Upgrading Canon HV30 to Panny X920 questions.....

G

gsrokmix

New member
Hi,


I would like to upgrade my trusty old HV30. I have done quite a bit of research and have considered the GH3, Canon HF G30, & Sony HDR-PJ790 as well as older variants of said cameras. I think a camcorder will suit my needs better than the mirror less systems. I'm pretty sure I have settled on the X920 but have a few questions:


I have read some people saying that the image quality of many of the new camcorders isn't actually as good as some of the HDV cameras, such as the HVxx's. Has anyone else heard this, or have any thoughts about that? The 2 main reasons I am upgrading are: (1) I would like to stop using tape, and (2) I feel like the newer cameras such as the X920 are easier to use in full manual than the HVxx cameras. I'm also impressed by the OIS that I've seen in use on the X920. It was a toss up between the X920 & the G30, and I felt like the G30's higher price wasn't justifed for what I would be using the camera for, which is mostly lower budget promo / corporate videos.


I have also considered keeping the HV30 and getting a Ninja 2 recorder to use with it, if in fact it would benefit from the recorder. I do a lot of green screen work, and the 4.2.2 Pro Res would be great if I could use it with the HV30. After all of my research, it is still unclear to me whether or not the HDMI output of the HV30 is clean and would provide the 4.2.2 color to the Ninja.


For my ~$1000 budget, I feel like the X920 will do a nice job for me. I realize that I will not get the best results for keying and other PP by using any AVCHD or .mp4 camera, but I am hoping that my next purchase will be a solid step up from the HV30.

I appreciate any advice, or thoughts any of you may have for me.


Thanks!


George
 
In good light the X920 produces very nice footage, that I would consider to be superior to the HV30 image in almost every way. ( I used to shoot with the HV20 and HV30 several years ago, and would never consider going back to recording on tape for anything )

In dim light the X920 sacrifices image detail for brightness, so while you will get a very usable image in dim-light it's not as sharp as the X920 in good light.

To get maximum quality out of the X920 you should use a 8x ND filter ( 3-stop ND ) when shooting in sunlight, to keep the aperture range below f/8.0. ( diffraction will kill sharpness at higher f-stops )

The X920 camera appears to apply less in-camera sharpening compared to the earlier TM700 / TM900 / X900 cameras, but adding a bit of sharpening in post produces a great image that looks "natural" to my eye. ( the X920 dynamic range also seems better than the previous cameras )

Overall I am quite happy with the results the X920 produces. To get better image quality in a consumer ENG camera you would have to make the jump to the Sony AX100 4K camera, which is about double the price.
 
A newer camera would probably be a good idea, but just for the record, the HV20/30/40 cameras will have a clean HDMI output. In fact, ALL "video" cameras from Sony, Panasonic, Canon will have clean HDMI output - it is only some of the DSLR cameras that have had issues. Actual VIDEO cameras are all fine, never seen or heard of one not outputting a clean signal (overlays can be turned off in menu).

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers
 
Thanks guys for the advice. I think I'll compare some test footage with both cameras before I decide to keep the X920.

Thanks again,

George
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top