edoubleu
09-15-2009, 09:50 AM
Hi all. I am looking to upgrade to a new video camera, and I am wondering if some of you have a minute what you would recommend especially in light of the fact that I have a 17" MacBook Pro with the Express card slot. I have been shooting and editing video as a hobby, but that is now changing as I am going to produce videos for my company. My camera needs are, in order:
1) Shooting business videos (web commercials, training videos, etc) that are posted on our website and occasionally downloaded or burned to dvd (which precludes a consumer camcorder that would have been fine for web video only)
2) Filming sporting events such as surfing contests, video of which will also be posted on the internet but also burned to dvd (and occasionally blu-ray)
3) Eventually produce some short films, mainly for hobby purposes. This is down the line, however, so not a major factor.
I have gathered a lot of info on cameras in the price range up to the Ex1, but I am trying to wrangle the last few details and make up my mind. I prefer to stay in the $3-4k price range, but I would definitely go to the Ex1 or another camera if it made the offload and edit process much simpler and gave me a significantly better end product. I tend to be short on time, and a simpler workflow would be a big help.
Here are my criteria for my next camera:
1) Tapeless workflow (trying to ascertain if SxS is "better" than SD cards)
2) Ease of transfer, least amount of work and time to get to start editing
3) I like a crisp, clean hi def image, esp. for sports (found the old HVX-200 that I borrowed from a friend to seem a little soft)
4) Solid sound, manual controls, etc.
5) Something solidly built
I have mainly been bouncing back and forth from the Ex1 (due to the express cards, it's excellent image and the fact that I will not likely need to upgrade anytime soon from it), the Panny HMC150, and the new little JVC HM100 for ease of transferring files. I have also looked at the HVR-Z7U, but that also seems confusing when it comes to editing and the 25mps transfer rate seems a tradeoff.
I would have gone already with the 150, but from all I read here it sounds like it can be very time consuming and tricky to use on FCP. The obvious choice would be the JVC due to it's native .mov files, but I'm not convinced it's as good of a camera as the HMC150, .mov not withstanding, and it definitely does not seem like it's worth $3500. If it was $2500, I would have gone for it already. As for the Ex1, still not sure I need it.
So, my question is, does anyone think I should shy away from the Panny due to using FCP; should I lean towards the Ex1 since I have the Express slots for SxS cards; or should I just get the JVC - which is probably enough camera for my skill set for a while anyway? Or, any other ideas/comments? Thanks to anyone who responds!
1) Shooting business videos (web commercials, training videos, etc) that are posted on our website and occasionally downloaded or burned to dvd (which precludes a consumer camcorder that would have been fine for web video only)
2) Filming sporting events such as surfing contests, video of which will also be posted on the internet but also burned to dvd (and occasionally blu-ray)
3) Eventually produce some short films, mainly for hobby purposes. This is down the line, however, so not a major factor.
I have gathered a lot of info on cameras in the price range up to the Ex1, but I am trying to wrangle the last few details and make up my mind. I prefer to stay in the $3-4k price range, but I would definitely go to the Ex1 or another camera if it made the offload and edit process much simpler and gave me a significantly better end product. I tend to be short on time, and a simpler workflow would be a big help.
Here are my criteria for my next camera:
1) Tapeless workflow (trying to ascertain if SxS is "better" than SD cards)
2) Ease of transfer, least amount of work and time to get to start editing
3) I like a crisp, clean hi def image, esp. for sports (found the old HVX-200 that I borrowed from a friend to seem a little soft)
4) Solid sound, manual controls, etc.
5) Something solidly built
I have mainly been bouncing back and forth from the Ex1 (due to the express cards, it's excellent image and the fact that I will not likely need to upgrade anytime soon from it), the Panny HMC150, and the new little JVC HM100 for ease of transferring files. I have also looked at the HVR-Z7U, but that also seems confusing when it comes to editing and the 25mps transfer rate seems a tradeoff.
I would have gone already with the 150, but from all I read here it sounds like it can be very time consuming and tricky to use on FCP. The obvious choice would be the JVC due to it's native .mov files, but I'm not convinced it's as good of a camera as the HMC150, .mov not withstanding, and it definitely does not seem like it's worth $3500. If it was $2500, I would have gone for it already. As for the Ex1, still not sure I need it.
So, my question is, does anyone think I should shy away from the Panny due to using FCP; should I lean towards the Ex1 since I have the Express slots for SxS cards; or should I just get the JVC - which is probably enough camera for my skill set for a while anyway? Or, any other ideas/comments? Thanks to anyone who responds!