested in spending the money on an XHA1, but it's lovely as well.
Sep 29 2008 6:26PM
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BigJew
Posts: 6974 - Karma: 79
My friend had a Harddrive camcorder but returned it after it took 25 minutes to import 5 minutes of video on a newer imac.
Sep 29 2008 7:18PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
that sucks bigtime. It was my first camera as well. The first time I used a GL2 I was really confused because it didn't shoot true 16:9 whereas my little elura100 has native widescreen.
Sep 29 2008 7:56PM
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Crock360
Posts: 2100 - Karma: 23
lot of variables that might've affected that.
Firewire or usb? and saying "newer imac" means shit. How much ram etc?


But either way, tapes are the way to go
P2 cards are a beautiful thing, BUT they're expensive and shit, and dont hold that much footage. Unless you're shooting something where you have the luxury of dumping the cars ever half hour or hour, its a pain in the ass to work with.
Sep 29 2008 8:52PM
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*skitt*
Posts: 121 - Karma: 30
it really depends on the format your camera records in. If you go high def hard drive the format may have to be converted in order for it to be supported by your system. this takes a very long time to do if you have lots of video.
I picked up a panasonic dvx100, its a standard mini dv tape camera but it has amazing color quality and is better image quality than most standard recording cameras. I really love using this camera.
Oct 1 2008 4:52PM
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heath
Posts: 475 - Karma: 13
Bleh, the only good canon camera is the hv30, the axh1 just doesn't hold up to its competitors.
Oct 1 2008 8:17PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
Haha, have you ever used an XHA1? It's such a huge step up from an HV30. HV30 is a great camera, but don't forget it's still a consumer camera. XHA1 lets you control everything about the image. HV30 doesn't even have full manuel without some awkward workaround.

As for it's competitors, obviously the HVX200 has a few features that the Canon lacks, but it costs easily twice as much if you factor in P2 cards ect. XHA1 destroys the FX1 because of xlr inputs, advanced color control, better 24fps mode, ect.

As of a week ago-ish, the XHA1 was the best camera you could buy for the money. Now that the HMC150 is out, obviously things have changed.....
Oct 1 2008 9:17PM
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Heath.
Posts: 838 - Karma: 149
I highly disagree but i guess its opinion, not fact.
Oct 1 2008 11:10PM
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MC_POUTINE
Posts: 1380 - Karma: 112
i want a gl2 sooooooooo bad
Oct 2 2008 1:08AM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
there aren't really that many cameras in its class though. I can't even think of any cameras besides the HMC150 that even compare. z1u is almost 1000 dollars more, and it's only advantage is HDMI, with loads of disadvantages.

The price break in cameras is around 5000 and above. Once you pass that threshold, it's a whole different playing field.
Oct 2 2008 3:34AM
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heath
Posts: 475 - Karma: 13
When it comes to prosumer hdv cameras, ahx1 is at the bottom of my list, with fx1 at the top or is suppose fx1000 now...
Oct 2 2008 4:03AM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
Fx1? really?   It has almost no audio options, no iris ring, and very bad 24p style modes when compared to xha1. 

The fx1000 is basically an xha1 with no xlr ports.  I've also heard that neither camera (fx1 or 1000) have good scene file settings.  (color presets) whereas the xha1 can hold 23 different scene presets.
Oct 2 2008 1:14PM
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Heath.
Posts: 838 - Karma: 149
FX1s can ALMOST produce as good of color as an hvx, if you know what you're doing, i've seen it. As for canon, they are not doing anything to keep up in the HD industry, they only provide HDV and HDD hd cameras. When HDV dies, they are fucked.
Oct 2 2008 3:40PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
We could argue about this for a while haha. I'm honestly curious about what actual features or hardware specs are better on an FX1 than an XHA1? Believe me, I did a ton of research before i bought this camera, and every comparison or forum I've read has more or less said hands down, go with canon.

Try not to misinterpret what I'm saying. The FX1 is a great camera but, I personally thought it was worth the extra bucks to go with the canon simply because it has 24f, 2x XLR's, Iris ring, 23 custom presets, Kelvin white balance, zoom/focus position presets, hot shoe, 20x zoom, still picture capability, easily accessible audio controls, or 2.35:1 aspect guidelines. - All of which are things that I use regularly and I cannot find on an FX1.

anyhow opinions aside, here are some facts.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Canon-XH-A1-XH-G1-XL-H1-Panasonic-AG-HVX200-Sony-HDR-FX1-Compared.htm
Oct 2 2008 7:04PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
was this sarcasm? or just giving it to me because i'm incessant?

Not to get sidetracked, but the Z7 sound's like an awesome camera, and apparently they're going to be selling the remote SD card recorder to be compatible with other canon and sony models...
Oct 2 2008 7:29PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
Fsho.
Oct 3 2008 12:58AM
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Ryanvdonk
Posts: 12811 - Karma: 1,971
typically, you wouldn't be using a prosumer grade camera to take stills...and there is an analog iris control on the fx1, it's a knob instead of a ring, so same funtion, just smaller and silver.
Oct 3 2008 2:29AM
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Heath.
Posts: 838 - Karma: 149
Which is going to die and they're gonna loose money. It's true, you can't honestly say people would rather use hdv than some kinda of solid state...
Oct 3 2008 11:41AM
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heath
Posts: 475 - Karma: 13
It's when they do it that matters, as of now, they only have dying technology...
Oct 3 2008 2:31PM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
ya, canon tends to release their pro models very slowly. It took about 3 years for the XLH1s to come out, and they provided almost no upgrades at all. The XHA1 isn't really an upgrade from the GL2, so much as an entirely different camera. I'm thinking that if we see an upgrade in this camera that strays from MiniDV, it won't be called an XHA2, but something else. not that the name really matters.
Oct 3 2008 8:39PM
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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
HDV will be around for I'd say at least another 5 to 6 years.  Professional cameras will start to stray from HDV, which they already have started to do.  Canon will also most likely be sticking with HDV over the next 2 years. 

The Canon XHA1 is the most under rated camera on the market and if I could pick any HDV camera out there, the A1 would be it.  There is this terrible mis-conception that HDV sucks, which couldn't be further from the truth.

case and point, these were all shot on either the XH-A1 or the XL-H1, both of which are HDV cameras.
http://www.vimeo.com/pinelakeflms/videos/page:1/sort:newest


Hhttp://www.vimeo.com/pinelakeflms/videos/page:1/sort:newest


Oct 3 2008 8:55PM
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Ryanvdonk
Posts: 12811 - Karma: 1,971
there's also plenty of example of great picture coming from FX1s if you want to help support your HDV argument...im talking about picture of course, not audio, though you can get/make adapters
Oct 4 2008 3:05AM
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dergblerp
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 77
in 60i, their picture quality should be fairly comparable. the canon doesn't use pixelshifting, but i think sony does? i'm not sure. FX1 is a terrific camera for skiing and such, but for actual narrative filmmaking, the XHA1 is much better suited for the job.
Oct 4 2008 5:14AM
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Ryanvdonk
Posts: 12811 - Karma: 1,971
yeah, i agree, to fully utilize the FX1, an XLR adapter is a must, though for skiing and other aspects where audio isn't as important it's a great cam. you really cant go wrong with either.
Oct 4 2008 3:03PM
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