Canon VIXIA HF11 vs. Panasonic HDC-SD100 companion to HVX

Jarek Zabczynski

Jarek Zabczynski

Veteran
Looking for a small camera to add to my arsenal. I shoot mostly with my HVX but want something small for more personal use and behind the scenes type stuff. But I also want the ability to be able to cut the footage into projects if I need to, so quality is big for me. Both these cams seem pretty nice, just wondering what you guys think. From what I understand, the Canon only shoots 24p within 60i correct? I like the Canon because of the higher bitrate, but anyone know if the Panasonic records at native 24p? And if so, at the full bitrate? Any advice would be great.

Canon VIXIA HF11

Panasonic HDC-SD100
 
I have the canon HF100, and it has been one of the best cameras I have ever owned for personal carry everyday use.

It does well for converting to 24p, and is so light, that it is never a burden to carry.
I have a 2 year old son and I can cary the camera and deal with him at the same time.

I mostly use it for family stuff, but the footage it creates is amazing.
The storage also goes a long way.
 
I second the Canon. I shot about 12 hours of BTS footage with an HF10 and it looks very, very good. Some of the manualness isn't there but the footage looks amazing. I also reverse telecined it to 24p in Final Cut and it was easy.
 
We will be testing a HF11 this week, particularly its 1080/30p mode, which I understand is true progressive.

I wasn't impressed with the Panasonic SD9, particularly in the 24p mode. It requires a cinema mode as well, and the colors were not impressive.

I'll be converting to DVCProHD using Toast.
 
David S. said:
We will be testing a HF11 this week, particularly its 1080/30p mode, which I understand is true progressive.

I wasn't impressed with the Panasonic SD9, particularly in the 24p mode. It requires a cinema mode as well, and the colors were not impressive.

I'll be converting to DVCProHD using Toast.
Click to expand...

Any new findings?
 
Unfortunately, it went back for a refund.

CS4 Premiere would not play it or convert it to p2. 24p would convert in Toast and showed as 29.97. Converting to prores in FCP did not convert to 24p. Pulldown didn't work


Nice look footage, but workflow didn't work
 
Any experience with the Sony HDR-CX12 in the same context; as a quickie B-roll companion to a HPX170. At roughly the same price as a 16 Gb P2 card, one of these types of cameras is an interesting option... seems like they are getting closer to having a decent workflow but perhaps not quite there yet.

Its a pretty safe bet we will see FCP 7 with much better handling of AVCHD by around NAB-time. FCP has been on a 2 year release cycle forever and AVCHD is high on their list of priorities. Hopefully that'll make it a whole new ball game for these little cameras as well as the HMC150, the flood of video enabled DSLR's and of course RED cameras will also be better supported. Ain't it great to have SO MUCH to look forward too!
 
David S. said:
CS4 Premiere would not play it or convert it to p2. 24p would convert in Toast and showed as 29.97. Converting to prores in FCP did not convert to 24p. Pulldown didn't work
Click to expand...

It was awhile ago but I reverse telecined it using compressor to get it 24p. If you google, you can find the method for doing this.
 
David S. said:
Rolling shutter is always an issue with these non Panasonic cams.
Click to expand...

I'm leaning toward the Canon HF11. I really like the 24mb mode. Samples I've seen indicate a much better image quality over the Panasonic. I want 24p but hear it sucks on the Panny as well. Anything I need to know about the Canon that hasn't been mentioned? Can I focus it manually? Set exposure/shutter?
 
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You can set all that stuff manually (unless it's like the HV20, in which case you can't set aperture and shutter at the same time), except it's all through the menu system, which proves to be a hassle most of the time.
 
Panasonic says their AVCHD to DVCProHD Transcoder will only work on Panasonic cams, if that is an issue....cannot use it to convert HF11 footage. Bummer.
 
JesterJJZ said:
There aren't any new AVCHD cams on the horizon in the near future that I should be aware of are there?
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Both major manufacturers (Sony & Panasonic) intend for AVCHD to be "the new DV" and Canon is firmly on board too, so count on lots and lots of new AVCHD cameras coming out. But none have been announced or even hinted at so we don't know of anything imminent or even distant. It's just a reasonable assumption that there will be lots more.
 
Barry_Green said:
Both major manufacturers (Sony & Panasonic) intend for AVCHD to be "the new DV" and Canon is firmly on board too, so count on lots and lots of new AVCHD cameras coming out. But none have been announced or even hinted at so we don't know of anything imminent or even distant. It's just a reasonable assumption that there will be lots more.
Click to expand...

Barry...which AVCHD cam would you get "now" and why?
 
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