best camcorder/dslr for ultra low light multicam n

P

Propertv.be

Member
Hi all,

I'm currently looking to buy 4 HD cams with a total budget of 6000 dollar (4500 euro) to use them in a multicam setup. This means maximum 1500$ per cam. Since we do a lot of recordings in (dark) night clubs, we are looking for camcorders that are superb in low light. We like to take super wide shots, so a superwide lens is a +, if the camera can be zoomed in without losing too much light it would be cool too.

The camera's should have clean HDMI or SDI (don't think SDI in this budget) out and not enter sleep mode after some time (like the nikon d5200). Some of the recordings last 8 hours or more, stability is an issue! We don't like batteries, so using an AC adapter of some kind (dummy battery,..) should be possible. We use HDMI over CAT5 cables, and also have SDI inputs. Wifi would be a cool option, but would that work with 4 cams?

Pro connections (XLR) for audio are a +, but minijack will do too.

Weight and size should be as low as possible, we like to hang cams with ducktape or straps to ceilings. On the other hand, we do like to look a little 'pro', and prefer manual control over sharpness, zoom and iris. So a small camera that we can 'rig up' a little bit would be the best. A PTZ cam is also an option, but I can't find a lot of info about them.

Some things that we like, but are not really necessary : 1080 over wifi, remote control, good quality internal mic.


Right now we used a gopro 3 black edition, which is nice, but way too noisy at low light. We also tried a nex vg10, but that one is also a bit too noisy, even with a 1.4 lens. We also tried to connect some 'pro' camera's, like the Sony HXR-NX5, but they were even worse then the nex vg10 given the low light conditions.

Currently i'm looking at some options, but i hope someone has done research in a similar situation or who has compared some of them.

my options till now:


DSLR's/mirrorless:
Panasonic GH3
Nikon d5200 or d5300 (if i can hack the sleep mode away if possible?)
Sony Nex 7

Camcorders:

Canon legria hf g25
Canon legria g30 (would it be a difference from the g25?)

JVC gc px 100 (i like how 'pro' it looks)

Panasonic HC x920

PTZ:
JVC VN-H557U (new cam, so probably not too many tests available yet)
JVC GV-LS2





Anyone who got some advice?
 
I was going to say D5300. A NEX with speedbooster is a good option too, but I'd say it's still about a stop behind the D5300 in terms of low light capabilities. No idea if the sleep mode can be turned off in any of them.
 
I'd take a look at the new Panasonic GM1. It appears to have incredible detail and great low noise performance at iso 3200. I have a G6 and with the f/1.4 and f/1.8 lenses it does an amazing job due to it's very nice noise reduction up to iso 1600. The GM1 looks to be an order of magnitude better in low light. The combination of ETC and some fast lenses would allow you to film in darker environs without having to climb up on the stage.

The GH3 is the standard for high bitrate landscape type work. A G6 is super cool as it allows you to do 1080-60p in ETC mode. You can get awesome slow motion down to 24p from quite a distance with some fast glass. An Oly 45mm f/1.8 with ETC will give an equivalent 220mm focal length at that super low light gathering f/1.8. There's no other system out there that can do that at any price.

I would go for a GH3, a G6 and a couple GM1's. Then add a slew of fast Oly and Pannasonic glass (17mm f/1.8, Pan 25mm F/1.4, Oly 45 F/1.8, Oly 75mm F/1.8, Pan 12-35 f/2.8). With your budget there's simply no other option to get this kind of image quality in 4 cams. In my experience there are no camcorders even in the relm of consideration in this price range. If you have light, ok, but for low light I wouldn't even waste your time.

Here's a sample of the GM1 vs the others in low light. No matter what you think of EOSHD, the images speak for themselves here.
http://vimeo.com/80951606

Just my $0.02

Cheers,
Pete
 
Samuel H said:
I was going to say D5300. A NEX with speedbooster is a good option too, but I'd say it's still about a stop behind the D5300 in terms of low light capabilities. No idea if the sleep mode can be turned off in any of them.
Click to expand...

D5300 appears to have this sleepmode permanently enabled, i can't find a hack to disable it. Speedbooster looks like a great thing, problem is only the nex 6 and 7 appear to have clean hdmi out.

Anyone who knows if the d600 has this sleep mode after half an hour?
 
GM1 appears to have overheating issues, also i'm not sure about hdmi out.

The G6 looks like a super camera, but not for what i want to do with it, since it has no hdmi out during recording.

The GH3 is still in the list, but i would like to know more about the other cams before deciding :)
 
anyone who tried the hx9v from sony yet? I read a lot of raving reviews about it, it's cheap and has clean hdmi out. Should be not too bad in low light either. If there is an AC adapter and it can output hdmi continiously without sleep mode i would also like to take it into consideration for static cams.
 
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