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Professional Video Camera Help.?

I’m a amateur film maker. I have been raising funds over a past few months to get a HD professional video camera to start making more professional films. I have a budget of about 5,000 Euro which would be about $7,072 (US).

They’re both good cameras…
Little Dog has some nice points, which I won’t refute, but, at the same time, I suggest you look at:
(note: all figures are in USD…sorry. I don’t know how many Euros)

1) Red Scarlet $3,000 (accesories not included)
2) Sony EX1 $6,500
3) Panasonic HPX170 (or the HVX200) $5,200
4) JVC GY-HD110U

The first 3 are solid state camcorders, meaning: No HDV or miniDV tapes. Maybe I’m biased, but I find tapeless cameras much better than HDV for filmmaking. Here are the pros:
1) HDV is highly compressed. Solid state formats (P2, SxS, etc) store the metadata on convenient cards which are less compressed
2) Solid state memory is ageless, meaning you can use it over and over again until the end of time. HDV tapes are reusable, but not with the same reliability
3) HDV has moving parts (the tape mechanism and all) which means 2 things: (A) there is more wear and tear on the camera (B) the tape mechanism is more sensitive in certain temperatures and environments

Here are some cons with solid state camcorders:
1) the media cards are very expensive. HDV is cheap, but purchasing additional P2 cards will cost 100s even 1,000s or $$.
2) expensive media means it’s harder to store and archive your footage. An external hard drive will work, but that requires more work

About the cameras specifically. I won’t go into too much detail (that would be a pain for you to read) so if you want more specific info, feel free to contact me….
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Red Scarlet. It doesn’t come out til 09, but it has the highest resolution of any prosumer camera on the market. It’s 3K which isn’t even HD. It’s Ultra High Definition. It also has a nice big 2/3″ CMOS sensor great for narrow Depth of Field and it can shoot up to 120fps (great for slow-motion shots). It may require a bit of learning due to it’s complexity (especially in editing) and will require you to purchase Red CF cards separately, but you still can’t beat the price!
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Sony EX1….probably the 2nd best (after Scarlet) in terms of picture quality. It’s the only prosumer camera (other than Scarlet) than can shoot full 1080HD. Most can’t shoot the full resolution. Even P2 has to do some pixel shifting and other nonsense to get to the full res. But the EX1 can do full 1920×1080….However, you may not need that, cuz if you’re primary uses are for short films and what not, you’ll probably use 720p and NOT 1080i for aesthetic reasons (and hard drive space reasons)….the EX1 also has large image sensor at 1/2″
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Panasonic HPX170/ HVX200…..The HVX kinda loses out next to the EX1. It can’t shoot full res 1080 HD, and doesn’t have large image sensors (it has 1/3″ ones) but it is an excellent camera nonetheless. It’s one of my personal favorites, and is probably the most popular model among low budget filmmakers. Besides, like I said before, if your primary uses are for short films or any other theatrical videography, you’ll probably use 720p, and in that case, there’s not much of a difference between the EX1 and HVX/HPX.
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JVC HD110U….If your mind is still set on HDV tape oriented cameras (which is great decision, depending on your own circumstances) the HD110U is a great choice, and is a cheaper alternative to the CANON XL-H1. It has interchangeable lenses and all that good stuff. It also produces stunning images, comparable to that of the XL-H1….it’s true. AND it can also do 24p, in which the XL-H1 cannot do (it does 24f, which isn’t the same). One thing to consider: the HD110U does not shoot 1080i unless you purchase the external media drive and record to that instead of HDV. As an HDV camera, it ONLY shoots 720p, which is fine for some people. On the contrary, it’s one of the best 720p modes I have seen on an HDV camera.
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Again, the FX1 and XL-H1 are great cameras, but if you are more of a filmmaker, rather than a videographer, then the cameras listed above may be better suited. The FX1 and XL-H1 are great for news broadcasters, and professional event videographers (for like weddings) but the ones listed above are more targeted for the indie filmmakers base. For one thing, the cameras listed above have 24p. Also, the first 3 have what is called Variable Frame Rate in which you can actually change the number of frames per second (from 12-60 on the HVX and EX1, and from 1 to 120 on RED) to speed up or slow down the footage. It’s called undercranking and overcranking…It’s a nice feature for artistic effects in films…if you are willing to pay for it of course. But still, ALL cameras listed above are cheaper than the XL-H1..

Hope that helps…(and I apologize if I just made it more complicated)… and thanks for taking the time to read my endless rant…and if you haven’t heard enough yet and have more questions, please contact me
Best of luck!

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