Which HDV camera should we purchase?

[christopherbdnk]

My friend and I are looking at HDV cameras and trying to decide right now between Canon's XL H1 and JVC's HD110U. We're leaning toward the HD110U because of ease of use and a standard lens mount.

What we're thinking about:

We plan to rent P2 cards for shooting, as they're a bit too expensive (for memory) right now for us and we'd rather invest more in the equipment than memory, but we'll probably move to P2 in the future.

We'd like to be able to switch lenses and built-in zoom doesn't matter much to us, but an XLR mic input would be key.

We're going to be shooting feature-length and short independent (obviously) films at 24f/s and we're looking for something that will produce film-quality shots in 720p. We're worried about zoom stutter, but this might be manageable with a blend (the Canon does this natively?)

Having a native dof similar to film would be appreciated, as we'd like this to look as much like film as possible and probably will not be using it outside of 24f(p)

Considering that right now we don't have existing lenses we need to support, what are the pros and cons of each camera? Our price-range goes up to ~$3000 for the camera itself.

thanks everyone!

[Tom Plapper]

Neither camera shoots on P2.

[Andrew McCarrick]

The only cameras that shoot with P2 are Panasonics.... So if you want interchangable lenses with P2 your cheapest option is the HPX500.... if you can live without an interchangable lense then HVX200 would be the way to go. And neither is HDV, it's DVCPro HD.... has far more color space information (which would help a ton with green screen type work.) than HDV.

You won't be able to get a quality HDV or HD camera for cheaper than a DVX100B(SD), and they retail for just about 2600 dollars.

[christopherbdnk]

Ah- I had meant to include the HVX200 and Sony's V1, but I think we ruled the former, at least, out just because of the lack of interchangeable lenses

[christopherbdnk]

You won't be able to get a quality HDV or HD camera for cheaper than a DVX100B(SD), and they retail for just about 2600 dollars.

It looks like the Canon XL H1's street is ~$2300, and the HD110U's ~$2400, are those iffy prices?

[Andrew McCarrick]

It looks like the Canon XL H1's street is ~$2300, and the HD110U's ~$2400, are those iffy prices?

Definately not a authorized resller if they're going that cheap, which means you're probably going to get ripped off.

HD110U (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=HD110U&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=productlist.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t)

XL H1 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=XL+H1&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=productlist.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t)

[HBlack]

You're not going to get the features you want for $3000. With your budget I'd get an XH-A1. It's over your budget by a few hundred and doesn't have interchangeable lenses, but it's the best you can get for the price.

And don't even think of paying the prices you mentioned, because you'll never get the camera.

[Jason Adams]

If that is your budget and your first feature. I would go SD. Get a DVX 100B and a 35mm adapter.

I have shot lots of HD and lots of SD and in my opinion, for an indi film project a 35mm adapter on a SD cam will look more pro than a stock HDV cam.

Also, not to squash your dreams, but the chances you might have of getting a feature to 35mm blow up with a budget of 3k is not great. IF your delivery medium is primarily web and dvd than SD might suit you well.

Also HV20 might work out

[KyleProhaska]

Jason has the right idea, HD probably isn't your best option. Especially at that budget, SD is going to be much more cost effective. If you absolutely need different lenses, the XL2 is the best SD cam, if not then its a tossup between the DVX & XL2 but I found the XL2 form factor to be difficult... DVX might be your best option.

- Kyle

[christopherbdnk]

We've pushed the budget a bit and it looks like we might be able to fit in a HVX200 + a P2 card. Keeping in mind that this is just the budget for the base (and that we plan on renting glass, buying a 35mm adapter, sound and lighting is budgeted separately), is the HVX200 + a 35mm adapter going to look less film-ie than a DVX100b + adapter, or the XL2 or XL A1?

I understand that with a similar dof that an improvement to color space is going to be a large improvement if that's the goal.

So, after having checked out reseller ratings and the essay on this site, we're no longer deluded by, well, insanely low prices, we should have probably thought that out a bit harder, as those things are usually too good to be true, but thankfully sites like reseller ratings do that for us!

How much time on the head tape is considered a lot? Are MACK extended warranties worth getting?

Thanks everyone, again, these have been very useful replies!

[christopherbdnk]

Also! We'll be trying a few more of these out in person over the next week to get a better feel, but most of these are not body'd to be shoulder mounted, right? Around how much will that kit (and monitor, I imagine, at least for the XL A1) add on?

[Jason Adams]

HVX or any HD cam plus 35mm will look more film like than any other SD cam.

DVX is 4:2:1 color HVX is 4:2:2 not to mention increased resolution and more latitude.

Just be careful. I don't mean to question your skill level, but these are pretty basic questions. Don't buy more camera than your budget and experience allow. You want to spend your project creating great art and not teaching yourself how to use a camera. You could be fine with a good rehersahl schedula and plenty of tests pre project. I would just caution you on buying an HVX and heading into production the next weekend.

P2 workflow is something to consider...If you have never made a feature before, managing a solid state acquisition medium may gum up your process. With a an SD or HDV cam you just point and shoot and change the tape every 60min.

Just my thoughts....Good luck on your purchases and project

[Jason Adams]

For a HVX, Shoulder rig, FF, 35mm Adapter, lenses...8-10k is a very conservative estimate.