Buying an HD Cam and looking for suggestions

[wdyer]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum. It looks like an amazing resource.
I'm currently looking to buy an HD Video Camera and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions. I have $7500 Canadian to spend and was looking at a couple of nice cameras from sony. The first camera is the Sony HVR-V1U. This looks like a nice camera and it has some great features.
http://www.vistek.ca/store/ProVideoC...camcorder.aspx
Now I am also looking to go more expensive and get the Sony HVR-Z7U. This camera has changeable lenses which I can see as being a very useful attribute. But now I ask myself is it worth the extra $3000.
http://www.vistek.ca/store/ProVideoC...camcorder.aspx
Any advice I can get would be greatly appreciated. I am also open to other cameras and brands if you have any suggestions.

Thanks

[AgentJonnyB]

You could go for a sony FX1000, it's one of sony's newest HDV cams with best lux rating and great features. Runs for $3200 (US). I think it's currently the lowest priced advanced camera from sony right now, for wedding videographers, it is a dream come true (HD cam in the $3k range with lux rating of 1.5) and is therefore probably the camera I will be upgrading my business to in another year or 2. Right now our backup camera for weddings, and primary indie film camera is the Sony HD1000u, runs for $1500, and given good lighting, gives incredible picture.

As long as the camera is of true quality and has the features you absolutely need, go for whichever is lower price so you can get more than one, and still have enough money for the additional equipment you are sure to need. If I was running on your budget, I would take 2 sony HD1000u's over a single $4000+ camera that will probably not produce a noticably better image given good lighting conditions that I would control. You will need lighting and sound equipment, stabilization (tripods w/dolly, jib) which will add up quick as you probably know. fortunately, I think you could manage all you need within your budget.

Compare the features of your found models, and the 2 I brought up, Sony's are fantastic and I place my full confidence in any of these 4 cameras. Please let me know what you come up with, maybe a feature to feature smackdown, as I myself am curious to see how these cameras compare.

Happy hunting!

[Thunderclap]

I've been looking to buy a new camera for several months, and after much consideration I went with Sony's HVR-Z7U. I've liked Panasonic's HVX200 except for one thing: you couldn't record to tape and the P2 card at the same time. Call me old fashioned, but I like to have a physical copy of what I'm shooting as opposed to just a digital file on a card. The Z7U allows you to do this and in 1080p. Plus, instead of a proprietary card like the P2 that costs $900+ the Z7U only needs a CompactFlash card. You can get a 16GB one for $130 or so.

I will be shooting a short to test the camera in June and, if anyone is interested, I'll post the footage here. If all goes well this will be the camera I shoot my next feature on this fall.

I can't wait to test drive this camera!