Sony's "equivalent" to Panasonic's HMC150?

[azonicbruce]

Trying to figure out which of Sony's offerings come closest to being similar to Pansonic's HMC150 in terms of specifications, namely:

CCD
SD recording media
24p

So far what I've come up with is Sony's NX5U. However, I believe that's CMOS and would still have issues with rolling shutter, correct?

Any other thoughts?

[Barry_Green]

They don't have a small-chip CCD HD tapeless camera, period. The closest they come is the NX5/V7U/EX1, but all are CMOS.

And all CMOS cameras have the same rolling shutter issues. Just some of them have them to a greater degree than others.

[azonicbruce]

Thanks for the feedback, Barry.

Here's the thing, I recently did a project for a small aviation company, using a Sony HDR-XR520. You can imagine, prop planes + CMOS = Big NO NO. I wasn't really totally pleased with the results, but the client was perfectly happy.



The other thing that the client commented during production, was that he thought it was neat that I didn't have to setup all these big lights. Honestly, if I'd had the budget/cash, I would have tried some creative lighting techniques, but admittedly the camera did a fairly good job with the low amount of light (at least I thought).

So, looking into the future, I'm trying to determine whether or not to make the investment in a camera that's the "right tool for the job", especially for these types of projects (airplanes, fast-action, corporate-type in general). My main concern is if I decide to get something like the HMC150, will it do as well in low-light situations as the CMOS based solutions?

Or is this really just a case of it really doesn't matter, since where I'm at professionally, I'm at such a beginner's stage where my clients aren't very discerning and won't really notice? Do you just keep shooting with what you have until you start loosing gigs because your quality isn't up to snuff? Or do you invest in the equipment, knowing the quality is there, and just knowing that the only thing holding you back is your own skills/talent?

[Captain Video]

Barry,

I take it that you don't prefer rolling shutters and CMOS. What is the 150's advantage over the NX5 in these two instances?

Thanks for your expertise in helping with important decisions like this.

[Barry_Green]

I wrote up an article on CMOS rolling shutter issues. CMOS is a technology that giveth with one hand, and taketh away with the other. It's better for some things (the 3200 ISO on the AF100 is pretty darn spectacular) but it can also totally ruin shots. The worst case is vibration. It doesn't look like azonicbruce ran into that, which is great. Here's an example of what someone shot on an HV20, and you'll see right away -- it's a problem.
http://www.ssontech.com/content/skool.mov

Skewing, flash banding, fluorescent lights, all can cause issues depending on what you're shooting and how you're shooting it. The vibration thing is a real potential problem. Then again, as time goes on, people seem to become more willing to accept these various anomalies. When it was brand new, it was horrifying; now people don't even seem to care that much.

[Captain Video]

With a couple of hours spent with Google I actually found your article just before checking back here :-) It is very clear and complete. I must say though that I've seen some terrific footage in my research of the NX5. Does the 150 workflow allow me to work with native files in CS5 like the NX5?

Thanks again for your dedication to this forum. I have learned a lot and am impressed with the overall professionalism found here.

[Barry_Green]

The NX5 might indeed work perfectly for you. I was responding in relation to the OP's question, which is "which is equivalent" and I responded by pointing out that the HMC150 is CCD, and Sony doesn't have an equivalent for that.

I'm not saying CMOS is inherently "bad", I'm saying that it's different and you have to work around its peculiarities. Your individual circumstances may indeed be better suited to the Sony than the HMC150, I don't know, it all depends on what you shoot.

As for editing, the HMC150's files are natively editable by CS5, yes.