One of the questions I am constantly asked is “what’s the best digital video camera?”
The problem is that while I understand video formats pretty well, I don’t shoot very much. So, I don’t have the experience to pick a “favorite” camera.
Yesterday, Philip Hodgetts sent me a link to the Fletcher Camera and Lenses website, where you can find a great comparison chart of a wide variety of high-end digital video cameras.
If you are looking for professional-grade gear, take a look at this free PDF:
Don Smith sent me the following, which I thought you might like to see as well.
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I just watched the demo movie from MacWorld by JVC introducing the GY-HM100U camera..
http://pro.jvc.com/prof/attributes/features.jsp?model_id=MDL101845
JVC licensed the EX3 format from Sony, but they took one extra step that, to me, has transformed card-recording cameras.
First, a little background….
I own the Sony EX3. Wonderful camera. EX3 format. But the SxS cards, like P2 cards, are over-the-top expensive. What we need is a way to cheapen solid-state video recording so that the media can be handed around like Betacam tape.
That just happened.
We’ve discovered that we can use certain SDHC (Class 6) cards. I buy them at Amazon.com for $23 and for that price I get a card that will record a half hour at the EX3’s highest quality PLUS a USB card reader. Now, I can hand out the cards and not worry about getting them back, but also the cards come with a USB reader! No more expensive SxS reader! The only limitation of the SDHC cards is that you can’t do over or under-cranking. Otherwise, they’ve been solid. I had to put adaptors into my EX3 camera card slots and they fit beautifully and don’t hold the door open when the SDHC card is in them. On the EX1, the configuration holds the door open a little.
Problems for the EX format that JVC has solved:
I bought the $250 SxS card reader and suddenly the power brick on it went out. Good thing I don’t use SxS cards anymore.
When importing EX3 footage into the NLE it requires transcoding. I STILL have not been able to import EX media into my work Avid!
Sony wants you to buy a four-THOUSAND dollar card player/recorder! (NOT going to happen!)
The JVC folks, with the SAME EX format, has solved all these problems. First, the HM100 uses SDHC cards only. The EX media is till recorded as a bunch of files in an BPAV folder to retain that standard, but ALSO rendered (somehow) in real-time during recording into directly usable .mov files! In other words, You can take that SD card out of the HM100, insert it into a Mac running FCP and just immediately begin editing! You have a single .mov file to copy and to FTP and do what ever you want instead of having a bunch of files in a BPAV folder that make no sense.
Now, to my complaint/inquiry: It seems to me that Sony could enable the EX1’s and EX3’s to do the same with a simple firmware update since both cameras use the same format. However, I truly doubt that would happen because that would make their four THOUSAND dollar SxS player obsolete, but they allowed JVC to take their EX format and extend it to make it far more usable.
Finally, JVC will have a “Big Brother” to the 100 coming that will be a Betacam-style camera. The 100 is priced “under four thousand” (out in April) and will be a good value for the price but will not be the camera that the EX3 is. I’m sitting here trying to decide whether to sell my EX3 or just keep wishing that Sony will make the firmware change to be like JVC.
Don Smith
NewsVideo.com
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Larry adds: Thanks, Don, for sharing your thoughts. As always, I’m interested in what other readers think.
Jan Crittenden-Livingston is the business line manager for Panasonic’s professional cameras.
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview her at DV Expo 2008 about Panasonic’s move to tapeless media (the P2 card) and the impact that had on the company.
More importantly, though, I finally had the chance to talk with her about the need for editors to change the way they archive their video assets as we move from video tape to sold state and hard disk-based video recording. Archiving is becoming more and more critical, yet all too often is overlooked in the initial budgeting and editing process.
In this interview, Jan talks about possible archiving methods and talks about where Panasonic is headed in the next year.
(TRT: 14:55 7.0 MB)
You can hear the entire show here:
http://www.digitalproductionbuzz.com/Archives/LiveThatExpo.php?day1date=2008-11-05
Select Show #2.
Dave Walton is the assistant vice president for marketing and communications at JVC Professional Products. He is an expert in JVC’s video camera technology, as well as the overall broadcast market.
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview him at DV Expo 2008 about JVC’s cameras, video formats, and future direction. While his interview is part of a larger show, I thought what he had to say was important enough to share with you directly.
I found it interesting that he worked hard to differentiate between the JVC ProHD brand and HDV, as well, his discussion on the variety of MPEG-2 formats and comments on the future of H.264 were also interesting.
(TRT: 21.54 10.3 MB)
You can hear the entire show here:
http://www.digitalproductionbuzz.com/Archives/LiveThatExpo.php?day1date=2008-11-05
Select Show #4.
As part of my weekly podcast – Digital Production BuZZ – I get to interview some truly interesting people. Sometimes, when I prerecord these interviews, I get more material than I can use for the show.
This was the case last night when I interviewed Rob Sheeley, President of Vaddio, a manufacturer and distributor of robotic cameras. When I was doing daily production, robotic cameras were large, clunky, VERY expensive, and not particularly useful.
However, when Rob told me that fully remote-controllable cameras could cost as little as $8,000, be put in places that a human operator could not work, and have a broadcast-quality image, I was very impressed.
Part of the interview that I needed to cut for time, though, was his description of the recent evolution of the industry, which I found very interesting. So, I thought I would post it here so you could listen to it as well.
Click here to play Rob Sheely’s soundbite. (TRT: 1:20 — 648 KB QuickTime file)
You can hear the entire interview, starting tonight, at www.digitalproductionbuzz.com.