Having spent the last few weeks studying the camcorder market, I realized I had to develop a list of criteria to make the decision to buy a new camcorder. The falling Canadian dollar also became a factor—with retail prices on electronics undoubtedly to rise as a result, I had to decide sooner rather than later. So… here are the four main criteria in my decision-making:
1. Mini-DV format
2. Firewire/IEEE1394 equipped
3. Final Cut Studio compatible.
4. HD and SD capable
Compression is the main factor behind the first two items. Mini-DV and Firewire are still the best in terms of the least amount of compression applied by the camcorder or computer. Hard drive, DVD-RAM, and flash memory camcorders use higher compression than mini-DV cameras, so tape still wins (until I can afford those fancy P2 card systems). USB-2 is faster than USB, but it’s still not as good as Firewire. I’d rather not add additional compression by using a slow transfer bus.
The third criteria is dictated by the computer I’m using for post-production. I’m not upgrading from Final Cut Studio 1 as explained in an earlier post, so the camcorder has to work with it and the G5. From what I’ve read on various websites and forums, as long as you correctly tell Final Cut what kind of footage you’re uploading, it should be able to accept any SD or HDV camcorder. Mini-DV cams record video as 60i even in 30p or 24p format, but FCS can handle the various pull-down ratios. Most of the problems I’ve read about on the HV20 User and other forums are related to people not setting the right format before attempting to capture. And Adobe AfterEffects has some additional capacity for dealing with pulldown ratios if Final Cut can’t.
Finally, with HD becoming so prominent in broadcast, online, and home entertainment video, the smart choice is to buy an HD camcorder. I still need something that can play SD video for the projects already shot on SD. So it has to be a dual-format camcorder.
Other factors, although not critical, are related to the fact that I’m replacing a camcorder. I don’t think Canon has changed the form factor of their batteries, so my still-good Ultura batteries could be carried over to another Canon (this, of course, gives a boost to the HV30). An XLR mike input would be really nice having used an inline transformer with the Ultura for all this time. And if the new camcorder fits in my camcorder bag, I’ll be happy.
Next week, the decision and the purchase
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The New Camcorder Search, Part 2
There are only a few companies that make camcorders these days. I’ve used Canon and Panasonic, and I have only passing use of JVC or Sony camcorders.
A near clone of the HV30 is Sony’s HDR-HC9. Sony has been competing head-to-head with Canon for this HD prosumer market for a couple of years—the HC9 is the successor to the HC7 just as the HV30 is to the HV20. The Sony and Canon camcorders look so similar you need to see the manufacturer’s logo to figure out which one is which--both Sony and Canon made this year’s camcorder in black after making both predecessors in grey last year. I smell corporate espionage….
The first place I went to for research for all the camcorders was http://www.camcorderinfo.com/. This page offers thorough reviews of all major features, and it tests the important stuff—how well the camcorder processes image, colour, etc. In the HC9 review, it compares the HC9 to the HV30, giving the Sony the edge for durability and ease of operation, but gives the Canon the thumbs up for performance and features. I’m prepared to sacrifice ease of operation for performance and features, particularly 30p, so at this point, I was leaning towards the HV30.
Camcorderinfo.com pointed me towards the current JVC and Panasonic models, so I scanned through them to pick out the prosumer products in their lines. JVC doesn’t produce prosumer or even high-end consumer mini-DV camcorders anymore, so they’re out of the running.
The Panasonic model is the PV-GS500, successor to the popular GS400. Physically, it resembles the Sony and Canon models closely—the industry seems to have settled on a specific form factor for palmcorders after 30 years of development. The GS500 is a 3-chip CCD camera, as opposed to a CMOS like the other two, and it has a real live focus ring instead of a sliding switch of some sort (the GS500 has a sliding switch for the zoom, though), although the ring is not marked to indicate settings. In terms of performance, the GS500 does well in various lighting conditions, and the full range of manual settings makes it a compelling option.
I’ve decided to seek out the HV30, the HC9, and the GS500 in retail showrooms to play with them as well as searching the web for more reviews (and prices!).
Next week, the decision-making process.
A near clone of the HV30 is Sony’s HDR-HC9. Sony has been competing head-to-head with Canon for this HD prosumer market for a couple of years—the HC9 is the successor to the HC7 just as the HV30 is to the HV20. The Sony and Canon camcorders look so similar you need to see the manufacturer’s logo to figure out which one is which--both Sony and Canon made this year’s camcorder in black after making both predecessors in grey last year. I smell corporate espionage….
The first place I went to for research for all the camcorders was http://www.camcorderinfo.com/. This page offers thorough reviews of all major features, and it tests the important stuff—how well the camcorder processes image, colour, etc. In the HC9 review, it compares the HC9 to the HV30, giving the Sony the edge for durability and ease of operation, but gives the Canon the thumbs up for performance and features. I’m prepared to sacrifice ease of operation for performance and features, particularly 30p, so at this point, I was leaning towards the HV30.
Camcorderinfo.com pointed me towards the current JVC and Panasonic models, so I scanned through them to pick out the prosumer products in their lines. JVC doesn’t produce prosumer or even high-end consumer mini-DV camcorders anymore, so they’re out of the running.
The Panasonic model is the PV-GS500, successor to the popular GS400. Physically, it resembles the Sony and Canon models closely—the industry seems to have settled on a specific form factor for palmcorders after 30 years of development. The GS500 is a 3-chip CCD camera, as opposed to a CMOS like the other two, and it has a real live focus ring instead of a sliding switch of some sort (the GS500 has a sliding switch for the zoom, though), although the ring is not marked to indicate settings. In terms of performance, the GS500 does well in various lighting conditions, and the full range of manual settings makes it a compelling option.
I’ve decided to seek out the HV30, the HC9, and the GS500 in retail showrooms to play with them as well as searching the web for more reviews (and prices!).
Next week, the decision-making process.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The New Camcorder Search, Part 1
My needs for a new camcorder are simple: I need mini-DV so that I can recapture stuff I’ve already shot, and I want to continue to use mini-DV tapes as that format still offers less compression than consumer-grade hard drive and DVD-burning camcorders.
The leader of the camcorder pack, out of the gates, is the Canon HV30. This is the successor model to the HV20, the camcorder that brought great excitement and joy to the indie filmmaking scene when it came out in 2007. The HV20 offered, for the first time, a decent HDV camera for less than $1000 USD. The HV30 ups the ante by offering 30p as well as the two formats the HV20 offered (24p and 1080i).
I wasn’t aware of what a CMOS camcorder was prior to the HV20’s arrival, but the image quality is high enough to offer HD capability, something I haven’t worked with yet.
Naturally, the first question is whether or not the HV30 will work with my Mac. I have a 1.6 GHz G5 equipped with Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) and Final Cut Studio 1, and I don’t anticipate upgrading to anything any time soon. My Mac had no problems capturing 24p shot from Panasonic DVX100 and DVX100A cameras we’ve used, so the next step is to see if FCS 1 can cope with whatever pull-down process the HV30 uses for 24p.
The HV30 comes with a Firewire-400 (IEEE 1394) port (as well as USB-2, HDMI, and component video, and composite video ports), so it’s not a problem getting the signal from the camcorder to the computer. The question is, of course, whether or not the computer and the camcorder speak the same language.
Next time, the other camcorders in the running.
The leader of the camcorder pack, out of the gates, is the Canon HV30. This is the successor model to the HV20, the camcorder that brought great excitement and joy to the indie filmmaking scene when it came out in 2007. The HV20 offered, for the first time, a decent HDV camera for less than $1000 USD. The HV30 ups the ante by offering 30p as well as the two formats the HV20 offered (24p and 1080i).
I wasn’t aware of what a CMOS camcorder was prior to the HV20’s arrival, but the image quality is high enough to offer HD capability, something I haven’t worked with yet.
Naturally, the first question is whether or not the HV30 will work with my Mac. I have a 1.6 GHz G5 equipped with Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) and Final Cut Studio 1, and I don’t anticipate upgrading to anything any time soon. My Mac had no problems capturing 24p shot from Panasonic DVX100 and DVX100A cameras we’ve used, so the next step is to see if FCS 1 can cope with whatever pull-down process the HV30 uses for 24p.
The HV30 comes with a Firewire-400 (IEEE 1394) port (as well as USB-2, HDMI, and component video, and composite video ports), so it’s not a problem getting the signal from the camcorder to the computer. The question is, of course, whether or not the computer and the camcorder speak the same language.
Next time, the other camcorders in the running.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Requiem for a Camcorder
In the spring of 2000, I bought my first camcorder, the Canon Ultura. It was one of the early consumer-grade mini-DV, all-digital camcorders, and it was great—I remember being amazed by how vivid digital video looked compared to the graininess that I’d come to expect from analog video camcorders.
The Ultura was a great camcorder, enabling me to shoot my UK vacation that summer, and then allowing me to start shooting Miller & Mullet and other stuff. The Ultura also served as my capture and export deck for a series of Macs and Mac OS’s, and it never let me down. Until, that is, this summer while I was trying to capture footage for a short my friend Jeff had shot. After 8 years of regular (and sometimes heavy) use, the Ultura’s playback head is kaput. Not even my trusty head-cleaning tape could fix the problem.
I paid $1500 CAD, plus tax, in early 2000, which was a typical price for a camcorder back then. I remember looking at various cameras, including Sony and Panasonic, before picking the Ultura from Japan Camera at the Eaton Centre.
The Ultura is a single-chip camera, but it was a better camera than most that year. Canon had actually put in a better lens in it, much better than the ones used in their ZR-series and Elura camcorders that followed. The Firewire connection worked perfectly, as did the tape mechanism, and I never had to take it for repairs, despite the abuse it received, including shooting a feature during an incredibly hot and humid Toronto summer, capturing the footage from that feature (on nearly 30 mini-DV tapes)….
Canon withdrew the Ultura after a year in production, and I remember the replacement models weren’t of the same quality. Sure they were samller and had more buttons, but the quality wasn’t there (I’m basing my opinion on what I saw in various camera store showrooms).
I tricked the Ultura out with cheap Cokin filters (the key filters being the neutral density and circular polarizer, but I also bought 2 grades of orange for counterbalancing the ND filter, and a blue filter that I never got around to using for day-for-night shooting), so for outdoor shooting, the Ultura did a great job. Indoors, footage tended to be grainy if it wasn’t in a horribly bright room. I tried to go manual as much as possible for colour balance and exposure as the automatic controls tended to over-react to any change in lighting levels. Overall, though, I learned how to avoid the Ultura’s limitations, and I think the resulting video looked better than most one-chip productions did.
The most annoying aspect of the Ultura, though, was the audio jack. I curse whoever decided that a ⅛” plug was a better option than XLR or even 1/4 “…. The transformer I bought to convert XLR to the ⅛” worked great, but eventually you had to find the sweet spot where the plug and jack were both in full contact and the audio was actually reaching the recording head (I went through a series of cheap headphones dedicated to ensuring the audio was making it to two channels at the same time).
So… after spending several hours over a couple of nights trying to capture and recapture Jeff’s footage, I realized my beloved Ultura had reached the end of its working life and was now destined to sit as a memento on my bookcase rather than actually shoot anything.
Next time, part one of my search for a replacement.
The Ultura was a great camcorder, enabling me to shoot my UK vacation that summer, and then allowing me to start shooting Miller & Mullet and other stuff. The Ultura also served as my capture and export deck for a series of Macs and Mac OS’s, and it never let me down. Until, that is, this summer while I was trying to capture footage for a short my friend Jeff had shot. After 8 years of regular (and sometimes heavy) use, the Ultura’s playback head is kaput. Not even my trusty head-cleaning tape could fix the problem.
I paid $1500 CAD, plus tax, in early 2000, which was a typical price for a camcorder back then. I remember looking at various cameras, including Sony and Panasonic, before picking the Ultura from Japan Camera at the Eaton Centre.
The Ultura is a single-chip camera, but it was a better camera than most that year. Canon had actually put in a better lens in it, much better than the ones used in their ZR-series and Elura camcorders that followed. The Firewire connection worked perfectly, as did the tape mechanism, and I never had to take it for repairs, despite the abuse it received, including shooting a feature during an incredibly hot and humid Toronto summer, capturing the footage from that feature (on nearly 30 mini-DV tapes)….
Canon withdrew the Ultura after a year in production, and I remember the replacement models weren’t of the same quality. Sure they were samller and had more buttons, but the quality wasn’t there (I’m basing my opinion on what I saw in various camera store showrooms).
I tricked the Ultura out with cheap Cokin filters (the key filters being the neutral density and circular polarizer, but I also bought 2 grades of orange for counterbalancing the ND filter, and a blue filter that I never got around to using for day-for-night shooting), so for outdoor shooting, the Ultura did a great job. Indoors, footage tended to be grainy if it wasn’t in a horribly bright room. I tried to go manual as much as possible for colour balance and exposure as the automatic controls tended to over-react to any change in lighting levels. Overall, though, I learned how to avoid the Ultura’s limitations, and I think the resulting video looked better than most one-chip productions did.
The most annoying aspect of the Ultura, though, was the audio jack. I curse whoever decided that a ⅛” plug was a better option than XLR or even 1/4 “…. The transformer I bought to convert XLR to the ⅛” worked great, but eventually you had to find the sweet spot where the plug and jack were both in full contact and the audio was actually reaching the recording head (I went through a series of cheap headphones dedicated to ensuring the audio was making it to two channels at the same time).
So… after spending several hours over a couple of nights trying to capture and recapture Jeff’s footage, I realized my beloved Ultura had reached the end of its working life and was now destined to sit as a memento on my bookcase rather than actually shoot anything.
Next time, part one of my search for a replacement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)