|
What
DC camcorder do you recommend?
Dec
23, 1999
|
|
Q:
I started shooting a documentary using a Sony
DSR-300. It's a ten grand camera that now costs
$400/day to rent. Perhaps it would make economic
sense to purchase a camera?
I
think you have a TRV-900. How does that compare
with the VX1000? If I get one of those cameras will
the quality be noticeably different from the
DSR-300 when I edit the footage
together?
AG.
A:
Good question, don't know if I have a good answer.
But given that there are many people shooting stuff
using VX-1000's, XL-1's and even lower-end cameras,
it would seem to make economic sense to own the
tools of production (power of the press belonging
to those who own the press and all
that.)
However
you do have a problem that you have already shot
some footage with a different camera. I have no
idea how the DSR-300 compares to other cameras;
I've seen reviews comparing, for example, the
VX1000 and XL-1 and saying that there's a
noticeable difference between the quality of video
shot by the two cameras. Not that one is
necessarily better than the other, just different.
Are you on the TRV-900 mailing list? or the DV
mailing list? I'd post a question and see if anyone
has any direct experience. Also note that some of
this is personal preference; one person might tell
you that there's no trouble cutting between the
two, while another might tell you "no
way!"
One
other issue is that the DSR-300 is DVCAM, while the
other cameras are miniDV. I'm not sure, but I don't
think any of the TRV-900/VX-1000/XL1 will play
DVCAM tapes, so you may need to transfer your
existing tapes to miniDV if you don't have a DVCAM
VCR. Or buy the PD-100A, the "professional" version
of the TRV-900, which does play DVCAM
tapes.
I
suspect that the biggest difference between the
DSR-300 and the other cameras is in the lens; it
has a high-quality lens that will feel right to
professional videographers. The other cameras you
might consider; the Sony TRV-900, VX-1000, PD-100A,
Canon GL-1 and XL-1 all have pretty good lenses,
but they use indirect focusing controls which can
be an annoyance to some users.
The
quality of the image produced is probably better
too; but I don't know how much of an issue that is.
I think people are less likely to notice very
subtle differences in sharpness across a scene than
they are color shifts.
Here
would be my quick, uninformed opinions about the
three-chip DV cameras from what I've heard about
them:
TRV-900:
Neat little camera; image quality is very good (I
think.) Focusing the lens manually with focus ring
is "so-so" but okay so far for what I'm doing. Has
manual audio control (one level for both channels);
to use external mics you'll probably want to buy an
adapter that provides XLR inputs (studio-1 or
BeachTech).
PD-100A:
Same model as TRV-900 but uses DVCAM and adds a
wide angle lens and a SINGLE XLR input. Otherwise
the cameras are essentially identical.
VX-1000:
Been around a long time; popular and well known.
Picture quality not as good as Canon's XL-1, but no
one seems to be complaining! Has manual sound
adjustment (said to be easier to use than the
TRV-900), but again you'll need to get an adapter
to use XLR inputs.
XL-1:
This cameras seems to have it all; Manual audio
control, XLR inputs, interchangeable lenses. But
there's been a lot of complaints about the standard
lens; both with soft focus and the way the focus
control works. They have a fully manual lens coming
out, but it's big bucks, and on top of the $4,000
for camera with original lens (which probably no
one will want to buy!) Still, many people seem to
be happy with this camera, so it's hard to figure
what's up. Oh, and it looks cool!
GL-1:
This seems to be Canon's answer to the TRV-900
(i.e. it's about $2000) but in appearance it
actually looks more like a cross between the
VX-1000 and XL-1!! It looks nice, the lens is
supposed to be very good. For me there is one
problem with it; no manual control of audio
levels!!!
I
made my decision on the TRV-900 based on price as
much as anything else; I couldn't afford the $3,000
for the VX-1000 or the $4,000 for the XL1, and the
lack of audio control on the GL-1 made me decide
not to wait for it (it came out about a month after
I bought the TRV-900.)
Hope
this helps!!
Got
a question? Send them to "Ask
the Guru"
|
