Why You Should Consider Buying An HDV Camera
From http://HowToSellYourVideos.com
I have to admit that I have trouble making large purchase decisions. Do you suffer from that too?
You find you have to weigh the pros and cons and sometimes decide to do nothing at all - for the moment.
That's what I did last November when I was wrestling with the choice of a new camcorder. You see, I have never had a real reason to move into high definition video production. My trusty Canon GL2 DV camcorders have served me long and well, and my computers happily edit DV material.
However, I can see the writing on the wall and it says "time to move on."
At the pace of change with this technology, I wanted to spend as little as possible to get into high definition until the "Next Big Thing" comes along, which I expect soon. I spent considerable time debating whether to buy the JVC GY-HM100 or the Panasonic AG-HMC40. I even wrote a comparison between the JVC GY-HM100 and Panasonic AG-HMC40 at http://howtosellyourvideos.com/2009/1... , two cameras I was deciding between. I consider both great values. Neither one uses tape and the Panasonic uses the AVCHD codec, and I had read so many stories about long transcoding times with AVCHD on a Mac that I was wary of going that way. And since both recorded to flash memory, I am uneasy about archiving my media, so... I just put it off.
Fast forward to two weeks ago...
Suddenly, two large projects plopped on my plate and I decided the time had arrived for me to make a mov. So here's what I did.
I found a Canon XH-A1s HDV camcorder on Craigslist at a great price, offered 10% less than the asking price, and got it, along with a Pelican case. Watch my video for a quick glance at it and a little explanation of why I bought it.
Yes, that's right. I didn't buy either of the two cameras I was looking at previously.
Some people will say that the XH-A1s is on its last legs, technologically. It records to tape, for heaven's sake, and it is HDV. Here are my reasons for choosing it:
As much as I don't like capturing from tape, it is the best and cheapest way to archive our videos. If I shot on flash media I either have to have a bunch of much more expensive cards which I store, or I move the video to hard drives or DVDs to store. If the hard drive crashes, and I've had 3 crash on me before so I know that is a very real and costly possibility. There is no going back. Storing on DVD could become an organizing nightmare if I shoot a lot of material, which I do. So, I'm still using tape for the time being.
Regarding the HDV format, I chose that because I priced out a new dream Mac and it cost upwards of $7,000. My current computer equipment will handle HDV. Some people say that HDV is an inferior HD format, but to my eyes it is a huge leap beyond DV and looks mighty good on an HD monitor. Besides, virtually all of the work I'm doing right now is going to the web, so HDV should be fine.
Finally, the XH-A1s has more switches and buttons and menu controls than any camera I've ever worked with. You can fine tune your image to a gnat's behind, even selecting color temperatures by 100 degree increments, loading all kinds of scene presets, and recording both external and on-camera mics at the same time. I love having separate iris, zoom and focus rings, along with component outs. It offers total manual control of every nuance of the video I'm recording.
So now I'm learning to use this beautiful camera. It's a tad heavy, but well balanced and oh so professional looking, and that counts for something, too. I considered just getting a Canon HV40, which shoots marvelous images and fits in my pocket. However, I wonder what a client would think when I show up to tape his $10,000 shoot with a camera that looks and feels like a toy.
Now you HV20, HV30 and HV40 owners don't get upset with me; I said these are marvelous cameras, they just doesn't look or feel like it. You can still produce professional looking videos with these cameras. I work with a local producer who is using them for a Vietnam documentary. It is incredible what quality most of the palm-corders are capable of today. In fact I shot this video post using only my Flip UltraHD camera. Although Flip is out of business, you can still snag one of these cameras at Amazon - http://amzn.to/TEnNmH
Be sure you subscribe to our RSS feed at http://HowToSellYourVideos.com so you can stay tuned as I journal my experiences with the XH-A1s and my foray into the world of HDV.