sony HDR-HC1 or Panasonic PVGS-400?

B

bleaches

which one is better? overall that is. i am planning to get a new camera, and i heard hd format takes a lot of memory, but does the panasonic one record near the quality at all? or just better than usual resolution? take PVGS-250 into account too. i dont understand wat the difference is between the 250 nd the 400. thanks in advance:D


edit: heard GS-500 is coming out soon too...ahhh~ so many to choose from, which one is best of them all?
 
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the HD should be done in sections. I just uploaded an hour tape of HD and it is taking forever to format it to DVD. In 5 years, I would love to invest in a HD hard drive camcorder. when their under a 1000 bucks. Im having fun filming my kids with the current HD camcorder. The color isnt all that great since its only a single CCD but its alot better then my panasonic PV200 which has a 3CCD. The color isnt as great as the 3 chip but the resolution is clearly better.

m2t format wont work on mostapplications I own. You have to rename it mpg just to load it and even then the DVD software I have wont reconize the codec until i reformat it to mpg in uncompress so as I dont compromise the quality.

Dont know which of the cameras you are asking about since I dont know anything about that sony. Why dont you go down to Frys or Best Buy and see if they can demo it for you.
 
any other experts out there that can give me a difinitive answer? im leaning towards the gs 400 for the cost, but is the resolution the same as all dv's? because my old sony trv-27 comes out to be really grainy. i want a camera that can shoot clearly! :)
 
The reason why people favor the GS is because they are 3-chip and native 16:9.

Do you have a fast computer (3ghz or 3000 + )? If not you will need to upgrade if you want to shoot HDV, you'll need as much as you can throw at it. If you can't afford that then get what you can afford, or get a cheapo, learn as much as you can about it, then rent a better camera like a DVX or XL2 or something for your shorts. The other option would be to buy the HC1 or this new Sanyo that is coming out or something and shoot in DV mode or in HDV and downconvert on capture. This will produce a very very nice image and then you have the hd version for later if you want it.

Theres no possible way you can ask people to tell you what is better - a 1 chip CMOS camcorder that resolves 1080i vs a 3-CCD 480 camcorder. They are in totally different leagues.

In the end, its a personal choice, one that will likely last you awhile unless you sell it, and nobody can tell you what you need out of a camera. Further I highly recommend asking yourself what your immediate goals are, testing out the cameras in question, and doing as much research on them as possible.

Also, dont forget to get a mic or two for whatever camera you buy. Sound is important too.

As for your last question, "comes out really grainy". If you are talking about a low light situation, then you are probably referring to gain, which is your camera's electronic ability to compensate for light lower than its capabilities allow (ie. lux rating). The HC1 is terrible in low light. You need at least some amount of light for the HC1 to be effective, although I tested a GS200 a while ago and I wasnt particularly impressed with its low light capabilities either. If you are saying it looks grainy in regular light, I can't help you there, that could be a lot of problems.
 
Shaw hit the nail on the head. Shopping for a camera is about knowing what you're going to need and checking the specs against those needs (plus shopping around to see what you can bolt onto the camera to compensate for it's short comings)

For an indie film-maker I think there are a few things to think about when buying a camera:

1) Will the camera take DV in and out (If you're going to use the camera to edit from, you'll want to digitise in to edit and then lay back to give you an edit master tape). Many consumer cameras only do DV out because they assume that people won't want to lay the images back to tape.

2) Does the camera have a ability to take audio from an outside mic. (On board mics are absolutely no good for film-makers, unless you're just messing about with your mates). A lot of consumer cameras don't give you the option of a line in for microphones. By the same token, does the camera have a headphoen socket so you can monitor the sound. Again, not all consumer cameras do have.

3) Is the camera 4:3 only (with the option of a widescreen mask) or does it offer anamorphic 16:9? (Anamorphic 16:9 is when the widescreen images is folded in the the 4:3 space so all the imaging area is used. If you're intending to do a feature film with the camera 16:9 is going to be a better aspect ratio to shoot. A limited number of consumer cameras have full 16:9 (Ironically though they often don't offer the audio fetures you need)

4) Finally having covered the basics you need to ask yourself where you expect your film to be seen. If it's going to be for the web and some local festivals then things like the number of chips and lens quality aren't going to matter as much (By the time you've compressed it, it all looks pretty much the same [sic]). If you're planning to shoot something that you intend to sell, either a short or a feature then you have to start thinking seriously about where you are spending your money. At this point it's all about what you can get the camera to do within the limitations of the format. Both mini-dv and HDV are formats that have both advantages and disadvantages for the indie film-maker. Mini-dv is tried, tested, easy to edit and it's a format that is easy to deal with in post. It's also cheap. If you really know what you're doing you can make salable films on it; but that's getting harder all the time as the pro-formats become cheaper to get into. HDV is a format that causes more debate amongst indies than almost anything else, simply because it's still debatible how it performs as a format. What is known is that it doens't respond well to rapid movement of the camera or of things in front of it and that it's prone to various digital aberations. However, it offers a very high resolution at a low price and distributors still feel good about it as a format.

So, there are no easy answers - it all depends on what you intend shooting, for what market and what style of camera work you intend doing. If you can't answer those questions you're probably not ready to buy your next camera.

The graininess does sound like too much gain because of not enough light. Could be that you need some cheap lights and not a new camera.
 
I can't claim this wisdom as my own Clive - Wideshots the one deserving of recognition. ;-)

About the grain:

Could be from gain as previously mentioned or it could be from over-zealous color correction.
 
I can't claim this wisdom as my own Clive - Wideshots the one deserving of recognition. ;-)
Click to expand...

Sorry Wideshot, I read this thread on top of the HDV camera comparison thread and got muddled. You have to remember that I am a very old man.
:)
 
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