New TV Studio. Camera Opinion Please.

[mellodeque]

Hello, i changed work so, now i'm Main Production Director for incoming TV Station in Poland.

We'll broadcast via Sat (for now in 16:9 SD - later maybe HD)

Now we're building studio-rooms, we have:

Studio A (75m2 for News), (75m2 for main director - live Studio) and 75m2 for Servers etc)
Studio B (600m2 for Production - will be splitted to easy to set-up boxes)
Studio C (postproduction / jurnalist workstation etc) aprox 300m2

So for now i planned:

for News and weather: 3xHPX171 (one with prompter) - SDI-HD output
for Programs production inStudio B and sometimes outdoor 2xHPX301
for regular reporters (only outside) 4xHMC151

(of course rest of equipment will be ordered with cameras (stands, small jib, 9m Jib, flexDolly, camera lights, microphones etc)

I'm planning to shot in 720p, output for broadcast will be (for now) in SD 16:9 (mpeg2 3-6Mbit)

My plan is to shot 720p (for future HD broadcast, and for now for easier edit for SD) (if we'll swith to broadcast HD, we'll shot new programs in 1080i/p)

Other crew in my TV are Sony users, so they are thinking about
two EX3, three EX1, and three V1E (for reporters)

what is yours opinion about Sony vs Pana (i know that's pana forum) - so please post pros and nonsa about Sony vs Pana (it'll be usefull to choose the right one decission for our new (small) tv station)

/regards
/Mell

 

[Ron777]

The intended purpose for my equipment is entirely different than yours but having just disposed of a Sony Ex3 and replaced it with a Panasonic HPX300 and HPX170, I can only say that the Ex3 is fine for tripod usage but for ENG work or anything that implies hand held shooting, IMO, it would not be a good choice. I know that there are numerous quasi solutions available for purchase all intended to circumvent the the Ex's ergonomic misgivings but in my experience they are not worth the expense and extra weight and in the end, there is really nothing that one can do to make it a real shoulder mount or hand holdable device. The Ex1 is slightly more hand holdable but it is poorly balanced and holding it for anything greater than 10-15mins is a real struggle... once again, in my opinion and from my experience. Furthermore, I fail to see the logic behind purchasing a camera that requires the addition of thousands of dollars of add-ons (hand grips, shoulder mount system, Nanoflash, etc.) all to accomplish what the 300 does pretty much right out of the box.
The two Panasonics mentioned at the beginning of this post have been a breath of fresh air. The HPX170 is a breeze to hand hold and the HPX300 is so well balanced that you barely feel it resting upon your shoulder. I'm not certain that any of this opinionated information has addressed your questions but I can say that, and I am certain that others may disagree, I find the image quality of the HPX 300 to surpass that of the EX3. The images are sharp without any of the apparent and artificial appearing"sharpened edge" phenomena that I noticed with the Ex3.
Best wishes for your new TV studio.