Professional HD Video Camera: What You Should Look for in One
A professional HD video camera is one of the must-haves of avid filmmakers. These video cameras are the hottest item when it comes to the film-making or documentation industry. There are so many high definition camcorders in the market that are available but only a few are noteworthy. These are the:
- Canon XH-A1 HDV Camcorder, – Sony HDR-FX7 Camcorder, – JVC GYHD110U MiniDV Camcorder, and; – Panasonic AG-HVX200.
The Canon XH-A1 HDV Camcorder
The Canon XL H1 is the younger and smaller version of the Canon XLH1DV. It has a low light performance which is a good feature for a professional HD video camera. However, being small has its drawbacks. It has no lens interchangeability unlike the bigger version. Customers are somewhat skeptical with the 30F and 24F frame rates too but some are finding it easy to adjust to. It also has a bad eyecup design and is quite heavy for a video camera. Nevertheless, this is still good for ENGs, budget documentarians, student filmmakers.
The Sony HDR-FX7 Camcorder
The Sony’s consumer camcorder is the FX7. It has a clear VID CMOS sensors which make a fantastic impression in bright light. Under low light conditions, the performance disappointingly falls to pieces. It can however, omit XLR inputs and external audio level controls.
The JVC GYHD110U MiniDV Camcorder
The size and lens interchangeability is almost the same with the Canon XH-A1 HDV. It has a standard Fujinon 16x ProHD Lens. It comes with true progressive video at 720p but it doesn’t offer interlaced video recording options. The resolution is close to XH A1′s resolution. If you are the type of shooter who prefers larger camcorders and lens flexibility, buy a JVC GYHD110U.
Panasonic AG-HVX200
Because this camcorder uses the proprietary P2 tapeless recording system it is able to record DVCPRO video DV tapes. However, it can only be recorded using Panasonic’s solid state P2 memory cards or an external DTE drive like non-tape media. By using the P2 Cards, you can record non-stop and reduce the tape transfer time because of the camcorders 2 swappable P2 slots. The camcorder relies on pixel shifting to raise the resolution of its 3 1/3 ” CCDs from 500k gross pixel count to a high definition resolution.
Each professional HD video camera mentioned above has its own unique properties that cater to different filmmakers needs. The decision is yours to make. It is up to the aspiring filmmaker to decide which camera will cater to his or her needs more. Is the camera worth the price? That is for the filmmaker to judge.
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