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Greg Laves · January 12th, 2009, 10:50 PM

George, I don't have any recent experience with any of the Canons. That stems from a couple of bad experiences I had with 2 different Canon camcorders a few years back. I realize that my bad experiences have no relevance when it comes to the new cameras. But it just kind of soured me on Canons. I can’t help it. I have used the Panasonic 100 and the 200. I thought the DVC-100 was a great SD camera but I still preferred the video, layout and operation of my VX2100. When I used the HVX200 I had the chance to do a head to head comparison to the video from my Sony HVR-V1U and my opinion was that the video from the V1 was cleaner and clearer. Not a very big difference but it was enough that it was obvious. Every videographer who had a chance to see the footage back to back had the same opinion. I don't expect the video out of the HMC-150 to be better than the HVX-200. Now, on the other hand, I have been playing with a friend’s FX1000 for a couple of days and the footage seems to be really good. I mean really good. No, it is not a perfect camcorder, however. For example the f-stop changes from 1.6 to 3.4 as you go through the zoom range. That is a significant change in exposure. But I have been living with that on my V1 (also a 20X zoom) so it isn't a big deal to me on the FX1000. That phenomenon is less obvious on cameras with only a 12X or 13X lenses, but they do it also, just to a lesser degree. In spite of that issue, the 20X lens is still pretty awesome. So I can live with that flaw. Also, I was disappointed to find out that the FX1000 doesn't do in-camera downconvert like its cousins. So if I use my friends FX1000, I will have to do it in post. But that is supposed to give better results anyway. I am still learning the intricacies of the white balance controls and the picture profiles but I think if someone learns how to use just some of the capabilities of the FX1000, you will have the ability to produce images that lesser cameras will be unable to match. And I agree with Jeff that the buttons and control wheel on the FX1000 are more of a hassle than other Sony camcorders. But I am learning them. And one last thought, I don’t care what new software comes down the road later, I am pretty convinced that AVCHD is not quite as good as HDV from the frame captures I have seen. But the bottom line is probably that there are no bad camcorders and you need to get what you think is best for you. Good luck with your choice, George.

January 12th, 2009, 10:50 PM	#7
Greg Laves Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Posts: 575	George, I don't have any recent experience with any of the Canons. That stems from a couple of bad experiences I had with 2 different Canon camcorders a few years back. I realize that my bad experiences have no relevance when it comes to the new cameras. But it just kind of soured me on Canons. I can’t help it. I have used the Panasonic 100 and the 200. I thought the DVC-100 was a great SD camera but I still preferred the video, layout and operation of my VX2100. When I used the HVX200 I had the chance to do a head to head comparison to the video from my Sony HVR-V1U and my opinion was that the video from the V1 was cleaner and clearer. Not a very big difference but it was enough that it was obvious. Every videographer who had a chance to see the footage back to back had the same opinion. I don't expect the video out of the HMC-150 to be better than the HVX-200. Now, on the other hand, I have been playing with a friend’s FX1000 for a couple of days and the footage seems to be really good. I mean really good. No, it is not a perfect camcorder, however. For example the f-stop changes from 1.6 to 3.4 as you go through the zoom range. That is a significant change in exposure. But I have been living with that on my V1 (also a 20X zoom) so it isn't a big deal to me on the FX1000. That phenomenon is less obvious on cameras with only a 12X or 13X lenses, but they do it also, just to a lesser degree. In spite of that issue, the 20X lens is still pretty awesome. So I can live with that flaw. Also, I was disappointed to find out that the FX1000 doesn't do in-camera downconvert like its cousins. So if I use my friends FX1000, I will have to do it in post. But that is supposed to give better results anyway. I am still learning the intricacies of the white balance controls and the picture profiles but I think if someone learns how to use just some of the capabilities of the FX1000, you will have the ability to produce images that lesser cameras will be unable to match. And I agree with Jeff that the buttons and control wheel on the FX1000 are more of a hassle than other Sony camcorders. But I am learning them. And one last thought, I don’t care what new software comes down the road later, I am pretty convinced that AVCHD is not quite as good as HDV from the frame captures I have seen. But the bottom line is probably that there are no bad camcorders and you need to get what you think is best for you. Good luck with your choice, George.