New Camera Question

ewood1 wrote on 2/21/2008, 2:56 PM
I am in the process of setting up a video team for my church. We will be shooting live performances, music videos, interviews, etc... I am looking at three different Sony models and would welcome anyone who could shed a little light. I understand they are in different price ranges but we will be buying two and I am looking into different combinations. The three models are:

HVR-A1U, HVR-V1U, and HVR-Z1U

Thanks for the help.

Comments

Serena wrote on 2/21/2008, 3:19 PM
You haven't mentioned budget and I'm a bit puzzled by "looking into different combinations". Generally better to have two of the same (colour matching, familiarity, etc). Who will be using the cameras? Trained operators and just anyone from the congregation? Well lit scenes? Why just Sony?
ewood1 wrote on 2/22/2008, 7:14 AM
I apologize for being a little vague. I have about a $6000 dollar budget but if I show very good reason I might be able to get a little more. I understand that in most cases it is preferable to have two of the same cameras, but I am considering different combinations due to the different types of shooting we may encounter. The HVR-A1U is much smaller and easier to use in tighter situations and some of the reviews I have read state that the image is very similar. I have also considered buying the new HVR-Z7U but I would only be able to buy one this year and possibly a second next year.

We will be using novice operators who are in the process of being trained. At this point we all are learning and this is certainly not our day jobs, but we all are conscientious of putting out high quality film. The good thing is we can practice, practice, practice without a solid due date for a finished product. We are also looking into lighting, tripods, sound equipment, etc...

As far as only Sony; not trying to sound like a commercial, but I am a big supporter in uniformity of brand. I believe Sony does a great job with Vegas and other software products and I would like to be able to support them with my business. I realize other companies do a good job as well and I have owned other Canon products in the past. In fact I looked into some of Canon's cameras as well, but did not find a huge difference between the quality and performance of them and Sony. Further, because we are starting from scratch I felt uniformity at this point is better. Sometimes tech support for a product is better if you support the brand with your purchases.

busterkeaton wrote on 2/22/2008, 7:21 AM
Is $6,000 your total budget for everything? Lights, camera, tripod, editing computer, audio monitors?
ewood1 wrote on 2/22/2008, 1:12 PM
$6000 is just for the camera(s). I already have the editing studio pretty much set up at least for starters and we have a lot of sound editing/recording equipment to work with. I have not set up the budget for the rest of the equipment yet.
Laurence wrote on 2/22/2008, 1:43 PM
For $6000, the best thing you can get is one of the new Sony Z7s. I just got one and it is about perfect.
Serena wrote on 2/22/2008, 7:08 PM
"Trained" doesn't necessarily mean "professional", so I read it that only people who have knowledge of the cameras will be using them. If you are shooting live events then 2 coordinated cameras are valuable, so you will be thinking seriously about the trade-off involved in blowing the budget on a single camera. Possibly members of your team have a personal camera that could be used on occasion. How much sophistication do you need? Would you use the facilities offered by a XDCAM EX1? Or those in the Z7? Do you need interchangeable lens? Low light performance? Will your purposes be satisfied by camera default settings, or will you want to get into picture profiles to get the "right" look? Will operators use manual or auto settings? If the cheaper options provide all the facilities you believe you need, what are the benefits of spending more? Might you buy used good cameras (maybe new + used)? Do you want progressive or interlaced? Z1? V1?
One of the traps of more sophisticated cameras is that they offer many more opportunities for getting it wrong. Just as they offer more ways for getting it right.
These are all the sort of what-do-you-want-it-for questions that have to be asked when someone asks "which camera?"