Another help with buying a new camera thread.

1. Homey
   Member

   

     But first let me introduce myself.

   I am a Professional Photographer first and foremost. I have been for over 15 years.

   A secondary part of my business is Video. I shoot mostly weddings, some local company's TV commercials, some sporting events and my buddies hunting videos.

   I use a Canon GL2 and in a pinch an old Panasonic PV-L559. I like the 26X optical zoom on the PV-L but the quality and mixing it in with the GL2 video really shows the quality difference. Lets be honest here too. The GL2 low light performance is not anything to wright home about.

   I always planned on buying the XL2 and the lens adapter to mount all my Canon L glass and not worry about the optical zoom built into the cameras.

   With the HD becoming so popular these days I decided the XL2 may not be my best option anymore.

   Here are the things I need the most in order.

   #1) Low light..

   #2) Quality. I have to be able to produce acceptable HD video.

   #3) Optical zoom. In some situations I need a lot of zoom.

   #4) a decent reliable camera. I can't have it get a little dust in it and puke on me in a week.

   #5) Easy transference of video into the Computer. Be it built in HD or HCSD cards. I have a lot of HCSD and CF cards so that would be a major bonus.

    My budget is around $3500. But if there is something in the $5K range that is heads and shoulders above then I would look at it. But I am not opposed to looking at $1500 models either. If they can get the job done then why not.

   I use both Mac and PC.  I use Final Cut on the Mac and Pinnacle Studio pro on the PC.

   I am hearing decent things about the Panasonic HMC150. Any insight on its low light capabilities?

    

    

    

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. robGRAUERT
   Member

   

    1. Sony seems to have the best reputation when it comes to shooting in low light. Look at various cameras and check the specs. The lower the number for Lux, the better it shoots in low light. For example, if for a particular camera the minimum illumination is 1 Lux, it will shoot better in low light than a camera whose minimum illumination is 3 Lux. 

    2. Judging by what you shoot, I'm sure you will be satisfied with the HDV codec.

    3. Again, look at cameras' specs. Specs are easy to check at http://www.bhphotovideo.com 

    4. Camera are quite reliable these days. Take proper care of it and you shouldn't have a problem.

    5. Again, check specs on B&H

    Budget issue - Check B&H.

    HMC150 - Check B&H.

   Sorry if I'm coming off as rude by repeatedly saying "Check B&H," but there's too many cameras these days for someone to ask a community of people "hey what camera should I get." Most of your questions can be answer by checking B&H, and you will find your answer faster than us answering them for you. 

   Good luck 

   Rob Grauert, Jr
   http://www.robgrauert.com
   http://command-r.tumblr.com

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. Homey
   Member

   

    Thanks Rob.

    

   No its not rude.

   I searched B&H before I found this place. I actually found this site while looking for camera reviews of cameras I found on B&H.. I was looking at the Sony and the Panasonic. The Sony' I was looking at were the HD100U, the V1U and the PD170. 

   The reason I posted here is that you can't get real world experience from any spec sheet. I find it useful if someone here shoots things like I do and have experience with a certain camera. If they recommend it then thats good. 

    

   Thanks for your reply. Sounds like a vote for the Panasonic from you.. Thanks

    

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. Coreece
   Member

   

   In reply to:

   "But first let me introduce myself."

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   Posted 2 years ago #

5. robGRAUERT
   Member

   

    "Sounds like a vote for the Panasonic from you.. Thanks"

    

   No, I didn't say anything about Panasonic. I don't believe one brand is necessarily better than another either. It all depends what you need.

   Since you verified which cameras you are looking at, I'll give you some insight.

   I can tell you from experience that the PD170 is a great camera. It shoots amazingly well in low light. I don't have any complaints about the camera. The only problem is you mentioned you are looking for an HD camera. The PD170 is SD only. If you can settle for SD, I'd point you to this camera in a heartbeat.

   As for the other 2 cameras, I don't like either one. A personal requirement I have is the camera should have at least 3 1/3 in image sensors. The V1U has 3 1/4inch sensors and the HD1000 has 1 1/2.9" sensors. Not cool in my opinion. Other than that, those cameras are pretty similar actually. If I had to choose between the 2, I'd go with the V1U. Not only because you get what you pay for in this industry, but if you want to shoot DV, the V1U can shoot DVCam, which is a better format of DV.  

   Posted 2 years ago #

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