OT: Sony HC1/A1U users, need some info.

Brad C. wrote on 1/21/2009, 5:10 AM
Ok,

I don't know what it is about this little camcorder, but even when I saw this thing back when it was an HC1 I fell in love with it. The styling, the functionality, features, and the fact that it was the first HD camcorder of its size. The A1U took it even further with its pro quality audio, and other upgrades.

I STILL want one of these to this day! Heres the thing though.....I know its getting old on paper. 4 years old this fall. Is this thing still up to par for capturing really good images compared to what's out there new these days? I mean, I know its a pro level quality cam, but a hair under $2k is a lot for a 3yr old cam design. I don't want to buy used if I can help it.

So is this still a wise purchase or would I really be better off putting my money elsewhere? Is the CMOS sensor still up to task? Low light up to par? Is the low res LCD decent still?

Comments

jrazz wrote on 1/21/2009, 5:33 AM
I have four of them and use them all the time. However, I would love to move up in cam, but they are still chugging away and doing the job.

Don't think of Cams as an investment- think of them as a tool to get the job done that wears out and will need replacing. If the market has a better tool that does the same job and is in your price range, buy it. Don't get hung up on an older tool.

Now, if you can get them used, I would do that if they are cheap enough, but I would really encourage you to go with one that has 3 cmos sensors or 3 good sized CCD's.

The low light quality is lacking, but other than that, I think they are great cameras for the money and they allow me to be in places that most other cameras would not due to the size- they are just not as intrusive as most.

j razz
kairosmatt wrote on 1/21/2009, 5:37 AM
I really love this little camera, especially having a focus ring (although it does act a little funny sometimes!). I was in the same boat, we were thinking about replacing our A1 cause of some salt water damage (thought its still works). But the price...and the quality of image is not as good as some of the new cameras that cost less we've seen. And we don't want to spend more money on tape based hardware. We decided to just wait until something else comes along, or until the thing completely dies.

The pricing of these small professional cams is wierd. The panasonic DVC-30, which is similiar to the A1 except it is SD (yup, mini-DV!) still sells for $1500!

For us, the new canon HF-S10 may be our replacement when the A1 finally corrodes away.

kairosmatt
Brad C. wrote on 1/21/2009, 6:05 AM
I really love this little camera, especially having a focus ring (although it does act a little funny sometimes!)
What do you mean funny? haha

"For us, the new canon HF-S10 may be our replacement when the A1 finally corrodes away."
I hear ya. A1U CMOS- 2.97mp 1/3" vs. HF-S10 CMOS- 8.5mp 1/2". And the Canon has an extremely nice version of peaking that I want.

I just wish the Canon had EVF, XLR's, and a focus ring instead of dial. The dial is cool and all, but I wish you could adjust the sensitivity of the dial. For the size of the dial, the similar Sony dial on the SR/XR's takes way too many revolutions to pull focus sometimes. Maybe the Canon will be better.

Actually what I wish is that Sony would just miraculously update the innards and LCD on the A1U and keep it going! That would be cool.

kairosmatt wrote on 1/21/2009, 7:21 AM
About the focus ring: sometimes it jumps in little incriments, sometimes it jumps from macro to infinite really fast, and sometimes it doesn't do much at all. It seems like there is some kind of auto focus at work: it sees whats on screen and helps the speed of focus increments (right term?).

For example, if there is a bunch of stuff close by, it is easy to change focus in small increments. When there is not much in front of you, it tends to go from macro to infinite very quickly.

Also, its in meters not feet! Good for some, but harder for me.

I would love to see some updated A1. I think the 3rd party accessory that allows XLR jacks in mini jacks will work with the canon. And it has a cool digital zoom feature, that (if it works as promised) will zoom in on the 8 megapixel chip so you won't lose HD resolution when using it.

kairosmatt
JohnnyRoy wrote on 1/21/2009, 10:21 AM
I love my Sony A1U and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it (except for that stupid bottom loading tape drive! which... come to think of it is a very consumerish PITA when on a tripod) but if I had to buy with the same money again today I'd get a Sony FX7 no question about it. It's the prosumer version of the Sony HVR-V1U without the XLR audio, 24P, BlackStretch, etc.

You can always add a BeachTek D4 to add XLR and have a much nicer camera for a cheaper price (B&H today HDR-A1U $2099 after rebate, HDR-FX7 $1999) 3 CMOS instead of 1, all around more camera for the money.

So for my money it's the Sony HDR-FX7.

~jr
Brad C. wrote on 1/22/2009, 1:44 AM
"You can always add a BeachTek D4 to add XLR and have a much nicer camera for a cheaper price (B&H today HDR-A1U $2099 after rebate, HDR-FX7 $1999) 3 CMOS instead of 1, all around more camera for the money."

Where do you get that its $2,099? It's shown at $2,139.95 with a $200 rebate on top of that.....
= $1,939.95
psg wrote on 1/22/2009, 7:15 AM
I love my A1U. It was my entry into the world of HDV. I now use it almost exclusively. The one weakness: poor low light performance. That's why I kept my VX2000.

I only shoot in HDV with the A1U and produce either widescreen SD DVDs or just create MT2 output and either stream it from my fileserver to my Sony PS3 (looks great on a large screen TV) or load it onto a 2.5" portable drive and plug into Western Digital nifty little media player and connect to TV via HDMI (also looks great).
JohnnyRoy wrote on 1/22/2009, 8:07 AM
> Where do you get that its $2,099? It's shown at $2,139.95 with a $200 rebate on top of that..... = $1,939.95

Sorry I was looking at the KIT (my bad) which comes with a hard shell case (which I also own and highly recommend). You are correct that it's $1,939.95 after rebate but I'd still buy the FX7. ;-)

~jr
bsuratt wrote on 1/22/2009, 2:06 PM
Fx7's excellent 20X Carl Zeiss lens and 3 chip makes it a no brainer!
kairosmatt wrote on 1/22/2009, 4:45 PM
There is something sexy though about the little A1, it just feels right, compact yet solid, professional audio...but tape! and crappy low light to boot.