HPX3700 vs. HPX2700

[jw2700]

Having worked with 2700 files the past 3 years, and after seeing the C300 movies and working with the files, the 10 bit versus 8 bit is a non-issue. C300 has some special sauce.

2/3 inch is firmly in place in high-end broadcast and is not going anywhere.

[greenheron]

Exactly, right on the money!

[Dino]

The HPX3100 isn't much more expensive than the PMW-350, with the advantage of CCD's, much higher end codec. Really need to compare the PMW-500 to the 3100 to be a bit closer codec wise.

For my money there isn't one large sensor compact camera that is usable for serious hand held work, especially using a zoom lens with any range. It comes down to whether you want the shot in the first take(docs, news) or have the luxury of multiple takes and an AC. The former is where 2/3" ENG form factor cameras can't be beat.

Regarding 8-bit lower bit rate codecs vs. 10-bit higher bit codecs, no way can you push the former as far as the latter without introducing noise and/or banding. This is not to say that 8-bit isn't sufficient for many projects, but at a certain point it falls off of a cliff.

The other day I saw a documentary called "From the Sky Down", about U2. I know the DP and asked him what he shot it with, thinking it was large format. Turns out it was tape and P2 Varicams for the most part, yet he achieved a shallow depth of field and didn't resort to crushing the blacks and super high contrast image so often seen with DSLR footage. It is really a great looking doc.