DV vs SDHC?

[Rawky]

Which format of camera do you prefer?

I'm still deciding on which camera to pick and rather then looking at SDHC format cameras, I've gone back to look at DV/HDV.

The reasons for this are that I always worked with DV in past (University, side projects etc) so I am familiar with it. Also most DV cameras have firewire which means I can easily capture my footage to Final Cut Pro, on my Mac. The issue with 'most' SDHC cameras, that I have, is that I will have to convert the files into a file that is readable on Macs/Final Cut Pro. I'm not a fan of converting as I fear that there will be a loss of quality in the transition.

However one concern I have with DV, especially HDV, is the picture quality. Having never used HDV tapes before is it a fair assumption to say that the overall quality is not as good as SDHC when it comes to full 1080i HD?

Any recommendations for cameras that use HDV and have a decent picture quality?

Thanks in advance.

 

[CamVader]

That's a tough call because there are some HDV cameras out there with pretty decent glass and some SDHC 1920X1080 cameras with inferior glass.

Are you comparing prosumer vs. consumer cameras?

There are a ton of used Canon XHA1 cameras on the market right now and good deals can be had.