Sony PD170 vs. HVR-A1U

Jameson_Prod wrote on 11/5/2005, 9:34 AM

I'm ready to upgrade. For years I have been looking and leaning towards the Sony PD170 or the Canon GL1. With the advent of reasonably priced HD cameras, should I be looking more in that direction? Is going for a standard camera not a good choice for the future now? From my reading and searching, the Sony HDV-Z1U and HDV-A1U are the two most talked about HD cameras.

Opinions on which way I should go? Opinions on the cameras in general?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

Videocanuck wrote on 11/5/2005, 11:18 AM

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JohnnyRoy wrote on 11/5/2005, 12:19 PM

This has been discussed before here just do a search on “which camera HD”.

I gave an extensive answer in this thread so I won’t repeat it here. The bottom line is that it makes little sense to invest $1000’s of dollars in DV gear when HD is affordable and hear to stay. Why anyone would spend good money on yesterday’s technology is beyond me.

~jr

Jameson_Prod wrote on 11/5/2005, 2:03 PM

Thanks for the info.

farss wrote on 11/5/2005, 3:20 PM

Sorry to come late to the party, I;m just finishing off a short vid for a friend shot on the A1 but downconverted to SD prior to the edit.
Two things. Firstly with the A1 you'll most likely be shooting 16:9 and even if all else was equal that's quite a bit to get used to but I don't think we've all got much choice in having to make the switch.
Secondly, the A1 sure is impessive, even after downconversion the images look damn fine for such a small, cheap camera. Most of the material was shot off my Steadypod and I wouldn't put a Z1 on one of those or a Stickypod either so the A1 being so small and light opens up a lot of options you don't have with the Z1 or 170.
However, I do notice tiny amounts of smear , probably due to the CMOS sensors. You've got to try pretty hard and look pretty carefully to see it and I wouldn't see it as a deal breaker by any means. If you don't use a camera to hose down the shot then it isn't an issue.
Bob.