Hi, everyone, this is my first post on here, but been reading for a while.
Im after some advice on a new, mid range camcorder, please. I've had the Panasonic's Predecessor for 2 years, but it developed a fault with the manual focus going out by itself, and even 2 trips to be repaired didnt solve the problem, so Im trying to decide which camera to go for next.
I have a Sony PDX-10, which is great, but as I film Stock Car Racing (most of the time on dirt tracks) I'd really like to keep this as a 'best' camera for weddings and indoor filming, and have a smaller camera for filming the car racing. It needs to be a 3-chip, Ideally good in low-light, as lots of tracks are a nightmare for poor lighting, but this isnt too much of a problem as I have a Digital 8 Sony that is very good in low-light, but it really needs to be portable and light weight too.
I am tempted by the Panasonic GS400 - very good picture in good daylight, but very poor nightime quality, and some of the switches & sockets are in stupid places, but have seen it at a good price.
I do generally like Sony's better, but the HC1 looks a little basic for what I need, or is this just me? There isnt too much difference in the price (around £200) but what does anyone else think? Im not sure if I would use the HDV on it, and the Panasonic has a big screen that I use most of the time. I dont really need anything too big, like Sony PD170, and dont really want to go that pricy to film racing, as the cameras get a lot of stick with dirt and dust.
So any help as to which camera would be best, and if anyone has any reviews or comments about the Sony I would be very grateful.
Thanks,
Nick.
PDX10 for weddings and interiors? Rather you than me, and the PD170 that you mention is the camera for those situations.
So you notice the GS400 is poor in low light, but it seems on a par with the PDX10 in that regard. You say it 'needs to be three chip' but the HC1's CMOS chip is probably going to sound the death-knell for the CCD, and three CCD blocks are only built to overcome the inherent CCD disadvantages.
The HC1 may look basic, but boy what a package. For a start it's proper 16:9 (even the PDX10 sacrificed resolution in 16:9) and as an aside you can film in HDV and future protect. With so many HD ready TVs pouring out of Curries, you'll kick yourself if you went with SD.
So it's an HC1 in a waterproof housing and you're away.
tom.
Thanks for the message, Tom. Yes I do agree that the PDX10 is also fairly poor in low-light, I tend to use my Digital 8 Sony for dark situations at the moment.
I take it the HC1 has a new type of CCD, that produces the same if not better colours than the Panasonic, as I have seen quoted the Sony to have a 3 mega pixel CCD, and the Panasonic to have 3x 1 mega Pixel CCD. I have seen a 3D model animation type thing of the Sony on the Jessops website, and to me it looks like it has a bottom loading tape conpartment, is this true? If so, that is a major black mark against it, even old Sony Handycams had the tape loading and battery eject buttons in the right place, to me this seems a big step backwards. But I will call into a shop and have a proper look at it, the performance may well out weigh these anoying bad designs.
Also, where would be the best place to look for a dust cover for these smaller cameras? I need to be able to use all the switches and also have the screen out, because it makes it much easier to look around at the action while filming.
Thanks,
Nick.
I'm right with you Nick, the bottom loading (I have it on my three chip Panasonic) is a pain. It means the camera can be a lot slimmer (compare the PDX10 with the A1) but even so, it's not something I ever want again.
The HC1 doesn't use a CCD at all - it uses a CMOS chip - like in the best DSLRs. Up to now they haven't had a fast enough refresh rate to handle the 60 different fields/sec required of movies, but now that's been sussed the doors are open.
Sony themselves may well market a rain cover for the HC1/A1.
tom.