Best HD camera?

[Inoran]

So is the HVX the best HD camera? I heard the the sony zu1 allows you to screw 35 - 55mm lenses right on to it without an adapter - is this true? What is the best HD camera right now? (besides the genesis and the megamillion dollar ones)

[arrestthisman]

There is no best. Some are better than others.

It all has to do with what you're going to use it for.

You wouldn't want to haul coal in a BMW, a Ford Truck is better for that, or something I don't even know.

What will you be using it for?

[TimurCivan]

no the sony doesnot allow you to screw in lenses directly.

I feel the HVX is the most Flexible, roght now. but theres a new competitior on the horizon, the new Sony Flash media camera, that can do everythign the HVX can, we have yet to see footage, but it seems like sony is taking this offering seriosuly.

[arrestthisman]

But man, sony compresses their stuff SOOOO much, and long GOP OY, immediate pain in a** due to conversions to get into an intra-frame codec.

[TimurCivan]

the 35mbps looks great through. its also full raster 1920x1080. DVCproHD though far less compressed, saves on compression by only rasterising 1280x1080 and 960x720.

Granted i LOVE the dvcproHD, and i woldnt give up my HVX for anyhting, but the sony will have its place. it will please shooters who dont need to CC their footage much, or do tooo much post production. though, like i said, the HD cam spec 35mbps is alot better looking than the HDV youre used to.

[David Saraceno]

I'm wondering how the new Sony footage will look when converted to progressive intraframe with Apple new prores codec.

[TimurCivan]

it will look exactly as is does in xdcam. convering to another format wont hide mppeg artifacts (the few there are in xdcam) or add colorspace. its just putting the same water in a bigger bucket.

[Justyn]

Now this is a great analogy: You wouldn't want to haul coal in a BMW, a Ford Truck is better for that.... Like that.


I'm a friggin diehard HVX guy... Think it's the best for what I do... blah blah.. But I also know I want a pocket B-camera HD cam to keep in my backpack or glovebox .. or just as a crash cam.

Then I also want and need to get one for underwater stuff too.. so each tool has it's place and now I'm content and happy with the HVX to say that. The more competition the better it will be for ALL of us. We do all have our likes and dislikes. Like for me, I"ve NEVER liked or apprecaited a single Sony camera ever. Hate their designs.. but again that's just me. Now I'm kind of really stoked about that new Canon little 1200 dollar cam. The footie from that is really impressive...

[David Saraceno]

We shot for three months with a Z1U -- mostly basketball and football footage before we got a HVX200.

We had absolutely no issues with mpeg2 artifacting. We also tooks some footage into Compressor, and converted it to DVCProHD 720p. Looked fabulous.

I know it won't add color space, but artifacting isn't always an issue and in our case, never was an issue. I just wondering if the prores codec will simplify workflow.

[TimurCivan]

im sure it will, it just takes time. This is a perfect example. if youre covering, a sporting event, you really need the record times that Mpeg based hd acquisition can offer. also youre in a situation that wont tax the HDV codec. This cam may be perfect for you. i shoot music videos, commericals, horror films etc, that have lots of color, flashing lights, sweeping cmaera moves, etc... But all at the same time, this may reek havoc on HDV. Then after that, the footage will be extensivly CCed. i canttake chane on pixelation. id rather have lower resolution, than pixelation. thats why i shoot HVX200. if i didint have thoes issues i would have saved my self 5,000, and got an A1/V1..... etc.... The hdv format causes headaches for the kind of work i do. i prefer intraframe compression for my jobs. its just easier to deal with.

[Sunstream]

I assume you are asking best HD handicam, as the high end full sized HD cameras with 2/3 chips give you so much more, and cost so much more.

[arrestthisman]

It may be rasterized Timur, but that's not why there's less compression, there's less compression because... they don't compress it as much :)

100mbit versus 35mbit. That doesn't even really matter as much though, the picture is what matters, but the problem is that there ARE a lot of obstacles to getting a good picture from HDV and sony's new crap.

I've never been a fan of sony in terms of cameras, they produce images that just plain old look artificial. Very sharp, and very lifeless. Canon less so, but still the same deal. I'm a panasonic fanboy not because I like the company, or just the HVX, they just seem to have an eye for natural looking, sweet images.

But yeah, HDV and long GOP compression is lame.

As they said on studiodaily roundup: "Friends don't let friends edit in HDV."

[TimurCivan]

oh thats definintly true, that its not compressed as much, but one of the reasons its compression is so low is that the panasonic engineers figured out that if they cut down the pixel count, the low compression really helps keep the image together.

I agree about sony/canon images, my analogy was, the sony/canon's are B&W camera's with flat washes of thin colors laid over. The DVX/HVX form the image WITH color.

[JimiK]

How about the second part of the question :
"I heard the the sony zu1 allows you to screw 35 - 55mm lenses right on to it without an adapter - is this true? What is the best HD camera right now? (besides the genesis and the megamillion dollar ones)"
Any one?

[bluetuned]

The Sony Z1U does NOT allow you to add on any lenses without an adapter.

The "Best" HD camera right now depends on what you need it for. If you need longform, event shooting, it's probably not the HVX. You'll need something that shoots to tape (Sony, Canon, or JVC). If you want variable framerates for slow-mo or timelapse, tapeless workflow, etc....it's going to be the HVX (at least until the new Sony comes out, but until it does....the HVX still gets this category).

I think the most common distinction is that people who are interested in shorts, music videos, narratives, advertising work, etc. tend to gravitate more towards the HVX. Shorter record times...but you get more flexibility with the image, and it's considered by many to be more "filmlike". On the other hand, if you plan on shooting an hour or more of footage at a time...say for events or some types of documentary projects....the HVX probably isn't what you're looking for.

That doesn't mean that people don't use the HVX for doc's or even event videography, and it doesn't mean that people don't do shorts and music videos with the other brands. It all depends on you. There is no easy answer as to what the "best" HD camera is.

[JimiK]

Thank you bluetuned for that info.
Good day