Camcorder advice neeed urgently

[Charlotte09]

Hello,

I'm finally going to be buying my own camera but unfortunately I only have a budget of around £1'000- £1600. So I'm going to be buying a secondhand semi pro camera.

The camera's I'e found so far within my budget are:


1) SONY PD 170 - I have always used a PD 150, so it feels natural to buy this one.

2) SONY HVR- A1E- I've read some really good reviews about this and the size is fantastic but I was wondering if it has the quality?

3) SONY HVR- V1- better than the PD 170 or roughly the same?


I'd appreciate any advice on which is best for making docs. I'm hoping to show at festivals and as show reel etc...


Charlotte

[ade4all]

Hi Charlotte, you need to decide if you want to shoot in std def or hi def -
the pd170 is std def & if you only want to film interlaced then is a good solid choice - however if you want std def I prefer the panasonic dvx100, which can also shoot in progressive, you should be able to get either of these used for about £1k
the other 2 cameras are hi def, many people on this forum like the sony models you mention but my preference would be for the canon xha1 which handles low light pretty well for a camera in this class, useful for documentary stuff.

,

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by Charlotte09

Hello,

I'm finally going to be buying my own camera but unfortunately I only have a budget of around £1'000- £1600. So I'm going to be buying a secondhand semi pro camera.

The camera's I'e found so far within my budget are:


1) SONY PD 170 - I have always used a PD 150, so it feels natural to buy this one.

2) SONY HVR- A1E- I've read some really good reviews about this and the size is fantastic but I was wondering if it has the quality?

3) SONY HVR- V1- better than the PD 170 or roughly the same?


I'd appreciate any advice on which is best for making docs. I'm hoping to show at festivals and as show reel etc...


Charlotte

The sony V1 is the best you list and the best semi pro cam you are likely to find for a reasonable price and they are hard to find,theV1 is a little larger than the sony A1 which is only a sony HC 1 with a few extas,but the V1 is a third smaller than all the other semi pro cams, it has a magnificent zoom and although it is not as good in low light as the modern sonys like the FX1000 which are extremely good it is far from bad in low light,if you do find a V1 second hand you can check how many hours of use the heads have been used as the V 1 like all sony semi pro cams have a metre to read this.

[ade4all]

Originally Posted by chrishull3

the best semi pro cam you are likely to find for a reasonable price

why is it the best? all a matter of opinion obviously but having used the v1 & the canon i mentioned I know which I prefer

[Charlotte09]

Hello!

Thanks so much for the reply.

I think I'd prefer HD.

Can I ask for more advice?........

I am now thinking of the Panasonic DVX100 or a friend of mine who is a director suggested the Sony HVR V1....or the HVR A1E what do you think?

I can't afford the Sony Z1 (which he also recommended) or the Canon XHA1 that you recommended.

[ade4all]

the dvx is a great camera but it is not hi def. I agree the v1 & canon are pushing your budget but i have seen the canon selling at £1500 used,which ever you choose as Chris said be sure to look at how many hours the tape heads have done, anything below 500 should be good to go for quite a while though it may be a good idea to give the heads a clean, then try & use the same make of tape all the time, some manufacturers use wet lube tape, some dry - mixing these can clog the heads up very quickly
good luck with your search

[Charlotte09]

Thanks guys for your help.

Ok.. I'm still stumped.

I don't think I can afford High Def now.

My budget is honestly only around £1'000 thereabouts as I also have to pay for wireless mics as I do a lot of interviews.

So I'm back to a choice between.

1) Panasonic DVX100

2) Sony PD 170

3) HVR A1E ( is this one a bit amateurish? but handy size and good quality?)

opinions out of these?

[ade4all]

I would go with the dvx then, progressive & interlaced, best of both worlds & the audio pre amps are a bit better i feel than the pd170.
sorry to throw another spanner in the works but if you are struggling with budget do you really need wireless mics for interviews? They can be handy but the cheapest dependable wireless is the sennheiser g2 100 which is going to cost you £400 or more - for a lot less money (£100) you will get better quality & less chances of interference problems with a cabled mic

[Charlotte09]

Hello,

Thanks for that.

Yeah, I definitely want the wireless mics and I've budgeted for these separately so that's not in the budget.

Is the A1E not great then? I keep reading good things about it from other doc makers.

[ade4all]

the a1 lacks in some of the more professional manual features, is poor in low light & is an interlace only camera. Good for what it is but a step down from the others in quality

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by Charlotte09

Thanks guys for your help.

Ok.. I'm still stumped.

I don't think I can afford High Def now.

My budget is honestly only around £1'000 thereabouts as I also have to pay for wireless mics as I do a lot of interviews.

So I'm back to a choice between.

1) Panasonic DVX100

2) Sony PD 170

3) HVR A1E ( is this one a bit amateurish? but handy size and good quality?)

opinions out of these?

You may well regret not going hd in the future the difference is imense,there are V1s to be found for you price range

[Charlotte09]

Hi Chris,

I need to buy this in the next few weeks and there are no Sony V1's for under £2000. I've looked on ebay, amazon and various sites.

This is my problem. I just can't up my budget and there just aren't any around for under this amount.

[chrishull3]

Originally Posted by Charlotte09

Hi Chris,

I need to buy this in the next few weeks and there are no Sony V1's for under £2000. I've looked on ebay, amazon and various sites.

This is my problem. I just can't up my budget and there just aren't any around for under this amount.

A shame but for what you want to do the Sony A1 would do for you as well ,the fact that it does not do progressive would not worry me personaly.the low light is not great as said but for good projects lights are best anyway.