Members Brittanylips Posted May 9, 2006 Members Share Posted May 9, 2006 Originally posted by jollibug I really, really like the A1U it's built by Sony's Professional Broadcast division not the consumer division, so you're getting a totally different animal than you're normal camcorder. And you know it currently has a US$500 rebate, right? It's big unforgivable, unpardonnable sin is the bottom loading tape mechanism, somebody was asleep at the wheel on that one.But, if you don't mind that, and you can handle the HDV workflow, it will give you better looking video than any regular SD camcorder in the same price range. The main thing about HDV is it's all 16:9 widescreen, it takes longer to process the higher resolution images, and drop outs though rare, can be more disastrous since they'll go for several frames instead of one or two on a regular SD camcorder.The Panasonic DVC30 is a great workhorse of a camera, and I love it, especially for event work, but the A1U has a lot going for it, I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Choices choices choices! both seem really nice. Yesterday, btw, I checked out the Sony HDR-FX1. Way too much camera for me. it looks more like a weapon than a camera. The salesman agreed that if someone pointed it at his face he would freeze up. I like the fact that the DVC30 and A1U appear, at least from a distance (neither were in the store) as less intimidating. Everyone seems to love high def, but without a distribution format well established (blu-ray burners yet to appear), and files hogging so much hard drive space, is it too bleeding edge to be all that useful at this point? I'd like to be able to pop out DVDs. By the way - do you know, if you record in HD on the A1U and then downsample to SD, is the result worse than if you had recorded the material in SD to begin with? In other words, does an HD recording downsampled to SD give you the same result as recording SD in the first place (with something like A1U)? Incidentally, a while ago I was listening to some video friends of mine talking about high def, and singing the praises of H.264 codec. Their view was that H.264 is the future of high def distribution. So maybe I'd get the A1U and use it for the time being in SD. Or maybe the Pany... Choices choices choices! (And a trip to a video store that has them in stock so I can do the hand test). Thanks for your feedback. -peace love and brittanylips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackbelt1 Posted May 9, 2006 Members Share Posted May 9, 2006 Originally posted by Brittanylips Thanks, Blackbelt, for all your useful feedback.A question about this - Are you saying that a zoom that's 16X (the panasonic) is not all that much better than a zoom that's 10X (the sony)?Are the numbers misleading? Is a 16X zoom not over one and a half times more powerful than a 10X zoom?TIA,-PLB The numbers themselves aren't misleading; there is certainly a difference but in the case of the adapter, it's a trade-off. You're gaining the ability to zoom a little tighter but you're giving up picture resolution and overall luminance. To me it's not worth the trade. On the other hand, a straight 16:1 lens without an adapter/extender is definitely preferable to a 10:1 lens. You don't have the same issues with a straight lens that you have when you use adapters/extenders. The best advice I can give is to think in reverse of what most amateurs do. They tend to stay too far away from their subject and try to compensate by zooming all the way in. The resulting video is shaky (even with DPS or OPS) and has no depth of field. Instead, think the other way; get as close to your subject as possible and zoom OUT with that lens instead. You'll get better picture quality, stability, and depth in your shots. ~Blackbelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted May 9, 2006 Members Share Posted May 9, 2006 And whatever you do, DO NOT use the digital zoom. It's a waste; dunno why they include it.Originally posted by Blackbelt1 The best advice I can give is to think in reverse of what most amateurs do. They tend to stay too far away from their subject and try to compensate by zooming all the way in. The resulting video is shaky (even with DPS or OPS) and has no depth of field. Instead, think the other way; get as close to your subject as possible and zoom OUT with that lens instead. You'll get better picture quality, stability, and depth in your shots.~Blackbelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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