HD-You make great cookies...

S

sonisfear

Well-known member
Well my original plan is working (generate business with HD100 and acquire HVX when its ready).

I have the HD100 and it has made my wedding video demos for winter bridal shows a complete deal closer.

Customers are definitely eating up the HD...

At this rate May 2006 I will be buying a HVX as well provided that a decent hard drive solution is available and functional.

I plan to use the HVX200 as second cam in the back.

The ease of use/auto focus allows me to hire skilled A/V students to get the standard safe wide shots while the 1080P rezo allows me to zoom slightly ( if necessary) in post without to much loss as well as really showing off the cams detail.

The HD100 will stay with me for close ups creative shots, shoulder mount mobility and customer impression.



Wow what an age we live in...isn't it exciting for us.

The question is what will separate the old school high priced shooters with the 50K NTSC digicams from us indie guys with such HD power relatively so cheap...
 
I'm curious as to how you're pitching HD for wedding customers and what advantages they perceive. Are you promising to deliver a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD at some point in the future?
 
"The question is what will separate the old school high priced shooters with the 50K NTSC digicams from us indie guys with such HD power relatively so cheap"

The knowledge they have of their equiptment. The HD100 is 720P
 
Barry_S said:
I'm curious as to how you're pitching HD for wedding customers and what advantages they perceive. Are you promising to deliver a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD at some point in the future?
Click to expand...

My best example is a single frame printouts on 8*11 sheet of paper. I show what ntsc looks like from my beloved DVX100. And then HD examples. I have one with my son no lights or tripod in which you can see my reflection in his eyes.

I explain that HD is shooting this quality 30 times a second. So if the photographer misses a moment it is possible to grab it from the video.

I explain that this is not a video that you rent for a night and put away but a document that hopefully your grand kids enjoy, so better to record it in tomorrows standards.

I then show them HD samples downgraded to DVD which looks great for DVD and show them the same footage on WMVHD on a computer. Everyone has a computer and my packages include WMVHD DVD9 for now and MINIDV HDV masters to draw from later as technology settles in.

I then explain that as standards settle for next year I will figure out the best format for delivery format Blu ray/HD dvd but it all starts from the HDV master (fully edited).

And I always show them the HD100 profile which definitely commands respect.

This whole part of the presentation usually takes about 15min. According to my customers so far nobody else is offer HD yet.

In the end people want the best quality to document their day. And also helps that even with my HD price hikes dual cam I am still slightly cheaper than a high end pro photographer.

Did I mention that I also demonstrate surround sound (only available with dual cam package)? I simply use the second cams audio for rear sound source. Sounds great during speeches hearing the plates and audience comments behind you.

I love this HD age...
 
I plan to offer a viewing package.

In this package I show up to which ever location that you desire with a screen and DILA(type) HD projector (when they come down in price) and play the wedding in HD.

I would play this straight from the Master HDV tape.

Pricing for this will be really cheap as it becomes advertisement for me to all the viewers.
 
I have to say, your pitch is quite good.

I really think that HDV will get it's biggest boost with weddings, graduations, etc. The HVX seems more an indie filmmaker's camera.

Both have pluses and minuses.

Congrats on the business!
 
That does sound like a pretty good pitch and I think HDV will snowball for weddings, particularly when HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players get released. I can just imagine one of your brides bragging to a newly engaged friend--we got *our* wedding shot in hi-def. Then the friend decides she needs hi-def and asks videographer B--do *you* shoot hi-def? Videographer B says, I better get one of those HDV cams befor I start losing business--and on it goes.
 
Thanks guys...

In a world of non technical people and many great artists out there sometimes its the little things that make them pick your services. I have had bride pick me simply because I have metal dvd cases. But especially the prints is a big difference/selling feature. Nothing shows the quality of HD better than a print out. It esentially a photo. I cheat a bit too... I expand the image to 1080P/I simply because I will be outputing that at the size anyway.

The photo I demonstrate are really good candids that look like a photgrapher shot it. Then I show the HD video which the stills came from. When the HVX comes out I sudder to imagine what the print outs look like (Panasonic staff-This is a cheap way to promote the HVX-simple post frame captures on your site for us to download).

Infact the customer has come to the conclusion themselves (I never sujjest or promote this conversation) "We almost don't need a photographer". At 1080P I think I would agree to that (would I be correct in guessing that it would be about 2 megapixel per frame) but I would never promote that argument. But there is a chance that video will be taken more seriously that photography in the near future.
 
Never will and the quality will never get there. I used to argue that but since I've found out different. For a good 8X10 you need at least a 5MP camera. I have many digital cameras (why so much I don't know) and anyway I work a lot with the format and using a 4MP for an 8X10 is really pushing it, you have to shoot at a low ISO and make sure you stuff is sharp. No matter what Photos will always be the dominate format. Thats why I moved into it from video after fighting so hard I finally found out that photos are more cherished because they are easier to share, quick to look at and its a photo and in most cases a photo can speak so much.
 
Using HDV for 4x6" prints is fine - I've done that on a few occasions and the results are brilliant. However 8x10" is really pushing it. I don't have a digital still camera, but when I get one I'll be considering no less than 8 MP and a big enough sensor to get some lattitude.

-Spiff
 
Yes I agree guys...

A wedding I did in 2003 the photographer lost a whole 1 GB card.. The couple came to me to help replace some of the lost moments. Sadly NTSC is just not there for any decent picture. They still have my print outs.
 
Actually with the brake throughs in Digital Still technology I am surprised video is so far behind. I am mean yes we do have HD now, but in reality if you thing about it, the tech is pretty old, over a few years and look at how far digital photography has come since then.

Also we are still using CCDs, I am suprised on of the big companies haven't jumped on the ball and tried to work more with the CMOS chip technology. Actually come to think of it, I think sony has started with their 2000 dollar single chip HDV camera, I remember see the specs that it has a CMOS chip. I would be interested to see the footage on that one.

But on the high end movie level I think they can push it much more, but then the question is do they need to and if they did, how much of a difference would be noticed. I mean look a Starwars Episode 3, looks just as sharp or sharper then any film that I've ever seen. Also I assume that there would be problems with storage, data size and tape. And there probably is the issue about recording a 3-5MP image at a constant 30 frames a second.

But still it would be nice to over sample the image and work down. Another question is on lens, why are photo lens so much cheap yet they are probably so much sharper? I have 70-200mm Lens that is pretty dam sharp of my 17MP 1DS Mark II, imagine what that would look like on a HD camera?
 
The cam is not a still camera wasen't meant to be. I wouldn't want the cam to even remotely replace a still cam. In my opinion right now or my situation I have yet to see a HDTV under $5000.00 that can display HD properly. The printout show the customer the detail that is in the footage on my rear projection TV and computer monitor can't.

I know... I know I need one. I need to buy the important stuff first. Like a second/aux cam seeing that not a lot of shooters have HD yet and students mostly who I hire definately don't have HD I am going to hafto get a second cam.

SO DVX100 is for sale and depending on Sales I will either get the HVX200 on a higih end or the sony FX1 consummer HD. Ease of use is critcal for students don't need XLR for second cam and Sony looks good from a tripod and its cheap (consumer version anyway).
 
magji2000 said:
Actually with the brake throughs in Digital Still technology I am surprised video is so far behind. I am mean yes we do have HD now, but in reality if you thing about it, the tech is pretty old, over a few years and look at how far digital photography has come since then.

Also we are still using CCDs, I am suprised on of the big companies haven't jumped on the ball and tried to work more with the CMOS chip technology. Actually come to think of it, I think sony has started with their 2000 dollar single chip HDV camera, I remember see the specs that it has a CMOS chip. I would be interested to see the footage on that one.

But on the high end movie level I think they can push it much more, but then the question is do they need to and if they did, how much of a difference would be noticed. I mean look a Starwars Episode 3, looks just as sharp or sharper then any film that I've ever seen. Also I assume that there would be problems with storage, data size and tape. And there probably is the issue about recording a 3-5MP image at a constant 30 frames a second.

But still it would be nice to over sample the image and work down. Another question is on lens, why are photo lens so much cheap yet they are probably so much sharper? I have 70-200mm Lens that is pretty dam sharp of my 17MP 1DS Mark II, imagine what that would look like on a HD camera?
Click to expand...



I use to think the same, then when you start to look at the bandwidth and processing power required, also factor in that 35mm sensors was not on the roadmap, since video cameras have always beem for studio/ENG/docu etc, using video cameras to make blockbuster movies is a recent development. And since it has been demonstated that it is possible, the manufactures are now wising up amd making those cameras WE want.

Also wait till you see digital projection, i.e a complete digial workflow from capture to projection. Yep digital Cinema is going to be big


Anhar
 
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