OT: Which new Camcorder -Idiots Guide to HD AVCHD?

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Joe Balsamo|LVX wrote on 7/22/2008, 3:04 PM
kairosmatt,

I hear ya, bro! Coming from a still photography background, I *really* miss having a focus ring, f-stop and direct manual shutter speed control. I mean, I have this on the HF-10, but geez, I wish I didn't have to use the joystick to get to it. At least it's fairly easy to get to, not buried several menus deep, but still...

Yeah, I understand marketing and product design and introduction and realize why they do this, but that doesn't mean, as a consumer, I have to like it.

Just looked at those new Panny's and they are very cool! The ring controls focus, zoom, shutter speed, f-stop AND white balance. Way to go, Panasonic. Also has a viewfinder, which is nice. Like you say, wish they would up the bitrate. I suspect with Canon doing that, the next generation of Panasonics will. I can't imagine Sony will be too far behind, but then again, I know none of them want to dilute their pro lines too much.

Oh well, it's just like computers...buy one and a week later, a better one hits the market. Such is life.

Joe

kairosmatt wrote on 7/22/2008, 4:27 PM
Joe,
My main concern would be trying to get focus in the ball park underwater.
Using the focus ring in the Ikelite is really easy. And the A1 gives you a distance readout, and we did some (vague) tests, and our focus is pretty good underwater. The A1 only reads out in meters though, so that was a huge adjustment!
How is focusing with the joystick? And does it give you a distance readout?

matt
Joe Balsamo|LVX wrote on 7/22/2008, 4:59 PM
matt,

Focusing with the joystick on the HF10 works quite well, actually. Unfortunately, it does not give distance read-out. One thing I do is to let the AF get me close, then I dial it in with the manual focus. Not sure if this would work for your application underwater, though.

BTW, where did you read the bitrate info on the Panasonic HDC-SD100? I can't seem to find that info anywhere. I note that they have it available for pre-order on Amazon, supposed to be available September 15th. Obviously, nothing yet on the HF11.

Joe
kairosmatt wrote on 7/22/2008, 6:36 PM
http://videomaker.com/community/blogs/videonews/2008/06/4016-panasonic-announces-2-new-hd-camcorders/

then scroll down to the bottom, there's a bunch of stats on them

matt
Joe Balsamo|LVX wrote on 7/22/2008, 6:43 PM
Thank you, Matt, very useful site.

Joe
InterceptPoint wrote on 7/22/2008, 6:59 PM
Jeff B:

I agree with everything you wrote about AVCHD on the CX7. I made the same transition you did from a TRV900 to the CX7. Quality-wise there is no comparison - the CX7 run circles around my trusty old 3-CCD TRV900. Glad to be done with DV tape.

And BTW, I successfully edit the CX7 AVCHD using GearShift on a 6 year old 1.9 GHz Pentium IV with 1 GB memory.