Decent HD Video Camera
 

Can anyone recommend a decent HD Video Camera? I was thinking about getting the Cannon HV 10:

http://usa.canon.com/app/html/HDV/HV10/index.shtml

Any suggestions for around $1000? I'm looking to publish the video's on YouTube and Google Video. Not sure what would be best. I notice the HV 10 doesn't come with any software, I do have a couple programs I use for editing now, so not sure I need software.

We have 2 hv 10s love them. Keep in mind though that the hv 20 is coming out in a few months, and it has an external mic hookup, and will shoot in 24f. We use them as backup cameras and as secondary angle cameras. Our main cam is a canon xha1. You would need a 3rd party editing software. I use adobe premiere pro 2. Works great. You can find it for under 1000.00 now on newegg also for ht hv10. B and H is pre selling the hv 20 now too.

I found one site that is expecting them on 4/10. My birthday..........But I don't want to wait :1orglaugh


Wondering if something that uses dvds would be better.

Id sticky with miniDV or HDV tapes for the time being. The hv10 and 20 use either miniDV or HDV and I cant really tell the diff between the two other than miniDV are 5 for 18.00 and HDV are 15.00 each. For webstuff you'll never see the difference. Once you go with a brand tape stick with it though as changing them around can be hard on the recording heads. I use the Sony MiniDV tapes, but started off using the HDV tapes till I realized it was a waste of money. We go through 5 to 6 tapes a week, so at even 10.00 each that ads up quick enough.

Maybe I am missing something......

Why does anybody need an HD camera to create vids to be published on YouTube or Google?

As far as software goes, HD is different and typically requires either different software or a plugin upgrade. :2 cents:

I also stick with Sony tapes these days. I've tried a few brands and as you mentioned, that can be hard on the heads.

These days I buy my tapes in bulk. 100 at a time. I get them for $2.65 each including S&H. If you have a better price, please let me know.

I want an HD camera for home stuff. But I will be using it to make videos for Google and YouTube. I mentioned that also because I thought there may be a better camera with software for that type of thing.

Actually Im interested in better pricing. There was a sale for awhile for 5 for 15.95 at best buy and I bought a bunch then, but about to run out. Icq me or post where you are getting them in bulk. Im all about saving bucks in the long run.

On why she might want that for youtube vids, the hv10 also has dv capture mode, so you can always dumb it down for that, and also have some nice family vids too.

Are you buying pro quality or master quality?

I'm not sure what I would do with that. :upsidedow

Hey whats a measly 17k for the basic setup lol.

Well, with the tactical rail mount system, you could mount a laser sight to it or mount it to the hand guard on your M-16 in place of a grenade launcher.

Those cameras look pretty sick. There is a project in the beginning stages and one of the people involved was suggesting we use those.

can the tapes be reused? I use sony miniDV HDV/DV tapes

Yes, but that's pretty fucking stupid. :2 cents:

I dont reuse tapes. I mark them and achive them with the dvd containing the backup of the editing content, and the photoset.

red was the first hd footage I saw that blew me away

Id love to have one for sure. There is a big ass waiting list and ton of 1000.00 deposits out there for them already.

HD doesn't make the surfers dick cum any harder than regular miniDV.
A guy looking for a quick rub out, is not counting pixels you can best believe that shit bitch

Keep thinking it makes no difference. :thumbsup

Btw we werent discussing adult related video either.

At the moment, surfers (except the few with fiber to the house) don't have the bandwidth to download HD content, and Youtube and the others aren't providing it.

So getting HD doesn't matter except for content you're planning on keeping and reusing or rereleasing some years down the road.

If you're going for true HD, there isn't a solution that provides it for under about $5500; all of the cameras in the 2500 and under are actually HDV, which is a hybrid format that is between standard def (SD or DV) and HD in quality. True HD cannot be recorded on any DV tape; the maximum data rate is 25Mbits/sec, and true HD is 100Mbits/sec.

On DV tapes, check online suppliers. A couple that we buy from are tapestockonline.com and cassettehouse.com. We have used the mid-grade Panasonics that are about $3.50 each for more than 5 years and have never yet had a bad tape, or a tape we couldn't read from 4+ years after it was recorded.

DON'T switch the type of tape you use, even within the same manufacturer; different tape formulations use different lubricants, and mixing lubricants will almost immediately gunk up your heads. If you're lucky, you can run a cleaning cassette for a few seconds and clean up the gunk. If not, it's off to the shop for a cleaning.

Definitely do not use different types of tapes as Gaybucks said. I've had a couple of Broke Dick cams because of it. (Broke Dick is an old Navy technical term.)
HDV is still a higher quality format than regular DV. And even when down converting I'm noticing a significant difference in picture quality from the A1 compared to the GL2. Though admittedly that could be from the processor.
The movie maker in Vista handles HD and that's free as long as you have Vista.

The XhA1 is kick ass. Great in low light. In good light you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between the hv10 and the xha1. The HV10 has said to be as good as a sony fx1 in good light too. Its an amazing bargain for what you get.:thumbsup

let's start by naming the format correctly ... HDV

You will learn as everyone else that made the switch .. HDV isn't an easy format to learn, cut and manipulate ..

have fun :)

Luckily Sticky is always around if she has questions. :winkwink:

I just got the new Sony HDR-HC5 and have been completely satisfied with the results. My last camera was one of the JVC HDD models and I hated it, so decided to upgrade to HD.

I try to explain the difference between SD and HD to people that haven't seen it yet, as being something like going from Black and White to color. It's on that level.

Thanks for all the great input. I would of never thought about mixing tapes could cause issues.

Excellent :thumbsup :thumbsup

And... true HD is even worse. Editing a 15 minute video that is over 15 gigs in size, not to mention having to store hundreds or thousands of gigs on a gigantic RAID or back the content up to DLT or LTO tape backup... definitely a pain in the ass.

Not to mention that focus becomes MUCH more critical when shooting HD because you can tell if the image is even slightly out of focus, while SD (DV) is remarkably forgiving in comparision.

Hopefully it will pay off for us in the long term :)

Bump Bump

if thats all youre doing with it you can grab the sanyo HD2 i've seen the video on it and it's pretty damn good for the price. i think you can buy the camera on amazon for like 650

This thread made me laugh, cry, and laugh some more...

LOL .. same here ... Boo Hoo

I use few Sony FX1,and i love them:)