Panny GS500 or Sony HDR HC3?

thestruggler · 10-09-2006, 3:04 PM

Hi People!

I am really hoping that someone can help me out. I want to use a camera to record video footage for website streaming. I know that I probably have a few options but want to invest in something decent and which looks good online as well.

I was looking at the GS500 and like the feel of that but seems to vut down version of the older one. Apart from that I want to know how the HC3 would compare in SD. SO I am not really fussed about the HD part.

If tere is anything else I should be looking at in that price range then please let me know : )

Thanks

redsox_mark · 10-09-2006, 8:59 PM

For website streaming, the HD won't be useful - in fact you could do fine with a cheaper DV camera; you are going to need to drop the resolution/quality anyway to stream. But it sounds like you'll be using it for other things and want a good camcorder.

In SD mode the HC3 is good, but the GS500 should have the edge. But in HD mode the HC3 is stunning.

For a SD camcorder in that price range I don't think you can do better than the GS500. As long as you are sure you don't want HD...

thestruggler · 11-09-2006, 1:58 PM

thanks redsox_mark for getting back. i think i will just have to take the plunge and get either one of them. The more i search for reviews, the more i get confused.

Have even been looking at hardisk based camcorders. Still am leaning towards the Panny as my computer would probably not be able to handle the HD stuff. The panny seems to be on top of the list for camcorderinfo.com but cnet has only given it a rating of good.

If anyone know of any other cameras that I should be looking at in that price range then that woud be much appreciated.

Thanks again!

redsox_mark · 11-09-2006, 2:40 PM

What is the spec of your PC? There are ways to edit HD on very modest machines - using either an "intermediate" or "proxy". It requires an extra step when editing, but can be done. (I edit HD on a 1.6 GHz laptop).

If you are looking at HDD camcorders, the Sony SR90 and the JVC MG505 are nice. Quality won't be far off what you will get with the GS500. But I'd go for the HC3... or wait for the new Sony HD, Hard Drive AVCHD (HDR-SR1) - it is supposed to be available this month.

thestruggler · 11-09-2006, 4:37 PM

Thanks fo the advice. I will have to look into the extra step, dont fully understand that. I have a dell pentium 4, 2.4GHz. The problem is the ram....came with dells RDRam which is good, but if I want to upgrade to more it costs and arm and a leg : (

I have been looking on sonyhdvinfo and it seems that everyone seems to like the HC3. The main confusing point is how the camera compares in normal room lighting. I will be using the camera for a lot of indoor recording and it seems that the features of the HC3 are lost in doing this and that the GS500 catches up.

There is only a small price diffrence between the GS500 and HC3, thats why its giving me a bit of a hadache : )

redsox_mark · 11-09-2006, 7:41 PM

If the lighting is poor, then any camcorder will struggle... so in that way yes the difference between poor SD and poor HD will be minimal.. The HC3 is as good or better than the GS500 in "low light".. and you can get good indoor shots with decent lighting.

If you are seriously thinking about the HC3 I can explain proxy and intermediates if you'd like.

thestruggler · 11-09-2006, 11:14 PM

Yeah, it would be great to have a bit more inf on that. Still am not to sure if my comp will be able to handle HD.

Thanks a lot... i really appreciate it!

redsox_mark · 12-09-2006, 9:07 AM

System requirements for Sony Vegas (or Vegas Movie Studio Platinum):
- 800 MHz processor (2.8 GHz for HDV*)
- 200 MB hard-disk space for program installation
- 256 MB RAM (512 for HDV)
Requirements are similar for Ulead Video Studio 10.

However – those requirements are for editing the “native HDV”. This means editing it directly in it’s captured form. This is hard on a PC – it’s not just the HD resolutions, it is that it is MPEG2 based, and thus not all the information is in a single frame.
If you don’t mind that editing might be a little sluggish, you might be OK editing native HDV anyway.

There are 2 ways to edit HDV with a slower PC:

Intermediate: This involves converting the native HDV to a format which is “DV-like” for ease of editing… but retaining the HD resolution. Vegas comes with a codec called Cineform which is “virtually lossless”. The flow to use is to convert to Cineform, edit with this, and then render out to your final format.

Proxy: With proxy editing, you convert the HDV to an ordinary SD DV format. You edit that. When you have finished editing, you then swap the proxy with the original HDV media, and render out to your final format with that (this retaining the full HD quality).

The Proxy method will work on any PC which can edit DV. With Vegas you can do this manually, or there is a plug-in (additional cost) to make it easier. Ulead Video Studio 10 says it has a Proxy feature integrated; I’ve not used this however.