AC90: Good Upgrade from AC-90

[NanaK]

Hi. I apologize if this is in the wrong section, but I was wondering if anyone could provide some advice on what would be a logical/decent upgrade from the AC-90?

I use my AC-90 in various lighting conditions ranging from outdoors, indoors and occasionally having to push it up to the maximum 30dB of gain. I do run with it and I love how fast the AF is and that is a must since I am literally running around shooting fast paced action with it on a Steadicam.

I know everyone is crazy about the SDoF stuff and I've heard that the PX270 can do it, but that's not a must have and I'm not quite sure what to make of the AF100A

Would the AC-160 make sense or is there a different camera to move to with larger sensors? Also, everything I shoot is for fun - I'm not getting paid to shoot video.

Thanks.

 

[Barry_Green]

The immediate upgrade path would be the HC-X1000. That's a camera that's about the same size as the AC90, maybe a little smaller, but it's 4K instead of just HD. It has a tremendous image stabilizer, shoots very high-resolution images, and has a number of new features over the AC90 -- and it has a 20x zoom lens. (optically; if you're shooting HD you can extend that to 40x with the i.Zoom feature, which doesn't lose hardly any resolution). I think the HC-X1000 goes for around $2800 now.

The AC160 is getting a little long in the tooth. It would be a big upgrade from an AC90, yes, but there's newer cameras coming out. If you're interested in a larger sensor, the new DVX200 would be just about everything you're looking for, except that it's quite big and relatively heavy. It's about the same size as the AC160, and weighs around 6 pounds. It's also 4K, has a 13x zoom, and has a sensor that's about 28x larger than the sensor in your AC90. It should perform much better in low light without needing to gain up to the stratosphere like the AC90 does. It is not on the market yet, it'll be out in about October, for a street price of approximately $4195.

 

[NanaK]

Not sure what happened to my reply, but here goes again.

I'll wait for the DVX200 and it's under my price point. The AC90 should be around 4.x lbs so 6.x lbs isn't bad. What are your thoughts on 4K? I'm not sure about it since I've been told and heard you need perfect light conditions to get anything besides noise and it is not for changing light conditions or quick movements.

Last question - If 24p is supposed to provide that " film " look, then why does 24p at 1/50 with any movement look like a blurry mess? I couldn't imagine shooting anything faster than say someone slowly walking in perfect light and it still looks weird to me :/

 

[Barry_Green]

What are your thoughts on 4K? I'm not sure about it since I've been told and heard you need perfect light conditions to get anything besides noise and it is not for changing light conditions or quick movements.

4K is just a frame size. There have been 4K cameras on the market for at least 8 years now. A 4K camera shoots an image that's 4x the resolution of 1080p, or 9x the resolution of 720p. I don't know what you've been told, but it sounds like you've been talking to people who perhaps don't necessarily know what they're talking about...

Last question - If 24p is supposed to provide that " film " look

24p is a component of the film look, but it is not the only aspect. If you want to make something look like a movie, you need to do everything the movies do (lighting, set design, etc). However, if you've done all that, and then you shoot at 24p, then yes it looks like film. And if you've done all that and then shoot at 60i or 60p, then yes it looks like video. This was definitively proven with "The Hobbit"; the exact same scenes were shot at 48fps, and they looked like hyper-realistic video. When displayed at 24fps, they looked like a movie.

, then why does 24p at 1/50 with any movement look like a blurry mess? I couldn't imagine shooting anything faster than say someone slowly walking in perfect light and it still looks weird to me :/

I'd recommend looking at properly-shot 24fps footage. There's lots of it out there now. I can assure you you've seen a ton of stuff that's been shot on 24p video and never even knew it wasn't film.

 

[True North]

4K is just a frame size. There have been 4K cameras on the market for at least 8 years now. A 4K camera shoots an image that's 4x the resolution of 1080p, or 9x the resolution of 720p. I don't know what you've been told, but it sounds like you've been talking to people who perhaps don't necessarily know what they're talking about...

I think he is referring to the fact that many of the Camcorder 4K cameras currently released within the consumer to prosumer markets have been poor low light performers which is more or less true.

 

[NanaK]

That's exactly what I was referring to, True North.

I'll take a look. I haven't shot 24p with all the requirements of a movie. It seems like the DSLRs do 24p really well. Even action.