Hey, I'm at that terrible crossroads trying to decide between the XH-A1 and a camera like the HVX200. I've mainly been agonizing over DVCProHD and HDV. And while I can't tell much of a difference in the footage itself, I have heard that editing, color correcting, etc. with HDV can cause problems and loss in quality, especially in terms of projection and 35mm prints. I was just curious as to what you all thought about it.
Editing, HDV, the XH-A1, etc.
- Thread starter ObiMcD
- Start date
DChang
Well-known member
Try some of the HVX200 vs XH-A1 threads, they go over EVERYTHING 3-4 times. Theres been a lot of HDV bashing but its decreased since the A1 came out, and from all the A1 footage posted here I cant see anything wrong with it at all and havent heard of too many problems.
Personally I think it comes down to price and intended use. Are your intentions to project and/or print to 35mm? Can you afford the HVX plus the P2 cards? What equipment do you already have? The A1 is near $3000 which is amazing for the picture quality. It also depends on your workflow and again the type of project youre involved in.
Personally I think it comes down to price and intended use. Are your intentions to project and/or print to 35mm? Can you afford the HVX plus the P2 cards? What equipment do you already have? The A1 is near $3000 which is amazing for the picture quality. It also depends on your workflow and again the type of project youre involved in.
Jason Ramsey
Admin
I haven't heard of there being so much of an issue over loss of quality with HDV with standard editing like you described above. That would probably come more into play over multiple generations.
HDV is a Long GOP format, and it is much more demanding on your pc then DVCPRO HD. It isn't a very editing friendly codec. DVCPRO HD isn't too terribly demanding on editing.
The main things to consider are the feature sets of each of the cameras you are looking at, and the workflow differences vs. your needs for the camera and your intended workflow.
Tape vs. Tapeless are pretty different workflows. Personally, I love the tapeless workflow of P2. The next person might still feel more comfortable with a tape based workflow. To each his own. Just pick the camera and feature set that is going to be best for what YOU need it for. Both the A1 and the HVX are good cameras, and capable of comparable results overall. But, they have different features which will make one camera lend itself to one shooter, and the other to another.
If you are terribly concerned about the differences in the codecs being used (HDV vs. DVCPRO HD), I would suggest researching each of the codecs and being sure that one will hold up for your intended use.
I'd like to tell you "get this one", and that would be the easy answer, but it doesn't mean it's right for you. Beyond that, it just becomes a 'mine is better than yours' thread, and we already have enough of those.
Jason
HDV is a Long GOP format, and it is much more demanding on your pc then DVCPRO HD. It isn't a very editing friendly codec. DVCPRO HD isn't too terribly demanding on editing.
The main things to consider are the feature sets of each of the cameras you are looking at, and the workflow differences vs. your needs for the camera and your intended workflow.
Tape vs. Tapeless are pretty different workflows. Personally, I love the tapeless workflow of P2. The next person might still feel more comfortable with a tape based workflow. To each his own. Just pick the camera and feature set that is going to be best for what YOU need it for. Both the A1 and the HVX are good cameras, and capable of comparable results overall. But, they have different features which will make one camera lend itself to one shooter, and the other to another.
If you are terribly concerned about the differences in the codecs being used (HDV vs. DVCPRO HD), I would suggest researching each of the codecs and being sure that one will hold up for your intended use.
I'd like to tell you "get this one", and that would be the easy answer, but it doesn't mean it's right for you. Beyond that, it just becomes a 'mine is better than yours' thread, and we already have enough of those.
Jason
scharky
Veteran
I would say, if you are going to invest in an A1 or any HDV camera for the matter, also plan to invest in Cineform (Connect) "NEO" HD. This gives you a more robust file, and allows you to actually edit footage. While I can get realtime with HDV footage on my computer in preview mode, forget about scrubbing or any kind of quick movement within your editor. With the Cineform file it is much more stable, much faster and in all much more generation friendly.
KyleProhaska
Veteran
Also consider other equipment you might need. If I had gotten the HVX I wouldn't have bought any of the extra stuff like sound or anything because of lack of funds. If you dont have any other equipment yet and can't afford anything after the camera....go for the A1 so you have the funds for other things. Remember...the camera isn't everything.
- Kyle
- Kyle