Starter Camera « Videomaker Community Forums

ttaylor297
Member

As a former "film" guy, I am starting to delve into the world of digital video...the camera I am thinking of starting with is the Sony FX1...it is HD and from what I have read, seems to be a good, long-term camera to begin with. Money is an object, but I am willing to make the investment if I can get quality and logevity...also I am looking for good interaction with Final Cut Pro...

Could anyone advise if this would be the camera to go with. Also, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated as I am relatively new to the world of video.

Thanks!!!!

Posted 4 years ago #
On a Roll
Member

ttaylor,

I don't own one, but I was fortunate to get to play with one for a weekend a while back. They say first impressions are everything, and I have to admit, I was very impressed by this camera. You're right, the camera is good stuff, and it would last for a good while, being Hi Def.

That being said, the one downside to this camera is that it was one of the very first High Def Prosumers out there. When I went in to my local camera shop to demo the XH-A1 from Canon the week it came out, my dealer already had a used FX1 on his shelf.

Now, before you hear my following advice, I need to warn you: I'm a Canon fan. I love their products, and I think bang-for-the-buck wise, you get so much more from them. There, you've been warned! :-D

As I said, the weekend that Canon released the XH-A1 to dealers, I was there to try it, an I have to tell you, I fell in love with the thing. It has some incredible features, such as a set of three assignable control rings on the lens. This is great, because you can set them to, say for example, Zoom, focus, and iris. The big plus about this is that the iris control is so smooth that if you're gentle enough, your viewers won't even notice it. It's very nice, to say the least.

It's got two custom presets, as opposed to just one (if I recall correctly) on the FX1, and I've always liked the look of Canon's optics more than Sony. Sony seems to like to compensate for lest than true-to-life colors by slightly over-saturating the image. It makes it look very rich, but your color range isn't as great as Canons, and you can always adjust the saturation in post if you really want that look anyhow.

The one, relatively big, downside to the Canon is that it's slightly more expensive. At the time I'm writing this, B&H will sell the FX1 for right at $3000, where the XH-A1 is $3500. However, Canon is giving a $250 rebate on the camera, so ultimately it's $3250 for a camera that's newer, more powerful, and very user-customizable. If it were up to me, and I already had $3000 in my camcorder budget, I would probably hold off, save up the extra $500 ($250 of which I would get back in "4-6 weeks" or so they say) and get the Canon. But if you have a serious time crunch going against you and you need to get a camera before you have the extra cash stored up, the FX1 is still an awesome camera, and I would be very happy to own one.

Posted 4 years ago #
ttaylor297
Member

Thanks for the advice...the dynamics of the Canon as described sound worth investigating. This gives me something more to investigate and that is a good thing.

I don't have a time-crunch...I'm not exclusive to SONY, so I will look into the Canon.

Thanks for your advice!!!!!

Posted 4 years ago #
DanstinStudios
Member

Coming from a film background, I just want to throw in that I believe Panasonic cameras have a more "film-like" appearance, and the DVX100 or the HVX200 would both be excellent cameras. Most people will probably agree with me about the film look, but there are so many other options to consider, and if that's not high on your list, disregard it.

Posted 4 years ago #
Jockey
Member

Danstin Studios Wrote:
Coming from a film background, I just want to throw in that I believe Panasonic cameras have a more "film-like" appearance, and the DVX100 or the HVX200 would both be excellent cameras. Most people will probably agree with me about the film look, but there are so many other options to consider, and if that's not high on your list, disregard it.

DVX100 is not HD, it does not even have native 16:9 chip.

Posted 4 years ago #
Kevin Shaw
Member

Also consider the Sony V1U, which is newer than the FX1 and more similar to the Canon XH-A1 in terms of features.

I have two FX1s and like them, but they struggle in poor lighting. The Canon HDV cameras produce a slightly brighter image but with much more image noise at the default camera settings, so be prepared to learn about settings options if you buy one of those.

Posted 4 years ago #
ttaylor297
Member

Thanks for the info on the Sony...I amconstantly researching.

I will look into it.

Posted 4 years ago #
ttaylor297
Member

I'm leaning towards the Canon XHA1....does this camera interact well with Final Cut Express HD? I'm constantly reading that this camera is the one to learn on...I want to be sure about all factors...

Posted 4 years ago #