Comments

vegasmon wrote on 6/27/2010, 11:11 AM
The cameracorder needs to be small, intrusive and deliver optimal image quality
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 6/28/2010, 1:43 AM
You might want to keep with a Canon product because you may be able to use the battery on your new model. Also the trend is moving away from tape and hard drives for capturing footage. I also need to get a new cam as my Canon HF10 is now shareware(stolen) so I'm looking at the the Canon HF S10. The Canon HF S21 has 64 GB on board but the AV ports are behind the screen so the screen has to be open in order to use it. Both capture 24Mbps AVCHD to SDHC memory. Both have basic manual exposure settings. The HF S21 has touch screen for setting control.

Check out www.camcorderinfo.com for the whole write up.


farss wrote on 6/28/2010, 5:57 AM
You want good lowlight capability then yes 1/2" chips are the go.
You want it SMALL though then sorry any camera with 3x 1/2" chips is not going to be small by most people's definition.
Sure the EX1 is small if you're used to lugging an IMAX camera around and on an IMAX shoot no one would notice your EX1.
Certainly the EX1 is small enough to pass muster as a consummer camera and I've seen the footage to prove it.

If you want EXCEPTIONAL low light capability then the bigger the chips the better, 2/3" is better than 1/2" is better than 1/3", you get the idea. Faster glass helps to. Obvious problem is size, weight and cost goes up dramatically to state the obvious.

Bob.
24Peter wrote on 6/28/2010, 7:59 AM
If you can handle the ergonomics of a DSLR when shooting video, get a T2i and one of the Tamron or Sigma superzoom lenses. Great IQ/low light performance. But DSLR's are not as easy as traditional video cameras to shoot video with. (I still use my HV20 in certain situations.)
Guy S. wrote on 6/28/2010, 2:30 PM
Small and good low light capability do not go hand-in-hand.

I have an HV20 and do not consider it to be a good low-light camera. At work I use a Sony V1U, which is a low-end 3-chip pro camera and it is also poor in low light compared to the Canon XL1 and Sony VX-2000 miniDV cameras that I've used.

I am currently looking for a tapeless camcorder to back up our Panasonic GH1 DSLR. I am leaning toward either the Panasonic HMC40, a 3-chip low-end "pro" camera (basically a consumer camera with XLR audio) and the JVC GY100.

The reports I've read would seem to give the Panasonic and edge in resolution, but I saw quite the opposite at NAB - with the Panasonic you could see the model's hair, and with the JVC you could see each individual strand. The JVC also had great shadow detail without blowing out the highlights, whereas the Panasonic looked blown out. The JVC can shoot AVCHD or MPEG 2 video.

The rep in the Panasonic booth thought the camera might have become misadjusted during the show but was unable to improve the image (other than reducing the exposure). I've heard very good things about the Panasonic TM700 (consumer version of HMC40, but a little newer). The TM700 was tested to about 900 lines of resolution. By comparison our GH1 DSLR only resolves to 700 or 750 lines when shooting video.

If you can swing $6k then look at the Canon XF300. I saw it. The image is absolutely amazing. It produces MPEG2 files using the 4:2:2 color space. Canon's demo area had the lowest level of lighting and yet there was zero noise in the image.

With respect to shooting with a DSLR, I would not purchase one for video use without first borrowing/renting it and using it for the type of work I intend to do with it. I am finding that the GH1 is nice for certain things but has some definite drawbacks. I shot a substantial portion of our last product video with the GH1 and have used it for all of my current video. I chose this camera over the Nikon and Canon offerings because I found it the most video-friendly, but would not necessarily recommend it to anyone else (stills are just OK, max usable HD res is 720p).

Hope this helps,

Guy
GregFlowers wrote on 6/28/2010, 3:33 PM
One thing you could do that I have seen recommended by others is looking into the Convergent Design nanoFlash hdmi recorder. It records the hdmi or SDI output of HD cameras onto 2 CF cards into many less compressed formats at various bitrates. It can record up to 4:2:2 220 mbps video. I don't know how much that will help in low light, but it would seem it would at least allow far more headroom in post to color correct before the video begins to break up. Plus, you can keep using it as long as they make cameras that output hdmi or SDI. May be worth looking into.
LReavis wrote on 6/28/2010, 7:01 PM
"I've heard very good things about the Panasonic TM700 (consumer version of HMC40, but a little newer). The TM700 was tested to about 900 lines of resolution. By comparison our GH1 DSLR only resolves to 700 or 750 lines when shooting video."

I wasn't in the market for a new camcorder, but got the TM700 after reading numerous rave reviews. It's good, but I can't say that its low-light performance is all that great. My really cheap Sanyo HD2000 does better in low light, but it's resolution is only around 650 lines and its single chip doesn't do justice to color. In contrast, the TM700 gives a great picture if the light is adequate.

I paid only $750 buying directly from Panasonic using Corporate perks, and consider it to be a steal at that price. Even its low-light performance isn't all that bad - it's just not as good as the Sanyo, and certainly the more expensive big-chip cams would be even better than the Sanyo. But, as others have noted, how do you get a big-chip cam in a small package?