Mark, Thank you for that excellent overview. Long live RCSE. Regis --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > Are you wanting to shoot everything in high-def? Or just some of it? Note > that wide screen 16 by 9 and high def are not always the same thing. You can > do very impressive wide screen digital video in standard definition and yet > not be actually "high def", and it will cost you lots less. Lots. Not > everything you see on your wide screen TV at home is actually HD either, but don't > get me started, there is a LOT of misinformation out there on that issue... > > The hot prosumer cameras right now are the Sony EX1, the Panasonic HVX200, > and the latest version of the Cannon. All three of these feature a small form > factor, while they won't fit in your pocket, they are not huge as the cameras > TV news crews or film makers normally use. Yet they are popular with the indie > film maker crowd. Each camera has certain strengths and weaknesses, so your > choice will be influenced by your particular style and needs. For example the > Panasonic shoots on mini-Dv tape and also to digital memory cards, called P2 > cards, not unlike the memory card in a high-end RC transmitter or still > camera. But it only records high def or standard to the cards, and standard def only > to the tape. You can transfer your footage for editing and burning to DVD's > by slipping the P2 cards into a laptop's card slot, or by using a firewire > cable to any kind of computer. Down side is that P2 cards are pricey and in the > field its like changing out short film magazine loads: happens at the most > inconvenient times. Upside is that the Panasonic has a gorgeous picture for the > price, and can simulate slow motion live inside the camera, in a way similar > to cameras costing over $30k. I have used this camera a couple times to > shoot HD commercials and I like it except for the P2 memory cards. > > The Cannon has great electo-optical motion stabilization using actual optics, > the best in the biz. Handy when hand-holding telephoto shots for long > periods You can use most any Cannon lens you own with it. > > The Sony EX1 is really really new, but is getting rave reviews as the > replacement for several of their most popular prosumer models. It may have the best > low light performance of the three, using a new technology image sensor. > > If you like long record times and recording in HD, consider a Focus > Enhancements Firestore external hard drive: it clips to any of these cameras and > connects to their firewire port, can record up to six hours as well as do time > lapse shots of clouds and stuff. Connect it to your computer with that same > firewire cable, and edit right from the drive unit. Spiffy when used with a laptop. > > Two things I have a bad opinion of: the recording format known as AVCHD, and > camcorders that record to a mini DVD. I don't trust the former, and the > latter is hard to edit with and really over-compresses the images into bad > quality, and the media is overpriced, runs too short, and is hard to locate when you > run out. I have yet to make up my mind about hard-drive-based camcorders, one > reason is what do you do when you want to shoot more but haven't had a chance > to offload your footage to a computer first? but I like the external > Firestore drives. JVC makes an HD camcorder that records highdef to cheap Dv tape, > it's a variation of AVCHD though. You can check wikipedia for more about > AVCHDversus an MPEG2 based HD and other formats. > > > Good places to shop: B&H Photo-Video in New York is the "bible" of prices and > camera info for the industry. The salesmen are very knowledgeable and > scrupulously honest, they have the highest reputation in the land. Their prices > are usually very good: in fact if somebody else is asking more than 10 percent > less for the same thing as B&H you should be suspicious and look them up on > resellerratings.com. In that vein, stay away from an outfit called Broadway > Video. Don't believe me, look them up via google. > > Once you shoot in HD, how are you going to show it? Laptop hard drive? > Always playing out of the camera? Right now the coming thing is BluRay, and if > you use Adobe brand editing and DVD authoring, you can burn HD onto BluRay > disks that anybody can play in a set-top BD player or computer hard drive that's > BD-capable. Those are going to be flooding the market this year. If you > edit using Apple computers, you'll have to use Adobe Encore; Final Cut and iDVD > and DVD studio PRo for the mac are not yet BD-enabled, might take a year. > > -Mark S. >
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