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Need a new camcorder.

post #1 of 8
11/14/12 at 8:53pm
Thread Starter 
My GH2 doesn't have the fast autofocus my old camcorder does.

Strange, because every review said it had incredibly fast AF. frown.gif

Anyhow, I'd like to get a new camcorder. One with really fast autofocus and maybe manual aperture control. Every time I do a close up with my Sony Bloggie, the background gets EXTREMELY overexposed/washed out. Especially if it's a white background.

What would be an upgrade for $500 or less?
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post #2 of 8
11/14/12 at 9:22pm
Well because of the bigger chip, it's harder to auto focus and a lot of the old reviews specifically mentions the 14-140mm lens which was designed with video in mind while the 20mm is not considered fast when it comes to auto-focusing. It basically depends on the lens and f number. For example, F5.6 will be easier to get things in focus than f/4.0. I think some of the newer lenses have auto focusing as good or possibly better than the 14-140. You'll have to read first hand reviews. What lens are you using? .
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post #3 of 8
11/14/12 at 9:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulo Teixeira View Post

Well because of the bigger chip, it's harder to auto focus and a lot of the old reviews specifically mentions the 14-140mm lens which was designed with video in mind while the 20mm is not considered fast when it comes to auto-focusing. It basically depends on the lens and f number. For example, F5.6 will be easier to get things in focus than f/4.0. I think some of the newer lenses have auto focusing as good or possibly better than the 14-140. You'll have to read first hand reviews. What lens are you using? .

I'm using a 14mm Panasonic Pancake.
But like I said, I'm looking for a camcorder instead.
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post #4 of 8
11/15/12 at 5:07am
Hi curiousman - I have a GH2 and bought a backup camcorder (a Panasonic TM900) for similar reasons. I have been very pleased with this camera's autofocus performance.

At your price point, a lot of people on the forum are recommending the $380 Panasonic V700, which is a fine camera and can produce results like this:

Paragliding: http://vimeo.com/42652472
Outdoor auto racing (please watch at 1080p): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HytTs9KGQ8w
Landscapes (please watch at 720p): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JRInOcaXrI
Nature/travel: (please watch at 1080p): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dysBR4Z1uwU

If you can stretch your budget just a little, and don't mind buying used from Amazon Warehouse Deals, you might want to look at the $529 Sony CX580V or its waterproof and less obtrusive cousin, the $517 Sony GW77.

These cameras produce some impressive images for the price. Here is some video shot with the GW77 by camera/camcorder guru Mark R.

http://vimeo.com/48242780

http://vimeo.com/51872571

Hope this is helpful,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Edited by brunerww - 11/15/12 at 5:25am
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post #5 of 8
11/15/12 at 6:32am
Thread Starter 
Great! Thank you for the suggestions Bill!
Just to confirm, all of those have manual iris control right?

Also, do they shoot in 30 FPS and what format do they use? My video editor crashes if I try to edit AVCHD.
Edited by acuriousman - 11/15/12 at 6:54am
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post #6 of 8
11/16/12 at 6:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by acuriousman View Post

Great! Thank you for the suggestions Bill!
Just to confirm, all of those have manual iris control right?
Also, do they shoot in 30 FPS and what format do they use? My video editor crashes if I try to edit AVCHD.

You can shoot at 960x540 30fps iFrame for Mac with the Panasonic V700 - but that is much lower resolution than the camera's 1920x1080 60fps AVCHD.

The Sony CX580V and GW77V shoot 720x480 60 fps interlaced MPEG2 in standard definition. Much lower resolution than their top end 1920x1080 60fps progressive AVCHD. By the way, the GW77 has gone down to $453 at Amazon Warehouse, which is a really good deal for this camera.

Most high quality camcorders use AVCHD compression these days. You may want to budget a little bit of money for a new editing program that can handle AVCHD such as Sony Vegas 12 or Adobe Premiere Elements 11. smile.gif

Good luck!

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
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post #7 of 8
11/16/12 at 8:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by brunerww View Post

...60 fps interlaced MPEG2 in standard definition.
Interlaced is 30fps unless by "f" you meant fields, but then you should have been more specific.
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post #8 of 8
11/16/12 at 4:54pm
The M500 (If It has auto aperture control) and the V700 are good recommendations if you want good auto-focusing. In the past until 2011 models, I've head that Sony was the worse in auto-focusing although their usually very good when it comes to the stabilizer. Have any one done any current auto focusing tests with the newest 2012 models?
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