[letstub]

We are leaving for vacation next Saturday and I need to buy a camcorder asap. I was HD. I was thinking on the Sony HDR-SR1, Panasonic HDC-SD1 and the Canon HV20. I like the sone for the hard drive but from everything I see the best picture quality comes from the HV20. I just want to make sure I am not making a mistake for buying a camcorder that uses tape. How much hi-def video can you get in a single miniDV tape? Many thanks in advance for any advice.


Don

 

[24Peter]



Quote:
Originally Posted by letstub /forum/post/0


We are leaving for vacation next Saturday and I need to buy a camcorder asap. I was HD. I was thinking on the Sony HDR-SR1, Panasonic HDC-SD1 and the Canon HV20. I like the sone for the hard drive but from everything I see the best picture quality comes from the HV20. I just want to make sure I am not making a mistake for buying a camcorder that uses tape. How much hi-def video can you get in a single miniDV tape? Many thanks in advance for any advice.


Don

Tape recording time on HDV cameras is 1 hour (same as regular DV though there is no "LP" mode in HDV.)


Haven't tried any of the cameras you mention other than the HV20. I recently sold my Panasonic DVX100 and decided to keep the HV20 - it's that good. I am still amazed at the color/clarity/resolution of the HV20. Plus it has good manual controls.

Hard drive recording sounds good on paper but if you edit your videos in the computer I think there are still some issues with the codec the hard drive cameras use. With tape you just plug it in (assuming you have Windows XP with SP2 or a newer Mac with OSX and video editing software) and you should be good to go.

 

[letstub]

Thanks for the input

 

[Blasst]



Quote:
Originally Posted by letstub /forum/post/0


We are leaving for vacation next Saturday and I need to buy a camcorder asap. I was HD. I was thinking on the Sony HDR-SR1, Panasonic HDC-SD1 and the Canon HV20. I like the sone for the hard drive but from everything I see the best picture quality comes from the HV20. I just want to make sure I am not making a mistake for buying a camcorder that uses tape. How much hi-def video can you get in a single miniDV tape? Many thanks in advance for any advice.


Don

Don,


As you can read here the HV20 gets rave reviews for overall picture quality, and some features the other cams do not have.


Having said that, sometimes one just has to try them out, and compare!


I have a Sony HC3, and a Canon HV10, and honestly, it is real close for overall picture quality. I've had them both hooked up at the same time, and flipping back and forth between inputs it is very, very close.


Both have advantages over the other. The HV10 has less "noise" while the HC3 lets me see darker areas clearer.




I'm all for the best in this price bracket, but you can chase it until you drain your bank account

Bottom line is you won't go wrong with the Canon HV20, or with some of the other competitors out there.


Enjoy what you get..... and start filming your memories in HD!!

 

[David Susilo]

as much as I like my HV20, if you can, try the HV20 (or any camcorder for that matter) in your hands and play with the control. It doesn't matter if it's the best camcorder in the world if you can't fit it nicely in your hand.

 

[Star56]

I love the HV20...but it is small...if you had a big hand it might be a problem. I have little hands on a big body...so it works great for me

The smallest lightest camcorder I have ever owned.

 

[letstub]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Star56 /forum/post/0


I love the HV20...but it is small...if you had a big hand it might be a problem. I have little hands on a big body...so it works great for me

The smallest lightest camcorder I have ever owned.

Thanks for all who replied. I was hesitant to buy a camcorder that used tape but I think I am going to pick up the HV20. Thanks to all who have replied.

 

[galileo2000]

I truly loved my Sony HC7 PQ until I saw 24p footage from HV20.


If you are not going to use 24p, Sony HC7 is equal to HV20 IMO, if not better, due to the better ergonomics and better stills.