Im looking for a camcorder... but

C

Coi

New member
Hi everyone.

After hours of search in google i cant take what is the best camcorder for 1000 usd...

Someone says the hv30/hv40, others says the canon s10/s100... others says to take more money and go for the panasonic GH1 (i really dont have more money...)

So... anyone knows a comparative review? please i need help, i think in this forum maybe someone knows the truth haha!
hv20-smilie51.gif


I will use the camera for indie film making, experimental filmaking, and maybe some "pro" recordings (like video clips), and i will use final cut to edit, and after effects / nuke , etc.

Thanks in advance.
 
At the moment, I face a similar problem myself.

We're all strapped for cash (well, maybe not ALL of us), and for those starting out/in school, we face the typical catch-22 of having experience to get more experience, but not having anywhere to start.

I'm debating between the HMC-150, GH1 for cost effectiveness (hey, if loopholes must be jumped through, then so be it for my wallet, as long as it works), and POSSIBLY a used DVX, though SD is essentially dead to me. I know, I know, that's heresy around here, but I see most of the jobs around all looking for HD shooters, not to mention that SD output benefits greatly from HD oversampling.

Even coming from my cheap standpoint though, $1000 is too low of an expectation for any decent camera. A used DVX probably IS your best bet at that range since most HD cameras are poor in either image quality or manual control (lack thereof).

The problem you face - and a big headache for me in deciding my own camera - is one of sacrifice. You COULD get the consumer level HD camcorders, which do have the potential for great images, but you're throwing away manual controls (well, in the form of proper nobs, switches, and rings), proper audio input (you'd be spending an additional amount for XLR add-ons and such), and 3CCD/CMOS systems (there's some cheap 3CCD *SD* cams, but they're usually awful in low light and noise due to 1/6th chips... Someone correct me if there's a cheap 3CCD HD option).

My advice? Do what I'm doing... Fight your own desire to buy a camera NOW, and hold off for as long as possible. Save up enough to get a decent camera with proper controls, glass, sensors, and ergonomics. In the meantime, work with raw footage online (I've been lusting over the HMC-150 footage for almost a year now) and iron out your editing workflow. Set yourself up for something, and study every cameras' abilities. Do you want to deal with tape? Do you need 24p (I assume so since you mentioned film)? Do you care about presets and color scenes? Do you care if the camera is in the shape of a DSLR? Do you care about extremely shallow DOF?

The list goes on and on.... You'll nearly kill yourself over it :2vrolijk_08:
 
thats a good point... but for me is a little imposible to save more money... Maybe one year (or more!) to made the money for, for example the canon XHA1...

i saved the 1000 usd in a lot of time... so i dont want to take any camera... y want he best for the money...

The canon hfs100 how is compared to the hv40? And with the panasonic hs300? tm300? im looking for quality and the best manual controls... sdhc cards, tapes, whatever...

thanks in advance again =)
 
I'm debating the HV40 vs. HFS100 myself. For me there is no clear cut winner.

If you want true 24P (24F) with no hassle of pulldown removal, then the HV40 is the clear winner. It also now has an assignable button, both advantages over the HV30. 24F is a clear complementary feature for my XH-A1. I could interchange tapes and drop either cameras output on the same timeline with no glitches!

On the other hand, the HFS100 has full 1920 sensor output (actually a bigger sensor) going into a TrueHD (1920) file format. This should be about 25% more data over the A1's HDV (1440x1080) file format. In theory, in bright light, the HFS100 could produce a sharper picture than the HMC150 or the XH-A1.

The HV40 will be easier to edit, the HFS100 is more computer intensive. If I go with the HV40 I'm going old school and easy. For the HFS100 I'd be aiming for the future, but harder for now.

I already have an HV20 that can act as a deck to the A1, but the idea was to get away from pulldown issues which the HFS100 won't do. :( However the HFS100 does have manual gain control.

http://hv20.com/showthread.php?p=239749
 
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Shoot out: HFS100, HV40, XH-A1, PMW-EX1, HPX170

Shoot out: HFS100, HV40, XH-A1, PMW-EX1, HPX170

I was looking for some very comparable captures and found some. From the full size images I took some sections for a closer look and set up some comparisons here:

http://hv20.com/showthread.php?p=239749

Look at the stair step aliasing issues on the HFS100! I actually like the HV20 better.
 
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