comparing cameras for documentary shooting - dvx100b vs Sony HDR-HC1

M

miltlee

Member
Folks - this might seem like a strange comparision but I am getting ready to buy a camera that I could use to gather footage that may eventually end up in an independent film - or for use on public television.

I like to shoot by myself, and do interviews in a very relaxed form. So that's the background. Here's what I'm hearing and I don't know if this makes any sense at all. I'm told over and over that if I want to show something in a national forum, it has to be hi-def. I don't have the money to get a HVX200 with P2 cards or a firestore. I do have enough to buy a 100B (I've used the 100A for a long time and love it) I see some folks using the "hi-def" camera - the sony HDR-HC1. Both the DVX100B and the HC1 are plenty small, and would be very usable - BUT (and it's a big but) I don't think that the HC1 really has the control that a person needs to create really good video. IS the hi-def label that important? I love the size of the little sony, but weighed against everything that the 100B brings to the table - it just doesn't seem like the deal.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Milt
 
Well, let's see. Less than ten percent on american TV sets in use are HD. That leaves a piddly audience of only 270,000,000 people that would be able to see your footage on a television it was meant for. I really wouldn't worry about SD being a technical limitation at this point in time. And you're right, the HC1 is a camera meant for people who have no idea what aperature is. The "easy" button on the side is a dead give away. For control and professional looking material, 100B all the way.
 
I think the 100b is a better "pro" camera, but I think , in the quality image , the HC1 is better, because HDV is better than DV, just look some videos on the net.
 
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