I've got Platinum 8 . I'm looking to purchase a camera that shoots HD 1440x1080, SD 1080x1080, SD 1440x1080, 30f and 24f. Can Vargas handle all of the formats listed.
I want to makes sure I got a solid match between hardware and software.
Vegas can handle just about any format anyone can dream up. It doesn't care. If you know the frame size, pixel aspect ratio, and frame rate you can type those in for the project properties and have at it.
1080x1080 is a very uncommon format. I've never seen it used. Where have you found a camera that shoots that?
So the image sensor has 1440x1080 rectangular-shapped pixels on each of the three CCD imagers. Each pixel is wider than it is tall. Hi Def video uses all of these sensor pixels (i.e. output format to tape is the same format as the image sensor).
Std Def video will use all of the sensor pixels, downscaled, to create a 720x480 widescreen image. 4:3 Std Def will use the middle 1080 horizontal pixels, and the full sensor height, downscaled, to make a 720x480 4:3 image. Still photos use a similar approach.
The XHA1 is an HDV camera (1440x1080 non-square pixels), and as Eugenia mentioned the Platinum version of Vegas Movie Studio will handle HDV. The only thing I don't know -- and don't see listed in the info for Platinum -- is whether it handles 24p modes. (Eugenia?)
If you're not in a great hurry to purchase, you might wait a few weeks. Sony has announced that Movie Studio 9 (regular, Platinum, and Platinum Pro Pack) will be available in August (i.e. sometime in August...). Even if you do purchase right away, they (Sony) will usually give you a free update to the new version if it comes out less than 30 days after you buy the current version.
Gee, I'm looking at the new feature in the next release. I had already purchased the Platinum 8 to put together slides of my wedding. I also just purchased the Cinescore application ($179) and it seems that it's going to be part of the next release. Oh,well.
Reminds meof a purchase last year of a 3D modeling/animation app called TrueSpace from Caligari. At the time they were selling if for $300, it normally cost around $600 and now since Microsoft purchased the company they are giving it away for free the latest version and all of the training material that sold for around $79 each. Looks like they are going to use the app with their Virtual Earth program to compete with Google.
In any case I look up to see what camera that Sony has that compares to the Cannon XHA1 in both tool sets and price.