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General discussion

Sony HDR-HC1E Vs Canon Vixia HV30 Vs HDR-SR11

by jaywalking Feb 25, 2009 11:49PM PST

Hi Guys,

Im looking to buy a camcorder mainly for web videos but would like to create high resolutions versions for Tv as well so a semi pro camera or high end consumer.
Im use to using mini dv cameras Eg: sony pd 170 sony z1 but wondering if i should make the jump to hard drive as its being fazed out.

These are the three cameras im looking at
My budget is around $1000.

Sony HDR-HC1E (this would be second hand as discontinued)

Canon Vixia HV30

HDR-SR11

Please help

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
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If you are used to using the
by boya84 Feb 26, 2009 4:36AM PST

Z1U and PD170, you will be very disappointed with the low-light behavior of all three of the consumer cams you posted.

I am not aware of the miniDV tape "phase out" you mention at the pro-level - maybe at the consumer level, but "good enough" is more appropriate for the consumer environment, anyway. And the consumer hard disc drive cams do not record to the same formats used by the pro-hard drive and flash memory based camcorders.

Due to the known issues related to high vibration and high altitude environments which can cause hard disc drive camcorders to stop recording, they fall off my list. Flash memory and miniDV tape based camcorders do not share these problems. If you must drop out of the miniDV tape environment at your stated price point, then the Canon HF series or Sony HDR-CX12 (or even the Sony or Panasonic "hybrids" that can record to either their internal hard drive or flash memory).

When you move to the non-tape environment, what are your plans for archiving the video? That is one (among many) reasons digital tape continues on - tape is cheap and when you don't re-use the tape and lock it, that tape IS the archive.

A "semi-pro" or "prosumer" is more like the Sony HDR-FX1000 or HDR-FX7. Compare their lens sizes and imaging chips to those in the consumer-grade cams you listed. The PD170 and HVR-Z1U are solidly in the "pro" camp...

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For boya84: I need help selecting a camcorder FAST! PLZ
by NeedHelpNovice Feb 26, 2009 12:52PM PST

Hi, I researched a bit about camcorders. I read boya84's very informative articles; unfortunately they were posted 14 months ago.
So I decided to post here and hopefully can get an answer from him/her.
I've made up my mind about either a HDD or miniDV camocorder. I read about the loss of quality due to AVCHD that is used for HDD. Is that still the case? or has it been resovled since 14 months ago? I just love the idea of not buying tapes and the convenience, maybe?
If not, then what is a good High definition MiniDV camcorder that you recommend? Before I mention about my price range and the rest of the requirements, how much of a space do I need for high definition miniDV camcorder? After downloading the tape to the PC, when I am ready to burn it to DVD, how much of a time does each DVD take? Is it 2 hours for a 4.7 GB DVD?
Here are my specs:
1) I'm looking for price range from $400 - $500
2) I have 250 GB of hard drive for a laptop.
3) I have never had a camcorder, this is my first. Never done editing, so I would like to start experimenting, nothing hard core though.
4) I don't have a firewire connection on my laptop.
5) I'm a college student, so I be just shooting indoor mostly, with a little bit of outdoor stuff.
6) I do not have a HD TV, maybe after 4 years of college, I might buy one, jsut maybe!
So, if you don't mind answering my questions above, after that, do you mind telling me what you would recommend for me? High definition or not? Hard drive or miniDV? what models? Thank you sooo much! If you need anything else, let me know please!

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I realised I posted at the wrong place, how do I delete
by NeedHelpNovice Feb 26, 2009 12:58PM PST

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I meant to create my own topic!

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re: If you are used to using the
by jaywalking Feb 26, 2009 9:20PM PST

First of all thanks for the post, i think im looking for a high end consumer camera for around $1000

i would prefer to stick with minDv as like you said archiving would not be a problems but also looking into the flash memory.

Do you have any suggestions?

i use final cut pro to edit my videos will this be a issue with the avchd format ?


Thanks Again
Jason

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If you stick with miniDV,
by boya84 Feb 26, 2009 10:10PM PST

then there is no concern with AVCHD... and the Sony HDR-HC1 is as good as it get - I've been using one for about 3 years and I like it - even though it is a bottom loader and the focus ring is share with manual zoom. Learn the limitations and it is fine. The Canon HV20/HV30 is another option. The Canon HF series flash memory cams look pretty good - but I don't think they have manual audio control. The HC1, HV20/HV30 do.

Only the CURRENT version of FinalCut can deal with AVCHD - check your version with the version listed at apple.com. AND your Mac needs to be running an Intel chip. If you are running on PPC, no version of FinalCut (or iMovie) will deal with AVCHD.

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