Video Camera Upgrades

[deanb]

I am looking at upgrading my camera, currently I am shooting with a Panasonic DVC7, which I like, but still, I want to upgrade the quality a bit. I am looking at moving over to a Canon XL1 which is 3ccd, or even a high definition JVC HD10U HiDef. Do any of you guys use either of these cameras? Which one would you go with, I am still not sold that I need to go High Def right now, I think I could wait another 6 months to a year and switch over at that point, and the price of the high def cameras will go down a little more at that point. What do you guys think? I am currently leaning more towards the XL1

[gaybucks_chip]

If you're considering the XL1, I would instead look at the Panasonic DVX-100. The picture quality is at least equivalent (some say better), and the camera is a little smaller, which definitely comes in handy for porn. It also has better low light performance than the XL1.

I haven't used the JVC HD10U, but it is one of the HDV hi-def camcorders, meaning it isn't true hi-def; it's compressing the hell out of the hi-def signal, throwing away much of the color depth information, and squeezing it onto tape. It is an improvement over standard def, but if you're going to spend the money on hi-def with the intention of having true hi-def, the only camera under $20,000 that currently has it is the Panasonic HVX-100. But the big disadvantage is, the HVX-100 doesn't use tape (except in standard def), it instead stores on memory cards or external hard drives.

So... it all depends on what your intentions are. If you just want great quality, get the XL1 or DVX-100. If you want true hi-def to "future proof" your content, get the HVX-100, but be prepared for a hassle both in the workflow for hi-def editing and storage and cost.

[basschick]

chip, it looks like the Panasonic DVX-100 is over - i can't find it new any of my usual places and cnet says none of their merchants offer it.

[gaybucks_chip]

The 100B is the current model, but there are plenty of good used 100s that can be had for a really good deal.

I recommend checking out DVXuser.com, it's one of the largest digital video filmmaker communities on the web. You can find a lot of used stuff there (including XL1s and XL2s) as well as where the best deals are on new stuff.