OT: Roll Call: What camera are you using?

ScottyLacy wrote on 10/16/2006, 2:38 PM

Hey all,

I'm getting ready to upgrade my primary camera to something in the $5K range. There are obviously several competitors in that price range, a mishmash of specs, differences of ease when integrating the resulting footage with Vegas, and plenty of other pros and cons.

I spoke to a sales rep at Calumet Photo for a while last week. He was fairly knowledgeable and gently advised against going the HDV route. He mentioned the loss of color gamut with HDV cameras and felt the other options in the $5K range were better (Canon XL2, Panny AG-HVX200, etc.). This is of course just one opinion in the constellation of opinions, so I wanted to get a feel from the pros on this board.

For the record, I'm looking primarily for a camera with 1) solid support for both HD and SD formats, 2) reasonably easy integration with Vegas, 3) ease of use in the field (i.e., prefer not to dig around in menus to change important settings, 4) good build quality, and 5) a camera that, technically speaking, has a good chance of avoiding obsolecence for a while. (Bonus: the ability to overcrank the frame rate, as I love to use slow motion in my work). I should mention here that I own several Canon L-series lenses, so I'm wondering if that makes the XL2 a strong option for me.

Anyway, I'd love to know from all of you: What camera are you shooting, why did you choose it, and how it has performed in relation to your expectations?

Thanks,
Scott

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Cliff Etzel wrote on 10/18/2006, 7:57 AM

SHooting a SONY TRV950 in a Light & Motion Bluefin Housing - SInce I'm a newcomer to video, I can't say what my experiences would compare to with other cameras. I like the compactness of the camera and having a 3 chip camera is nice. I do shoot in 16x9 mode exclusively since it will get me in the habit of seeing in that format when I do eventually make the transition to HD.

DavidMcKnight wrote on 10/18/2006, 8:14 AM

Sony VX2000 and VX2100. Will probably use them till they give up the ghost.

vicmilt wrote on 10/18/2006, 9:23 PM

For people that have been on this forum for a couple of years, it's no secret that I am a Sony junkie -
for those that have never read my various pokes and jabs, here's why -
my first "notice" of Sony was in the mid-70's when one of my assistants returned from a trip to Japan with a gift for me - the first portable Walkman I (or anyone else) had ever seen. It was just too freakin' amazing!

But it wasn't until the early 80's that I was finally convinced that videotape could be as satisfying as film. My career was based strictly on 35mm film. I had shot hundreds of thousands of feet of it with hundreds of national TV commercials on my reel. On occasion I would try the latest video - 2" simply sucked - 1" C with the popular Ikegami just never had the subtlety that I required as an artist. All the cameras at the time were tube based, and I hated them.

But the first time someone showed me the Sony BVU-70 3 chip camera - I just fell in love. I started to shoot lots of stuff with it (never the "big" commercials, but definitely various sales films, etc.) and I experimented continually. I did some stuff for MTV in tape, and a cross-country tour for AT&T - everything with those Sony cameras - all on 1" C tape. And of course, I was a leader in the first transfers of 35mm film negative to 1" video - an unheard of techique in the early '80s using the RANK Cintel for the transfers, and 3/4" off-line editing suites - then conforming on 1" at $450 an hour (1982 bucks). In 1988 I spent a quarter of a million dollars in on-line edit suites.

In (about) 1997 one of my camera operators showed me the VX-1000, at a rock concert. I bought one the next day, and shot an American Express commercial the next month with it. The clients were amazed (it's so tiny) and no one at the satellite broadcasting stations either noticed or (more important) rejected the footage. Revolutionary. Where I wouldn't shoot a commercial on BetaSP, I felt the soft and beautiful footage of the VX was perfect (I still do).

Well, that VX-1000 is still working in my kit. I still love it. What a rugged workhorse. I still also have and use the tiny PC-1, the PD150, the PD170 and (last week) I bought the tried and true Z1. All of those cameras are beaten on regularly, and everyone of them has never let me down. All (excepting the Z1) were used throughout the production of my latest (award winning) video, "The Cowboys of Florida".

I have Sony decks, Sony computers, Sony monitors, Sony lenses, I use Sony tape and I edit on Sony Vegas - what else can I say? My house looks like a Sony showroom.

I don't like to "piss" my money away. While I love every new "black box" that comes on the market, I nevertheless consider every purchase I make very carefully. I try to only buy equipment that can pay for itself. I generally rent before I buy.

Every camera out there has the potential to deliver magnificence in the right hands. Go to your local supplier and do some tests. Step out into the street and shoot some stuff. See which camera "feels good" in your hands. See which one inspires you to shoot. (Each camera has a soul all it's own). And see what YOUR test footage looks like to YOU. Five grand is not a little bit of money.

When your livlihood depends on your ability to deliver, and you find something that works, I say, stick with it.

ScottyLacy wrote on 10/19/2006, 1:15 AM

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Victor. I like the fact that while you're a Sony guy, you acknowledge that the camera-user relationship is a unique and variable experience

I think I will rent a few of these cameras and see which one really "talks" to me..... ;)

corug7 wrote on 10/19/2006, 12:46 PM

Vic,

Responses like yours are why I visit this forum. Full of color and information, insight and opinion, yet as fair and balanced as an albino tightrope walker.

Good show.

Corey

vicmilt wrote on 10/19/2006, 4:30 PM

hey corug7 (hard to believe there are six others with that username :>)) )

and... I love that "albino tightrope walker" line...

but that's not what I'm really writing about, now...

it's funny how sometimes a "button" just appears at the right time.

So about three years ago I bought my PD170 (which I love to death). I gues I've shot a hundred or a hundred fifty days on it. And about two weeks ago I posted some terrifying footage from it, right here on the forum, in search of an answer- weird psychedlic effects, which would come and go. My web buddy, Farss, suggested a CCD failure, and I trust his instincts. So today I took the camera up to a local Sony repair shop and guess what?

This is a "known defect" and will be repaired for free. Now if a camera fails in the first month or so, I EXPECT it to be fixed for free. But three years later? I appreciate that kind of service.

End of story.
v

Hall E Woode wrote on 10/19/2006, 5:20 PM

I use the Sony HVR-Z1U at home, and at my work (a church, Vineyard Boise), I have a Sony HDR-FX1 and an old Canon XL-1, as well as a Canon GL-1 floating around for volunteers.

Oh yeah, and an old junky one-chip Panasonic.

Truth be told, even at work, I use my Z1U for the videos that we play on Sunday. I film in HDV 50i with Cineframe25 (no matter what folks have said, I don't see a resolution loss), then slow the footage down to 23.975 in Vegas (since I can't get Vegas to go precisely slow it down to 23.976) and resample the audio with a freeware program that does a better time stretch while maintaining the pitch, Audacity.

I love Vegas 7's ability to work with HDV footage. It's really sweet, especially on my new monster of a Dell.

But truth be told, I'm looking at this V1U with anticipation (and dread -- I'm going to have to find ANOTHER $5k).

In the end, though (or at least further down the line), I'm lookin' at the XDCAM system.

ReneH wrote on 10/19/2006, 5:48 PM

DVX100A...what can I say!

ScottyLacy wrote on 10/19/2006, 7:35 PM

Vic,

In poking around in the archives, I see that I missed the "debut" of your documentary. Well done.

I've just put in my order for the DVD and look forward eagerly to seeing the work of one of the Vegas family!

Scott

vicmilt wrote on 10/19/2006, 8:11 PM

Thanks Scott - I hope you enjoy it.
I've been posting the progress of this particular movie as an encouragement to one and all, in the Vegas group.

I'm pleased to say we have won another two prizes, (last week we won the "Director's Choice at the Bluegrass Film Festival), and recently the biggest prize of all - I have now officially been funded to enlarge the origingal 36 minute movie to feature length.

Thus my move to HDV - and a shot at a bigger, hopefully even better, movie.

All done with the same equipment that virtually every person on this forum posesses. It's possible to make award winning and fullfilling video with the equipment at hand.

That's the message that I really want to convey. You can do it, too.

How? First, just get out there, and start shooting.

v

zoom wrote on 10/19/2006, 9:35 PM

PD150 and VX2000 - great for low light two camera shoots 'cause the optics match up well and I only use the audio from the PD150. Waiting to jump into the HD pool...
-Tony

DavidMcKnight wrote on 10/19/2006, 10:18 PM

Congratulations on your latest Brass Ring Vic!

I gotta commend you and VASST again for Light It Right. I was working from home earlier this week due to floods in Houston and had it on for background noise and absorbtion by osmosis :) I pick up something different every time I see it. Or even listen to it.

corug7 wrote on 10/19/2006, 11:46 PM

Congrats, Vic!

I still have to get my hands on your lighting vid too. I'm shooting in a 24 hour film festival this weekend and doubling as DP/Grip/etc. Could've used any help I could get!

By the way, was wondering where you did your research on my screen name (for a minute) ;-)

Co - Corey, my name
Rug - Rugby, my other passion
7 - my position (flanker/wing forward)
I keep the other six under the stairs...

vicmilt wrote on 10/20/2006, 2:29 AM

5:25am - can't sleep - crew call at 7am - heading out to shoot the first film I've shot in - um - 7 years or so...

I've planned an "old time" recreation from the turn of the century - of life on the Florida prairie, as it once was.

I've put together an 18 man crew and 22 volunteer actors - all dressed in turn of the century garb -
I love this stuff - cuz -

Any Day On The Set - Is A Good Day

Wish me luck gang...

v

Tim L wrote on 10/20/2006, 5:28 AM

"I've planned an "old time" recreation from the turn of the century"

I assume you mean 1900-ish? Because the most recent turn of the century (2000) isn't all that old-timey yet. : )

Good Luck, Vic. I'm not a video professional by any stretch -- just a "Dad with a camcorder" -- but I always enjoy reading your posts. Your passion and excitement (i.e. not being able to sleep at 5:25AM?) are so refreshing.

Tim L

QueenGeek wrote on 10/20/2006, 8:32 PM

I recently shot a wedding using two cameras: my new Canon GL2 and my old Sony TRV-530. Wow! What a difference! The GL2 was worth every penny I paid and then some.

Grazie wrote on 10/20/2006, 11:59 PM

2x Canon XM2s (GL2) here.

Great SD picture. 20x zoom and 3 places to view audio monitoring. Dial enabled exposure settings and more than decent WB templates. Single Preset gives user options for Setup, sharpness and Colour at a press and IMHO the 16:9 digital anamorphic aint no slouch either.

If you WERE on a budget 3 or even 2 years back this gave you:

#1 - Budget head room for trips, lens adaptor and mic

#2 - Plenty of scope for starting and learning the craft (that was me!) and the opportunity to be stretched.

I bought the 2nd as backup and give my partner a "lock-off" to deal with.

Have now been playing with and crawling over the Canon XH-A1 and the 3 rings? Woah! 1/3" 1.67MP x 3 CCD and its native 16:9 is really turning my head. Between this and the Sony V1 (Ah I see the "doodlebug! Got it!) is a real hard choice.

Interestingly enough Canon and Sony have kinda swapped places. It used to be that the XM2 was the alternative to the Sony 2k ( yes I know it aint that straightforward) and now with HDV it would appear that with the V1 Sony are out to reverse the tables on Canon.

Still 3 rings and that 1/3" 1.67MP x 3 CCD . . . . and the XH-A1 is bigger and BLACK too. (why now proper lens cap?)

I'm waiting . . . .