[emcm0026]

Hi all,

Just looking for peoples view on which one of the above would be the better buy, I know they each have pros and cons like the hdd codec not always being 100% also can the hc5 be uploaded to a pc via usb or is it just firewire ive looked at the manual online but doesnt say it can or cant, but is there anything in the picture quality and sound quality that makes either one stand out?. price wise hc5 being £440 and £60 cheaper than the sr5.

Would either of these be a big step up from my current sony dcr-pc3?

Thanks for any imput with any of this


Ewan

[senu]

This is really a HDV ( tape) vs AVCHD (HDD) question

Start by assuming Video and audio Quality are quite similar, (tape is marginally better)
HDV capture is Firewire only
Im not sure what you mean by HDD codec not being 100%
As both are Hi def ..Yes on a suitable display you will get much better quality than SD DV but that (PC3) is a very good SD model IIRC. It may be that the SD performance of the HDV model will match and be definitely better than but not be a big step up . As for the HDD model I imagine its Hi def downconverted in software to SD will not be better .. but not worse depending on how the downcoversion is done

How you decide you will be whether you feel the advantages of tapeless recording are worth the current ( teething issues: Playback, editing and need of decent Spec PC and limited output options ) of the AVCHD format which may be ( to you ) non issues..

Both Hi def formats currently suffer by not ( Like DV) having a readily available playback carrier like SD DVD video but they are the here and now of video recording
Certainly having say a PS3 and an HDTV will help you realise how stunning Hi def can be but it isn't quite as easy to enjoy as Hi def by just , like with your PC3 shooting and burning a DVD to play

[Smurkenstein]

Originally Posted by senu

As for the HDD model I imagine its Hi def downconverted in software to SD will not be better .. but not worse depending on how the downcoversion is done

Curious, this. The sr5 will out mpeg2 SD up to 9 mbps. Wouldn't make sense to create HD mpeg4 then transcode into HD mpeg2 in the camera...so I'm guessing it can produce SD "natively"....?!?!

[redsox_mark]

Originally Posted by Smurkenstein

Curious, this. The sr5 will out mpeg2 SD up to 9 mbps. Wouldn't make sense to create HD mpeg4 then transcode into HD mpeg2 in the camera...so I'm guessing it can produce SD "natively"....?!?!

The SR5 can record in either HD or SD mode. But it doesn't have the ability to record in HD and convert to SD in camera digitally. You can record in HD and output SD via the analogue video outputs of course. But there is no digital downconvert function like there is on HDV models.