Some help with HD Cameras.

[BloodXHawk]

Howdy everyone. I'm new here so excuse me if this question has already been asked.


Budget : 5,000 Euro / $7,300 (U.S)

I have been making short films for quite some time now, but I'm only using a standard house camera worth no more than 400-500 euro. I want to purchese a HD compatable camera for making my shorts and features. But I seem to get extremly stuck on choosing which one to buy. I've looked into many of them, but I'm no professional, so I thought I would ask you guys here, who for all intended purposes are pros.

The camera I need is for, like I said, Filming shorts / features and maybe some functions on the side, but mostly film. The camera must have HD compabbility / film in PAL format and good frame rate. Also, I know its not that important, but the camera must not be a small little thing. I perfer bigger cameras.

The cameras I've looked at so far are;

- Canon :
Xl-H1
XH-G1
XH-A1


- Sony
HDR-FX1
EX1

-JVC :
GY-HD111E (Or 101 for NTSC users)
GY-HD251E


And some others. I'm trying to avoid the Panasonic range because of the P2 cards which are crazy in price for the size.


Also I would like to know which type of camera of better, A shoulder mouted camera (Such as the JVC) or a freehand camera (such as the XH-G1) [Just examples]


Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this! Any replys are appreciated.


P.S. If you know any other good cameras I should be looking into please let me know. Thanks again.

 

[rmckeague]

Hi there,

I would suggest looking into the Sony PMW-EX1 if you have not already. I'm not positive, but assume it is available in PAL. The EX1 is not a huge camera, but it is not small either. Shooting modes include full 1080p and i, and 720p to Sony's XDCAM memory cards. The camera can record multiple frame rates including 24p. This camera has tons of features, read more details here http://digitalcontentproducer.com/cameras/revfeat/first_look_xdcam_ex/index.html. Check out the image quality on youtube to get an idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyt4CAKE5E. The camera sells from B&H for $6,449 USD. As far as handheld or shoulder mount goes, I'd say its personal preference. However if you are using a heavy camera for handheld use, a shoulder mount camera will be easier to handle for longer periods of time, plus you get the added stability of having it on your shoulder. Hope this helps.