choice: sony hdr-fx1 .vs. apple power mac

jdmoviemaker

jdmoviemaker

Well-known member
I am stuck , I cant choose to spend my money on a apple power mac or a sony fx1 hdv camera. I already have a dvx , but having a dvx makes me want true 16:9 and hdv ....... I WANT FEEDBACK!!!!!!!
 
vegas , yeah right

vegas , yeah right

yeah right , "go to vegas!!!!??" :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG) I dont want to loose what I have , besides I would spend all my money for the trip over there anyway!!!! :laugh::laugh::laugh: :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
How do you plan on making money? If it's from editing, get the Power Mac, if it's from shooting, get the camera.
 
yeah thats why im stuck , is that I want a hdv camera with true 16:9 , but I also enjoy editing on power mac with the best graphics
 
the question is what you're editing on. If your current editing suite is sufficient, then you're wasting money on upgrading it. I've paid my HVX off over & over again just on DV jobs, though the HD aspect has brought in a few more bucks. But I would still be surviving off DV alone. On the other hand, if you've got a solid editing station, then upgrading to something more expensive for little/if any bonus, would not be a good money investment. But if you lack the editing equipment, then the power mac is a good investment.

Me, personally, I've spent the last year and a half w/ an HVX and a G4 powerbook, and only now am I upgrading to a mac pro when the limitations of the editing machine have started to inhibit my deadlines. I've been editing HD so there was no need to upgrade before, but I found a worthy investment in a mac pro. If you don't have a solid reason to spend your money on something (ie something you couldn't do before) then spend your money on something better.
 
I'm not sure I'd buy the FX1... there is still too much of a format war in the HDV market and until the US goes full HD (which if I'm not mistaken is sometime in 2008/09) that war will not be resolved. HDV for all it's simplicity is a highly volatile medium because it is based on proprietary codecs that are tied to the camera manufacturers. The HVX200 kinda bypasses the problem by giving you the option of "true" HD though P2 but the FX1 and the rest of the HDV cameras do not.

I'm not saying HDV isn't good, I'm just warning you that you will run into some interesting problems with it when you borrow another HDV cam from a friend and realize you can't capture what was recorded on one camera with the other.
I'm sticking with my DVX for another year at least until the HDV market has sorted itself out.

The real question here is: Why are you looking to upgrade your camera / editing station? Is it because your old camera / editing station is bust or is it because you think your stuff will somehow be better if you upgrade? If it's the latter I strongly advise you to reconsider. your stuff isn't going to improve because of better gear. If that's the case spend the $$$ on lights, mics, training or put it in a bank.

mor10
 
Quick off topic note on something mor10 said; The analog TV shutoff in 2009 doesn't mean that the US (or anyone else for that matter) will be going fully HD .. in fact, some of the biggest markets of growth are mobile & web media, which are normally less than SD. The FCC only require full power TV stations to go to Digital, but that can be SD or HD - many stations are dooing both.

SD itself is here to stay.




As to the original question: what you are editing on now will have a huge impact on your desicion.

Beacuse ... will you be able to edit HDV? That requires some pretty decent machine specs to be able to do. If you can't, then you may be putting the cart before the horse.


- Mikko
 
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That may be true Mikko, but getting a native 16:9 camera means you can cruise film boards and boast about your camera. And really, shooting into the corner of an unlit bedroom just takes on that extra oomph in HD.

Are those cheetos on the table? Is that noise in the shadows?

:happy::evil:
 
morten said:
I'm not saying HDV isn't good, I'm just warning you that you will run into some interesting problems with it when you borrow another HDV cam from a friend and realize you can't capture what was recorded on one camera with the other.
Click to expand...

Unless I'm wrong, currently only Canon's flavor of HDV is incompatible with other cameras because of the 24F/30F mode. Presumably a Sony HDV cam should be able to read JVC's HDV and vice versa. Canon should work as well if it's 60i.
 
Isaac_Brody said:
That may be true Mikko, but getting a native 16:9 camera means you can cruise film boards and boast about your camera. And really, shooting into the corner of an unlit bedroom just takes on that extra oomph in HD.

Are those cheetos on the table? Is that noise in the shadows?

:happy::evil:
Click to expand...

lol.
 
jade8472 said:
Unless I'm wrong, currently only Canon's flavor of HDV is incompatible with other cameras because of the 24F/30F mode. Presumably a Sony HDV cam should be able to read JVC's HDV and vice versa. Canon should work as well if it's 60i.
Click to expand...
AFAIK yer wrong. ;)

JVC uses HDV1 (720p based) and Sony uses HDV2 (1080i based) and they are not compatible w/each other.


-A
 
If I where to go with the fx1 , it would not be an upgrade. It would be more of a documentary / wildlife camera. I still plan to use my dvx , I also plan to use an fx1 as a travel camera because I had a bad experience with my dvx on my last trip. A fx1 if a little more built for the field. ( if you know what I mean) :Drogar-Happy(DBG):
 
It would not be an upgrade , I need somthing to take on trips and to the airport. I had a bad experience with my dvx the last time I took a vacation..... And I need it for documentary shooting.
 
jdmoviemaker said:
And I need it for documentary shooting.
Click to expand...

Need or want?

If you need it then you answered your own question and I can lock this thread because the original question has been solved.

If it is a want then you simply must figure out which purchase is more of a priority.

Honestly, to me it sounds like gear lust... something that everyone here has been through, so therefore it doesn't matter which you purchase, it will be the wrong item and then you will just go ahead and get the other once you have additional funds.

Just my opinion
 
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