What is the Best HD CAMCORDER??
- Thread starter jehz19
- Start date
I seem to recall there are two HD camcorders under $1,000. The
bad news is neither of them are good for movie making. There are
three things that are MORE important than 24fps or 24P or 25P.
Three CCD’s or CMOS
Manual controls for the iris, shutter, focus and white balance.
A microphone input.
The JVC GZ-HD7, the first of the JVC HDD cameras is now a little
over a year old, I’ve seen these on line for as little as $800. A
really nice Fujinon lens makes a huge difference and full manual
controls is important. Three 1/5’ 16:9 progressive scan CCD’s are
pretty impressive for a camera in this price range. It has manual
controls, a mic input and an excellent focus ring which is surprisingly
rare on small cameras. It records directly to a built in 60GB hard
drive. The issue here is the MPEG-2 compression. It’s not
compatable with many NLE’s.
The GZ-HD6 can record 1080/60p through HDMI - pretty impressive.
The GZ-HD40 is a bit of a disapointment. I like that it records using
AVCHD compression which makes it compatable with most NLE’s but
it loses the important focus ring and it’s so small.
The Panasonic HDC-SD100 uses a 3-CMOS array and records 1920 x 1080
video in the AVCHD format to SD and SDHC memory cards. I like the
ring on the lens that controls zoom, focus, white balance, shutter speed,
and iris and it actually has a viewfinder in addition to the LCD screen.
Very important it has both a mic and headphone jack. I found it difficult
to handle with all the cables attached (mic, headphones and monitor)
but it’s a camera with all the basics.
Close is the Canon HV20. It records in HDV (1080i) and 24p (60i), has
a mic input and manual controls of white balance and focus but it uses
one 1/2.7” CMOS sensor rather than 3 CCD’s. And it’s so small the
handling is difficult.
The HV30 adds a 30f (Canon’s “frame mode”) in addition to 24p.
The Sony HDR-SR12 has a mic input and a good sized 120GB HDD. It
uses a 1/3” CMOS chip and like the Canon is really small. Because of the
input placement, the mic cable kept getting in my way. The HR9 (which
records to tape) is also a nice, very small, camera with the essentials.
Again the mic input is just below the lens which is rather poor placement,
in my opinion.
bad news is neither of them are good for movie making. There are
three things that are MORE important than 24fps or 24P or 25P.
Three CCD’s or CMOS
Manual controls for the iris, shutter, focus and white balance.
A microphone input.
The JVC GZ-HD7, the first of the JVC HDD cameras is now a little
over a year old, I’ve seen these on line for as little as $800. A
really nice Fujinon lens makes a huge difference and full manual
controls is important. Three 1/5’ 16:9 progressive scan CCD’s are
pretty impressive for a camera in this price range. It has manual
controls, a mic input and an excellent focus ring which is surprisingly
rare on small cameras. It records directly to a built in 60GB hard
drive. The issue here is the MPEG-2 compression. It’s not
compatable with many NLE’s.
The GZ-HD6 can record 1080/60p through HDMI - pretty impressive.
The GZ-HD40 is a bit of a disapointment. I like that it records using
AVCHD compression which makes it compatable with most NLE’s but
it loses the important focus ring and it’s so small.
The Panasonic HDC-SD100 uses a 3-CMOS array and records 1920 x 1080
video in the AVCHD format to SD and SDHC memory cards. I like the
ring on the lens that controls zoom, focus, white balance, shutter speed,
and iris and it actually has a viewfinder in addition to the LCD screen.
Very important it has both a mic and headphone jack. I found it difficult
to handle with all the cables attached (mic, headphones and monitor)
but it’s a camera with all the basics.
Close is the Canon HV20. It records in HDV (1080i) and 24p (60i), has
a mic input and manual controls of white balance and focus but it uses
one 1/2.7” CMOS sensor rather than 3 CCD’s. And it’s so small the
handling is difficult.
The HV30 adds a 30f (Canon’s “frame mode”) in addition to 24p.
The Sony HDR-SR12 has a mic input and a good sized 120GB HDD. It
uses a 1/3” CMOS chip and like the Canon is really small. Because of the
input placement, the mic cable kept getting in my way. The HR9 (which
records to tape) is also a nice, very small, camera with the essentials.
Again the mic input is just below the lens which is rather poor placement,
in my opinion.
Just came across this thread and I was wondering... If the JVC GZ HD7 isn't good for movie making, what is a camera like that good for? I ask because I own one and was thinking of using it with a depth of field adapter to film this coming summer.
And if this isn't a good idea, is there a camera, HD or SD (and yes I understand this thread is old and prices are much lower now) that is good for movie making that's under $1000?
And if this isn't a good idea, is there a camera, HD or SD (and yes I understand this thread is old and prices are much lower now) that is good for movie making that's under $1000?
At this point you should go with a DSLR and a separate audio recording setup. You can get a used T2i for about 500 on ebay. Then grab yourself a used Zoom H4n + Rode NTG-2. Blamo! You've got a basic setup that'll get the job done.
I was thinking the DSLR route may be the way to go. How does the Canon T2i compare to the Nikon D3100. I was looking at both.
As far as recording audio, I've been using a Boss BR900 for a couple of years and been happy.
As far as recording audio, I've been using a Boss BR900 for a couple of years and been happy.