Sony back to SD with the new PD 175

I don't get it. Is it really that much cheaper to make DVCAM only cam instead of HDV cam?

Sony does not use SD/SDHC cards. They have SxS for pro and MemoryStick for consumer lineup.
 
There are a lot of DVCAM decks being used in TV stations out there. You must remind that standard definition is still the 'standard' for television broadcast in the vast majority of countries and small and lightweight ENG cam like this and fits perfectly in the diary workflow of all of these TV channels that don't need HD acquisition. Tape is still a reliable and cheap archival format.
 
IT's a Z5 without the capability to record HDV. Seems pointless to me as the Z5 will record DVCam too. It has the same capability to use the HVR-MRC1K Compact Flash Solid State recorder as the Z5 but of course it will only be SD.
Ron Evans
 
Digigenic said:
Sometimes the old becomes new again.
Hey, the GL2 still sells for 2grand.
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dmpsk8 said:
$2000 to who? lol. I guess some people are just that stupid
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Or they don't know about the HMC40.


I don't get it. Over at creativevideo.co.uk the price is £2,847.67 + VAT where the Z5E is only £3,250.00 + VAT.

HD seems to be well worth £400 in my book, especially since the Z5 can do either HDV or DV. Unless of course the PD175 has some RED One class CMOS chips inside it doesn't make sense to me.
 
Yep, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Why not just buy an HD cam that can also shoot SD? Haven't we been over this whole issue like 2 or 3 years ago?

It's stuff like this that completely smacks me upside the head and reminds me as to why I've stayed away from Sony stuff over the past 6 years and worked with Canon and Panasonic stuff.
 
It could be that some working professionals do not need SD and that will not buy a new camera just because it is HD, thinking of HD as something that is inferior (heavier compression, smaller pixels, required more resources for editing) etc. Many people believe that something that is designed to be SD only is automatically better in SD compared to an SD/HD hybrid, without checking the technical details of the system. The product number (175) alone can sell quite a lot of cameras based on the perception of 170 as a very good camera and its history in the market. Sony made the mistake of trying to convince users they could record HDV and output SD from HDV tapes using the FX1/Z1 series hybrids. The result was inferior to straight SD recordings and many users are sceptical of HD just because of this. Not everybody spends days researching the technical details behind a system. Most working professionals will only consider SD cameras from the Sony catalogue because they only use SD. Especially if the camera is cheaper than the SD/HD hybrid. It will actually be very good SD if it has an HD lens, native 16:9 imager and opticals designed for optimal SD output.
 
This somewhat reminds me of my first impression of the HVX200a. Which seemed to be a waste since the HPX170 is a HVX that is lighter, better UI & has HD-SDI, while the HVX in tape mode is just a bigger, heavier more expensive DVX.

The only reason I see for getting a HVX200a would be if you only had room for 1 camera & 1 camera only. Otherwise go w/ the 170 & get a used DVX when you need DV.

I do think Sony is wise for having a wider line of products than Panasonic, Canon or JVC. Since the BEST camera out there is the camera that works best for you & the more cameras out there, the better chance you can find your best camera.
 
zijital said:
The only reason I see for getting a HVX200a would be if you only had room for 1 camera & 1 camera only. Otherwise go w/ the 170 & get a used DVX when you need DV.
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Although reportedly you get significantly better widescreen DV from the HVX compared to the DVX.
 
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