Need help picking a HD cam

KarmaInitiative

KarmaInitiative

Active member
No luck in non ski, how bout you guys?

Im havin alotta trouble choosing what kind of camera to get, im lookin

at gettin one probs around christmas. Ive been lookin at the HV30 for a

while, but i was also thinkin i might want a flash memory camera. SD

cards are as big as 32 gig right now, and tapes get annoying. Ive heard

alot of bad stuff about hard drive cams and AVCHD, but for now, i dont

make hd movies, i'd just like the flexability of the increased size so

i could zoom in on the computer without loosing resoulution and stuff.

Is AVCHD really so bad that i shouldnt get a newer cam? Any suggestions?
 
All in with AVCHD my friend. I just bought a panasonic HVX200 about 1 month ago, and then my friend bought a panasonic HMC150 (which is AVCHD format). Moreover it is as sick as my P2, but AVCHD is a way lighter format than DVCPRO (HVX format). we both have a 4g card, I can barely shoot 10 minutes in 720p 24pn and he can shoot over half an hour in 720p 24p with his 4g. Color setups are the same, framerates are the same, only thing is HVX is about 100mbps and HMC is 20 ou 23mbps i think... And the HMC is WAY cheaper. I don't know what your budget looks like, but you should defenitly have a check to that camera.
 
ya, I've seen some great footage from the HMC150, but it's also the only AVCHD camera i've heard anyone say anything good about.
For consumer level HD, stick with HDV cameras such as the HV30
 
Definitely. Not a whole lot of consumer dvcpro floating around obviously, so i think that answers the question
 
downsampling to SD will work with any of these cameras, the problem with AVCHD is that it is a terrible compression format. You will get distortion and artifacting especially around moving objects.
 
The quality of your downsampled footage will directly reflect the quality of your full quality footage. If you shoot HDV, you won't have wierd artifacts or distortion that you would find in AVCHD.
You ask "will quality be an issue if I end up shrinking it" - Obviously it won't be HD anymore, but it won't be an issue at all. I shoot alot on a PD170, and it takes amazing standard def footage. The resolution is not nearly as important as your lighting and camera settings.
 
First, you oubviously don't know you're talking about, the HMC is 3495,00$ on B&H photovideo. If your budget is around 0$ for and HD camera, i guess you won't find what you need hoomie.
Second, yes DVCPRO is better than AVCHD in theory, but who the fuck in this website plans to burn something in HD on blueray and deliver a real HD format in the end? I don't think there is a lot. According to that, the difference between both formats does not change anything. Even if you do a real HD movie on internet, with the compression you won't see any difference between both.
Yes it is a bit expensive, but for those who are looking for something around that price, consider the HMC...

 
the HMC150 is a great camera, and AVCHD is a good codec. If you were to show footage from an HPX170(DVCPROHD) and an HMC150(AVCHD), the differences would only be noticeable to someone who knows the characteristics of both codecs.

that being said, I have been having some issues with the HPX170 that are shared by the HMC150, so I would say hold off on getting an HMC150 for a while if that's what you're looking at. I just discovered an inherent problem with the 170 that is most likely shared with the HMC150, and it's a big one.

otherwise, HV30, great camera. It deserves all the hype it gets.
 
Ehh switch the hdv and avchd... avc is a flash format that is shooting at 18-23 mbps, the exact same as HDV, but its using flash instead of annoying tapes. Thats the only reason, haha.
ESK brought up a great suggestion. But like he said, all depends on your budget.We couldnt be happier with our HVXs, especially how amazing the 60p looks. Just depends on how much your willing to throw down, especiaaly cuz P2 cards aint cheap.
 
Avchd isn't that bad, from what i have seen, but i have not used it so whatever, just i wouldn't hate on it that much it is still good.
 
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